Recently, I diagrammed some clusters created by the Leeds Method and/or an automated method like AutoCluster. Surprisingly, the people in a cluster are not always related to all of the other people in a cluster. And, the people in a cluster are not always descended from a single common ancestor or ancestral couple. Sometimes, the people in a cluster are descended from two generational levels as shown in the diagram below:

What Is a SuperCluster?

A SuperCluster is a group of clusters that are closely related to each other. You can see a SuperCluster by looking for grey squares between clusters. In the AutoCluster below, the brown, pink, and dark grey clusters create a SuperCluster. So, who is in a SuperCluster? How are these people related? (Note: The term Supercluster was coined by the guys behind DNAgedcom and the Collins’ Leeds Method.)

The Brown Cluster

The matches in the Brown Cluster are not all descended from common ancestors. And the matches are not all related to each other. (The 3C with 57 cM is not related to the 3C 1R with 68 cM.) Instead, some of the matches are descended from the test taker’s great grandparents, Carl Peters and Guentherine Werther. But, others are descended from either Carl Peters’s parents or Guentherine Werther’s parents.

This kind of cluster diagram results from what I call a Venn Diagram Effect:

The Pink Cluster

All of the matches in the Pink Cluster are related to each other and all descend from one ancestral couple: Guentherine Werther’s parents, Guenther Werther and Molly Reinhardt.

The Dark Grey Cluster

I was only able to identify one of the DNA matches in the Dark Grey Cluster, but that match is a descendant of Carl Peters’s parents, Jocahim Peters and Henrietta Bingher.

Surprising

To me, the most surprising part of this exercise was the overlap between the Brown and the Pink Clusters. If you look at the 3C 1R (68 cM) match in the Brown Cluster, that match is a descendant along this path:

• • Guenther Werther & Molly Reinhardt
  • Minnie Werther
  • Martha H.
  • Vernon D.
  • D. D.
  • Match (68 cM)

Unfortunately, it is not one I diagrammed, but in the Pink Cluster was a 3C 1R (81 cM match). That match is a descendant along this path:

• • Guenther Werther & Molly Reinhardt
  • Minnie Werther
  • Martha H.
  • Vernon D.
  • N. D.
  • Match (81 cM)

The fact that these two matches – 1st cousins to each other – were separated into two different clusters surprised me. However, these clusters are based on Shared Matches which are based on DNA… not specifically on relationships. In the coming weeks, I plan on diagramming more clusters and superclusters to get a better idea of “Who is in a Supercluster?”

Putting It All Together

As expected, the three clusters in this SuperCluster are closely related to each other. Diagramming your clusters can help you identify how your unknown matches are likely related to you. You can use that information to either build your matches trees looking for a connection, or you can reach out to the match and let them know your hypothesis as to how you believe you’re related.

Have you diagrammed any of your Clusters or SuperClusters? I’d love to see your results!