Match potential?

[Doreen]

Okay, I've been reading everyone's encouraging words to get more members to make more entries on the LC site. I'm at 392 entries and for the first time I noticed this little phrase on the page: Your match potential is: 1.6404 Does that mean I have a 1.64 percent chance of a match?

 

[peter]

Okay, I've been reading everyone's encouraging words to get more members to make more entries on the LC site. I'm at 392 entries and for the first time I noticed this little phrase on the page: Your match potential is: 1.6404 Does that mean I have a 1.64 percent chance of a match?

This is a new feature that I'm still working on. What it means is that - as things stand - you should have found 1.64 new cousins by now.

If you've found fewer cousins then you've been unlucky - if you've found more you've been lucky. Over time luck should even out; and over time your 'match potential' will increase as other members - some of whom are members of this forum - enter more of their own relatives.

 

[AndyMick]

Pretty good estimate, Peter. You show 4.86. I have 6 matches on my One Name Study, but one is my personal tree!

 

[Carla]

Right I looked at my account and I am failing on all sides...........am off to add more relatives. So much to do and so little time but saying that I have a few days off work with a knee problem so there is no excuse. (could be off with repetitive strain in my wrist at this rate!!)

 

[Wendy Jean]

Well I seem to be doing really well 'cos my match potential is 2.9 and I've already had 6 contacts plus 2 no replies - not bad eh !

 

[Carla]

I am doing okay with my research, and am working hard to add my ancestors to the Lost Cousins site.......but I wont have as many 'cousins' as some members because my mother is German and so none of her family appear in any of our censuses or records My match potential is low at the moment and I am not sure if it will rise. Feeling a little knackered and despondent right now..............but don't worry I wont give up

 

[Tim]

Hi Carla,

I can appreciate your feelings. Please don't be despondent. Your Match Potential will be lower than someone where their families are both able to be recorded. But it's quality that counts, and each one of your entries has the same chance of matching as everyone else

Maybe you could suggest to Peter that adding some European censuses could be a good way to move forward?

 

[AndyMick]

Feeling a little knackered and despondent right now..............but don't worry I wont give up

Sorry to hear that Carla. Hopefully you'll pick up when the sun comes out again. Just go easy on the wine

 

[peter]

Maybe you could suggest to Peter that adding some European censuses could be a good way to move forward?

Unfortunately there aren't many censuses available online for continental European countries, and the ones I've looked at are Scandinavian with all sorts of characters that would be hard to type on an 'English' keyboard. I also have German ancestors, although mine go back 5 generations.

 

[peter]

I am doing okay with my research, and am working hard to add my ancestors to the Lost Cousins site.......but I wont have as many 'cousins' as some members because my mother is German and so none of her family appear in any of our censuses or records My match potential is low at the moment and I am not sure if it will rise.

Carla, I've looked at y0ur entries and, believe me, you seem to have enormous untapped potential. Start by filling out the Ancestor Chart as described on the forum and in my latest newsletter - I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results!

 

[Carla]

Carla, I've looked at y0ur entries and, believe me, you seem to have enormous untapped potential

Hi everyone...thanks for the support. Every time I log on I seem to find more relatives to add and now I know what Peter means (hysterical laughter!!). I have already filled out the chart you suggested, Peter, and that's what is helping to realise how little I have actually entered . Don't worry I am ploughing on, but after this week I will have to do the 'little and often' bit.

On a good note the 'cousin' I found a few days ago after entering one particular entry on Lost Cousins shares ggg grandparents with me. We had brief contact a few years ago but neither of us had done a lot of research about that particular ancestral line so we didn't have much to share. As can happen in that situation we didn't stay in contact, so both of us are really excited to be back in touch, particularly as we have both done more research since . If it hadn't been for the encouragement from Peter, and all of you on here, I would not have restarted adding ancestors and found the connection, so thank you very much. The 'cousin' and I are determined to stay in good contact and will be exchanging information about the family shortly.

Just one question.....I am just about to add information about an ancestor who was in the Workhouse in 1881. I know that the Q&A states

However, if you are entering somebody who was in an institution, such as a workhouse, hospital, or barracks, enter the references that apply to the individual.

but should i also add everyone else who was in that institute or just my ancestor? (No one else in that Workhouse is connected to my ancestor). It would mean adding an awful lot of unconnected people if I did so! Sorry am a bit confused who to add

 

[peter]

but should i also add everyone else who was in that institute or just my ancestor? (No one else in that Workhouse is connected to my ancestor). It would mean adding an awful lot of unconnected people if I did so!

The general rule (only a suggestion, really) is enter all the blood relatives you can find, but only enter people who are related by marriage if they're in the same household. When it comes to people who aren't family at all, it's a question of whether linking up with someone descended from that person is going to be mutually beneficial.

I probably wouldn't enter other people in a workhouse or similar institution, since the chance of it helping is very slim (because those workhouse records that have survived are in the public domain) but if one of my ancestors was an apprentice I might enter his master and other apprentices in the same household, in the hope that I'd be able to get a better picture of my ancestor's life.

Similarly, if one of my ancestors was working in a private household I might enter the head of household, in the hope that some of the household papers have survived, either within the family, or in an archive.

The question to ask yourself is: "If I were to be connected with a descendant of this person, how might we able to help each other?".

 

[Britjan]

I am only at about 1.8 cousins but have been fortunate enough to do better than that in making matches on the LC site and others. However it is frustrating that all my "cousins" are connected through very few relatives ( all women) . My father's paternal family is my chief brick wall , ( his mother is my real gold mine strangely enough) he was an only child and it appears that his father, Arthur was the only one of four boys to survive. One of his brothers died accidentally as a young adult and I can't find anything definite on the other two past about 1901. In addition as Peter helped me work out early on in my quest it appears that Arthur's father started life as "Welford" and died as Wilford the name I consider my own. I have been so enriched by what I've found on the parts of my tree that are well developed that I continue to hope to learn more about the barer branches.