Thank you for upgrading. I am pleased to welcome you as a member of the WikiTree family. Your contributions will go a long way to joining the world’s trees together.

I would suggest starting with the New Member How-To pages, they will save you a lot of time and frustration.

Please add as much information as you can, with sources, as it all helps to turn a “name” back into a person. I hope you enjoy the site as much as I do.

Thank you for adding your DNA Test information to your profile on WikiTree. Your information will be propagated to the profiles of your parents and your ancestors within about 24 hours of being added. It will also propagate to the profiles of the descendants of your ancestors, so they may see your information under the heading "DNA Connections" just as you can see theirs.

Getting started with DNA outlines how to proceed to use your DNA test information on WikiTree and DNA is a link to a collection of links about WikiTree's many features involving DNA.

The DNA Connections list on your profile will provide a visual way for you to find potential relatives on WikiTree who have also added their DNA test information. Using DNA tools at sites like GEDMatch.com, if you find a relative that matches your DNA sufficiently and you have genealogical sources for the intermediate relationships, you can mark the specific parental relationships back to the most recent ancestor that you both share as "confirmed with DNA." For details, guidance and examples of how to properly document DNA confirmations, see DNA confirmation.

To get the best results, begin adding sourced profiles for your ancestors until you can connect to ancestors already in WikiTree. If you have exhausted what you know on one line, it can sometimes help to add what you know on another line. The more branches you are able to add the greater the likelihood of finding potential cousins to match with. The process of identifying which branch elements of DNA relate to will better enable you to find matches that relate to the particular branches you are researching.

You mentioned that you don’t know much about your family tree yet. I assume you are fairly new to genealogy. No problem! Every genealogist is a beginner at some point. Take your time, keep track of sources and ask questions. Check here for tips.

Have fun collaborating on your ancestors

Wendy ~ WikiTree Greeter

This is just a note to say hi and to let you know that I'm available to answer questions about WikiTree.

To contact me, log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure that I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment, on my profile page.

Wendy ~ WikiTree Greeter