Curtis C. Rogers Jr. is an American genetic genealogist, digital forensics specialist, and executive known for establishing

GEDmatch GEDmatch is a public website and online service with DNA and genealogy tools for comparing autosomal DNA in personal family research and for law enforcement in forensic investigative research. Users upload their DNA data files from various gen ...

, a genetic genealogy website.

Early life and education

Curtis C. Rogers Jr. was born in

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamesto ...

, and was raised in

Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk ...

. He developed an interest in genealogy during his early teenage years. Rogers obtained graduate degrees in business (MBA) from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and psychology (MS in Counseling Psychology) from

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is located within the Archdiocese of Miami. Th ...

Career

After his university studies, Rogers initially worked at Corn Products, known for Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Skippy Peanut Butter. During this period, he lived in Hong Kong and the Philippines. He later became the Director of the Far East for

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...

, living in Singapore, and subsequently served as the Far East and Canadian Manager for The Mennen Company.

GEDmatch and genetic genealogy

In 2010, Curtis Rogers and John Olsen established

as a hobbyist project. Rogers served as the CEO, while Olson served as the technical manager. Currently, it is a website that specializes in the development and application of genetic genealogy for law enforcement. GEDmatch was the first platform to enable the use of genetic genealogy to solve violent crime cases and identify unidentified human remains. Currently, GEDmatch is a website that has two databases. The primary database has the information of all the members who have submitted their information to GEDmatch and is used strictly for genealogical purposes. The second database contains the information of those who have given their permission for their information to be available to law enforcement if their genetic information matches information gathered at the scene of a violent crime. It is also used to identify unidentified human remains. The first publicized use of GEDmatch for law enforcement was in the arrest of the

Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer known as the Golden State Killer, the Original Night Stalker, and the East Area Rapist, who committed at least 13 murders and numerous rapes and burglaries ...

on April 25, 2018. It was later announced that the site was previously involved in the capture of the Chameleon Killer. Initially, GEDmatch had the only database available for law enforcement use, and Rogers was responsible for developing guidelines for the complicated ethical and operational issues. Today, GEDmatch is also widely used by family genealogists.

Publications

Rogers authored the book
The Forensic Revolution: IGG Investigative Genetic Genealogy
', which documents the introduction of genetic genealogy in law enforcement. His work compares the use of genetic genealogy to the introduction of fingerprinting over a century ago.

Personal life

He is married to Janet Siegel Rogers, an artist known for her color interaction paintings. Together, they have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Curtis 1938 births Living people Businesspeople from New York (state) Michigan State University alumni American genealogists