Double good news: AncestryDNA has made some improvements to the way they calculate your genetic matches, but they haven’t messed with the site format or layout. There is one downside–so keep reading.
While stability and predictability seem like honorable qualities in a company or product, when it comes to tech tools, in the ears of tech companies, those words sound more like dated and old. Of course, we are used to this by now. I had a client tell me recently that he wanted to be in touch sooner, but his grandson “upgraded” his computer to Windows 10 and then promptly left for college the next day, leaving him fighting with a new interface and operating system.
The good news is, you won’t have this problem with Ancestry’s new update. There aren’t any changes to the interface or the layout of the information. In fact, many of you will not even notice at first that your match list has changed. You’ll just see this notification when you log in:
But in fact, there likely have been some adjustments made to your match results:
Some of your third cousins have been demoted to fourth cousins.
Some of your fourth cousins have been demoted to 5th-8th cousins.
Some of your Distant Cousins have disappeared off your match list
You have new cousins on your Distant Cousin match list.
In general, from what Ancestry has showed us, you gain more than you lose.
Changes in the dregs of your match list may not seem like that big of a deal. But Ancestry has made some big changes in the way that they are calculating matches. They are getting better at it. Which means you match list is now more representative of your ancestral connections, even at the very distant level.
There are two big pieces to this matching puzzle that Ancestry has tinkered with in this latest update: phasing and matching.
You will remember our discussion on DNA phasing and how it can impact your matching. Ancestry has developed a robust reference database of phased DNA in order to better phase our samples. Basically, they have looked through their database at parent-child duos and trios and noted that certain strings of DNA values often travel together. It’s like they have noticed that our DNA says “A black cat scared the mouse” instead of “The brown cat ate the mouse” and they can then recognize that phrase in our DNA, which in turn helps our DNA tell the true story of our heritage.
In addition to updating the phasing, Ancestry has revamped their matching method. In the past they viewed our DNA in small windows of information, and then stitched those windows together to try to get a better picture of what our DNA looked like. Now instead they have turned to a point-by-point analysis of our DNA. Again to use a sentence example, with the window analysis we may have the following sentence windows:
ack and J
ill went t
he hill t
etch a pai
l of water.
Of those windows, you may share the “etch a pai” with another individual in the database, earning that cousin a spot on your match page. However, the truth is, that bit could say “sketch a painting” or “stretch a painful leg” or “fetch a pail.” With Ancestry’s new method, they are able to see farther on either side of the matching segment, making this clearly “fetch a pail.” That means better matching, which means more confidence in your cousin matches.
The downside to this update is going to come in the reorganization of some of your relationships. Ancestry has tightened their genetic definition of your third and fourth cousins. Basically, that means that some of your true 3rd cousins are going to show up as 4th cousins, and some of your true 4th cousins are going to be shifted down into the abyss of 5th-8th cousins.
This brings us to the downside of this AncestryDNA update: changes to the Shared Matches tool. The shared matches tool allows you to gather matches in the database that are related to you and one other person, provided you are all related at the 4th cousin level or higher. This tightening of the belt on 4th cousins means that some of them are going to drop through the cracks of that tool, really limiting its ability. Grr. Hopefully, Ancestry will fix that, and expand this tool to include all of your matches. They have their fairly good reasons for this, but still….
So, as the winds of change blow yet another iteration of the AncestryDNA match page, I think we can see this as an overall win for doing genealogy with our genetics at Ancestry.
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When may it pay off to look at the same records or indexes twice? When you can compare them on different genealogy websites. Here’s an example for this census research tip.
You’ve probably noticed that some record sets are available online at multiple websites. At each site, the images and indexes you find may be a little different. Online tools for viewing and searching at each site may also be different.
For example, a digitized image may be faded, dark, blurry, blotchy, cut off, or otherwise unreadable on one website but clearer on another site. Here are two images from the first few lines of the 1880 U.S. Federal Census taken in Bay Minette, Baldwin, Alabama. The first image comes from HeritageQuest Online (available at public libraries) and the second is from Ancestry.com. See the difference?
As you can see, depending on which line you’re reading, one image may be clearer than another.
Here’s another census research tip: The online tools available at each site are different, too. At HeritageQuest Online, you can view the image at original size, 200% or 400%, and you can look at the image as a negative, which sometimes helps faded text stand out a little more. Ancestry.com lets you zoom in and out, magnify specific areas, and rotate the image or view it in mirror form (in case you’re trying to read backward text bleeding through from the other side).
Here’s this week’s roundup of new genealogy records online: Australia, France, New Zealand and, in the U.S., records for AK, CO, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, NH, NY, PA and WI.
AUSTRALIA – NORTHERN TERRITORY – PROBATE. Ancestry.com has a new probate index (1911-1994) for Northern Territory, Australia. The collection includes images of an index “organized first by year range, then alphabetically by surname and given name.”
FRANCE – MILITARY. FamilySearch.org has published a new online index to military conscription records for Saône-et-Loire (1867-1940). Privacy restrictions apply to those born less than 120 years ago.
NEW ZEALAND – PROBATE. More than 350,000 browsable records (and over 10,000 indexed records) have been added to a free FamilySearch.org collection of New Zealand probate records (1843-1998). Original records are sourced from Archives New Zealand offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
US – VARIOUS – MARRIAGE. Findmypast.com announced the addition of around 10 million additional U.S. marriage records to its growing online collection. According to a press release, “This second installment includes significant additions from Indiana, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maine.” Nearly a million of these are new to online publication and, at least for now, exclusive to Findmypast. (The collection is part of a FamilySearch partnership.)
US – VARIOUS – PROBATE. Ancestry.com has updated its collections of wills and probate records for Wisconsin, Maryland and Colorado. Coverage by time period and county varies.
US – ARKANSAS – CIVIL WAR. About 172,000 indexed records have been added to a free FamilySearch collection of Arkansas Ex-Confederate Pension Records (1891-1939).
US – NEW HAMPSHIRE. Over 100,000 indexed records have been added to a free FamilySearch.org collection of New Hampshire Birth Certificates (1901-1909). According to the collection description, “Records consist of index cards that give the town and date of the event and often much more information.”
New genealogy records appear online by the millions every week. Keep current by subscribing to the free weekly Genealogy Gems email newsletter. The newsletter comes with a free e-book by Lisa Louise Cooke on Google search strategies you can use to find MORE genealogy records online that you need. Simply enter your email address in the box at the top of this webpage where it says “Sign up.”
Lisa Louise Cooke will be a featured keynote presenter at the Ontario Genealogical Society conference 2016, June 3-5 in Toronto, Canada.
The biggest genealogical event in Canada is coming–and Lisa Louise Cooke will be there! Members of all 34 branches and special interest groups of the Ontario Genealogical Society and other family historians from across North America and around the world will meet in Toronto from June 3-5, 2016 for inspiring lectures, workshops, displays, and other learning opportunities.
Here’s why people are excited about the Ontario conference:
As an internationally-renowned genealogy technology innovator, Lisa will deliver a plenary lecture relating to the conference’s theme, “On the Cutting Edge.” This Saturday morning keynote will be “Future Technology and Genealogy: 5 Strategies You Need.” The audience will be treated to a vision of genealogy research as technology speeds ahead into the future. Lisa will teach five key strategies to employ right now that will make the ride easier–and the results more exciting–than ever.
The Scoop
WHAT: Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2016
WHEN: June 3-5, 2016
WHERE: International Plaza Hotel,655 Dixon Road, Toronto
REGISTER: Click here for full conference information
Attend Lisa’s Sessions
“Using Google to Enhance Your Genealogy Research,” a workshop outlining a “Google Search Methodology for Genealogy.” The workshop features a variety of free Google tools that can help solve genealogical challenges. You’ll also discover advanced Google search strategies you may not be using but are “must-haves” for high-quality Google search results. You will walk away with a proven Google search methodology, and powerful tips and tricks you can use right away.
“How to Create and Leverage Your Own YouTube Channel for Genealogy.” Don’t let the video revolution pass you by! YouTube Mobile receives more than 100 million views a day and is the #2 search engine on the planet. It’s becoming the first place many people turn to for answers, including fellow genealogists. Video content on your own website can also drive more traffic to your site. This presentation shares Lisa’s tips and tricks for creating a robust YouTube channel that will power-boost your genealogical efforts.
Visit Lisa in the Exhibit Hall
Lisa will be in the exhibit hall at her booth (next to Shop the Hound) signing books, and answering questions. Lisa’s daughter Lacey will be there helping you at the booth. She will have special discounts and a money-saving conference bundle just for this conference.
You won’t want to miss the exhibit hall this year. OGS Conference 2016 will feature a spacious 10,000-square-foot Expo Hall, just steps away from the lecture rooms. There will be displays from genealogical and historical organizations, and commercial exhibitors. You’ll also have an opportunity to check in with all the various branches of OGS and see their specific publications.
About the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2016
The entire conference offers something for everyone, and with its convenient location in Toronto, is an easy over-the-border jaunt for many U.S. residents, too. Thursday’s preconference activities include a boot camp for librarians and a session on business skills for genealogists. Friday’s events include off-site tours (World War I history or genetics interest) and workshops including Lisa’s. Saturday’s calendar leads with Lisa’s keynote and then explodes into 24 concurrent sessions and other exciting sponsored events.
Registration
This quick link will take you right to online registration. There are full and partial registration options.
Can’t Make It to the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2016? Don’t Fret!
Wish you could catch Lisa’s Google search methodology workshop? Don’t worry–it’s fully described in her book, The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. This 2nd edition was completed revised and updated for 2015, with thorough, step-by-step instructions on Google search techniques and new chapters on searching for common surnames, Google Scholar and Google Patents (yes, you can use these for genealogy!). Screenshots and detailed explanations will lead you through Google Alerts, Gmail, Google Books, Google Translate, YouTube and Google Earth (multiple chapters on THIS powerful 3D map).
How great to see these new genealogy records online! Those with German roots will especially want to check out new resources on Ancestry.com.
ENGLAND CHURCH. Findmypast.com has updated its collections of church baptismal and marriage records for Dorset, England. Those collections now together number about a million records.
GERMANY – MILITARY. Over 400,000 records are part of a new Ancestry.com collection ofBremen military lists (1712-1914). According to the collection description, “The core of the collection are the muster rolls created by recruiting commmissions including actual musters from 1894-1917 for men born between 1874 and 1899. These records are arranged in chronological-alphabetical order and contain detailed information about male military personnel in the city.”
GERMANY – CHURCH. An enormous collection of Lutheran baptisms, marriages and burials is now searchable on Ancestry.com. You’ll find over 24 million records from “parish registers from numerous Protestant communities in Baden, today part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg…[and]some communities to the north, such as Wiesbaden in adjacent Hessen.” Another new Ancestry.com collection contains over a million birth, marriage and death records taken from weekly church reports in Dresden, Germany for 1685-1879.
IRELAND NEWSPAPERS. Over half a million new Irish newspaper articles have been added at Findmypast.com. According to a company press release, “Significant updates have also been made to seven existing titles” and a new title from Northern Ireland for 1891-1896 is a “must-read for anyone with ancestors from that part of the country.”
U.S. – NEVADA DEATHS. Just over a quarter million records are part of a new Ancestry.com collection of Nevada death records for 1911-1965. The indexed images are state death certificates.
Got German roots? Click here to read an article on German newspapers in the U.S.
Double good news: AncestryDNA has made some improvements to the way they calculate your genetic matches, but they haven’t messed with the site format or layout. There is one downside–so keep reading.
Of those windows, you may share the “etch a pai” with another individual in the database, earning that cousin a spot on your match page. However, the truth is, that bit could say “sketch a painting” or “stretch a painful leg” or “fetch a pail.” With Ancestry’s new method, they are able to see farther on either side of the matching segment, making this clearly “fetch a pail.” That means better matching, which means more confidence in your cousin matches.
When DNA Circles DON’T Mean Connections on AncestryDNA
Here’s this week’s roundup of new genealogy records online: Australia, France, New Zealand and, in the U.S., records for AK, CO, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, NH, NY, PA and WI.
New genealogy records appear online by the millions every week. Keep current by subscribing to the free weekly Genealogy Gems email newsletter. The newsletter comes with a free e-book by Lisa Louise Cooke on Google search strategies you can use to find MORE genealogy records online that you need. Simply enter your email address in the box at the top of this webpage where it says “Sign up.”
