I’m making progress but can you help me with my DNA queries?
Until signing up for the DNA Bootcamp (February-march 2021), I didn’t realise how little I knew about Ancestry – very alarming as I’ve been using it for nearly 20 years! I have made good progress, however, and I have a number of questions that I would be grateful if you could help me with so that I can continue apace.
Andy M.
How do I find orphan branches on my master tree?
QWhen I go to my master tree, I can only find the original master tree not the orphan trees. Where are they stored? How do I find the list? [Editor’s note: A master tree, in the context of Michelle Leonard’s advice about working with DNA matches, is: an online, private, unsearchable tree which can be used as a place in which to piece together your DNA findings and work through your DNA theories. It is not for public comsumption, because it is where you explore ideas as you research – i.e. the information is as yet unproven. When you add a DNA match to your master tree, but you do not know how you and the match are related, then you will need to create them as an orphan branch. It is this circumstance that A’s question relates to.]
ATry a Tree Search: the simplest way to find any entry on an Ancestry tree is to search for that person by name using the ‘Tree Search’ function which is located directly next to the tree name on the left-hand side on any individual tree entry or on the far right-hand side of the top bar when looking at the tree in pedigree or family view modes.
Use ‘Mytreetags’: You might, however, build a large number of trees on a master research tree over time and you won’t be able to remember them all so I always advocate using the ‘Mytreetags’ tool to keep track of them. Simply make sure you add a tag, such as ‘DNA Match’, to each and every new ‘DNA Match’ orphan branch tree you create on an Ancestry master research tree. You can then easily filter via ‘DNA Match’ tag and you will be provided with a full list of all the DNA Match trees you have built and can navigate to any of them from that list.
Why does my match have additional people on their match list that I don’t have?
QWhy do some people appear on a shared match list, but when I click on a person on that list and it brings up their shared match list are there a few more that were not on the first list?
AShared matches are matches who share some DNA with both the tester and the comparison match.
Let’s say you and your 3rd cousins ‘Bob’ and ‘Ann’ have all tested and you are looking at your shared match list with Bob. You are the tester, ‘Bob’ is the comparison match and ‘Ann’ is listed on the shared match list because she shares DNA with both you and Bob.
Let’s say in this instance that the shared DNA has been inherited from your shared 2nd great grandfather John from whom all three of you potentially inherited approximately 6% of your autosomal DNA. 3rd cousins, however, only share on average just under 1% of their DNA with each other and the key point to remember is that you didn’t all inherit the same 6% from John; there’s a whole other 94% of his DNA from which the segments Bob and Ann inherited could have originated.
This means that you will share some segments of DNA with Bob that you also share with Ann but equally you will share some segments with Bob that you don’t share with Ann and some segments with Ann that you don’t share with Bob, while Bob and Ann will share some segments with each other that they don’t share with you. These are all segments of your 2nd great-grandfather John’s DNA but you just all got different pieces as well as some of the same ones.
When you look at the shared matches between you and Bob, you are only seeing the matches that share DNA with both you and Bob but if you click on Ann and look at your shared match list with her you will generally see a few different or extra matches that match via the DNA you share with Ann that you don’t share with Bob.
Additionally, always remember that it’s possible that matches on a shared match list match the tester in one way and the comparison match in a completely different way (e.g. shared match ‘James’ matches you on your maternal side and Bob on his maternal side but you and Bob are cousins on your paternal sides).
How come I have no matches in common with ‘name’ yet?
Q
When I click on a DNA match, then choose shared matches, on some I get the message, [My name] does not yet have any matches in common with ‘Name’. Is there any significance, would you treat this as important? A
This simply means that there are no shared matches in the Ancestry database that meet the threshold of sharing 20cm (centimorgans) or more with both the tester (you in this case) and the comparison match. It may well be the case that there are some shared matches below that 20cm threshold but those would not appear on the shared match list.
I would not treat this as especially significant particularly if the match is a small one (20-40cm) but if this was a shared match list with a close relative, it would be a strong indication that not many people descended from that portion of your ancestry have tested at the site. This is also more common on lines with recent ancestry from areas in which testing is less prevalent.
I need help finding a link with those on my match list
QI have about 566 4th-6th cousin or closer matches. My highest is 178cm with an unlinked tree of 168 people then it drops rapidly to 30cm, about 75 matches at that level. The rest are below 30cm and I am really struggling to find a link. A quick runthrough on any tips would be helpful.
AHow many good matches each person receives is luck of the draw! The 178cm match is certainly an excellent one but it’s a shame you’re not seeing anything in between that and the 30cm matches. My mantra is always to work on your highest matches possible and for some people these will, unfortunately, still be low matches. If that’s the best you’ve got then definitely work with them but always make sure you are doing the following:
1. Fish in all the autosomal DNA ponds – you may find better matches in other databases!
2. Test the most useful relatives you can to gain more matches (e.g. older generations or peer generation relatives to gain more matches as remember that you only have a portion of your ancestors’ DNA and your relatives all have additional pieces that could yield additional helpful matches).
3. Work on the best matches you have but if they are in that 20-30cm zone stay aware that you won’t be able to find links with the majority in that range because matches sharing that amount could be anything from 3rd out to beyond 15th cousins and every level of half or removed in-between. The common ancestors in many cases will simply be much further back than you can take both trees and the best you can do in those situations is narrow down on which line the connection lies.
Sometimes the only shared match I have is with my sister
QWhen I go to an ancestor match then shared matches, sometimes the only person sharing the match is my sister and sometimes she is not there at all. Is this telling me anything?
AIf your sister is a full sibling then, no, this does not tell you anything other than you and your sister both share DNA with many of the same matches. This is to be expected given you and your sister share around 50% of your DNA with each other across both your maternal and paternal chromosomes. Equally, you will have plenty of smaller matches where she won’t show up as a shared match and she will have the same – these stem from the 50% of DNA you each inherited from your parents that you don’t share with each other.
Why am I getting no matches to some of my lines?
QAll the ancestors I am finding through DNA are on my mother’s side or paternal grandmother’s and occasionally 2nd great-grandmother’s. They were all born and lived in England. I am picking up nothing from my Irish great-grandparents and my Scottish 2nd great-grandparents. Would taking another DNA test with a different company give me a different result? I have uploaded to three companies but they are not as easy to follow as Ancestry, especially if you don’t pay a subscription.
AIf you are unable to find matches to particular lines on your tree, then the ancestors on those lines remain unconfirmed genetically until you can identify concrete connections to them. In instances such as this, I would recommend being proactive and trying to get cousins on the missing lines to test as it may simply be that the right people have yet to test.
Bear in mind that when you can’t find matches to a particular line, however, it may be due to an error in your paper trail or you could discover that a paper trail ancestor was not your genetic ancestor after all.
Look out for clusters of matches that share sets of common ancestors that don’t belong on your tree; if you find any of these as well as a lack of matching to certain lines in the same location that may be a red flag that you have a misattributed parentage event (MPE) to investigate.
Also fish in as many databases as you can as the matches you are looking for may be elsewhere and you won’t miss them if you’re in every database.
Thrulines is showing ‘ancestors’ that I cannot find any documentation to back up. Why is this?
QSeveral trees have the same ancestor in them whom they say is my 3x great-grandfather. These are not genuine trees – most are copies of mine but with added ancestors. To the best of my knowledge, there is no documentation available to verify the accuracy of the source therefore I do not have them in my tree, but now the same ancestor is in my Thrulines as a potential ancestor. Is this because of my DNA or because the name appears in other trees?
AThe fact you are seeing this is likely to be tree-based but whether it is useful or not depends on the identities, pathways and cm sizes of the DNA matches involved.
For instance if 3rd cousin or closer relatives have placed this potential 3rd great grandfather in their tree and it is those matches that Thrulines highlights when you click on the ‘Potential Ancestor’ hint then this does not provide any proof of ancestors at that higher level. It simply shows you that you share DNA with your 3rd cousin with whom you share the same 2nd great-grandparents.
If the matches are instead posited 4th cousin matches descended from additional children of the potential 3rd great-grandfather then it may be worth spending more time evaluating this possibility but it’s equally possible the Thrulines hint has been generated by a tree error or matching on a line further back than your paper trail can be taken.