Last Christmas, DNA test kits were one of the top-ten selling items on Amazon and the Internet. To date, more than 10 million people have tested with Ancestry.com, and there are nearly one million participants in National Geographic’s Genographic Project.

On November 3, Michelle Enke, Director of Special Publications at the Advanced Learning Library, Wichita, Kansas, will present “DNA – What It is, Where to Get Tested,  And How to Use it for Genealogy” at the 2018 South-Central Kansas Family History Fair. Registration for the three sessions begins at 9 a.m. at the Memorial Auditorium, 208 N. Washington, Wellington. The program is free; everyone is welcome.   

The Babycakes cupcake girls will provide cupcakes, muffins, concessions and coffee, vendors will include genealogical and historical societies and museums, and vendors may bring items of interest for sale. Door prizes include Ancestry.com memberships, DNA kits from Ancestry and FamilyTree DNA, Roots Magic Family Tree software, and items from local businesses.

Enke has worked for the Wichita Library for sixteen years, and is in charge of the Family History department at the Advanced Learning Library.

“We have 32,000 Genealogy Volumes in the library,” Enke said, “we have something for every state in the nation.”

Enke said that DNA is such a hot topic now partly because Ancestry.com and other companies advertise daily that it is a way to do family history and learn where your ancestors originated, and because it is used on several of the Family History Shows, such as “Finding Your Roots” for finding and verifying family histories.

“And,” Enke said, “the price is within a quick buy for most people when it gets down to $69.00.”

Enke has tested her own DNA with Ancestry, 23 and Me, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage, and National Geographic’s Genographic Project. Enke said that the different tests offered by the different companies, autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mtDNA tests can be useful in genealogy, especially in breaking down brick walls.

“DNA is very useful to prove close relationships, such as parents, siblings, etc., and to narrow down the branches of the tree,” Enke said, but added that it’s less useful or accurate for ethnicity.

Enke said that the ethnicity tests, such as those for German, French, etc, will not tell you whether you are German or French; they come back telling you that your ethnicity is from a certain area in Europe because ethnicity estimates are based on the tests done on people that already live in these areas.

“People move, and have moved down through the ages,” Enke said, “so the DNA gets moved around, too.”

“They actually say that you should do a research plan before you test,” Enke said, “look in your tree, and pick a brick wall that you want to break down, and then choose the test(s) that will help you do that.”

Enke has met people who have learned that their fathers were not who they thought they were, others who have located their birth fathers, and heard of babies who were accidentally switched at birth in the hospital.

If you are still debating whether or not to get tested, or if you have your results and are looking for information on how to use it, Enke will cover topics to help you decide.  For more information, contact Sherry at 316-833-6161, or Jane at 620-447-3266.