Historical Society plans DNA info event

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Interested in learning about one’s personal DNA? The Van Wert County Historical Society is hosting “Your DNA: 101” on Saturday, August 12, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Phyllis Codling McLaughlin (Crestview Class of 1980) will be giving an overview of how DNA is inherited and the basics of how it is measured and what that information means for family relationships.

McLaughlin will be discussing Autosomal DNA, the only type that is tested by Ancestry, Family Tree DNA, and 23 and Me. Her focus will be on Ancestry because it is the largest database: more than 2 million people tested.  This is testing where people get their ethnicity results and how they can determine relationships with their matches. McLaughlin will also explore Y-DNA (passes from father to son) and Mitochondrial DNA (passed from mother to children but not passed down by males).

McLaughlin lives in Milton, Kentucky, but was raised in Convoy. She has been researching her own family for 26 years and has attended the Genealogical Institutes in Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh with genetic genealogy trailblazers CeCe Moore, who works with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. on “Finding Your Roots” on PBS, and Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne, who co-authored, Genetic Genealogy in Practice, published last year for the National Genealogical Society.

She is also the author of two books: Images of America: Carroll County and Images of America Trimble County. McLaughlin is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, she has worked as a newspaper journalist for more than 30 years.

Registration forms can be picked up at the museum, Brumback Library, Main Street Van Wert, downloaded from the Historical Society’s Facebook page, or obtained from any trustee. Cost of the workshop is $20, which includes lunch.

This is a pre-registered event. Registrations are due August 5. Forms and money can be sent to Larry Webb, 6831 John Brown Road, Van Wert, OH 45891. For further information, call Webb at 419.203.5779.