Help:DNA Confirmation

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DNA confirmation means using science to confirm the relationships that have been put together using traditional genealogy. Confirmation is not easy. Please follow these instructions carefully and always create a source citation that explains your conclusion.

As an alternative to following these instructions, you can use Greg Clarke's DNA Confirmation app.

Contents

Which Instructions Should You Follow?

number1.gif Do you have a match?

If a DNA testing company or a third-party test comparison site such as GEDmatch has provided you with a match, continue.

→ If not, consider testing with another company or uploading to GEDmatch.

number2.gif Do you know your relationship?

If you know your relationship to your match through traditional genealogy or family history, continue.

→ If not, more genealogy needs to be done. See Help:DNA Matches for tips on working with your matches.

number3.gif What type of DNA test are you using?

If your test is from AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, 23andMe, or another autosomal testing company, continue.

→ For yDNA see Help:Y-Chromosome DNA Confirmation.
→ For X and mtDNA see Help:Advanced_DNA_Confirmations.

number4.gif Are you third cousins or closer?

If your DNA test match is a third cousin or a second cousin twice removed [1] or closer, continue.

→ If your match is beyond a third cousin (such as a third cousin once removed, a fourth cousin, etc.) see Help:Triangulation.

number5.gif Does your relationship correspond with the prediction?

If the DNA testing company has predicted that you and your match are third cousins or closer and this corresponds with your genealogically-known relationship, continue.

→ If the DNA-predicted relationship does not correspond with your known relationship, more genealogy or DNA testing needs to be done. See Help:DNA Matches for tips on working with your matches.

Which Relationships to Mark as Confirmed

Example of DNA-confirmed relationships for third cousins.

If you answered "yes" to the five questions above you can use a single test match to mark each relationship back to your most recent common ancestor(s) as Confirmed with DNA.

This means:

  • If your match is a sibling you can confirm your relationships to both your parents.
  • If your match is a half-sibling you can confirm your relationship to the one shared parent.
  • If your match is a first cousin on your father's side you can confirm your relationship to your father and his relationships to both his parents. If your match is a first cousin on your mother's side you can confirm your relationship to your mother and her relationships to both her parents.
  • If your match is a second cousin you can confirm relationships back to great-grandparents.
  • If your match is a third cousin you can confirm relationships back to great-great-grandparents. (See example image at right.)

It's easy to see all the confirmable relationships if your match is on WikiTree. Select the "Relationship to Me" link on the pull-down menu at the top of your match's profile that begins with their WikiTree ID. All the relationships that connect you — up to and including your most-recent common ancestor or ancestral couple — can be marked as confirmed.

See Help:DNA Confirmation Example if you'd like a walk-through example.

Setting relationship status.

How to Mark Relationships as DNA Confirmed

The relationship status level is set from the child's edit page.

For example, to mark your relationship to your father as Confirmed with DNA click the edit tab on your profile and then select "father is confirmed with DNA" in the Edit Family column. (See example screenshot to right.)

How to Add Source Citations

Every time you mark a child's relationship to their parent as Confirmed with DNA you must add a source citation to the == Sources == section of the child's profile that explains how you made the DNA-confirmed conclusion.

Sources are essential for our mission to create an accurate single family tree. If there isn't a proper source citation for a DNA-confirmed conclusion the relationship status should be changed by you or another member to Confident.

Some members also like to add a === DNA === subsection under the == Biography == but this is optional. It is like a Research Notes section for genetic genealogy.

Note: As an alternative to following these instructions, you can use Greg Clarke's DNA Confirmation app.

Source requirements if your match is on WikiTree

If your match has a WikiTree profile here is what the source citation needs to include:

  • Whether the father or mother is confirmed by the DNA test comparison.
  • WikiTree IDs of you and your match. You can include names as well, but do not use your match's name if their profile does not have a public family tree.
  • Name of DNA testing company or third-party website where the tests were compared.
  • Predicted relationship from the DNA testing company or amount of shared DNA. For privacy, do not include any details about segment match locations.

Source requirements if your match is not on WikiTree

If your match does not have a WikiTree profile:

  • Whether the father or mother is confirmed by the DNA test comparison.
  • Your WikiTree ID and the initials (or another anonymous identifier) for your match. You can include your full name but do not publicly reveal the identity of your match.
  • Name of DNA testing company or third-party website where the tests were compared.
  • Predicted relationship from the DNA testing company or amount of shared DNA. For privacy, do not include any details about segment match locations.
  • Genealogically-known relationship between you and your match (e.g. "second cousins").
  • WikiTree ID of your most recent common ancestor(s).

Source citation examples

Family Tree DNA Family Finder

If you meet the requirements above for using a single match on Family Tree DNA to confirm parental relationships here is an example of what to include in the == Sources == section of each child with a parent marked as confirmed.

* Paternal relationship is confirmed by a {{Family Tree DNA}} Family Finder test match between [[Johnson-18438|Kay (Johnson) Wilson]] and her paternal aunt [[Johnson-17543|Dorothy (Johnson) Hughes]]. Their most-recent common ancestors are [[Johnson-17545|O.V. Johnson]] and [[Murdoch-292|Grace Murdoch]], grandparents of [[Johnson-18438|Kay (Johnson) Wilson]] and parents of [[Johnson-17543|Dorothy (Johnson) Hughes]]. Predicted relationship from FTDNA: Niece/Aunt, based on sharing 1958 cM across 49 segments.

23andMe

If you meet the requirements above for using a single match on 23andMe to confirm parental relationships here is an example of what to include in the == Sources == section of each child with a parent marked as confirmed.

Note that you can find the amount of shared DNA using 23andMe's TOOLS > DNA Comparison.

* Maternal relationship is confirmed by a {{23andMe}} test match between [[Whitten-1|Chris Whitten]] and [[Nally-4|Rebecca (Nally) Syphers]], first cousins once removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are [[Bartlett-4|Hollis Bartlett Sr.]] and [[Storrs-2|May Storrs]], the great grandparents of [[Whitten-1|Chris Whitten]] and grandparents of [[Nally-4|Rebecca (Nally) Syphers]]. Predicted relationship from 23andMe: First to Second Cousin, based on sharing 498 cM across 21 segments.

AncestryDNA

If you meet the requirements above for using a single match on AncestryDNA to confirm parental relationships here is an example of what to include in the == Sources == section of each child with a parent marked as confirmed.

Note that you can use AncestryDNA's amount of shared DNA feature to find the shared cM and segments.

* Paternal relationship is confirmed by an {{AncestryDNA}} test match between [[Whitten-1|Chris Whitten]] and his second cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, [[Bartlett-4|Hollis Bartlett Sr.]] and [[Storrs-2|May Storrs]]. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousins, based on sharing 150.3 cM across 9 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

MyHeritage

If you meet the requirements above for using a single match on MyHeritageDNA to confirm parental relationships here is an example of what to include in the == Sources == section of each child with a parent marked as confirmed.

* Maternal relationship is confirmed by a {{MyHeritageDNA}} test match between [[Brown-8212|Abby Glann]] and her 2nd cousin once removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are [[Fraaken-1|Franklin Fraaken]] and [[Olds-43|Grace Olds]], the 2nd great grandparents of [[Brown-8212|Abby Glann]] and the great grandparents of her cousin. Predicted relationship from MyHeritage: 1st cousin twice removed to 2nd cousin twice removed, based on sharing 143.1 cM across 8 segments.

GEDmatch

If you meet the requirements above for using a single match on GEDmatch to confirm parental relationships here is an example of what to include in the == Sources == section of each child with a parent marked as confirmed.

Note that you can use GEDmatch's one-to-one utility estimate for the number of generations to the MRCA, shared cM, and the number of segments shared.

* Paternal and maternal relationships are confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between [[Johnson-18438|Kay (Johnson) Wilson]] and her sister [[Johnson-18997|Lynn (Johnson) Andrews]]. Their most-recent common ancestors are their parents [[Johnson-17544|Douglas Johnson]] and [[Smith-38566|Phyllis Smith]]. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.2, based on sharing 2654.8 cM across 46 half-match segments.


  1. ↑ Third cousins (3C), second cousins twice removed (2C2R), and First cousins four times removed (1C4R) all share the same calculated amount of DNA (0.781%) and can be used for one-to-one DNA confirmation. (Example charts here and here.)


This page was last modified 19:11, 11 October 2023. This page has been accessed 259,320 times.