I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Louise Coakley – One of the speakers from the upcoming DNA Down Under Tour. 

Louise is a great teacher and spends hours of her time in helping others with their DNA Research or challenges.

She is an Administrator for many DNA related facebook groups and her website www.genie1.com.au is an awesome Australian based DNA Genetic Genealogical website. 

I hope that you enjoy getting to know Louise and she inspires you to come along to the DNA Down Under Tour. 

When did you become interested in Family History?

I started researching family history more than 20 years ago when my young daughters came home from primary school with homework to draw a small family tree back to their grandparents. That exercise raised a few interesting questions, so I continued exploring and learning and have never stopped!  I started DNA testing in 2011 after responding to an offer of a free Y-DNA test for my husband’s surname project on surname mailing list.  My husband was happy to oblige, so I dived into learning everything I could about genetic genealogy, tested myself at all the main companies, and tested many relatives who were interested… and as you know it is addictive, so I am still going, and still learning.  It is such a fast-changing and fast-growing field, that every day I wake up and wonder what will be new today!

What do you like most about genetic genealogy?

I love the investigative nature of genetic genealogy – exploring the DNA results, researching genealogical records, building speculative trees, finding clues and fitting the puzzle pieces together to help solve a research goal. It is amazing that a few mls of our saliva can help us reach back 200 years and connect with other descendants of our ancestors, and identify the unknown origins of our early settlers or convict ancestors, and give identity and provide comfort to people who’ve always wondered who they are and where they came from.  Being able to infer relationships between people and families by combining DNA with genealogical research is such a powerful tool.  

Can you provide one example of how DNA testing has expanded your family tree?

Yes, a simple example from my own family, but also a very common situation for Australians of Irish or British descent, is where you have an immigrant ancestor with a very common name, and you know little about their family that remained in the home country. One of my great great grandmothers was Elizabeth Kelly, born 1838 in Moynalvey, Meath, Ireland, to parents James Kelly & Margaret Martin.  Elizabeth Kelly married in 1859 in Meath, and immigrated with her husband and small children to Victoria in 1863.  They had many more children in Victoria over the next 20 years.  One of my relatives travelled to Ireland and researched the records, and could only find the names of three of Elizabeth’s siblings, but nothing more about them.  Then last year my father got a good DNA match (121cM) to a previously unknown 2^ndcousin once removed who lives in Ireland.  He had a small tree, which I researched back one more generation and confirmed his ancestor John Kelly as a brother to my Elizabeth Kelly (same parents, same parish).  The Shared Matches revealed some more Kelly descendant matches on the same line, and some further ones to explore!

What satisfactions are there to be had with genetic genealogy?

As well as adding many new branches to my own family tree and enjoying connecting and collaborating with new-found cousins, I also get a lot of satisfaction from educating and helping others.  I’ve assisted many people find previously unknown biological families and have successful connections.  It is even better when you discover that the biological family knew about them and had been searching for that person for a very long time without success.  And it is always a relief in cases where the individuals had no idea each other existed, but do find confirming evidence afterwards – such as a family letter, a named photograph or other non-DNA evidence confirming the DNA result.  I enjoy guiding and mentoring people with their own searches, to let them get the satisfaction and learn along the way.  Many people learn and solve their own mysteries under guidance, and often go on to help others do the same afterwards.

What should beginners know about genetic genealogy before they test? 

Mostly that they might become addicted to genetic genealogy and find that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything they want to, and that they might regularly get absorbed in it all and stay up far too late at night!  If DNA testers have never learned to research their family history before, that is something that they will need to do, as genealogical research is necessary to make sense of your DNA results and build your family tree. One other warning is that no-one knows before testing what their DNA will reveal.  Most testers find their DNA match results support their previous genealogical research, but others may be surprised or shocked to find their matches don’t reflect their known family, or that they have additional family members they weren’t expecting.  It is always a relief when opening results for the first time and immediately seeing that they fit the tester’s known family.  Also be aware that some cases have very few or very distant matches and can linger for several years without much progress in the way of useable matches, and yet other cases can be solved within a couple of hours of the results being made available.

The DNA Dowunder roadshow is coming to Australia in August.  What are you most looking forward to about the tour?

I am looking forward to meeting everyone: I will get to meet Blaine Bettinger for the first time, and also catch up with other Australian and New Zealand speakers. Some attendees may have met me already in person, many may know me from my online presence, or know my website or be members of my Facebook group Using DNA for Genealogy – Australia & NZ. I may be lucky enough to meet some cousins too – so if you are related to me or if you see my name or any of my DNA kits in your results, please introduce yourself!  And of course I look forward to presenting and sharing my knowledge with attendees.  I will be in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and the 3-day mega event in Sydney, so if you will be there, please come and say hello!