The Usual D N A Rant

 

When the results of my first DNA test arrived, I wasn't looking to see whether I could exchange lederhosen for a kilt. Actually, I was floored by all the results. "Who are all these people," I wondered about my initial test at Family Tree DNA. My results came back with well over one thousand DNA matches—and most all of them were barely as close as a fourth cousin. I had a lot of work to do.

Just in case a different company's DNA test was where all my close cousins had flocked, I eventually tested at Ancestry.com, 23andMe, and MyHeritage. I didn't want to miss any clues that could help bust through my brick wall research roadblocks. Despite that overzealous approach, over the years, I've found the tools at Ancestry DNA to be the most helpful to me—despite their unyielding resolve to withhold any form of chromosome browser—and have to remind myself to go back and check my investments in the other companies.

This weekend was one of those times to revisit the DNA results at the other companies. I started with 23andMe—just in case they wouldn't be there the next time I got around to checking. Since I've been working this month on my mother-in-law's tree, I focused on the results for her line, finding one recent DNA match who seemed to be a fairly close relative. 

Could I discover the connection? I'm glad that Relatives in Common has been added back in as a feature at 23andMe after the credential stuffing incident, but between navigating that tool and the steps to add a match to the family tree there, I was worn out in no time. Granted, I did find one match to enter in the tree, but the process reminded me of what a ghost town my family community has become at that company after their woes of the past two years.

In contrast, jumping back to Ancestry DNA—especially now that I'm testing the Pro Tools option on my account there—seemed like a breeze. I've already gotten a tree built there for my mother-in-law's line, and sorting through DNA matches linked to her surnames seemed like a breeze. This was my first weekend to specifically examine the Pro Tools' shared matches option, and it's helping me gather those loose matches whose close relatives I've already linked to my tree.

Perhaps it's a form of guilt by association, but the Pro Tools provided the boost I needed to incrementally harvest matches from the list of unknowns and migrate them over to their rightful place in the family tree. Granted, that boost won't answer every relationship question, but I also remember that for every DNA match I can add to my tree, it paves the way for me to attach others who were once unknown. Our family trees are so inter-related—especially for my mother-in-law's Perry County, Ohio, roots—that the more we add by way of collateral lines, the more information we can find to eventually attach those mystery matches to their rightful place in the family line.

That usual DNA rant that hits me periodically may just be a feature of a system lacking effective tools. Right now, as I migrate more toward those tools which facilitate finding answers, the less I find to complain about.