Hunting the Blue ThruLines Icon

 

Something unexpected popped up when I went to tabulate my biweekly progress on my family trees on Ancestry. After I noted progress on my own family's tree—it's been a slow slog, but I did add forty three Polish names on my father's side this time—I turned to my in-laws' tree. Before I could check the results on that separate family tree, though, a message popped up.

"Select an ancestor in your tree who has the blue ThruLines icon. We'll show you their descendants who may be connected to you through DNA, and help you add them to your tree."

Being susceptible to Bright Shiny Objects of the Genealogical Kind, I immediately left off progress on my planned task—noting the 38,622 names in my own tree now—and veered off the research path to check this out. Why I didn't see this notice when I first began the day's work on Ancestry.com, I can't say; maybe this was the split second it made its appearance. After all, as I checked it out, I noticed a sign indicating this was a "beta" version, so it's likely not something that every subscriber will find right away.

Since the promise of this beta test appeared on my in-laws' tree, I decided to go hunting for a blue ThruLines icon there. Pulling up the pedigree chart, I noticed every single name in the first five generations had a blue ThruLines icon attached to it. I selected my mother-in-law's great-grandfather Michael Metzger for my trial run, and clicked on his name in the pedigree chart.

Clicking on Michael's name brought up the usual profile pop-up box, with the added invitation on the bottom of the box to "add DNA matches descending from Michael." I clicked on that, which opened up a side bar instructing me to "Select a DNA match from Michael's descendants." Below that heading appeared a listing of descendants under subheadings labeled with Michael's own children's names.

I looked through the list, which had several names of DNA matches. The list was long, but hey, Michael had plenty of descendants. I had already added thirty two of those descendants to my tree, but this notice showed me that I had at least ten more to go.

From that point, I perused the list of those ten unattached Metzger matches and noticed one whose surname matched several others I already have in that tree. The next step would have been to select that DNA cousin by clicking a radio button next to her name, then clicking the blue button on the bottom of the side bar labeled, "View Connection."

Well, I pointed and clicked, but nothing happened. That is where I realized this might be an option that came to me hot off the press, so to speak. Right away, a survey popped up, and I completed it. By the time I was done, I couldn't help but go back and test my luck on another trial.

This time, I went to my own parents' tree to see if I had the same beta option there. Thankfully, I did, and my trial run on my own mother's line worked just fine. I selected my third great-grandfather James Davis, for whom I have already added nine DNA cousins and evidently have another three to go. Selecting one of those three gave me a readout on that side bar showing that cousin's line of descent.

At that point, I could select the option, "review person," which seems to allow addition of a few details before adding that name to my tree—but I am too cautious to just add someone based on any company's suggestion. I need to check out the details myself—especially including documentation—so I didn't opt for that route on the decision tree.

Instead, I clicked on the second option, which is a less obvious choice. Looking at the potential match's box in the line of descent, there is a label on the bottom right, "view match." That selection brought me to the same landing page where I would have arrived, had I gone through the usual ThruLines process before this beta test. That way, I can see a brief outline of the match's tree, and can click through to view this person's own tree on Ancestry.

Furthermore, I can open two tabs on my laptop and toggle back and forth between the match's parents (or pertinent grandparents) listed and those same names in my own family tree. I can properly enter any missing generations in my own tree, complete with documentation—several documents, in fact—to bring my tree down to the generation in question to create the right space for that entry.

I realize that seems to be a redundant approach after having been gifted with this streamlined detour by Ancestry's new beta offering. And maybe that approach will work for some people. It's just that I've learned my lesson about running into messes by copying information from others' trees—but seem to keep forgetting that lesson when newer Bright Shiny Objects of the Genealogical Kind make their irresistible appearance.

So, beta test? Sure. It seems like a great idea. I'll use it to get to the shortcut and avoid having to hunt for the ThruLines tab every time I think I'm on to something. But once I arrive at a match's drop-down menu, I'll revert to the tried and true approach that's worked for me in the past.