"Genealogists like CeCe Moore are using genetics to solve mysteries.
How much do we really want to know?"
CeCe Moore and the field of genetic genealogy are the focuses of a ten-thousand-word article in the current (November 22nd) issue of The New Yorker magazine by Raffi Khatchadourian which is entitled "Family Secrets". Those of you who are interested in recent developments in solving cold case or unknown parentage searches will find the background provided in this article to be fascinating. Ethical dilemmas raised by this cutting edge and rapid developing technology are discussed.
Photo by Peter Yang for The New Yorker.
Along the way you will get a clue as to why Ancestry.com destroyed access to the hundred thousand DNA profiles that genealogists had contributed to the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation—an act that Moore likened to “burning libraries.” However, the focus of the article is on Moore and the exploding number of cold cases that have been cleared by genetic genealogists working with law enforcement.
Also covered is Barbara Rae-Venter's work on the Golden State Killer case and her pioneering work on unknown parentage investigations.
Curtis Rogers is another example of a successful pioneer who took a few arrows in his back as he struggled to find the proper balance between access and privacy with his phenomenally useful GEDmatch site.
If you are interested in genetic genealogy, you will find something you didn't know in this substantial article.
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