What to do with Your Ancestry DNA Matches

What do you do with your DNA matches. Learn how to sort your DNA matches to identify relationships. Use Ancestry's colored dots to separate your four family lines.
Thank you Patricia Frye for sharing your DNA results!
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[@BlueBird-vi8vo]

Thank you, thank you!! I've watched many videos on color-coding and this is one of the best explained that I've watched.

[@AncestryAimee]

Wow, thank you! So glad it helped you.

[@TommyAlanRaines]

I am one of those people who have cousins marrying and more. My grandmother Raines's mother had an identical twin sister, the twin marred my grandmother Ranies's father's brother- yeah. So the kids were double first cousins, and genetically they would show up as half siblings. Also, my grandmother Raines had cousins from that group and another brother of her father's that married, her husband/my grandfather Raines's siblings. Thus making me related to people from 2 and 3 directions.

[@AncestryAimee]

Oh wow! You are one of THOSE cases! That makes everything so confusing when examine DNA. Thanks for sharing your example.

[@nailahdawkins]

I love how you can compare trees and cross-reference and to a certain point meet (either to them 'living' or find out what ancestor (usually a grandparent) you have in common. If your cousins match has enough to work with to get you to where you know how you are connected it's great! A few cousins had trees of 30+ people, I share which grandparent we share (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and since the tree I made it 2,200+ people I can see where it meets!

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s awesome!

[@alvree01]

I had no information on my maternal grandfather’s family. Yet I had tons of cousin matches I had determined was on that side, but I didn’t know any of them. It was frustrating seeing so many cousin matches that I didn’t know. I reach out to a few to no avail. But low and behold about 5 years later I contacted a newly found cousin match. Long story short they had information on my maternal grandfather’s siblings and parents, confirmed by census records. The brick wall fell. Also confirmed by several of the cousin matches who were descendants of his siblings that was on their family trees.

[@AncestryAimee]

Love it!

[@jericherry3374]

DNA matches helped me break through a brick wall.

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah! Thanks for sharing that.

[@patranye]

Awesome explanation Aimee! I'm glad that I had just enough matches to be able to effectively showcase the process. I'm anxious to finish up working on what you started with the rest of my cousins and hopefully find where they fit into my tree! I'm sure it will be more difficult as the cM go down but I'm hopeful of success using this method to at least delineate which side of the grandparents they are from and go from there. Thanks for a well done and very instructional video!! It's amazing to me that the dots you assigned to the matches are absolutely spot on without even knowing! I've already figured out that some of the dark pink cousins would be from my mother's father's side and the light pink are from her mother. Fascinating stuff!!

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah!!! Thanks for letting me use your results!!

[@connecticutaggie]

Nice technique for using the DNA groups with the Shared Matches. I have used both but I have never combined the two to help organize things. Thanks!

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for commenting.

[@lisawatson9955]

Thank you for this newest video. I’ve had to watch it a couple of times and have it playing in the background while working on my Ancestry DNA matches to correctly color code down to below 90 Cms. My notes are rather vague but I’ll add more later. I’m just glad to be making a start. Thank you again.

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad it’s helped you!

[@user-kk3bx7zi3g]

Thank you very much for sharing this process! My dad was adopted a long time ago and thought my mom was adopted, but it looks like that's not the case. All of a sudden cousins are popping up on my dad's side, but I had no idea where to start. Your video helped alot!

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad it was helpful!

[@debbenzenberg3575]

Aimee, this is brilliant! I did do the colored dots but the way you did them is so concise. Off to simplify mine now, thank you!

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah! Thank you!

[@lionheart830]

Oh, oh, I was building my family tree using cousins, 2nds, 3rd, etc. Then adding every persons spouse and children. From there I eventually noticed some familiar names. Yours, Aimee, is a much shorted method! Thank you!

[@AncestryAimee]

You’re so welcome!

[@lindaelliott184]

This video was very helpful, thank you so much!

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad to hear that!

[@robarsenault1025]

Great video. However, it does not apply for me as I have endogamy in my tree 😢

[@AncestryAimee]

Sorry to hear that. That makes it so much more difficult.

[@karen27649]

Dna matches have been priceless for me

[@AncestryAimee]

Love it!

[@jodielee2310]

Very informative! Thank you!!!

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ibrocpcanman5342]

I have had my family tree up for a few yrs! All of this information that I just watched from you is totally new to me and after watching it I still have no clue of how to even start doing what you did! 😂 I need to hire someone to look over my information because all I've been doing is examining the leaves and matching up people by the census records! That's all I know how to do 😮

[@AncestryAimee]

You have to start somewhere! Sign up for my coaching! www.patreon.com/aimeecross

[@suzannechalifoux8587]

Thank you! Very well explained and it’s been very useful!

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah! So glad you feel it was understandable.

[@TerriAu]

Thank you so much for this, Aimee. Finally a way of sorting matches that makes sense to me! I have just bought the download that goes with it.

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad! You made my day! I’m glad it makes sense!!

[@richardpaz1919]

I wished you did this video after ancestory took out the maternal and paternal side.

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah. It’s a bummer they put that behind the paywall. But you can still do this. You absolutely don’t need to have your dna matches separated. Just take your first match at or under 400. You’ll see the matches start to separate.

[@richardpaz1919]

@@AncestryAimee Thanks for the tip!!

[@tanelise4673]

I have a feeling I'll be watching this a few times. I sure would love to be able to figure out if two of my great great grandmother's were sisters. There is no death certificate for her and I'm wondering if DNA can help

[@AncestryAimee]

If your two great grandmothers were sisters it would affect your dna results. They would be harder to separate too.

[@natashamason-walker2913]

Thank you so much for this video!

[@debbiecarroll5672]

Hi Aimee..this is fantastic! I cant find your link for the shared matches you spoke of that someone created..thanks

[@AncestryAimee]

It’s in the video description. But here’s the link: Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Relationship Chart: thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/03/27/version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/

[@debbiecarroll5672]

@@AncestryAimee thank you so much Aimee..hope all is well

[@AncestryAimee]

No problem! All is well! Hope you too!!!

[@dranet47]

Very good explanation!

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad you think so!

[@dan56273]

I'm sure being a member of your crew would help me further in my research but unfortunately I can't do online payments

[@AncestryAimee]

Sorry about that Dan. Wish I could do other payments for you. If you ever want private coaching we can make other arrangements.

[@dan56273]

@@AncestryAimee No Worrys and I'll just keep watching your videos for more tips

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad they are helping you!!

[@dan56273]

@@AncestryAimee you, Connie, the other Amy, several of you are a great help

[@twilacarr621]

I think I found a half-sister last year. The match that came up was her daughter, and it shows that we share 749 cm/11% dna and said that we are first cousins. I never met my father, and apparently, her mother was with my father and his brother. Both men were out of the picture by the time she was 8 years old. Both men are dead and her mom is also dead, so there is nobody to confirm or deny except for her older sister, who swears that my dad was also her dad. She is on a fixed income so she hasn't yet bought a kit.

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad you found her. You can always send her a kit too. Watch for sales.

[@bgrainger3477]

🎋Very inyeresting!! Thank you!! 👍👏

[@AncestryAimee]

You’re welcome! Glad it’s helpful to you.

[@pamelastrand3756]

Yes great video. Question, (A bit off subject!), what do you think of this two a step log on process from Ancestry??? I can fully understand the privacy issue but find it a bit daunting!!! Thanks!!!

[@AncestryAimee]

Agree. It’s a pain but with the 23 and me data breach they had to do it.

[@pamelastrand3756]

Thanks for answering me. Yes, this makes perfect sense! In fact, I brought up 23 and Me when discussing this issue earlier today!!! Thanks again!!!

[@SusanBWynn]

I having been working on my DNA matches for awhile-mainly the ones with trees. Now I am discovering that it's much easier to figure out who the people are that don't have trees based on what I know about others and obituaries. Just because someone doesn't have a tree doesn't mean they are necessarily unknown or that you can't figure it out. I used to not even click on a DNA match because they didn't have a tree. I have used ThruLines also. It's not as hard as you would think to figure it out where someone belongs in the tree. Has anyone else done this?

[@AncestryAimee]

Yes! Thanks so much for adding that. You can also find out about matches through social media like Facebook.

[@sarcasticspiritualchick]

Like the color coating, but what about the dna matches they have listed for both sides of your family?

[@AncestryAimee]

Great question! Even if Ancestry says they are unknown (not attributed to either parent) they will divide with this method. One of Patricia’s matches was like that (that may have been covered up when I covered names)

[@sarcasticspiritualchick]

@AncestryAimee I will play around with this. I have unassigned matches, but I also have a section of matches listed as both sides. This would be a surprise to me if my 2 sides are connected further back.

[@ThisIsMyYoutubeName1]

I just got my results from Ancestry and it’s frustrating. My mom’s brother has 2 sons, both did DNA testing and one is 200cM higher than the other and one says maternal, the other says paternal. I am marking the ones I know for sure. Just curious how many matches do people typically get? I thought 20,000 on MyHeritage was high, but that’s not even close to Ancestry. That was the main reason I tested there as well.

[@sarcasticspiritualchick]

@KylieKarlieKinzlieKolt Interesting. My "both matches" are further back. I also have had matches listed as the wrong side. So I would definitely recommend checking the true lines, trees, and info before going through and just color coating them all.

[@ThisIsMyYoutubeName1]

@@sarcasticspiritualchick I only color coded the ones that I had first hand knowledge of or they had a tree that showed our common ancestor. If I’m not sure, I don’t add them to either grandparent.

[@luisortiz1300]

I wish i had any match over 90 cms (besides my 3 first cousins who have also tested). Ive always wished i could do this method, but it doesnt really work on my matches.

[@AncestryAimee]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe more matches will pop sometime. It does work on matches lower than 90 cM but will divide into more groups.

[@mattpotter8725]

I would suggest decreasing the lower limit described in the video until you get your 4 groups, so maybe 60cM to start with, then 50cM. I'm a bit like you and I've gone down as far as 20cM, the lowest limit Ancestry shows you shared matches at. I have quite a few more groups than the 4 grandparent groups, but as shown here with the closest match eventually you will get matches in multiple groups and when you see this it's likely that the more distant match is just from a more distant branch of the closer match. You might still be unlucky and you just might not have anyone who has tested with AncestryDNA yet, but by having tested and checking every week or month new matches pop up so it's probably only a matter of time.

[@AncestryAimee]

Good thoughts - thanks for adding that. (And thanks for being a channel member Matt!)

[@artbail]

Hi Amiee, great explanation. I have several unassigned matches, how do I characterize them into a group.

[@AncestryAimee]

Good question! If they do not match the groups previously created, assign then a different color. They may in fact belong to one of them but you will need to do traditional record research to try to work it out.

[@artbail]

@@AncestryAimee Thank you, I'll do as suggested and then will delve a bit deeper into my research on those particular people.👍

[@ponderrosie4975]

Question - before you assigned Raymond the BLUE DOT did you build him out in the tree?

[@AncestryAimee]

Good question. He had been built out in the tree previously. You can do it either way. Sometimes we know a DNA match (like a known cousin).

[@s.p.3738]

My elderly father did the DNA test for me. Just got the results. He only has his parents in his tree. No membership. Doesn’t want to build a tree etc. I built my tree with 4 generations and I have an Ancestry membership. Do I do this color coding etc After I have him share the DNA results with me, or before? We told it that we recognized 3 of them- all 3 were first cousins and his father’s brother’s children. And is there anything else I need to be aware of? Or a link to a previous video? Thanks! You are a blessing with these videos.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you! After you share his results with you, you can select his test to compare in your tree. You can also share your tree with him and he can select your tree to list with his results. Hope that helps!

[@CoffeeCrazy]

my shared matches are terrible. I am so disappointed with ancestry that now they make you pay to see the shared matches and even with a subscription they are not grouped correctly. I'm not sure how they determine shared matches. For instance. A brother and sister whcih are my cousins may not show up as shared matches with a known relative. One may show up only. So I have to do alot of searches and even then , the searches do not pull all the names. Lets say I use Smith to search for surname in a matches tree. Well it will not pull everyone even if the name is correct.

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s interesting. Thanks for sharing that. The reason for a brother and sister could be the amounts of dna they inherited in comparison with that cousin or known individual. They each got 50% of their dna from that parent but it could be different parts. But the other things such a searching a surname is new to me. It is frustrating that you need to pay now but they’ve been taking some flack for that. Maybe they will come up with another option. I hope. 🤞

[@ericanthony9058]

Well, I trace my family tree back to Adam and Eve but lost all records in the great flood.

[@AncestryAimee]

🤣

[@TiddlesTheBearBaiter]

Wow, you go way back. I couldn't get that far. My mums side was from Sodom and my father's from Gomorrah, ours got lost in the fire.

[@AncestryAimee]

@TiddlesTheBearBaiter 🤣

[@smithwessonoil1622]

What do I do if some of my dna matches don't start until my 2nd great grandparents? Some start on my great grandparents and others start on 2nd great grandparents.

[@AncestryAimee]

You just can still use this method. It will put your dna matches together so you know the common line/lines.

[@jylromain6439]

I'd like to know how I can have a 'cousin' with a DNA match but no common ancestors.

[@AncestryAimee]

Could be a non-parental event which means adoption or unknown father. Their tree could be wrong too.

[@afromystik4365]

I have a brick wall with my mother’s paternal great grandfather. Surname seems to change. We both have matches with “common ancestors” showing up in thrulines, so I use it as a guide. However more and more matches keep showing up with common ancestor from the new surname. Not sure how to verify.

[@AncestryAimee]

Be careful about Thrulines! It's only as good as the trees of your matches and too many people copy trees! This can really skew things. I would do your own research on that line of the family and then work to fit the DNA matches into your known information. Good luck!

[@terranceof2007]

Good video I’m trying to find my 5x great grandparents some of those common matches have lead to dead ends in some ways any advice think my 5x great grandparents were slaves maybe owner was her father

[@AncestryAimee]

Could be. Autosomal DNA isn’t as helpful that far back. If you have relatives alive in an earlier generation, parents or grandparents or aunts or uncles ask them to test at Ancestry. You might want to take. Y-DNA test to trace your paternal line. That test you can do. And it will go much further back.

[@terranceof2007]

@@AncestryAimee thanks for that advice truly. Yeah I have a 95 year old uncle who is skeptical of testing but I'm going to try and convince him. My mother as well at least if we have her that's a generation closer.

[@AncestryAimee]

@terranceof2007 that will definitely help!

[@afromystik4365]

👋🏾 Aimee! My mom has a match that’s 943cMs (the highest)- I have a hypothesis that the mother of this match was a sibling to my mother’s biological father. Mom and I have matches to other siblings and grandchildren that has tested. Should I make a separate tree of the ggps? We also match people on the paternal maternal lines (they’re were 20 siblings from 2 marriages).

[@AncestryAimee]

You can do a separate tree. You can also float them in your tree and leave one tree. It’s kind of a personal preference. I float DNA matches until I know the relationship and can connect them into the tree.

[@BonnieDragonKat]

I have 3 brick walls on my biological Paternal side. DNA via a cousin may have broken it, but we cannot find a paper trail to back up the path.... So I question the match and path.....

[@AncestryAimee]

That a tough one. Paper trails, particularly for out of marriage relationships are difficult. Multiple DNA matches and then paper trails of proximity are usually the best it can be.

[@ericanthony9058]

But, on a serious note. Will the DNA also tell me if my grandfather was native american and to what tribe and all info on the native american tribes that belong to my grandfather, who said he's half cherokee and half black foot

[@AncestryAimee]

It will tell you if you have native American ancestry but not the tribe, at least last time I saw those types of results.

[@Dee-uy3tx]

She’s looking like white but like Vanessa Williams. She has Black features

[@Alan-lv9rw]

I traced my family back to 1730. 100% English. But my Ancestry DNA report said 100% Irish. I don’t understand.

[@AncestryAimee]

Ethnicity is an estimate, but there could be errors in your tree as well.

[@joehinton3380]

I did this, and I have a question. With CM from 400-90, on my father side, I can easily see my grandmother line and my grand father line, but on my mother side, I can see the line for my grandmother, but on my grandfather side, some of my DNA matches within that range showing 2 lines, what is that indicating

[@AncestryAimee]

There could be some pedigree collapse or endogamy. When cousins married cousins it confuses things.

[@joehinton3380]

​@@AncestryAimee ok thank you, and keep up the great work you are doing

[@DeSeannMaye]

Can dna matches tell you where your from? Like if you have a lot of dna matches from one country?

[@AncestryAimee]

Good question. That’s basically how the DNA companies figure ethnicity. They look at their family trees and test grouping in certain places. I would caution about the current residence of a match though and who knows when they came there and where they were originally from.

[@user-fl9zp8lw3p]

I did ancestry test and my mothers side came up but my aunty on my dads side dident and i just wondering if she has the dna settings on private and is that why im not seeing her on my dna matches

[@AncestryAimee]

Maybe. I’m honestly not sure. You’d probably need to ask her.

[@user-fl9zp8lw3p]

@@AncestryAimee thankyou I think I will and thankyou for the videos 👍

[@rettie6665]

I did as you suggested with the colored dots. My mother's side has 4 different colors above 90 cM. My fathers side has 7 different colors. What would account for this? Did I do it wrong? My mother's side is easily verified by people I expect to see but on my father's side there is not a single person or last name that is familiar to me.

[@AncestryAimee]

You may have cousins marrying cousins or endogamy. It’s hard to say without seeing it. On your moms side are the colors correct given you know many of the people?

[@AncestryAimee]

You can also visit Dana’s webpage about her method “the Leeds method” www.danaleeds.com/the-leeds-method/. She goes into various scenarios and explains it as well.

[@rettie6665]

@AncestryAimee Yes, on my mother's side the colors are correct. The names are people I have heard about from my mother. At this point I can't even tell what group belongs to my father's father and what group belongs to my father's mother. will try the leeds method for my father's family. Thank you.

[@AncestryAimee]

@rettie6665 good luck! Once you identify one match in a group you can generally assume the other shared matches are from that line as well.

[@kristykingery2961]

I was hoping to find so much more with 23 and me. My father was adopted and I have no information on him. I have quite a few 2nd and 3rd cousins showing up but I can't figure out who is on my maternal side and who is on my paternal. A year ago, I messaged several 2nd cousins for their assistance and none have responded. If anyone knows how to help me determine the two I'd be open to learning.

[@AncestryAimee]

Test on Ancestry for more results and hopefully you’ll be able to figure out who if maternal. That way you can sort your matches. You should be able to take what you learned and then apply it to the 23 and me matches too.

[@Floyd12345]

Someone please give me advice, my wifes dna results matches her mothers dna results. The way they match is in the percentage in places they are connected to. Example: 27% Germany and her mothers also 27% Germany and all the other percentages matches also. Why would that be?

[@AncestryAimee]

How many cM do they share?

[@Floyd12345]

@@AncestryAimee My wife said her and her mother share 3496 cM.

[@Floyd12345]

@@AncestryAimee Shared DNA:49.3%, 3296cM, Shared Segments:26, largest segment 223.3cm.

[@Floyd12345]

@@AncestryAimee Here's what the same: 46% English, 24.9% Irish and 29.1% 4 others. Both her and her mother has the same % and so on...

[@AncestryAimee]

The cM what you would expect. It is probably just an coincidence that they share so much ethnicity. Her father likely has similar ethnicities as well. Remember ethinicity is an estimate.

[@lucybee3082]

Interesting but i am so new to this it wasn't really helpful. I just have more questions. I may get it in time.

[@AncestryAimee]

It does assume some knowledge. Check out other DNA videos and you’ll get the whole thing!

[@bonniedewitt6201]

Will it say who your dad is

[@AncestryAimee]

It can if he has done a DNA test.

[@ponderrosie4975]

IOh I have comments! f you are doing genetic genealogy it is not a question of 'interest' it is a matter of following the proper protocols. Autosomal DNA is a cocktail of information. IT does NOT stand alone It does not provide anyone a direct line identification, non can it confirm any specific direct line anywhere in one's pedigree. WHY? Because it does not include the Ymarker test. So I take issue with you starting off by NOT telling people, since you are a professional genealogist, that to do one's work correctly requires BOTH Ymarker tests and autosomal tests.

[@AncestryAimee]

Appreciate your opinion on this. Thanks for sharing it. I agree that the Y marker tests can be very valuable but simply autosomal can as well, especially when combined with traditional genealogy (building with records).

[@ponderrosie4975]

@@AncestryAimee I've been at this since 2006.My background is research not genealogy. I mistakenly believed when I began that classic genealogy used protocols. It uses guidances. This allows speculation access. And many many classic pedigrees have mistakes. I have seen the danger of using only autosomal and classic records without making sure you have identified the direct clan line. Ancestry began as a company that sold genealogy literature. When they moved online the published works and raw records at times competed. There are so many reasons why a surname switches. Birth records are not always correct. My third DNA kit was supposed to establish an Underwood line. It wound up exposing a GEORGE line. There are pedigrees right now with the wrong information - why? Because the birth record created had information that was not actually genetic. It was a legal construct. The way to properly do genetic genealogy is to submit autosomal test through Ancestry - boy or girl. Once results are published. Move the raw data to FTDNA and get a boy from side of one's family (the older the better) to do the Ymarker 37 or greater test. This will establish each side of your pedigree. You may already be able to confirm your line back WAY before the reach of autosomal tests today. In 2018 Ancestry rolled back our research window by raising the size of the centimorgan necessary to produce a match. Another positive to moving the raw data is the autosomal research reach is extended a bit. FTDNA also raised their centimorgan size but not as great as Ancestry. Only after one identifies each direct line can can interpreting autosomal matches be done confidently and accurately. One cannot actually draw conclusions until those lines are identified. I have seen it over and over and over again. Mistaken identities. I wish Ancestry would allow us the ability to include paternal ID information on the pedigree building feature. Or allow us an unique ICON that actually can't be used until the line is properly established and confirmed. As it is they have departmentalized pedigree building from genetic genealogy and their THRU LINES feature simply provides hints based on classic pedigree work, not on genetic information.

[@yournanna866]

Riddle me this…if my DNA says 15% Jewish , then is that a great grandmother/father?

[@AncestryAimee]

Could be but it’s hard to say. You could have some Jewish from multiple sides indicating your total percentage so it could be further back. It also depends on how much DNA you inherited by chance from where. We each get a mix of 50/50 from both parents but it can be any 50 from their total DNA.

[@musthave4540]

You look like you have African American ancestry have you found any?

[@AncestryAimee]

I haven’t. But I hear that a lot. But who knows?! Thank you!

[@susanhudson4190]

What to do with dna matches? Mostly don't tell anyone lol😂 Then have a good laugh you cant do anything about it it LOL LOL LOL 🤣🤣

[@varon52]

you lost me....

[@AncestryAimee]

Sorry about that! Maybe watch it again??