Did you know merging can help you find more DNA matches?

Question

Here is a possible scenario:

If you have a 3rd great-grandfather for instance with two profiles that need to be merged--some of your cousins' DNA information might show up on one profile and your own family might show up on the other.  The two halves are not connecting and will not connect until merged.

The way autosomal DNA information works on WikiTree is it will filter up your tree to all of your profiles to eight degrees of separation.  BUT ONLY TO THE PROFILES CONNECTED TO YOU!

Here is a question I have been asked:  If my DNA information does not show on a profile that looks like it matches one of my profiles are they truly a match?  Yes!  Your DNA information will not show up on the profile needing to be merged with yours because it is not yet connected to you.

This is just one more reason why merges are a very important part of keeping our tree healthy and helping it meet its full potential.

You can search for potential merges on your tree by going to:your Watchlist and clicking the "Find Matches" button at the top.

Comments

Good suggestion Emma. I have not tried the Find Matches button on the Watchlist yet.

---

I was surprised at how many matches I found needing merged into my own tree.  And since I have a large watchlist, I couldn't get through all the profiles in one sitting--so more to do later :-)

---

Great info!  Thanks so much!  I will work my way through my matches.

Answer 1

Great post! This has major consequences for finding DNA matches. One additional point is that even one common ancestor will link your Autosomal DNA results.

For example, if one of the duplicate profiles is not linked to a spouse or a parent, linking that profile to another common relative will help DNA matches to show quickly. This can be especially helpful if one of the profile managers is slow to merge for some reason. (I hope I've described  that clearly.)

Comments

Thanks for the tip Bill!