Ancestry DNA Circles
Today I went to Ancestry’s DNA Circles that were
created for the Isham Meadows fifth great grandfather. There were twenty-four
members and ten matches. I am confident that Isham Meadows (Sr.) is a fifth
great grandfather and he is the son of Daniel Meadows. Why? Because I have done
the research on the Meadows family line. The Meadows line has been researched
extensively, sourced, and verified with a male Meadows second cousin, and other
Meadows cousins. My sister has DNA tested with Ancestry DNA and Family Tree DNA
and due to the random nature of genetic inheritance she has Meadows matches in
her match list that don’t show up in mine.
I like Ancestry DNA Circles. They may be beneficial in
using them; however, you still must have the genealogical paperwork to prove
your ancestors. DNA and genealogical research go together. DNA is another tool for genealogists to use
with our genealogical research. You need to know who your ancestors are and
their history; you need a well researched and documented family tree.
DNA Circles aren’t proof. You need documents for proof
that the ancestor for which the circle is created is your ancestor. DNA doesn’t
lie, therefore when you have an Ancestry member that is a match, you look at
the centimorgans, then you know you are related, but how? I am more confident
when a match and I share a large segment of DNA. Ancestry shows the segments in
cM only, but doesn’t provide a chromosome browser as Family Tree and 23andMe
provides.
The more people who match you in the DNA Circle, the
chances are greater there is a connection to that ancestor. One of the large
circles that I have is thirty-five members and fifteen DNA matches. This circle
is for paternal ancestor Elizabeth Howard, a third great grandmother; and the
confidence level counting myself, is eleven – strong; two – good; two – some; and
one – weak; The weak member’s shared DNA is 9.5 across 2 segments. So, my
confidence in this match is low. Then, I look at one of the matches in the
circle that is strong. We share 10.9 cM of DNA that has a surname that is a maternal
third great grandmother. Possibly this is my maternal ancestor which is third
great grandmother Martha McCullough, rather than a paternal ancestor. The name
and location match the maternal ancestor.
I have more confidence in a circle when there are
several DNA matches with me and other members in the Circle than I do in a
Circle with three or four members in a circle. Circles come and go, and there
are several reasons for that. But as of today, I have twenty-five circles. The
most members that I have in any one circle is forty members. Several of my paternal
Edwards and related families tested with Ancestry DNA; my maternal Coon and
related families also tested with Ancestry DNA; and several of the paternal
line Meadows families have tested with Ancestry. Those DNA Circles have several
members in them. I have confidence in the large circles because I have done the
genealogical research and I have contacted members of those families. Some of
those same people have tested with all three companies.
I have two circles with four members in them. There
are three DNA matches and the circle membership confidence level is emerging. Emerging
level means there is some DNA evidence of a relationship but the DNA Circle is too
small, in this case four members, to determine how strong that evidence is. As
the circle grows my connection level will most likely change.
How does Ancestry create the circles for our
ancestors? A DNA Circle is a group of Ancestry members who all have the same ancestor
in their family trees. Each member shares DNA with at least one member in the
circle. Circles require at least two people to DNA match and a third person
that matches at least one of the other two members. The circles are created
from my DNA and my family tree. My DNA is shared with every member in the
Ancestry DNA database. Based on the amount of DNA I share with another member,
when Ancestry finds there is enough shared DNA between us, then they consider we
share a common ancestor. Our relationship is based on the amount of DNA we
share.
Once Ancestry DNA finds a DNA match they search my
family tree and my DNA matches’ family trees looking for ancestors who are the
same person. The criteria Ancestry looks for are facts like name, birth date,
birthplace, parents, and spouse of the ancestor. Ancestry goes back about nine
generations. Ancestry then calculates a shared ancestor hint confidence score.
To calculate the score, they look at the DNA. Is this DNA that you share from a
recent shared ancestor? They base the confidence in the DNA match and if both
me and my match inherited DNA from a recent shared ancestor. And is the shared
ancestor with the same birth date, birthplace, parents, and spouse in my tree.
If this is the case, Ancestry is confident the ancestor is the same for both of
us.
In this case Ancestry, has placed the two of us with a
common ancestor; however, we possibly could share another ancestor on another
line and we may be related but we don’t share DNA. This is the place where you
collaborate and connect with DNA Circle cousins. You can better understand the
relationship by sharing information. However, verify the information you
acquire from your new-found cousin. The consistency and accuracy of the family
trees on Ancestry have varying levels. They are built by the Ancestry DNA members.
The more reliable the family tree the more reliable DNA Circles and connection
levels will be.
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