Do you have a DNA match to me? Have you added a family tree?

While there are different reasons to take a DNA test, one reason is to find unknown relatives. If you have taken a genetic genealogy oriented DNA test you are probably interested in determining your genealogical link to people you match. When you add a family tree at either the DNA testing company, FamilyTree DNA, MyHeritage, LivingDNA, or AncestryDNA, etc., or at a genealogical website which you link your DNA results to, GENI, WIKITREE, TribalPages, etc., please be as complete with the data for deceased individuals as you can. This means that you include locations, at least county and state in the USA, and full dates of birth, marriage, and death, as far as you know them.

Please don't list deceased persons as Private unless you don't want genealogical relations to find you. In the USA the most recent public population census is that for 1940. The 1950 census will be available in 2022. Having locations and dates allows the person looking at your family tree to make connections with people in their tree to allow identification of the most recent common ancestor/s, (MRCA). This will greatly enhance the possibility of extending your genealogy research.

My suggested minimum family tree would go back to your Great Grandparents with their spouses and children, and work forward and stop at living people on each line. Ideally going back to before the 1850 census would probably work for most people in the USA.

If your ancestry in the 1800s or 1900s was mostly in Europe or otherwise outside of the USA, testing at MyHeritage and/or AncestryDNA will probably be of most use to you. For genealogical records I also suggest using FamilySearch.org due to its worldwide coverage.

I hope this will help you find your relatives.

FTDNA DNA test results and transferring to GENI.

FTDNA and GENI have teamed up and you can now transfer your FTDNA DNA test results to GENI for free. There is not charge to maintain a pedigree at GENI. For other GENI services the basic membership is $119.90 USD per year. See the comment below.

I transferred my Y DNA, mtDNA and atDNA (it appears to be Family Finder) to Geni and have some 15 mtDNA and atDNA matches. No Y DNA matches. It will give you a list of people who should match you based on your DNA and the pedigrees. With mtDNA, it seems to give very close readings for people who actually are far far away. So far I am told I have 3rd to 4th cousin mtDNA matches in Finland, Norway, and South Africa based on HVR1 and HVR2 matches. Not likely in my opinion.

Confusingly, GENI says you can transfer your 23andme or Ancestry atDNA results to GENI. The announcement with FTDNA did not mention atDNA, but my Family Finder results seem to have been transferred.

Also GENI is now affiliated to My Heritage. If you have less than 250 people in you pedigree at My Heritage there is no charge to use their service. If you want to add more people to the pedigree you must pay the basic membership price. At GENI you will often get notices of matches in the My Heritage document databases or pedigrees. If followed, these will take you to My Heritage and you will need to purchase a membership to see the information. As My Heritage charges separately for their pedigree and their document databases, this can get expensive fast.

On its own, My Heritage accepts atDNA uploads from 23andme. How these different DNA tests are going to work together in the databases is currently unknown.

There is no chromosome browser at either GENI or My Heritage at this time.

If you have known European ancestry since 1830 or so, this is probably a good deal. Otherwise it is not much use to US colonial descendants. YMMV.