FamilyTreeDNA Autosomal Transfers

The most exciting item to hit my genealogical inbox this week, was the news that FamilyTreeDNA is now accepting the transfer of autosomal DNA tests into their Family Finder database, from Ancestry and 23andMe, for only US $19.00.

 

This was much more exciting than the news that my Ancestry DNA test results were in, which, although anxiously awaited, totally underwhelmed me.  I will write more on this subject later.

 

I had already tested with 23andMe and Ancestry, had uploaded my raw DNA to GEDmatch.com and taken advantage of the free transfer to MyHeritage, so I was not expecting FamilyTreeDNA to offer anything new, other than being another hook in the genealogical pool, which might snag some results in the future.

 

Within an hour of uploading the raw DNA file from 23andMe, my matches were displayed, all 290 of them.  I immediately found a 2nd cousin, a 2nd cousin once removed and a 3rd cousin, whom I had found on other DNA testing sites.  Plus, I found a known 2nd cousin and a 2nd cousin once removed, whom I recognised from my paper research.  Not a bad start.

 

The matches all showed up under the "All" category, with none under the "Paternal", "Maternal" or "Both" categories, which was understandable as neither of my parents DNA were in the database.

 

I uploaded a GEDCOM file of my ancestry, which only took a few minutes, despite being over 6000 people, and began to link my 5 known matches to my family tree.  The report screen now showed 22 of my matches as Paternal and 7 as Maternal.  As I identify my connection to other matches, this feature will become increasingly useful in predicting which side of the family other matches are on.

 

The relationship range of 2nd to 3rd cousin and 2nd to 4th cousin predicted for all 5 of my known matches was correct, so another plus.

 

The results report can be filtered in 12 different ways, including "In Common With" and "Not in Common With", which allows you to easily find other matches that may be on the same line, or suggest which lines they are less likely to be on.

 

I also like the Chromosome Browser, as you can view which segments match on up to 5 people, and you can download the matching segments, if like me, you maintain a spreadsheet of matches that have been obtained from a variety of sources.

 

If you have tested with either Ancestry or 23andMe, I suggest that you take advantage of the FamilyTreeDNA autosomal transfer, as it will be the best $19 that you have spent on genealogy in a while.