Group Process

Here is (sorta) my process for working with a Match and their Shared Match list with me.

1. Pick a Match with an MRCA (I don’t have good criteria yet, but I like one with a good Tree; and it’s helpful to know that they have several close cousins in my Common Ancestor spreadsheet).

2. First pass: look though all of their Shared Matches for Notes that indicate they share the same MRCA.  [sometimes I note the shared cM in a new column; sometimes I just use a highlight color in a column – in either case to indicate a group with the Match in #1]

3. I’ll stop at any Match who is very close – parent/child; sibling; even aunt/uncle/niece/nephew. If not in my spreadsheet, I add them in and add appropriate Notes to their profile to highlight the MRCA and relationship to me – e.g. #A0038P/4C1R: ALLEN/Elizabeth.

4. Then I make another pass through the Shared Match list – opening the Matches who share above 90cM (generally within about 2C to the original Match in #1 above).  From my spreadsheet I know of other SURNAMES the other Matches have in their path back to the MRCA – so I’m looking for those surnames in addition to the MRCA surnames. For example: MOESZINGER led me to 4 other new Matches from my ALLEN MRCA.

5. Repeat #4 (a third pass) looking at above 50cM or so – digging a little more (and by this time, I usually have additional Matches with helpful Notes to play off of.

6. Now, start at the top of the #1 Shared Match list (a fourth pass), and open each Match who does share the MRCA with you. Look down each such Match’s Shared Match list with you, using the #4 process above. The idea here is that not every cousin will share with every other cousin (remember only 50% of all your true 4C will share DNA with you; 50% will not!). So using this step usually adds a few more Matches to the group. [If you use a highlight color column, all of the Matches in a part of a Common Ancestor spreadsheet should get colored in.]

7. If you’re working on a Brick Wall (or NPE or bio-Ancestor, etc), go through the remaining Matches who have Trees and jot down the SURNAME in their Trees. Look for a Common Ancestor among those (usually more distant) Matches, who would be a good potential for an Ancestor at or beyond the Brick Wall.

In each case above, I add new Matches to my Common Ancestor Spread Sheet (now about 7,000 from Ancestry), and add them (and their path) to my Ancestry Tree (they are always living and private).  

Sidebar: My Common Ancestor spreadsheet is a good tool for each family group based on an MRCA. I haven’t found a good way, yet, to analyze the Shared Matches who are related to me through the children or ancestors of the MRCA. However, I do note that they show up in the Shared Match list. For instance, I’m now working on my MRCA – 38P (this is the Ahnentafel representing Joseph ALLEN, along with his wife Elizabeth [39P on her own] – maiden name unknown). It’s comforting to note that many of the Shared Matches have Notes starting with #A0018P (an MRCA representing my Ancestor who married A19P, the daughter of 38P) and some close Matches with #A0008P), an even closer descendant of 38P. Normally, I would have some smaller cM Matches back to 76P and 78P (representing the two MRCA couples who are ancestors of 38P and 39P, but both 38P and 39P are brick walls…  So Group Process #7 above, is next on my list.  

The above is a classic example of the iterative nature of genetic genealogy, and the importance of having a good Note system that lets you see the key elements in a Shared Match list. It all comes back to doing the homework of keeping good, visible, Notes at Ancestry. Tip: I now add a Match’s SURNAMEs to the Notes if I don’t have any other clues – I can then see these SURNAMEs in the Notes fields in a Shared Match list…

Bottom Line: I think the Pro Tools Shared cM feature needs an iterative process of reviewing Shared Matches to add in as many new Matches as possible under our MRCA groups. This also includes noting Shared Matches closer and more distant to each MRCA group; and analyzing remaining (usually smaller cM) Matches to break through more distant Brick Walls. Lot’s to do….

[22CP] Segment-ology: Pro Tools Part 8 Group Process; by Jim Bartlett 20240719