DNA Workshop in Marion

by palwahaili

Have you ever found your favorite necklace in a knotted, tangled mess? The process of researching your family roots is similar to untangling that necklace. You undo a knot only to find another one; each newly found ancestor leads you to another one. Untangling your necklace will have an end but sometimes genealogy research poses questions that further traditional research just can’t answer. That’s where Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak comes to the rescue.

   Perhaps you saw the Oprah show where she took a DNA test to find out her genetic ancestry. Megan’s research made that possible. Have you heard family stories about having a relative that was Native American? Hit a brick wall in your family history research? Maybe DNA testing can help you tear down that wall and determine just what your ancestry is.

   The Marion Public Library is pleased to sponsor nationally known DNA expert Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak for a one day seminar, Using DNA in Genealogy Research, on Saturday, May 30 at the Marion Ivy Tech campus.

   Megan loves solving mysteries and she loves pushing the envelope of conventional genealogy research. A pioneer is combining DNA with genealogy; Megan used it when researching her own roots to a village in Czechoslovakia. As it turned out, both Megan and her husband’s roots go back to the same village but DNA testing proved that they are not cousins. Other mysteries that Megan has worked on include

  • helping Alex Haley’s nephew Chris confirm the oral traditions about their ancestry,
  • providing forensic consulting services to the US Army to locate families of soldiers still unaccounted for from wars beginning with WWI,
  • figuring out who would be king of America if George Washington had been king,
  • helping coroners and medical examiners locate the next of kin for unclaimed persons and many other projects.

   In addition to being chief historian for Ancestry.com, Megan has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show and the PBS series Ancestors. Megan also authored several books including Trace Your Roots with DNA. She has won five writing awards for the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors. Her speaking engagements have taken her to 31 states, Great Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.

   It is a privilege to have a speaker and teacher of Megan’s caliber visiting Marion. The daylong workshop will be on Saturday, May 30 at Ivy Tech, Marion campus. There will be four sessions followed by dinner and an evening session. The fee of $65 includes all the sessions as well as lunch and dinner. Several libraries, genealogy and historical societies will have display tables showcasing their resources for genealogists. For registration information, please see the library website, www.marion.lib.in.us or contact Rhonda Stoffer at 765.668.2900, extension 153.