Forensic Genealogy

by Colleen Fitzpatrick

Revised edition of book originally published in 2005.

From the author's website:

[The] genetic genealogy world has experienced a revolution in the availability and affordability of DNA testing. Both genealogical and DNA databases have grown considerably since 2005, making it easier to discover and connect with long lost
cousins. In this revised edition of Forensic Genealogy, the chapter The DNA Detective has been updated to include much information to reflect these changes.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

220 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2005

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am enjoying this clearly written how-to book on finding clues in old photographs and documents by understanding the history of the times. Written by a scientist, passionate about genealogy, it is filled with tools and tips for investigating and evaluating informational resources concerning our ancestors.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great genealogy book. I was fine until the last chapter. It was very technical stuff about DNA.

[Jyv · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. I was expecting more along the lines of "Genealogy, Essential Research Methods" by Helen Osborn (which I would recommend instead), which gets you thinking about different ways to tackle research. This book was rather odd. The first third was detailed analysis of old photographs, which was good, if rather overwhelming (particularly about calculating the time of day and even the exact date the photo was taken). The second third was about databases but concentrated on rather obscure ones like hospital records and the analysis of less obscure street directories, which I did not find that helpful. The last third was about DNA and most of it was beyond me. The tables, formulas and diagrams were completely meaningless to me. I really didn't learn much from the book apart from having a closer look at photos.

[Karin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was very boring, like reading a phone book. I thought it would be examples of the author's forensic cases but instead it was how to do your familial genealogy, with endless pages of charts of names, places, records of past daily weather, lists of the chemicals used to make photos, blah blah blah. Don't even get me started on the painful DNA part, and I know a thing or two about DNA. So disappointing.

[Pjo57]

If you are into genealogy, this book will give you insights and techniques that I haven't seen anywhere else.

I have used some of the techniques and they have made a big difference in my research.

[Dalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book if you are into tracking down your history. I really enjoyed her examples. The DNA section is a bit dated now given all the progress in the field but the first part of it helps a commoner, like me, understand what’s going on.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was familiar with some of the material in this book from a previous book by this author, The Dead Horse Investigation, but still found it interesting, though the DNA section felt so much like studying calculus or something that I just skimmed through it. Some good ideas for analyzing photos and data of all kinds, and I enjoyed the case histories.

[Ann Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of presenting genealogy as science and as using scientific methods. For this social scientist, the DNA section was difficult to understand but that was the only place where I really got bogged down.

[Cinamon Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! She has a very interesting practice of creating spreadsheets to uncover details/clues. The DNA chapters at the end got very technical and a bit challenging to follow. Well worth the read!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only just begun to read this book. It is not fiction, it is scientific, very well written and I expect to learn a lot. It is terrific! I expect that it will take a long time to read.

[Alyssa Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from reading this!