Confirming your genealogy is easier done in closer generations than more distant ones and the more cousins from various lines that have tested, the better. Well, you’re in luck, especially if some of your cousins, known or otherwise, have tested. I want to confirm my genealogy is correct – meaning that my great-grandfather really is my great-grandfather and so forth on up the line.
Let’s look at another reason for testing.Ģ. Sound cumbersome? It is and the response rate is low. (Do not send more than 30 in one day or Ancestry will blacklist your messages and block your communications, thinking you are a spammer.)Ģ3andMe is the most difficult as you have to request permission to communicate with each match and also to share DNA and if your match authorizes communication, then you can communicate through 23andMe’s message system. If your goal is to contact your matches, then Family Tree DNA is the easiest, as they provide you with the e-mail addresses of your matches by clicking on the little envelope for each match on your match page, shown above.Īncestry is second easiest, but forces you to use their internal message system which often doesn’t deliver the messages. This is the genealogy jigsaw puzzle of you!Īll three of the major vendors, Family Tree DNA, Ancestry and 23andMe show you your closest matches first on your match list.ĭo you want to meet your DNA cousins only if you can identify a common ancestor? Do you want to work with them on genealogy? The answers to these questions will help sort through the rest of what to do and how. The challenge, of course, is to figure out how – meaning through which ancestor. For the most part, and especially for those people who are your closest matches, you’re related somehow. I said likely, because there may be some people there whose DNA simply matches yours by chance. Ok, but the first thing here you’re going to have to define is the word “related.” You are likely related to everyone on your match list. I want to meet other people I’m related to. The first question to ask yourself is why did you test in the first place? If your answer is “because Ancestry had a sale,” that’s fine, but then you’ll need to read all four options to know what you can do with autosomal DNA.ġ. But now, let’s pretend it’s day 1 and you just got your autosomal test results back.
#HOW CAN I SORT MY DNA MATCHES HOW TO#
The second part will focus on how to make contact with your matches successfully. If nothing else, this gives you a tool to send to those overly excited newbies who are starry eyed but have no clue how to proceed. However, there is lots “how to” information in this article for everyone if you click on the links. The person who just got their results back and are saying to themselves, “OK, now what can I do with this?” Rather than approach this topic from a technical perspective of how to work with autosomal DNA, I’d like to talk about what can be done with autosomal DNA testing from a newbie perspective. It’s frustrating to parties on both sides of the fence, but I’m glad people are asking because it means they are interested and willing to learn. So, in the big picture, the questions and inquiries that experienced people are currently receiving are becoming less specific and more general and often exhibit a lack of understanding of what DNA testing can do. That’s because that’s what Ancestry tells them in their advertising. Compounding that situation, the consumers who purchase these tests today, especially on impulse, and mostly I’m referring to here, often have absolutely no idea what to expect or even what they want except that Ancestry will find their ancestors for them.
That sounded like a great idea, but the reality of the situation is that the consumer market for autosomal DNA testing has exploded – meaning more and more consumers with more and more questions. When I first started this blog, my goal was to provide explanations and examples of genetic genealogy topics so that there would be fewer questions and easier answers.
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