Date: 2020
Location: WikiTree

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Contents 1 DNA Confirmations 1.1 Gedmatch.com 1.1.1 Register 1.1.2 GEDmatch Menus 1.1.3 Compare Two GEDMatch Kits 1.2 Comparing Cousins on WikiTree 1.2.1 Can I Use One Cousin to Confirm? 1.2.2 Which Relationships do I Mark as Confirmed? 1.2.3 Writing the DNA Confirmation Statement 1.2.4 Who Do I Mark as Confirmed With DNA? 1.3 Congratulations 1.4 Examples to Practice With 1.4.1 Example 1 1.4.2 Example 2 1.5 Helpful Links

DNA Confirmations

DNA confirmations can be a valuable tool for researchers. One of the most important things to remember on WikiTree is that the DNA confirmation supports the connections you have already seen via a paperwork trail. Finding cousins that match you to some extent, and have a common ancestor with you, solidifies that validity even more.

Some members will tell you that their DNA "proved" their relationship to some famous ancestor they are sure they have a connection to. While they may really have a connection to that person, the DNA as used on WikiTree will not prove that. To put it in perspective: I could put that my father is Ronald Silva and his father was Mickey Mouse. I could then show you a test kit of my cousin Jim Silva (who does match me) and say that the DNA proves he is the grandson of Mickey Mouse. See what I mean? DNA doesn't work that way.

Gedmatch.com

Register

Lets start by creating a free account at GEDMatch.com. Even if you aren't going to use it for DNA of your own, you may want to compare kits for a member later.

Note: You may use another site, such as FTDNA or MyHeritage. Not every site has the estimated number of generations.

Register for a free account

GEDmatch Menus

There are a lot of options available on GEDmatch. It is just like WikiTree, though. You will soon know which tools you want to use and navigate easily. For right now, unless you want to upload your own DNA, we are going to work with only one tool: the One-to-One Autosomal DNA Comparison. Note that all kits you personally manage will be listed in the lower-left portion of the page (minus the hearts, I added those for privacy 😉).

Mindy's GEDMatch account

Compare Two GEDMatch Kits

To start with, the only two fields you need to enter information into are the "Kit Number 1" and "Kit Number 2." Then, scroll down and click on "Compare." Go ahead and try using the two kits in the example.

As you can see, my cousin matches me on several chromosomes. This is helpful later for people that are trying to figure out a common ancestor, but not needed for this confirmation process. The part that you want is at the bottom: Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.9 (and the text around it)

Distance to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)

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Comparing Cousins on WikiTree

Can I Use One Cousin to Confirm?

Now we need to switch to a WikiTree help page on Which Relationships to Mark as Confirmed.

Still using me and cousin Jim as an example, here are the answers to those questions:

1. Do you have a match? Yes
2. Do you know your relationship? Yes
3. Are you using autosomal DNA? Yes
4. Are you third cousins or closer? Yes Note that third cousins count, as do second cousins once removed. You are counting the steps away from each other. Third cousin once removed would count as four steps, and can't be used with this process. That relationship would need a triangulation.
5. Does your relationship correspond with the prediction? Yes

If the answer to all of these is "Yes," then you move to the next step. If the answer to any of these questions is "No," then you can't use this process yet.

Which Relationships do I Mark as Confirmed?

The best tool for this step is a WikiTree tool. The quickest way for me is by clicking on a profile belonging to one of the cousins, then in your Wiki-ID menu on the upper right is "Relationship To Me." If you are helping someone else, simply change your Wiki-ID to theirs so you can see the two cousins.

DNA Confirmation Trail

Each 'step' in the path must first be proven with valid sources before marking DNA confirmed. Remember, on WikiTree DNA confirmation supports the paper trail, it doesn't replace it. In this case Jim and Mindy are living so do not need to prove their relationship to their father. The following does need proof:

• (2.) Manuel "Francis" Silva's profile needs proof that José Silva III is his father.
• (3.) José "Joe" Silva III's profile needs proof that José da Silva da Ribeira II is his father (and proof for the mother, as well, is good).
• (2.) Ronald Silva Sr's profile needs proof that Edwin Lee Silva is his father
• (3.) Edwin Lee Silva's profile needs proof that Manuel is his father (and additionally, that Josephine is his mother)

No matter how long the path is the living generation doesn't need proof, for privacy reasons. The final step is the only one that involves both parents, so proof should be added for both to their child.

In order to mark the relevant profiles you will need to follow the same path you did when you looked for proof:

1. Jim => Manuel "Francis" Silva
2. Francis => José "Joe" Silva III
3. Joe => José "Joe" Silva III & Rosa da Silva Horta

1. Mindy => Ronald Silva Sr
2. Ronald=> Edwin Lee Silva
3. Edwin=> Manuel Silva
4. Manuel => José "Joe" Silva III & Rosa da Silva Horta

As you mark the DNA confirmed status, make sure you paste the confirmation statement on each of those profiles.

Writing the DNA Confirmation Statement

You will need to make a confirmation statement for those profiles first, so lets look at that now. We are already using GEDmatch, so let's look at that example:

• Paternal and maternal relationships are confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between [[Wiki-ID|Cousin 1]] GEDmatch [Kit 1] and her [sister/cousin/uncle] [[Wiki-ID|Cousin 2]] GEDmatch [Kit 2]. Their most-recent common ancestors are their [parents/grandparents/great-grandparents] [[Wiki-ID|Male MRCA Name]] and [[Wiki-ID|Female MRCA Name]]. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = #.#, based on sharing ###.# cM across ## half-match/total-match segments.

Now, we'll plug in the information we have from the comparison of Mindy to Jim. Note that you only use "Paternal & Maternal" on the final statement. You use Paternal or Maternal along the way as the relationship dictates. In this example, each is a paternal relationship until the children below the MRCAs. In reality, it may go paternal, maternal, paternal, paternal (etc).

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between [[Silva-1055|Mindy Silva]] GEDmatch A030801 and her cousin [[Silva-1252|James "Jim" Silva]] GEDmatch A054943. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great-grandparents [[Silva_Ribeira-1|José "Joseph" "Joe" da Silva de Ribeira]] and [[Silva_Horta-12|Rosa Joaquina da Silva Horta]]. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.9, based on sharing 64.6 cM across 4 total-match segments.

Important Note: Just like everything else on WikiTree, we respect the privacy of DNA kit holders. If you do not have a cousin's permission to post their kit number on WikiTree, please don't use it! If they allow you to use their kit but don't want their name posted, you can list one of the parent's profiles and say "a daughter of..." instead of using their name and Wiki-ID.

Who Do I Mark as Confirmed With DNA?

Whew! You made it through the difficult part. Now comes the fun part - clicking the DNA confirmed status. But wait... who all can have that status set? To answer this we return to the path we laid out above. The first name is the profile you open (this can be done from that Relationship Found page), the second name, in blue, is the relationship that you mark with DNA Confirmed.

1. Jim => Manuel "Francis" Silva Jim's father, Manuel Francis Silva, is DNA confirmed
2. Francis => José "Joe" Silva III Francis' father, José Joe Silva III, is DNA confirmed
3. Joe => José "Joe" Silva III & Rosa da Silva Horta Joe's father, Joe Silva III, and his mother, Rosa da Silva Horta, are both DNA confirmed

1. Mindy => Ronald Silva Sr Mindy's father Ronald Silva Sr is DNA confirmed
2. Ronald=> Edwin Lee Silva Ronald's father Edwin Lee Silva is DNA confirmed
3. Edwin=> Manuel Silva Edwin's father, Manuel Silva, is DNA confirmed
4. Manuel => José "Joe" Silva III & Rosa da Silva Horta On the final step, the Most Recent Common Ancestors (MRCAs), you mark both as you don't know which one the child got their DNA from.

Congratulations

Congratulations - you have now learned the ins and outs of DNA confirmation. Play around with it a little bit and let me know if you have more questions. Once you get more familiar with them, you can move on to DNA Triangulation.

Examples to Practice With

Example 1

DNA Relationship Information Cousin 1 Cousin 1 kit Cousin 2 Cousin 2 kit Relationship Distance MRCA 1 MRCA 2 Number of cM Segments [[Silva-1055|Mindy Silva]] A030801 a child of [[Hennager-9|Glen Hennager]] Autosomal Ancestry match 1st Cousins 1st Cousin 1x removed [[Hennager-3|Ambrose Patrick Hennager]] [[Alexander-11540|Pearl Josephine (Alexander) Ellis]] 581.1 cM 30

Answer the five questions:

1. Is there a dna match?
2. Do you know the relationship?
3. Are you using autosomal DNA?
4. Are they third cousins or closer?
5. Does the relationship correspond with the prediction?

Check the WikiTree Relationship path.

Now use the Ancestry DNA confirmation template to complete the statement:

• [Paternal/Maternal] relationship for [Wiki-ID & Name] is confirmed with an AncestryDNA test match between [Cousin 1] and [Cousin 2], [Cousin 1]'s [relationship]. Their MRCA's are [Cousin 1]'s [relationship of MRCA] and [Cousin 2]'s [relationship of MRCA] [MRCA 1] and [MRCA 2]. Predicted relationship reported by AncestryDNA: [Estimated Relationship], based on sharing [##.#] centimorgans shared across ## DNA segments.

Which profiles can you mark "DNA Confirmed" on?

No peeking ahead of time! The DNA Confirmation statement you just worked on is the second one on Ambrose Patrick Hennager. How did you do?

Put any questions you have so far here:

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Example 2

DNA Relationship Information Cousin 1 Cousin 1 kit Cousin 2 Cousin 2 kit Relationship Distance MRCA 1 MRCA 2 Number of cM Segments [[Robinson-27225|Azure Robinson]] MQ3991244 [[Peasley-235|Sandra (Peasley) O'Leary]] M096737 2.1 [[Peasley-222|Francis Lynden Peasley]] [[Harrison-14231|Alice Hester (Harrison) Peasley]] 820.6 cM 33

Answer the five questions:

1. Is there a dna match?
2. Do you know the relationship?
3. Are you using autosomal DNA?
4. Are they third cousins or closer?
5. Does the relationship correspond with the prediction?

Check the WikiTree Relationship path.

Note that below the cousin path there is a box with "Explore more" in bold letters. It says "8 common ancestors were found between Azure and Sandra within 15 generations." It still shows that Azure and Sandra are first cousins, but it reveals additional ancestors they share in common. This could be helpful later in triangulating a more distant match.

Now pick a confirmation template to complete the statement:

• [Paternal/Maternal] relationship for [Wiki-ID & Name] is confirmed with an AncestryDNA test match between [Cousin 1] and [Cousin 2], [Cousin 1]'s [relationship]. Their MRCA's are [Cousin 1]'s [relationship of MRCA] and [Cousin 2]'s [relationship of MRCA] [MRCA 1] and [MRCA 2]. Predicted relationship reported by AncestryDNA: [Estimated Relationship], based on sharing [##.#] centimorgans shared across ## DNA segments.

~or~

• [Paternal/maternal] relationships are confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between [[Wiki-ID|Cousin 1]] GEDmatch [Kit 1] and [his/her] [sister/cousin/uncle] [[Wiki-ID|Cousin 2]] GEDmatch [Kit 2]. Their most-recent common ancestors are their [parents/grandparents/great-grandparents] [[Wiki-ID|Male MRCA Name]] and [[Wiki-ID|Female MRCA Name]]. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = #.#, based on sharing ###.# cM across ## half-match/total-match segments.

Which profiles can you mark "DNA Confirmed" on?

No peeking ahead of time! The DNA Confirmation statement you just worked on is on Francis Lynden Peasley. How did you do?

Put any questions you have here:

Helpful Links

• My help page on DNA Test Results and GEDmatch
• WikiTree Help page for GEDMatch.com

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Last updated on:

(19:02, 3 August 2020 (UTC))