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Ancestry DNA Matches

Tim

Tim

Megastar and Moderator
Staff member
Inspired by what other members have been saying about how many matches they have, I thought I would share mine and ask what sort of figures you have. This is just a bit of fun and all the info is available from the Ancestry DNA pages.

I have 6 closer than 4th cousin.

I have 169 4th Cousins or closer.

I have 18,651 Distant Matches.

This gives me a total of 18,820 matches.

I have managed to identify 49 of these DNA Matches and add them to my tree.

What sort of success have you been having?
 
Since I have been updating my information:

<4C 3
<=4C 262
Dist 15,535
Total 15,797

Identified with "connected to" symbol (in tree) 34
Identified by "Common Ancestors"*/"Cousin+Removed" group (not yet in tree) 36

* ignoring erroneous "Common Ancestors"
 
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Given that I don't generally do much with my own results, here are those from my three main DNA sets - those of my father, paternal grandmother and mother:
*My father and grandmother have Jewish ancestry and large amounts of emigration to the US, which may account for the larger numbers; my mother's ancestry is all Welsh/English with some later emigration. [For the closer than 4th cousins portion I did remove all members of the immediate family including myself and my siblings, and my father's sister - if you want to include them, then it's +5 for my father and grandmother's results and +3 for my mother's]

Test 1:
My father has 12 closer than 4th cousin (2 listed as "2nd cousin" and 10 as "3rd cousin");
He has 304 4th cousins or closer;
He has 15,075 distant matches,
Giving him a total of 15,397; of which I have identified 57. [specific identification as opposed to general family group]

Test 2:
My paternal grandmother has 21 closer than 4th cousin (3 2nd cousins and 18 3rd);
She has 939 4th cousins or closer;
She has 39,391 distant matches,
Giving her a total of 40,356; of which I have identified 90 (some overlap to be expected with Test 1)

Test 3:
My mother has 12 closer than 4th cousins (4 2nd cousins + 8 3rd cousins);
She has 383 4th cousins or closer;
She has 17,643 distant matches;
Giving her a total of 18,041; of which I have identified 26.
 
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Rather less than above so I will add a little extra information to make up.

<4C = 6
4C = 207
Dist = 13,659
Total = 13,872

Most Recent Common Ancestors for close matches = 26
MRCAs for dist matches = 49
MRCAs false = 4 (tree error by match?)
Unique MRCAs = 24 (range of Ahnentafel Nos = 12/13 to 204/205)

I also try to identify which of my 8 G GPs are descended from the MRCA for each match . . .
1 = 12 cases so far
2 = 9
3 = 5
4 = 22
5 = 12
6 = 2
7 = 15
8 = 7
Total = 84 MRCAs confirmed so far. More than predicted by Ancestry because some matches without trees but known by me.
 
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I manage two tests, mine and my sister's and I have:

12, 857 matches in total
& 368 4th cousins or closer, which include
9 2nd & 3rd cousins (+ my sister)
I have identified 137 of those matches - 94 on my mother's side & 43 on my father's

The figures are similar for my sister, though she has around 1500 more matches in total than me, & about 20 fewer 4th cousins & closer.
 
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Bryman said:
Rather less than above so I will add a little extra information to make up.
Click to expand...

My paternal grandmother's results are an anomaly even within all the sets that I manage! I'm almost scared every time I look at her totals.
 
I manage two tests, mine and my husband's and our numbers are as follows:

Me:
<4C = 3
4C = 269
Distant = 18,339
Total = 18,611
'Common Ancestors' for close matches = 17 (all checked and appear correct)
'Common Ancestors' for distant matches = 48 (35 verified, 8 possible, 5 false)
I have identified 88 of the matches (52 of those with Common Ancestors indicated by Ancestry, plus 31 with no or minimal trees via personal contact/research):
34 on paternal GF's side
6 on paternal GM's side
13 on maternal GF's side
35 on maternal GM's side

My husband:
<4C = 5
4C = 230
Distant = 14,665
Total = 14,900
'Common Ancestors' for close matches = 21 (all checked and appear correct)
'Common Ancestors' for distant matches = 38 (24 verified, 14 possible)
I have identified 59 of the matches (45 of those with Common Ancestors indicated by Ancestry, plus 14 with no or minimal trees via personal contact/research):
12 on paternal GF's side
22 on paternal GM's side
14 on maternal GF's side
11 on maternal GM's side

In addition to those identified, I have been able to place others in general family groups through shared matches but have been unable to identify their exact relationship to me/my husband.
 
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Helen7 said:
'Common Ancestors' for close matches = 17 (all checked and appear correct)
'Common Ancestors' for distant matches = 48 (35 verified, 8 possible, 5 false)
Click to expand...
I don't have as matches in total as you have, Helen, but I have a lot more more Common Ancestor ones - around 45 for close matches and 100 for distant ones.

Of course, a few of them are definitely spurious, and there are others which link to 'Potential Ancestors' in my ThruLines, who I've so far been unable to confirm really are my ancestors.

Although I always check out Common Ancestor matches before treating them as definite, they are a big help. When working through other people's trees, shared matches may give you a clue as to where you might be heading, but with common ancestor hints you know in which line to start looking. Otherwise the possibilities for a connection can be endless!
 
Tim said:
What sort of success have you been having?
Click to expand...

Me:
<4C: 6 (inc siblings)
4C: 233
Distant: 17,072
Comm Anc: 45 (36 verified)
Tot Verified: 84 (inc sibling matches)

Brother:
<4C: 4 (inc siblings)
4C: 320
Distant: 21,102
Comm Anc: 52 (35 verified)
Tot Verified: (see above)

Sister:
<4C: 2 (siblings)
4C: 297
Distant: 22,403
Comm Anc: 43 (33 verified)
Tot Verified: (see above)

Spouse:
<4C: 2
4C: 404
Distant: 17,956
Comm Anc: 115 (64 verified)
Tot Verified: 152
 
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I have a total of 14, 147 matches
4 are closer than 4th cousin
257 are 4th-6th cousin
13, 886 are distant matches

I have 26 matches with common ancestors
1 x 1st cousin
1 x 2nd cousin
11 x 4th-6th cousin
13 x distant matches
2 need checking, 2 are definitely wrong
 
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I have been thinking about the above, and have come up with another, hopefully useful ? game or excercise. See PLUNK
 
So far with my matches I've contacted 5 and only had one reply.
Is there anything I can do?
Thanks in advance.
 
Be patient. Over the years I have discovered that you will find those who ignore you completely, because family history was not why they had their DNA tested, some who become friends for life, because you have a mutual wall you are looking to break down, and some that you contact occasionally when you think you have something extra that they might be interested in.
Were you just contacting them, or did you have information to give them that they had either got wrong in their tree, gave them information on direct ancestors they didn't know, or to ask a question about what they had in their tree? You are far more likely to get a response if you contact them with a helpful reason than just because they are a DNA match. They will have hundreds of close, and thousands of distant cousins that might interest them more than someone who just says "Hello, I think we are related".

But your 'hit' rate will improve.
.
 
Colin said:
So far with my matches I've contacted 5 and only had one reply.
Is there anything I can do?
Click to expand...
Are you following the advice in my Masterclass? If you are then most of the time the answers will be in your cousin's Ancestry tree, so you won't be dependent on them replying.

When I contact a DNA match, usually it's to tell them how we are related, so whilst it's nice to hear back from them, it's not going to hold me up if they don't notice my message.
 
peter said:
Are you following the advice in my Masterclass? If you are then most of the time the answers will be in your cousin's Ancestry tree, so you won't be dependent on them replying.

When I contact a DNA match, usually it's to tell them how we are related, so whilst it's nice to hear back from them, it's not going to hold me up if they don't notice my message.
Click to expand...

Where can we find the Masterclass please? Whilst I have probably read it, it would be helpful to be able to refresh my memory, thanks.
 
CornishLass said:
I don't have that link unfortunately, probably because I'm not a subscriber.
Click to expand...
In any of the Newsletters there's a search bar and type in Masterclass, avoid the Ads and then you will see links to the Masterclasses that have appeared in the Newsletters
upload_2021-4-5_11-17-2.png
These are just the 1st 3 shown
upload_2021-4-5_11-18-39.png
 
Looking at my DNA Match list on Ancestry this morning, I noticed a new 'feature'. On the right hand side of every person listed, it asks 'Do you recognize them?' and if I click 'Yes' I can say if the match is on my mother's or father's side and give the actual relationship to me (if known) e.g. 2nd cousin 1x removed. Then clicking 'Confirm' replaces Ancestry's guess of 3rd-4th cousin (or whatever) with your known relationship and will also say 'Mother's (or Father's) side' beneath the cM numbers.

I think this might prove useful for identified matches, once you are sure how you are related. I know you can put the information in the Notes field (and I'll still use Notes for more detail) but this provides information at-a-glance. For example, I have one relative whom Ancestry estimates as '4th-6th cousin' (60 cM shared DNA) but who is actually a 2nd cousin, which is useful to display - even though the order is still dictated by the cM numbers.

If you find you've entered the wrong relationship for a person, you can edit it later from the details page for that person.

I'd be interested to hear what others think.
 
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