G2G: Myheritage DNA results and their pedigree charts - what to believe?

Question

Has anyone else run into a conflict with Myheritage DNA results and the pedigree charts ( tree) that are included with the person that you are connected to via DNA? I got a DNA match for a person but their myheritage pedigree chart is incorrect. My research shows entirely different parents/grandparents. I don't have a myheritage account ( just paid for test) so I don't have first-hand knowledge of their accuracy.

Answer 1

Those pedigree charts are submitted by the other users. Many have no idea how to validate their trees and just put junk up. It’s not an issue specific to MyHeritage. Junk trees are on all the sites, except 23andme, which doesn’t allow testers to enter their trees into the website directly. (Maybe they’re onto something? … JK, 23andme is super annoying for not allowing trees).

Always take trees on these sites with a hefty pile of salt.

Comments

Thanks Barry. Do you have any advice on how to dig deeper into the DNA results with Myheritage? Very few of the DNA matches have common surnames with me so how do I know which side of the family they are connected to? And others just don't seem plausible. I only got 5 extended family hits and the other 14,000 are distant relatives.

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As Blaine Bettinger’s says: genetic genealogy is 90% building trees for your matches. Figure out who your closest matches are, then research their trees yourself until you find how they connect to you. But … that’s only if your own tree is pretty developed. Otherwise, start with your own, then move to theirs.

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As Barry points out, many of the trees you find online are junk. But when you are looking through them, be sure to actually look at any sources they may have. I found one that had 11 sources for an individual's birth, and every one of those sources referenced another tree with no sources. I eventually did find a good source, and all the others were incorrect in both location and date of birth.  So be careful out there!

Answer 2

Is the match who shows a different set of parents/grandparents to your tree a close match? How many cM do you share with this person? Do you recognize any of your shared DNA matches?

Comments

second cousin

shared DNA 3%  214 cM

segments = 11

largest segment = 42.5 cM

On the pedigree chart they got their grandparents and great - grandparents names correct (except maiden name). They just don't realize they are Eastern European though. They think they were born in Pennsylvania.

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You should be able to send a dna match a private message.

Answer 3

The connection/tree proposed by MyHeritage is just matching your tree to someone else's tree, and just like Thrulines on Ancestry the result is only as good as the other persons research.

 The new system MyHeritage has just released hasn't had enough time to find out how good it is, their theory of relativity is remarkably inaccurate, especially compared to Thrulines.

 The new estimated relationship works well for close relations eg high cM amounts, but otherwise is wildly inaccurate, I had a "3rd cousin" who is actually a 7th cousin.

 Still MyHeritage's recent upgrade has helped me fit a few puzzling DNA matches into my tree.

 As always these tools are just an aid and can be a useful pointer on where to conduct research

Comments

Sorry, missed out

The way I do it is to scan their tree for familiar names, then if that fails ancestral locations that fit your tree, failing that I check Wikitree and if they're not there, I put their profiles on Wikitree, and use Sourcerer to search FamilySearch and Ancestry, then a search on MyHeritage to find other records or family trees.

 It's a lot of work but adding DNA matches trees that you have researched to Wikitree can work if you link to your ancestors, if not someone else may make the connection.

 I also create research trees for the matches on the paid sites, from that I solved two matches connections this week, other months zero.

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thanks. much appreciated.

Answer 4

They are as variable in their quality as the trees found on most websites, such as Ancestry. They are often pretty scratchy. Tree disagreements should normally be seen as an opportunity to swap notes and then you both hopefully have better trees. You have to hope that people write back though!

(When people buy a DNA test and then don't answer questions the value of the test they paid for is unfortunately being decreased. When you have a close match, it is pretty much always a good idea to write, so that both parties can have a clear understanding of the match. If it is easy to explain, then they have an anchor point for examining future matches. If it is not easy to explain, then there is a chance you are about to discover some new information.)

Answer 5

I commenced my pedigree / family tree with what I knew.  I then commenced with the data pack records then Geni, FamilySearch, Filae, Genealogy Online Family Tree Index.  This way, the records are more correct.  When dealing with Royalty, Nobility, Famous people, I use genealogical databases, Clan and Family databases as well as many other sources.  I am always open for corrections as the records on the MH data pack need tydying up when added to MH.                                                                                                                                          Commencing from of the weekend of    3 November 2023, MH has changed how data is added to account holders' trees.  Not all data is added and the following is now added at the top of each profile: Example of one profile that I have in my tree(s).    So now, Wikitree should look to adding the all in one tree back to MH as I for one found it an invaluable source on MyHeritage.                                    I also use the same formula on Ancestry - I add the records before I add the tree data to my profiles.                I am in the process of adding adding data to my FindMyPast tree, but will have to pay for a subscription next year as I can only afford one subscription at a time.    This match was confirmed and saved to Pauline Gilmer Wilkinson (born Spyker).

Undo confirm

You can [link url="https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10965/louisiana-death-index-1819-1969?s=60265421&action=showExtractWizard&ref=rp&itemId=1123350-&groupId=&indId=individual-60265421-100502710" title="extract additional info" target="_self"] from this match to your tree.