Sadly, Ancestry.com has announced they will soon be removing all our DNA matches who share less than 8 cM of DNA with us. We are told that about half of our 7 cM matches are false. But, that also means that about half of them are true! And, though some of these matches will be distant relatives, others are closer and easier to work with. Sometimes, these very small matches provide valuable clues that lead to wonderful discoveries. They can even help us break through our brick walls. My friend, John, was working with his paternal matches last weekend and...

In response to Ancestry’s announcement of DNA changes – including the removal of our matches who share less than 8 cM – Roberta Estes wrote a post titled “Plea to Ancestry – Rethink Match Purge Due to Deleterious Effect on African American Genealogists.” Elizabeth Shown Mills shared this post on Facebook stating that “Culling Ancestry’s gargantuan DNA database certainly will increase its efficiency—but the cost is one our field cannot afford.” She went on to say, “The stance that ‘small’ segments are too ancient and too problematic is a short-sighted stance in a field that is rapidly developing new methodology, new strategies,...

A common lament is the lack of DNA matches from the “old country”: If only more people tested in the country of my ancestors, I could break down the brick walls for those ancestors.  Indeed, I have several matches whose trees point to relationships back in the old country, likely just one generation prior to my immigrant ancestors.  If more people in that country, that region, that town did DNA testing, wouldn’t that tell all?  It sounds like a plausible concept, but the reality is – it depends. Giuseppe’s son, Giovanni, with his wife, Madalana Belcastro and their son, Giuseppe....