Genetic genealogist Diahan Southard recently asked a number of people involved in this field over the last 25 years to write about their recollections and thoughts for a book she was compiling, So Far: Genetic Genealogy, The first 25 years, 1999–2024. As an early adopter, I was surprised how many memories came flooding back, and struggled to get down to the requested word count, so I’m sharing a less-streamlined version here (with Diahan’s blessing).

Source: Genetic Genealogy’s First Decade: The Pioneering Days of 1999–2009 – Megan Smolenyak