RootsFinder’s new DNA tools allow you to bring your genetic family tree research together with your traditional family tree research and keep everything in one system.
You get hints from FamilySearch, Findmypast, American Ancestors, and other sources. And you can optionally sync with FamilySearch to grow your family tree.
To get started, begin a family tree at RootsFinder. You can upload a GEDcom or import your tree from FamilySearch. This gives you the infrastructure you’ll want to make sense of your DNA matches.
Then, import your list of one to many matches from GEDmatch.
Simply press CTRL+A to select the GEDmatch page, then CTRL+C to copy it onto your clipboard. Then, come back to RootsFinder and press CTRL+V to paste your list.
When your import is done processing, you’ll see a list like this. That’s nice, but it doesn’t really tell you anything yet.
The next step is to start matching up people you recognize with ancestors in your family tree.
For example I happen to know this person here. She’s my cousin. I can tag her to my tree by clicking the pencil icon to edit, then going to the “Match” tab. From here, I can tag her to an individual in my tree, or to our known common ancestor. I click Save, and now I see that she’s color coded with her position in my family tree.
Clicking, I can see where we’re related: Robert Woodland Henderson and Winafred Smith. If I click their names, I can continue to their profile page where I can share photos, or continue to build my family tree from this point.
I continue the kit matching process for everyone I can identify in my list. Some people have a little tree icon here. That means they’ve uploaded a GEDCOM at GEDmatch or WikiTree and I can browse their family tree to see where they fit in my tree.
Gradually, I’m able to start identifying how some of these kits relate to me.
Now, I can import my segment matching data to see what chromosome values we share. I do this the same way I imported my list view, by copying my segment match from the Tier 1 membership tools section of GEDmatch and pasting the values here into my RootsFinder segment view.
When it loads, I’ll see blocks. These blocks represent my chromosomes and the segments I share with my kits. Some of them will be color coded. This is because I’ve already tagged kits in them to my family tree. When I see a colored segment, I click to see all the kits who match me on this segment of the chromosome because if they also match each other on this segment, they could be related.
I’m going to get the kit numbers and use the GEDmatch Multi Kit Analysis to see which of these kits match each other on this segment. If they do, that’s a strong clue that they’re from the same family line as the kit I’ve attached to my tree.
Again, when I click a kit number I see their position in my tree, and now I also see a chromosome browser showing which chromosomes we share. If I click the pencil icon, I can add notes and I can even import their family tree for future analysis if they’ve uploaded a GEDCOM at GEDmatch or WikiTree.
Once I have my segment data imported, I’ll import my triangulation data so I can start to see the family groupings. Again, I copy and paste my Triangulation data from GEDmatch into my RootsFinder view.
When it’s processed, I’ll see how my matches relate to one another, and to me. I see this grouping over here has nothing to do with this grouping over here. This group has a lot of test takers who are closely related. This group over here needs more data. If I can identify kits in each group, I can start to see the relationship clusters, which provide clues to how we all connect. From here, I can reach out to my cousins and collaborate with them to share memories and grow our family tree. They don’t need a subscription to see any of my documentation. I can review and accept hints, keep track of research in my research logs, and everything is contained in one single system.
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