Easily Cluster Ancestry DNA Matches | Genetic Genealogy

How to cluster your AncestryDNA matches without pulling your hair out. Learn how to organize your Ancestry shared matches in relation to generational order.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction
00:50 Parental Clustering
01:58 Paternal/Maternal Lines on Ancestry
02:54 Color Coding Paternal Line
03:55 Color Code Shared Matches
04:47 Color Multiple Matches at One Time
06:10 Grandparent Clustering
08:28 Great-Grandparent Clustering
09:33 Reviewing Your Work
11:31 Putting New Matches in a Group

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#AncestryDNA #genealogy #FamilyHistoryFanatics

[beowulfwheeler]

Even without endogamy, you can end up with confusing color combinations especially if several of your distant ancestors resided in the same area. For example your fathers grandfathers sister could have married your mothers grandfathers brother and thus the match can end up with both paternal and maternal clusters without endogamy.This happens frequently with me as both my parents ancestors lived in the same and bordering counties along the Hudson River for centuries without any common ancestors in recent history. if you then use one of these common matches to further sort without knowing a dual side match, it can be a disaster.

[chrisferraiolo]

Here is my method for sorting Ancestry matches. I found it is best for me since it makes sense and is very easy. Check it out:

1. Separate the colors into warm and cool. Warm being colors like red, orange, yellow etc and blue being blue, purples etc
2. Create groups for each of your 2nd great-grandparents if you know them. If not, you can still make groups like "001" etc.
3. Assign the dots to each parent. There should be eight each. A first cousin would also have eight.
4. Build the tree down to matches or do a Leeds chart to make even more dot combinations. Look at shared matches, too. That way you can add more people to each group. Make sure the colors match on the leeds chart.
5. At the end of the sorting, everything should be trickling down on the match list. 4th cousins should have at least 1 dot.

Hope this helps someone!

[staceycoates]

Well, my first comment is that I use the Mary Hill color scheme for my dots for the grandparents of the kit. Then I use the lighter hue (maternal) and darker hue (paternal) for the grandparents of the grandparents of the kit. That takes up 12 of the colors. I also do use a dot color for a group for people in my tree and people not in my tree. If Ancestry ever gets us a way to filter by that then I may get rid of those two groups.

[cruzinbosco]

I think it would be a bit wasteful for some to sacrifice any of the colored dots for paternal and maternal clusters. Maybe in the beginning it could work, but it's so much better, in my opinion, to just immediately mark them as one or the other using the "Add Relationship" button. That way you still have all your colors, and it's clear as day which side is which. I have to use dark mode which is not yet available with Ancestry (so I use a 3rd party) so unfortunately, I only get 7-8 colors as they all look like the same hues in dark mode. Therefore, those colors that I do have are very precious to me. 😂 But yes, this would be easier if you are just starting out and have colors to spare. It was a great tutorial. :)

[tammysue]

Thanks for video I never know what I am looking at lol 😂 I get overwhelmed ty

[wendys]

Something else that is helping me more than the colors (until I learn that a little better).... With the notes for that match, I will look at the matches in common and the notes I put on them. If there is a common ancestor, I will put that in my notes for that match. That way it lets me know what family quicker than having to see the group color for them....

[jeannettenemon]

Thanks for that, yes, hopefully I can add closer cousins, pending availablity! I also want to ask please if such a kit can be loaded for a DNA account with the two or so sites that allow free DNA transfers?

[truthhurts]

you say that but what do you do with them after they are clustered

[jeannettenemon]

For creating a Lazarus Kit, group 2, how distant a cousin can be added into the group? Can one place a 3rd or even 4th cousin in group 2?

[mattpotter]

Great video, I wouldn't personally do the clustering for maternal and paternal (I think record based, or even just talking to living people should be able to get that), but start at matches of just below 200cM, add the first one (and so their shared matches into one group) then create a second cluster group for the next highest match below this value and add them and their shared matches into this group, and then rinse and repeat until you hit a certain lowest limit for cM that you have decided upon, or you run out of groups on the site (you've used all 24). For me having matches in multiple groups, even in both material and paternal ones, isn't a problem, it's just more of a challenge, although it all or a large percentage of your matches fall this way then it is, obviously.

I would also say that although it's not directly related to actually doing the clustering, so maybe I'm ok with you not mentioning it, but at some point you will need to do the record based research and if you are interested in building a family tree then the first steps should be firstly talking to your living relatives would be the first step, and doing some record based research should be the first steps with this clustering only coming after you've done that (obviously if that isn't possible for any reason and you need a starting point it's different, but for the majority of people that isn't the case).

I would love there to be a follow up video to this discussing possibilities of looking at any shared matches of shared matches (even shared matches of shared matches of shared matches) and how to use them, the use of adding them to these groups (going down to the lowest reaches of the match list) as that's what I'm doing right now. I've done extensive record based research and used the higher cM matches to link them into my tree (as much as I can at least, it's almost impossible if they don't have family trees and don't respond to messages), the low hanging fruit I've now picked, and I'm not looking to get further back, which means going more info the unknown where I think I have to work on probabilities of matches matching other matches, where sub groups have one or two members in known groups (grandparent clusters), and where everything becomes a bit blurry and unknown.

[JustAGuitarPlayer]

I love organizing my dna matches into groups but the limit of 24 groups on ancestry isn’t enough. I have used up all the 24 groups (I have eight 2nd great grandparents couples and sixteen 3rd great grandparent couples but many of my dna matches and I actually share 4th, 5th or 6th great grandparents as our MRCA so to have to put them into one of my great grandparent lines that aren’t really their shared great grandparents is frustrating. More than any other feature, I wish Ancestry would increase the amount of groups we can create up to at least 124 groups which allow me to create groups for all great grandparents up to at least my 4th and 5th great grandparent couples groups. I don’t have any first cousins. Only 1st cousins once removed and 2nd cousins and beyond but for me to really figure out my tree, the ability to group dna matches further would help. Nice video on how to do this for those who haven’t discovered it yet but if you have any contact with ancestry, I hope you’ll pass on my more groups request. Thanks

[GreenBananaz]

Hi, I’m so glad you posted this. I wondering If anyone could please help me. I use a colour coding system to group certain lines together. My mum has taken the test so has her half brother. They share the same paternal mother so I’ve coded all those matches yellow because I know that’s the WEBBER line. I found a 2nd cousin who I connected to my mum through my grandfather mother’s line MASON & this was confirmed also through talking to her on Facebook so I used dark red. There were still matches with my mum that neither the Webber or Mason line were linked too so my presumption was they must be my mothers fathers descendants because I have no record for his father so I used green. I still quite have a lot of matches with my mother that aren’t linked to any of the other 3 colours. Could they possibly be my grandfathers grandparents on his fathers side? I used orange to group them. Also within those certain matches there are groups still coded orange but not connected to the other orange groups. I’m so confused 😂 thank you In advance. I hope what I’ve wrote makes sense

[LadyM]

Still watching, but for me I can't do Paternal/Maternal clustering as shown in the video due to pedigree collapse and/or endogamy in my family. I have a paternal 1C1R. When looking at our shared matches, some are on my Father's side, some on my Mother's.

[alanheadrick]

I am using 23andme for this idea. I see a 3rd cousin that I think maybe on the father's side. She has only three shared matches. So if I understand this correctly those three matches would also be on the father's side, but what about their shared matches? The reason I ask is one of them has 92 shared matches.

[turnerdan]

I have a new match that is at the top of my cousin list. When I do the shared matches they show up as both branches. If both of their parents are 2nd cousins would that add DNA to make them look like they are 1st cousins?

[alicemusiclive]

How can i create groups with one 859cm (12%) my biggest then i only got 3rd and 4th cousins just after ?! :/
I don’t have matchs with 200/300cM
It’s 859cM then 67cM…

[gregmiller]

Just discovered this SO COOL. I adopted what do you do?

[aw]

I got lost after you did maternal and paternal side. Not sure how to get rest of both sides.

[glenjones]

I'm new to DNA results and finding at best just 2nd cousin matches. Based on the paper trial my ancestry is 100% English events for six generations on both maternal and paternal sides, but I'm not getting matches to either grandfather. It seems that at least one set of grandparents on paper is proved wrong with DNA. I have a huge number of unlinked/no tree matches and therefore very little to work with.

With the help of a DNA savvy friend, we have managed to sort some basic maternal/paternal grouping but the lack of trees is causing huge problems as I can't say for certain who my grandfather is. My closest matches are mostly based in the USA and the few who have replied to messages just state we don't have a link. Clearly we do but the lack of available tree data is a problem, if they would just reveal the surnames at great grandparent level it might help but there is a wall of denial and silence, I feel as if they all know the secret and are refusing to let me in on it/

[DeLaTrll]

Pedigree collapse was discovered on my partners side. It’s disappointing and very hard to figure out who is who.