Week 5: Expanding Your Research Quiz
Question 1: Your DNA results show a close match (estimated 2nd cousin) with someone who doesn't appear in your known family tree. What's your most systematic approach to determine the connection?
Build out your tree to great-great-grandparents and compare with their tree
Message them immediately asking how you're related
Ignore the match since they're not in your existing research
Assume there's an error in the DNA testing
Question 2: You're researching an ancestor who left no probate records, and the local courthouse has no land records for them. Which repository would most likely have additional records for a working-class ancestor from the 1880s?
State archives with employment and pension records
Local historical society with city directories and newspapers
University special collections with manuscript materials
National Archives with federal employee records
Question 3: Your Y-DNA test results show your paternal line belongs to haplogroup R1b-M269, common in Western Europe. Your closest matches have ancestors from Ireland, but your family oral history claims German origins. How should you interpret this?
DNA proves the family story wrong; focus research on Ireland
Y-DNA reflects ancient origins, not recent genealogy; continue German research
There must be a non-paternity event; abandon the German line
The testing company made an error; retest with a different company
Question 4: At the local genealogy society, you learn about a private collection of funeral home records from 1880-1920 that's not digitized. The owner will allow researchers to view them by appointment. How should you prepare for this research trip?
Go immediately to see what you can find
Create a specific list of names and dates to research, and bring proper note-taking materials
Wait until the records are digitized to save time
Ask the genealogy society to research for you
Question 5: Your mitochondrial DNA results connect you with matches whose maternal lines trace to different countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia). Your known maternal line is from "Austria-Hungary" according to immigration records. This suggests:
The immigration records are incorrect
Your ancestor likely came from the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire region
There's an adoption or non-maternity event in your line
Mitochondrial DNA is unreliable for geographic origins
Question 6: You've exhausted online resources for a particular ancestor. The local genealogy society suggests checking with three different repositories: the state archives, county historical society, and a university manuscript collection. How should you prioritize these visits?
Visit all three in one day to save time
Start with the closest location geographically
Research each repository's holdings online first, then prioritize based on relevance
Choose the one that charges the lowest research fees