Who is in a cluster? And how are they related to you? I recently wrote about “Who Is in a Cluster?” and introduced the concept of Mountains and Valleys. I think a better term is the Venn Diagram Effect. This post continues to explain and illustrate that concept. As I mentioned in my last post, when we cluster our DNA matches using either the Leeds Method or an automated adaptation, we usually expect all of the matches in a cluster to be descended from one couple or individual and we expect all of the matches to be related to each other....
We often think that everyone in a cluster is related to each through a common ancestor. Our expectation is something like this: And, we do often see results like this. In this case, the three matches are 2nd cousins (and a 2nd cousin once removed) of the test taker. Mountains and Valleys But, what if your cluster includes both 2nd and 3rd cousins? And, what if there were 3rd cousins from your great grandparents’ paternal and maternal sides? You would have a situation similar to this: In this case, your 2nd cousin would be the “key person” who started the cluster...
The Collins Leeds Method is a commonly used tool for clustering your DNA matches based on the Leeds Method. To get started, you need to do the following: install the DNAGedcom Client gather your data use the Collins Leeds Method (CLM) tool Below are detailed steps for each part of this process. The result is a CLM chart. Installing the DNAGedcom Client Go to https://www.dnagedcom.com Create an account & log in. Click on the “?” in the upper right corner. Go to “Getting Started” under “DNAGedcom Client” and choose the installer for Windows or Mac. Click on the “Installer” for...
AutoCluster is a commonly used tool for clustering your DNA matches based on the Leeds Method. To get started, follow these steps: Creating an Account and Adding a Website Go to www.geneticaffairs.com, create an account, and log in to your account Under the “Websites & Profile” tab, click on “Add Website” Choose your testing company – for example, Ancestry – and click on “Add AncestryDNA Account” Use your login and password information for THAT company and then click “add new website” and confirm with “Yes, add website” (Note: If the website repeatedly fails to accept a password, try using another...
Last month after GRIP, I spent time with some of my Pennsylvania cousins. On Saturday, we drove to Lock Haven and visited the genealogy room of the Ross Library. As I looked at newspaper articles on microfilm, my dad’s first cousin, Tom, worked with maps. Marriage Records After finishing with the maps, he asked if there was anything else he could do. I had noticed a sign hanging on the end of a bookshelf that said: “Marriage Records.” There was also a list of letters and years and a note saying to ask the librarian for further help. I told...
ThruLines can provide valuable hints, but these “hints” must be proven! This morning, I was working on one of my more unusual surnames: Coppenbarger. My 3x great grandfather, Peter Coppenbarger (1817-1847), had a brother, George Coppenbarger (1804-1853). I only had 2 children listed for George: Elizabeth (b 1830) and Hugh (b 1834). But this ThruLine match was a descendant of a David Coppenbarger (b 1843). The match did not show David’s father as George, but ThruLines was suggesting this based on both FindaGrave and 61 member trees which listed David as a son of George. To try to verify this...
We own some thoroughbred racing horses and naming these horses has been a lot of fun. We have chosen to honor family members with several of them. One of our newest is Fighting Seabee in honor of our grandfather, Fred C. Hunter (who is biologically my husband’s grandfather, but I definitely claim him!). Fred Hunter, Navy photo Fred, who was born in 1920, proudly served in the 42nd Naval Construction Battalion in the Aleutians and Philippines during WWII. The sailors who serve in naval construction building necessary runways, roads, and bridges, are called Seabees. (By the way, I only recently...
An announcement today explains that Ancestry DNA has added UK county-level ethnicity results to their DNA story. If you’ve tested at Ancestry DNA, just go to your “DNA Story” and you might see some of these new communities! New Communities on My Mom’s Side On my mom’s side, my uncle has a new region called “Scottish Lowlands, Northern England & Northern Ireland.” I have yet to trace any of my mom’s ancestors to England or Ireland, but from other members of this community, it looks like it’s on my mom’s mom’s side. New Communities on My Dad’s Side My dad’s...
If you have a tree on MyHeritage, you probably get periodic emails saying they have found new Record Matches. This week, I was thrilled to get a new record: a newspaper clipping from 1920. The record is an obituary of my great, great grandfather, Augustus L. Merrill. It is only the second photo I’ve seen of him, and it is a lot better quality than the other one which I wrote about here. Obituary Transcription DEATH RECORD Merrill – After being ill about seven weeks with a complication of ailments Augustus L. Merrill, one of the best known and most...
Yesterday I watched a YouTube video by Larry Jones of DNA Family Trees called “How to Cluster Your DNA Matches With Ancestry’s New DNA Matches Beta.” It reminded me of my failed attempt to do the Leeds Method on Ancestry.com using Blaine Bettinger’s Chrome extension. The main issue, though, was that we could only use one colored dot per person. Ancestry has recently solved that issue by offering us the capability of adding up to 24 colored dots per person! So, I’ve been working with Ancestry.com’s “colored dots” today using basically the same steps as the Leeds Method. If you...
