Many of us have speculated that autosomal DNA would someday become a basic part of genealogical research. I was, therefore, excited to read an editorial in the most recent issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (Vol 102, N. 3, September 2014) that traced the evolution of dna testing as a tool in genealogical research, noting that some earlier articles had relied on Y-chromosome tests, but that two 2014 articles were using autosomal dna test results as part of their "proof". It also noted that in 2014 the Quarterly for the first time deferred accepting a paper because the “author’s conclusion seemed to need DNA-test support” and that as genealogists increasingly combine genetic studies with historical records to establish relationships, omission of DNA data may become problematic, although not every case requires genetic results, but in some cases its absence may flag incomplete research.

I was also fascinated to see how these published articles cited the results of autosomal dna tests. One article noted that two descendants of the lines being examined tested and the results showed nine segments totalling 160.8 centimorgans in common, typical of second or third cousins (this was the hoped for result and is obviously higher than a lot of our test results with more distant relatives.) Here is the way the citation was written: “Family Finder Matches,” dynamic database of matches, FamilyTreeDNA (https://my.familytreedna.com/family-finder/matches.aspx?), for kits 283838 and 338069 (password protected). I was curious how this kind of citation to a database would be written and this makes sense. The article did also have Y-chrome results and supporting paper trails, so the autosomal dna wasn't carrying the entire burden of proof, but it was clearly an important additional piece of evidence.

Note that the citation had to be to a database like FTDNA that shows the actual matching areas of a chromosome. Citing to ancestry.com would be unlikely to pass a genealogical proof standard. All the more reason for ancestry.com autosomal dna testors to take advantage of the opportunity to transfer results to FTDNA