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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: jillruss on Wednesday 10 April 19 16:10 BST (UK)
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This question is really just for my own curiosity. ::) I'm convinced my ancestors have produced descendants who are either, in the main, very reticent about having their DNA tested or just as disinterested as the rest of my immediate family appear to be.
How many 4th cousins or closer is Ancestry telling you are a match with? I did the test just over a year ago and currently have just 200 such matches, and have been stuck on that 200 for a while now. From different posts on here, I get the impression that the norm is quite a lot higher for most people.
So, if you don't mind replying with your number, I'd be grateful to compare - not that I can do anything about it, of course, it would just be good to know.
I would add that, despite a dubious start to my 'DNA experience', I have found some really interesting matches and subsequently new ancestors.
Oh, and do you think I'll be consigned to the flames of Hell for wanting to shoot all those people who match but don't have trees and/or don't reply to my (always polite) messages? ;)
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I have 358 close matches, Jill, and 48,843* matches in total!
Gadget
* think this was the others total but its gone up now - all those 6-7 cM matches ::)
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I have 193. I started (about 8 months ago) with c130 and I must admit the trickle of additions has slowed considerably. I have found several very good connections with some of these, but the number who don't reply, even when they have trees is annoying to say the least. Sadly my closest match is adopted and we can't see where, living on different continents!
Steve
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I have 261 matches in the 4th cousin grouping. Total matches 34,288. Most of the English kits I manage are around that level. The Canadian kits I manage have over 350. The Italian kits I manage are down in double figures, with the lowest just having 11 at 4th cousin level.
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256
last time I checked...
xin
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Just Old Bristolian as bereft as me then - so far! (Old Bristolian:- I don't suppose any of your Horwoods made their way to or from Berkshire?)
You're doing well, Gadget! How on earth do you count your total matches? I didn't bother with many of the 5th-8th cousin matches to begin with but, since I persuaded two of my brothers to test and am managing their results, I've cottoned on that they may have a match with a high cM level but, when I check for them on my list, they can be either down in the 'also rans' or even not mentioned in despatches at all!!
Funny thing, this DNA!! Almost as bewildering as Brexit!!! ;D
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Total 299.
Two offspring.
Two first cousins.
Four third cousins two of whom I had never heard of), and...
two hundred and 291 fourth cousins.
However, 66 of these 291 (greater than 20 cM) are linked to just four different branches and by using shared matches most matches share a common ancestor with at least one other match and usually more.
I know that one of these four thick branches is an Ingram connection (Aberdeen/Banffshire) one is to Evan Jones (from Carmarthenshire - a prominent elder of the Mormon Church), one I can trace back to my Suffolk roots and the fourth branch is definitely Irish (Leinster/Ulster).
There you go: English, Irish, Scots and Welsh. The perfect island mongrel!
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Jillruss, If you enable the beta test for improved matching then you will see the count of total matches, 4th cousins, new matches and any group filters that you set.
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You're doing well, Gadget! How on earth do you count your total matches?
As Craclyn says - you get this, amongst other info. I have little coloured markers for my various groupings now :)
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Jillruss, If you enable the beta test for improved matching then you will see the count of total matches, 4th cousins, new matches and any group filters that you set.
I can't see how to do this. I'm still getting the same old screen - and no indication as to how to go onto the beta screen. (Mind you, I'm notorious for not seeing what's in front of my nose end!)
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Go to Extras on top bar.
Click on Ancestry lab
Scroll to New and Improved
Click Enable
:)
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Thanks for the ‘Extras’ info, Gadget.
I have 538 close matches - 4th cousin or closer.
I persuaded my husband around Christmas time - he thought he would have few matches ;)
He has 577 - 4th or closer
.
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I think we both must have had ancestors who had large families, heywood - yours even larger than mine ;D
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Thanks for the ‘Extras’ info, Gadget.
I have 538 close matches - 4th cousin or closer.
I persuaded my husband around Christmas time - he thought he would have few matches ;)
He has 577 - 4th or closer
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Go on! Rub it in.... getting on for 3 times the number I have! I apparently have 29,770 matches in total, so my numbers are down there as well. I shall have to launch a recruitment campaign!! ::)
Thanks for the 'how to', Gadget - I thought I'd got even that wrong but found I had to log out and log back in again to get the Beta to work. I shall now have a play!!
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I started about a year ago with 109 4th or closer, it's 224 as of today. I though there would be a few after Christmas but it's just a slow trickle.
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Has the Beta version 'lost' that part of a match's profile which (if they have filled it in) tells you where they live, how old they are etc? I use that a lot, when available, to try and locate possible 'candidates' when other info (like a tree) is not provided.
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Are you referring to the Beta that was introduced last night, Jill?
If so, you can toggle it to Off (top right).
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Are you referring to the Beta that was introduced last night, Jill?
If so, you can toggle it to Off (top right).
I don't know when it was introduced, Gadget (you expect too much of me!) but its the one that's there now. I don't see that the profile page now gives any personal info on the match - like age, residence etc. Other than that, I certainly like the look of the new lay out, so many thanks for pointing me at it. Kudos to Ancestry as well for continuing to make efforts to improve our 'experience'.
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I think we both must have had ancestors who had large families, heywood - yours even larger than mine ;D
Almost all down to migration Mayo to Pennsylvania for me and Mayo to Massachusetts in my husband’s case.
In terms of closer relatives I have 7 in 2nd cousin range and 21 in 3rd cousin range.
OH has 1 first cousin and 1 2nd cousin and 12 in 3rd cousin range.
It’s still a mystery at times to me, ::)
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I have 136 4th cousin matches or closer. You are all doing better than me. cb
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224 Fourth cousins or closer on my latest count.
Still trying to work out most of the connections.....
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Go to Extras on top bar.
Click on Ancestry lab
Scroll to New and Improved
Click Enable
:)
I don't have that option? No Ancestry lab option within Extras >:(
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Just Old Bristolian as bereft as me then - so far! (Old Bristolian:- I don't suppose any of your Horwoods made their way to or from Berkshire?)
I don't know of any who strayed from Bristol, but my Horwoods (sometimes spelt Harwood) died out around 1745. I've just checked my total matches and I've got 24113,
Steve
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IgorStrav, If you are not seeing anything under Ancestry Lab try clearing your cookies. If that does not help then you should contact them as you are missing out on some useful new beta functionality. As well as the colour labelling for matches there is als a tree tagging beta.
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IgorStrav, If you are not seeing anything under Ancestry Lab try clearing your cookies. If that does not help then you should contact them as you are missing out on some useful new beta functionality. As well as the colour labelling for matches there is als a tree tagging beta.
Not all the cookies. Just the Ancestry ones.
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Are you referring to the Beta that was introduced last night, Jill?
If so, you can toggle it to Off (top right).
I don't know when it was introduced, Gadget (you expect too much of me!) but its the one that's there now. I don't see that the profile page now gives any personal info on the match - like age, residence etc. Other than that, I certainly like the look of the new lay out, so many thanks for pointing me at it. Kudos to Ancestry as well for continuing to make efforts to improve our 'experience'.
Jill - if it's from your DNA listing, click on the tree cell (whether there is one or not) and you should get up the old info of your match
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I have 325 4th Cousin or closer, with a grand total of 33,231 matches in full.
For info - I got my Dad's sample yesterday, posted today, so will be expecting results in towards the end of May I hope - or before if lucky!!
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228 4th cousin or closer, and only 21,918 matches in total
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This is a question I've wondered about!
My Close matches 4th cousins or closer = 246
Distant matches = 51552, amazing!
I seem to have quite a number of families with 8 to 10 children.
I do have many links to a family (Clarke) I know nothing about other than linked by DNA.
Can I sneak a request for Barkers from Cheshire, Wirral, N Wales to be tested, very few from there..
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245 4th cousins or closer here, most of which I can't connect, as they've not managed to cross their tree to the UK (if indeed they have one).
Can I sneak a request for Barkers from Cheshire, Wirral, N Wales to be tested, very few from there..
I do have a Barker in my Cheshire tree (from Northwich) - but as I heavily suspect she wasn't the child of the man her mother married, it probably won't be much use! ::) ::)
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160 4th cousins or closer today, a couple of days ago it was 159 and a few days before that it was 160 again, can't work that one out. It was 140 when I got my results at the end of january this year. Total matches is 25,662.
I have a group of people - three siblings and two first cousins to these siblings descended from a brother and two sisters. One is predicted 3rd cousin and the others a bit lower cm so predicted 4th. They have an extensive tree going back several generations and I can't see any match at all. The locations don't match with any of mine either.
yet some 6th cousins have been found quite easily.
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Are you referring to the Beta that was introduced last night, Jill?
If so, you can toggle it to Off (top right).
I don't know when it was introduced, Gadget (you expect too much of me!) but its the one that's there now. I don't see that the profile page now gives any personal info on the match - like age, residence etc. Other than that, I certainly like the look of the new lay out, so many thanks for pointing me at it. Kudos to Ancestry as well for continuing to make efforts to improve our 'experience'.
Jill - if it's from your DNA listing, click on the tree cell (whether there is one or not) and you should get up the old info of your match
Thanks once more, Gadget. Found them! I think I must just have been confronted on the Beta system with profiles that never had the additional info re age, location etc on their original profile. I will find my way around this new set up!
As for numbers, it looks as if mine is still very much on the small side - but I am not alone! Obviously, just a matter of luck as to how many of your prospective cousins have tested. I still think a lot of mine are hiding behind the proverbial door! Both my parents only had one sibling each but there are lots of children in earlier family groups.
Another question re the Beta system which is concerning me: my own profile shows the numbers in both my public tree (basic outline) AND my much larger tree which is (I hope) private, but the latter is headed Private Searchable Tree - what does this 'Searchable' mean re its privacy?
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I have 1000+ 4th cousin and closer, and my husband has 951 4th cousin and closer. We are American, which probably helps.
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I have 1000+ 4th cousin and closer, and my husband has 951 4th cousin and closer. We are American, which probably helps.
Certainly seems to justify my suspicions that there are a heck of a lot of Americans on Ancestry DNA compared with other nationalities. But - possibly a contentious question - why do so many of them seem to stop their online trees before delving into their early non-USA roots? Is it because of poor access to records or what?
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I wondered that. I’ve found the same. Trees start with someone who apparently ‘just growed’ and there seems to be little or no interest in whatever happened to them before they touched US soil.
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I don't think it's always lack of interest so much as it's not always easy to get back over the pond. If you have an Ancestry subscription, it's cheaper to get US-only subscriptions or a public library may have US-only access. For those of us with ancestors from the UK and Ireland, at least we have a common language and reasonably accessible records, but things get more complicated with branches from elsewhere.
I would have to throw a lot of money at the problem and make a lot of effort to figure out our lines going back to Germany, Russia, etc. I also have an immigrant ancestor who came from Ireland in the mid-1800's with a common name and no parents' names or specific area of Ireland known. It's a longstanding brick wall that I don't think I will ever solve unless a miraculous family Bible shows up online.
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Another question re the Beta system which is concerning me: my own profile shows the numbers in both my public tree (basic outline) AND my much larger tree which is (I hope) private, but the latter is headed Private Searchable Tree - what does this 'Searchable' mean re its privacy?
Jill it's related to Thrulines.
To check, go to your tree and click on the Private one. When it comes up, click on the top right label which shows the name. Then:
->Tree Settings
->Privacy Settings
Scroll down to Private tree and check if the settings are what you wish. If you click the 'prevent your tree etc...', you won't get ThruLines
Gadget
Add - I have 4-5 lines that emigrate to US or Canada, which might well explain my relatively large number of matches.
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I have 280 4th cousins my mother has 1000
Ive only just got a dna circle from my paternal scottish side
Wheras i have 4 circles from my mothers side ..
I have international relatives on both sides .
Im trying to work out thru lines ....looks as if it should be obvious but Im not sure what to do with tbe potential ancestors on offer...some of whom are already on my tree !
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1 more close match popped up this am (so 359 now) . The last few have been all in the 20- 30cMs though.
So many with this amount have links to Jones in Merionethshire - Arrgh - as I have 6 Jones lines from that county :(
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I have 34, 174 Total Matches
And 218 Close Matches so far...
I've recently discovered that I have two separate sets of Mormons, (on the Welsh and Sussex sides) and so no doubt some polygamy will have bumped up the numbers!
Romilly ;D ;D
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Still stuck on 200!!
However, I am having fun using the coloured dots to divide my matches into groups - much better than on paper. The matches stand out so much better and I've even identified some new ones.
I must be very 'sad' because I'm really enjoying myself! :-[
I do agree with brigidmac, though, with the Scottish matches - I have a strong Scottish branch but links don't seem to come easy there. I have lots of people whose names I have written 'Scotland' against but very few links. I suppose it must have something to do with the fact that so many Scots emigrated in the 1800s.
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I have Jones too and my great grandfather married a Smith
But as they were both remarriages its quite exciting as have lines which branch off ...their half siblings have descendats on ancestry ...so when u get a 4th cousin match it can sometimes actually be a 3rd cousin with 1 great great grandparent in common instead of both
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Don't tell me about those double cousinships - drives ya mad they do ;D
I've got quite a few on my Dad's side. The lines all appeared in a small coal mining village in the late 1700s and intermarried ::)
Luckily, my mother's line was mainly Scottish - but they married into the Merionethshire Joneses ;D
PS - those coloured markers are ever so useful in working out the family groups - the doubles get two or more colours.
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I've got loads and been contacted by one of them who is the grandson of my grandfather's sister. That's the grandfather who told his family he was an orphan and been in an orphanage! Not true as I found out when researching the family, he had 2 brothers (one killed in WW1) and 3 sisters, one died aged 13, and he wasn't in an orphanage that was his youngest brother who was killed in WW1. The person who contacted me had a photo of his gran aged about 70 and I can see the family likeness, and he also sent me a photo of his gran and her 11 children, each one who grew to adulthood, yet my aunt told me that she didn't know of any relations of her dad at all. Shame really as my dad had those 11 cousins, plus another 3 from his father's other sister.
I'm also in contact with a 4th cousin that I found on 23andMe, that is interesting as I'm hoping I can find a link to my mysterious g.grandfather. There are actually 6 of us who are all 4th cousins of each other and the one I'm in contact with and another one, a female, are more closely linked than the other 3, plus the female is a closer 4th cousin to the man I'm in contact with than I am. It's a very big brick wall I'm trying to knock down but I'm more confident now that I will get there.
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Hello - just joined today - Apr 12/19.
I have 211 4th cousins or closer; one 2nd cousin (who I know well) and 3 third cousins (only two of whom I knew of previously - one is the child of my 2nd cousin mentioned above).
I had my DNA test done in November 2018.
The matches are interesting - I have contacted, and received responses from 3 or 4 cousins and we have been able to identify the connection(s).
I have also been contacted to let me know I've made an error in adding someone who isn't 'mine'! That is also helpful, and I appreciate it, and quickly make the correction and let them know.
And yes, I would also like to reach out and smack people with no trees or unlinked trees (who have been members for YeaRs!) LOL
Cheers all
Ms_Canuck
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And yes, I would also like to reach out and smack people with no trees or unlinked trees (who have been members for YeaRs!) LOL
Cheers all
Ms_Canuck
So glad its not just me!
Question No.325 (!!) about the Beta - I've just discovered the list keeps going beyond the 4th-6th (20 cMs and above) cousins. However, am I right in saying that Ancestry still only give the shared matches for these people which are over 20 cMs? In which case, is it worth colour coding them below 4-6 cousin? I'd say not.
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Jillruss, I colour code as far as I can. I do not like having artificial thresholds imposed on me by Ancestry.
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I understand this is an Ancestry question but on FTDNA FamilyFinder I have been consistently 10-12% of my matches
ie 281 matches from 2441
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Jillruss, I colour code as far as I can. I do not like having artificial thresholds imposed on me by Ancestry.
I take your point, Craclyn, and I have a few colour coded matches below 20cMs if I have 'stumbled' across them. I think my lowest at the moment is a mere 7cMs. BUT if the shared matches for these lower matches are only provided from the 'above 20cMs pool' there seems little point in going through them systematically to try and establish a colour group. In any case, there are so many, I'm not sure I'll live that long!!!
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The ones I pick up at that the lower levels are usually based on either a surname search or a location search. Some of them can be interesting and useful. It would be impossible to work systematically through the whole match list.
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Just gone up to 282 close matches but when i search new matches only distant dna connections are shown
On the plus side found a 5th cousin from trees who has sent pics of my grandmas cousins as children .It was her grandma who was playing with a sister & cousin who i think will also be my grandmothers cousin and has linked me to some names which do match up from people who share DNA
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Brigid - I often have to scroll down the New list until I find one greater than 20cMs. Ancestry Beta doesn't put them in relationship order.
Gadget
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Thanks Gadget will try that
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An alternative to scrolling down the New list to find closer is matches is to filter on 4th cousins then use the next filter to get unviewed. This will give you all of the closer matches you have not yet looked at.
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An alternative to scrolling down the New list to find closer is matches is to filter on 4th cousins then use the next filter to get unviewed. This will give you all of the closer matches you have not yet looked at.
That doesn't work on Beta all the time!
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Gadget, What problem are you having with that approach? It has been working consistently for me on all of the dozen kits I manage.
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It's inconsistent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's not a problem though as I work around it.
:)
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I was a bit baffled why i have 282 matches
My fathers sister has 335
But my mother has over 1000
I wonder if one reason is that ive included more of siblings families in each generation on the tree linked to her DNA
Do older generations generally get more matches ?
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Comparing your father's sister's total with your mother's, it would seem that your mother has more relatives being tested than on your father's side. Also, the further away in kinship you are, the fewer cMs you would share. Probably some of the matches that are shown as 4th or closer to your mother are shown as distant to you. See for eg:
https://isogg.org/wiki/Cousin_statistics
It might be worth looking at your shared matches with both sides.
Gadget
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To illustrate this,
I have 359 4th or closer matches
My niece and I share 57 close matches
Her son (my great/grand nephew) and I share 40 close matches
My 2rd cousin and I share 24 close matches.
Gadget
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???
I just flipped from Firefox to Chrome and lo and behold, they've added another one - now it's 360
***Very odd as Firefox is still showing 359, although I've refreshed!
???
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I just flipped from Firefox to Chrome and lo and behold, they've added another one - now it's 360
***Very odd as Firefox is still showing 359, although I've refreshed.
If Chrome is showing a higher number then it sounds as though Firefox is pulling outdated information from cache.
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I clear the cache (automatically) every time I exit Firefox so there wouldn't be any old stuff there.
I'd be interested to see what those others who have regular close match updates find.
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I currently have 327 4th cousins or closer or which 1 is a second cousin and 7 are 3rd cousins and frustrating they either don't have a family tree and/or it is only goes back a couple of generations :(
My matches on MyHeritage have been fewer but more helpful.
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Hurray! I've finally moved off 200 onto 201! And its a Russell match - these are a bit like hen's teeth, so worth waiting for.
Another question about colour coding (sorry, gadget): I am now colour coding my brother's matches which I manage. I have picked up some matches way down the pecking order - latest is 11cMs. I've looked and looked but can't see any other way of adding this 11cM bod to a colour group without scrolling right down the entire list until I get to him - very time consuming, not to mention mind-numbing (and I don't need any more of that, thank you!). Is there a simpler and quicker way of doing this? (I bet there is, I just haven't found it!! :-[)
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Can you find him by just doing a ctrl F on the full list ?
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Thanks once again, gadget! I shall be nominating you for a damehood for services to the lesser brained family historian! ;D
And match 201 has actually replied to my message! Heavens to betsy!!
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Thanks for yoir advice .
I will get someone to help with photos i tried pressing attachment file then camera and taking a pic with phone of photo on tablet ..then still couldnt.post it .
As for shared matches.with mum and aunt ive never looked at all of them but will do .
Very frustrating that a 1st person with Macdermid surname is coming up as 3rd match for aunt and not on mune at all cant look at their connections cos subx not paid
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I have 537 4th cousin or closer but only around 70 are from my paternal side from Scotland. My maternal side is from a small island in Mayo, Ireland but it's very complicated trying to place anyone, lots of double cousins and hardly any trees 😓
H x