I like finding new ways to present data and someone posted about this Ancestor Spiral today (link Here) on the Genealogy Addicts Anonymous Facebook Group. You can use any long string of words, but when an ancestor list is used, it resembles the rings of a tree trunk, with the older ancestors in the center and the more recent ones on the outer rings.

Although it is quick to make an Ancestor Spiral using the free website, Festisite, the more time-consuming aspect is gathering together the string of ancestors. The examples on the Facebook group showed just a string of names, but I decided to add Ahnentafel numbers and vertical bars to separate each name. There is probably a much easier way to prepare the string of names than the method I used, but I prepared my string as follows:

• I used the Google Chrome extension Pedigree Thief to obtain a list of ancestors, together with Ahnentafel numbers from my Ancestry.com tree.
• I copied and pasted the output into Microsoft Excel, then split off the birth and death information using "Text to Columns" on the Data ribbon. This isn't ideal and I had to play around with some manual manipulation.
• I added a column of vertical lines ( | ), then used the CONCAT function (formerly CONCATENATE) to string together the following for a particular ancestor (one per row): vertical line, Ahnentafel number, period, first and last names.
• I then used multiple iterations of CONCAT to string together multiple ancestors (within the character limits for Excel), then copied and pasted the contents of each huge cell into a Word document, to obtain the complete ancestor string.
• Copy and paste the complete string of words into the bottom window of Festisite. There are some limited formatting options (font and font size).

Festisite appears to have a limit for how many characters can be accepted to produce the spiral, so I couldn't go much beyond what is shown above. However, to display more ancestors, separate spirals could be prepared for each grandparent.

I don't think these ancestor spirals will have much use, but they are rather neat and are more visually appealing than a simple Ahnentafel list.

Since my blog posting last month, Obtaining FIR Boundaries on GEDmatch using the Little Tick Marks, GEDmatch has introduced a new Tier 1 tool, known as "My Evil Twin" Phasing, which makes it much easier to obtain the boundaries for FIRs (fully-identical regions) if at least one child's results are available; this is used in combination with the normal phasing tool.

Figure 1 shows one-to-one comparisons on GEDmatch for Chromosome 1:

• Panel (A) is the comparison between my mother and my maternal aunt (full-siblings), showing there are 2 FIRs, the green bars labeled FIR (1) and FIR (2). The table above the graphic gives the boundaries for the HIRs (half-identical regions), the blue bars, but not for the green FIR bars.
• Panel (B) is the comparison between my maternally-phased kit and my maternal aunt. This shows that my phased kit provides the end location of my mother's/aunt's FIR (1) at 37,435,730 (black line 1) and the end location of my mother's/aunt's FIR (2) at 186,250,473 (black line 3).
• Panel (C) is the comparison between my maternally-phased "evil twin" kit and my maternal aunt. This shows that "my evil twin" phased kit provides the start location of my mother's/aunt's FIR (2) at 156,185,705 (red line 2).

Before the availability of the "my evil twin" phasing tool, I could only use this method to obtain some of the start and end locations using my normal phased kit (and my sister's phased kit could be used for some, but not all, of the remainder) – but with the new "my evil twin" phasing tool, this method can be used for all of the parent/sibling FIRs.

Although phased for the child, these kits, in effect, provide phased segment information for the respective parent, which increases the confidence that a segment is not a false positive, particularly for shorter segments (<10 cM). I have been using my sister's and my phased kits in this way when checking the matching segments shown for our parents – but the addition of "my evil twin" phasing allows this to be done for all segments for our parents, rather than only some of them. I think they can also "tighten up" the fuzzy ends for the parent (if the latter isn't phased), providing a more accurate estimate for the true start and end locations for their segments.

Using a combination of both phased and "my evil twin" phased kits allows very short segment matching segments between siblings to be identified, thereby revealing pairs of crossovers that may easily be missed. Figures 3 and 4 shows one-to-one matching of my sister's and my kits for Chromosomes 4 and 21, respectively:

• Panel (A): My maternally-phased (M1) kit versus my sister's maternally-phased (M1) kit
• Panel (B): My maternally-phased (M1) kit versus my sister's maternal "evil twin" (M2) kit, which is equivalent to my maternal "evil twin" (M2) kit versus my sister's mternally phased (M1) kit

Panel (B) of Figure 3 shows that the short purple segment (black arrow) in Panel (A) is actually a legitimate matching segment and that there are 2 almost coincidental crossovers on Chromosome 4. I've done a lot of chromosome mapping and have worked out that I inherited a crossover at 57,492,171 and my sister inherited a crossover at  58,999,730. If I lower the default thresholds for SNPs and cMs to really low values (normally not advised) in the phased M1 vs. phased M1 comparison, this real matching segment is 1.8 cM/208 SNPs. [Note that the matching areas are purple for phased data, rather than yellow for HIRs for non-phased data.]

In contrast, Panel (B) of Figure 4 confirms that the purple segment (red arrow) in Panel (A) is NOT a legitimate matching segment on Chromosome 21. Again, I lowered the defaults in the phased M1 vs. M1 comparison and was able to "fudge" an apparently matching segment of 1.7 cM at the red arrow, which in this case is meaningless.

So Figures 3 and 4 illustrate how useful a phased M1 vs. an "evil twin" M2 comparison can be when looking at siblings. For anyone doing visual phasing using Kathy Johnston's method (see the PDF with Blaine Bettinger's recent 5-part series of great blog posts on this at Visual Phasing), I recommend ALWAYS using phased kits for the comparisons of siblings if they are available – not only do they identify the side (paternal vs. maternal) of the inherited crossover, but they also give more precise estimates of the location of the crossover. And using the "my evil twin" kits, otherwise hidden crossovers can be identified, which is especially useful when only 2 siblings are being compared. 

The "my evil twin" phasing tool is amazing, although the utility of this may not be immediately apparent. GEDmatch provides all sorts of tools we don't even realize we need!

Although most of the tools on GEDmatch are free, don't forget that it is not a commercial enterprise and relies on donations for server and other costs. Please consider a donation via Paypal (if at least $10, it will give you access to Tier 1 tools for a month, allowing you to try them out) – there is a link at the bottom of your Home page. Donating helps all of us, as it enables GEDmatch to enhance what they can offer, such as the new "My Evil Twin" Phasing tool.

Question: How do you obtain the boundaries of FIRs (fully-identical regions) on GEDmatch?
Answer: Using the little "inverted V" tick marks on the one-to-one tool graphic (see Figure 1).

The red arrows point to regularly spaced tick marks, which identify every 100 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). The black arrows point to irregularly spaced "inverted V" tick marks; these show the absolute SNP positions and are spaced at 1 Mb (1,000,000) intervals, with labels every 10 Mb (10,000,000) – in the example here, the label "K--30M" represents SNP position 30 Mb (30,000,000). [Someone has pointed out that the "K" on GEDmatch is actually a vertical line with left-pointing arrow (<--), which I agree is almost certainly the case, but I've continued to use "K" in this blog posting as it is simplistically descriptive.]

Follow-up Question: But where are the little tick marks?

​First a few abbreviations, definitions, and explanations:

HIR: Half-identical region (see Here for information on the ISOGG wiki), where the alleles are matching along a stretch of DNA on either the maternal or paternal chromosome – this is the typical type of matching seen.
FIR: Fully-identical region (see Here for information on the ISOGG wiki), where the alleles are matching along a stretch of DNA on both the maternal and paternal chromosomes – seen when comparing full siblings and double 1st cousins (who also have HIRs).
SNP: Single nucleotide polymorphism (see Here for information on the ISOGG wiki)

The one-to-one tool on GEDmatch is an essential tool. Examples of one-to-one comparisons for both full and half siblings (for Chromosomes 1-6) using the default settings on GEDmatch are shown in Figure 2 (graphics with the corresponding tables below). Note the key (in the center, below the graphics) for the colors of the bars, which shows that the long green bars represent FIRs – seen when comparing full- but not half-siblings – and the long blue bars (the start and end positions for these are shown in the tables) represent any matching segments >7 cM (which is the default cM and includes both HIRs and FIRs). However, the start and end positions of the FIRs are not shown by GEDmatch or by any of the testing companies.

David Pike has a number of free DNA tools, including ​Search for Shared DNA Segments in Two Raw Data Files, which will give the start and end locations for both HIRs and FIRs, but you need to have access to the raw data files from both individuals to run this. However, by using the "inverted V" tickmarks on GEDmatch, it is quick to make a pretty good estimate of the start and end positions of the FIRs, although you have to check each one individually.

​Figure 3 shows the standard one-to-one comparison graphic for one of the chromosomes (Chromosome 11) for a pair of full siblings, using GEDmatch's defaults, annotated to identify the FIRs and HIRs. The table at the top left in this figure shows the start and end locations for the 2 matching blue segments (between the circled 1 and 2, and between the circled 3 and 9), but not the limits for the FIRs (the green bars between circled 4-5, 6-7, and 8-9). This default graphic doesn't show the "little tick marks" seen in Figure 1. 

To see the little tick marks, change the default width in pixels for the graphic from the default of 1000 to 0 (zero) on the one-to-one comparison entry form, which will show the expanded graphic, as indicated in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows the expanded view of Chromosome 11, with the circled 4 showing the corresponding HIR/FIR junction as in Figure 3. Note that the GEDmatch labels (every 10 Mb for the "inverted V" tick marks) line up with the "K" – as shown by the blue arrow below (for "K--50M" = 50 Mb = 50,000,000). In Figure 1, it is much easier to see which inverted V tick mark lines up with the label "K--30M" (30 Mb = position 30,000,000), as the inverted V's are more spaced out.

Using the expanded graphic in Figure 5, I estimated that the start of the FIR region (circled 4) is at position 44.6 Mb (44,600,000). Based on David Pike's Search for Shared DNA Segments in Two Raw Data Files tool, the start of the FIR is 44,649,231, so my estimate is not as precise, but is close enough for most purposes. [The pink bar in Figure 5 represents the centromere – also shown in the key in Figure 2.]

The expanded view is also useful for evaluating the position of (almost) coincidental hidden crossovers in  siblings, where a matching segment is far too short to be shown as matching (on either GEDmatch or using David Pike's tool – not shown here), or where the matching segment appears to go directly from a FIR to a non-matching segment (without an intervening HIR), which is a different example of an (almost) coincidental crossover. The latter is shown by the black arrow for full siblings in Figure 2, which has been enlarged in the top panel of Figure 6 – the lower panel shows the expanded view, where it can be seen that there is actually a short HIR between the green FIR and the non-matching segment, which isn't apparent on the default one-to-one graphic. The one-to-one comparisons in Figure 6 are for my mother and her sister (her full sibling), and because I've done a lot of chromosome mapping, I've worked out that my aunt inherited a paternal crossover at ~73.8 Mb and a maternal crossover at ~74.1 Mb, which are almost coincidental. 

So if you haven't used the expanded view for one-to-one comparisons, give it a try when appropriate. GEDmatch has many hidden gems, some of which aren't immediately apparent.

Lastly, although most of the tools on GEDmatch are free, don't forget that it is not a commercial enterprise and relies on donations for server and other costs. Please consider a donation via Paypal – there is a link at the bottom of your Home page. Donating helps all of us, as it enables GEDmatch to enhance what they can offer.

Elizabeth "Bessie" Thomas (1851-1930) was brought up in Llanerchymedd (pronunciation) on the island of Anglesey in Wales. In 1869, when she was 18 years old, she wrote the following poem in the front cover of her bible. The last line of her poem is particularly poignant, as she is now being remembered on the internet and her words potentially seen by far more people than she could have ever envisioned.

The bible was published in Welsh in 1868 (M.DCCC.LXVIII), but the poem was written in English. It gives the me the impression that Bessie didn't take herself too seriously.

Bessie Thomas was my 1st cousin 3-times removed. Her paternal grandparents were my 3rd great-grandparents:

• James Thomas (1777-1853), born in Llandrygarn and died in Llanerchymedd
• Elizabeth Lewis (1782-1873), born in Beaumaris and died in Llanerchymedd.

She moved to Liverpool, where she married Richard John Williams (1854-1937) in 1877. Richard was a plasterer and moved to New York in 1886 at a time when a lot of buildings were going up in the city – Bessie followed him 15 months later with their 4 children. Two children were born in New York, but by 1891 the whole family had returned to Liverpool and 4 more children were born there. Bessie's parents and siblings lived their whole lives in Anglesey.

The bible is in the possession of my 4th cousin, David Russell, who provided the image above (thank you, Dave). Family hearsay is that Bessie didn't have an easy life and hated being in New York. Richard and Bessie Williams outlived 6 of their 10 children, with 4 of them dying in early childhood; William "Billie" Williams (1884-1915) was killed in action in Gallipoli aged 31 years. Bessie was 78 years when she died and Richard was 83. They both died in Liverpool and are buried in West Derby Cemetery.

If you have an interesting poem in a family bible, please add to the Comments section below.​ 

I do a lot of chromosome mapping using Kitty Cooper's great Ancestor Mapping Tool. There are a few regions in the genome more likely to have issues when comparing matching DNA segments with others: at the centromeres and regions of excess IBD sharing (IBD = identical by descent). Instead of looking these up in tables, I've plotted them on chromosome maps, as visual representations are easier than looking up values in a table and they allow side-by-side comparisons to be made to my chromosome maps. I also added the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) region on chromosome 6, which exhibits greater IBD sharing than expected, and the SNP-poor regions (SNP = single nucleotide polypeptide) rather than having blank areas on the chromosome map.

Figure 1 shows the positions for Build 36, which is the build used by Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) and GEDmatch. Figure 2 shows the positions for Build 37, the build used by 23andMe. ​The input files (.csv files) are available on the Downloads page, in the event you want to modify these, which include footnotes with additional notes.

For Build 36 (Figure 1), the centromere positions were taken from Family Tree DNA's FAQ Where are the centromeres located on each autosomal chromosome?, although the X chromosome centromere is missing. But thanks to a FTDNA Forum posting (Here), I found a source for the X chromosome centromere for Build 36 on one of the tables provided by USCS Genome Bioinformatics. The genetic lengths of the centromeres (in cM) for Build 36 were calculated using sex-averaged map positions from the Rutgers Map Interpolator (Laboratory of Computational Genetics, Rutgers University): these are generally very short (0 - 0.68 cM), but the genetic distance for the centromere on chromosome 22 is longer (5.31 cM).

​​​For Build 37 (Figure 2), these were taken from the ISOGG Wiki page on the Centromere (data provided by Kitty Cooper), but I couldn't locate a map interpolator for Build 37 to calculate the centromere cMs for this build.

The ISOGG Wiki page Identical by Descent has a great summary of regions of excess IBD sharing, also referred to as pile-up regions. Table 1 (on the right) shows the 14 regions of the genome >5 cM with detected pairwise IBD at least 4-fold greater than expected using hg19 (Build 37) coordinates from Li et al [1], ordered by chromosome number – these are plotted in green in Figure 2. In addition, based on conversion using the LiftOver Tool from the UCSC, Build 36 (hg18) coordinates are also shown in Table 1 (on the left) and are plotted on Figure 1.

To include these on the chromosome map, I duplicate the locations for both paternal and maternal sides on my spreadsheet and in the column for MRCA (most recent common ancestor), I indicated "SNP-poor region", which then appears as such in the legend. These regions are shown as gray bars in Figures 1 and 2.
​

[1] Li H, Glusman G, Hu H, et al. (2014). Relationship estimation from whole-genome sequence data. PLOS Genetics 2014 Jan 30;10(1):e1004144 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004144).
[2] Turner A (2010). Up hill and down dale in the genomic landscape: the odd distribution of matching segments. Journal of Genetic Genealogy 6(1).

​

Thanks to a posting on the Yahoo! DNA-Newbie message board (Topic 49775), I'm now aware of a great FREE extension for Google Chrome, which was released in April 2014 by "neanderling" (if you have a 23andMe account, see thread Here). I hadn't seen it mentioned elsewhere, so thought a blog posting would spread the word, as I'm certain that others will find it useful too.

Let's face it, the trees at 23andMe and Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) are pretty awkward and clunky. DNArboretum quickly extracts information from a displayed tree and presents it as a list based on Ahnentafel number, showing the name and, if included on the tree, the year and location of birth and death. You can then either skim down the list, or search for names or locations. This is so much easier than trying to wade through the trees on either 23andMe or FTDNA. Unfortunately, it only works on the old-style trees on 23andMe – for anyone with a tree that is now on MyHeritage, the only way a tree can now be set up (see 23andMe and MyHeritage Collaboration), DNArboretum doesn't work, but there are still some old-style trees on 23andMe if people didn't "upgrade" to a tree on MyHeritage. When available, at least 9 generations are displayed at 23andMe and up to 15 generations at FTDNA.

The other nice feature of DNArboretum is that you have the option to show different inheritance modes: all ancestors (autosomal mode), or only those on the X-chromosome DNA, mitochondrial DNA, or Y-chromosome DNA lines.

I suggest you give DNArboretum a try! Thanks to "neanderling" for providing this.

UPDATE (added 4 Sep 2015):
A couple of people on one of the mailing lists have indicated that the list didn't appear for them, but once AdBlock or some security protection was disabled that DNArboretum worked fine. I tested DNArboretum in Incognito mode and nothing happened, so use regular mode for Chrome. If you initially have a problem and then manage to solve it, please leave a comment to help others. 

I'm sure DNArboretum will become one of the Google Chrome extensions I use frequently. Other Chrome extensions I find invaluable are:

• 529andYou, which is also from "neanderling": It adds functionality for 23andMe's Family Inheritance Advanced (FIA) and produces a list of matching segments for people with whom you "share genomes", sorted by chromosome and location. For more information, 23andMe users can check the 529andYou Thread.
• 23++: Adds functionality to 23andMe by auto-matching surnames, giving total cM shared (rather than just the %), giving communication dates for pending requests, and color coding sharing status, among other things.
• AncestryDNA Helper from Jeff Snavely, with instructions for using it Here. This one is a bit more complicated to use and the initial scanning of each kit takes a long time. But even if you don't bother with the full scans, it allows you to search on username and kit administrator (this is really useful if you are looking for a GEDmatch in your list of AncestryDNA matches, in order to link up the two), and has icons indicating common matches with other kits within your account (in addition to showing Mother and Father, which AncestryDNA now does, it identifies others too, including other kits shared with you).
  

If you are a Tier 1 member at GEDmatch, the GEDmatch Load Tool on DNAGedcom will combine the Matching Segment Search and Triangulation outputs from GEDmatch, so you can run various tools on DNAGedcom, including ADSA. Once your GEDmatch data are in the system on DNAGedcom, you run a GEDmatch-ADSA report in exactly the same way as a FTDNA-ADSA report.

This blog posting provides detailed instructions for both having access to the Tier 1 tools on GEDmatch, and also for how to upload your GEDmatch data to DNAGedcom and create a GEDmatch-ADSA file.  You have to go back and forth between the 2 websites, as shown in the Flow Chart above. This Flow Chart may be a useful Cheat Sheet when you don't need the detailed instructions, but you can't quite remember a step.

Step-by-step instructions are given below, and are also available as a downloadable PDF file (click HERE to download), which includes some additional information, which may be useful if either GEDmatch or DNAGedcom are new to you. Just skip over sections that you are already familiar with. Click on any of the images below to see a larger version.
 

Although most of the GEDmatch tools are free, in October 2014, GEDmatch introduced an enhanced Tier 1 membership, which provides additional, server-intensive tools. If you have donated to GEDmatch in the past, you will have access to the Tier 1 tools for “a period of time equal to 1 month for every $10 donated.” So basically, Tier 1 GEDmatch membership costs $120 for a full year. But you can take out membership on a month‑by‑month basis (without any commitments), so you can try it out for a month and then come back again whenever you donate another $10.

Left-click on the “Submit” button and then you need a little PATIENCE! It looks as though nothing much is happening, but you may see “Waiting for www4.gedmatch.com” at the bottom left of the browser window, which then disappears; you may see a series of asterisks showing the progress, but you may not. You should expect to wait at least 10 minutes for the output (and often much longer), depending on how busy the server is. Unless there is a message that server capacity has been exceeded, resist the temptation to either click on the Submit button again or try to run in a different tab – this will slow everything down.

Copy the whole of this page (including everything above the table and everything below the table) as follows. If using Windows, left-click anywhere in the GEDmatch window, then press [Ctrl]+A (Control key plus "A"), which will select All (everything will show as blue), then [Ctrl]+C (Control key plus "C"), which will Copy everything selected. If using Mac-OS (Apple), the equivalent commands are [Cmd]+A (Command key plus “A”), then [Cmd]+C (Command key plus "C"). Each browser also has ways of selecting and copying, which can be used instead.

At this stage, ICW Count (at the bottom right) shows 0 if this is the first time you have uploaded a particular kit. [Note: If you are uploading a kit that is already in the system (to add new matches), it will overwrite the previous data. You don’t need to delete the old kit.] After you have verified that the Match Count and Chromo Count are in the system, left-click the “Clear” button (red oval) and the large box will be empty again.

You need to be REALLY PATIENT with this tool – even more patient than with the Matching Segment Tool! GEDmatch warns that it can take up to 45 minutes. As with the Matching Segment tool, it looks as though nothing much is happening, but you may see “Waiting for www4.gedmatch.com” at the bottom left of the browser window, which then disappears; you may see a series of asterisks showing the progress, but you may not. Don’t click on the Triangulate button again or try to run in a different tab – this will slow everything down.

As in Step 5, copy the whole of this page (including everything above the table and everything below the table) as follows. If using Windows, left click anywhere in the GEDmatch window, then press [Ctrl]+A (Control key plus "A"), which will select All (everything will show as blue), then [Ctrl]+C (Control key plus "C"), which will Copy every selected. If using Mac-OS, left click anywhere in the GEDmatch window, then press [Cmd]+A (Command key plus “A”), then [Cmd]+C (Command key plus "C"). Each browser also has ways of selecting and copying, which can be used instead.

Step 13
Now that the Match Count and Chromo Count (from Step 7) and the ICW Count (from Step 12) are in the DNAGedcom system, ADSA can be run – and you can go back to ADSA whenever you like without having to run everything again from GEDmatch.  (You will want to repeat the steps above from time to time to pick up new matches that have been added in GEDmatch, however.)

Step 14
The screen for creating the ADSA report is shown in Figure 19. If you have previously used the ADSA for FTDNA’s data, this will be familiar to you, as both FTDNA‑ADSA reports and GEDmatch‑ADSA reports are created using the same tool. Select the kit number from the box at the bottom of the screen. IMPORTANT: If you already have one or more FTDNA kits in the system, you can differentiate the GEDmatch kits from FTDNA kits by the GEDmatch kits starting with an A, F, or M – in contrast, FTDNA kits will either start with a number or a different letter (e.g., B, H).

There are many options for creating an ADSA report, which are covered within the ADSA Manual (link also available on the ADSA screen at the red rectangle). Note there are special instructions for those with Ashkenazi ancestry (link also available on the ADSA screen, at the blue rectangle). If you are new to using the ADSA, try just changing the minimum segment length to 10 cM and run using all the defaults (leave all the other boxes blank) – you can try different options when you are more familiar with it. This is one step where you don’t need patience, as the ADSA report is created really quickly.

The GEDmatch‑ADSA report is very similar to the FTDNA‑ADSA report. For more information about how to use the report, identify triangulated groups, interpret your results, as well as troubleshooting, read the full ADSA Manual.

There are a few differences in the GEDmatch‑ADSA report:

• There are a lot more segments, so setting the minimum segment length to 10 cM (as suggested in Step 14) is recommended
• The ICWs are only available for the top 400 matches (which is a limitation of GEDmatch’s Triangulation tool)
• Segments from close relatives aren’t shown (which is a limitation of GEDmatch’s Matching Segment tool)
• The GEDmatch‑ADSA doesn’t include the X chromosome
• Certain fields in the pop‑out windows on the FTDNA‑ADSA report (on hovering over the Match Name and Segment blocks) aren’t available on the GEDmatch‑ADSA report: Match Date (which shows as “12/31/1969” for everyone), Relationship/Relationship Range/Known Relationship, Total Shared and Longest Block (which show up as 0 cM), Notes, and Haplogroups

As indicated above, these step-by-step instructions are also available as a downloadable PDF file (click HERE to download). Rob Warthen and Don Worth continue to look for other improvements that can be made, so there may be minor changes to some of the screens and additional fields added over time.

Lastly, although DNAGedcom is free, donations are welcomed, to help defer server and other costs. The more people who donate, the more great tools we are likely to have!

Acknowledgements
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rob Warthen and Don Worth for developing these wonderful tools – you are amazing and we are all incredibly grateful. Thanks also to Karin Corbeil and Jim Sipe, as well as Don and Rob, for reviewing the documentation for GEDmatch-ADSA, which has been duplicated in this blog posting.
  

Debbie Kennett wrote a great blog posting, AncestryDNA test now on sale in the UK and Ireland, on the day AncestryDNA (UK) became available (28 Jan 2015), and you should definitely read that if you are thinking about a DNA test. AncestryDNA launched their test in the USA in late 2012 – the link to the US site is AncestryDNA (US). Currently, AncestryDNA is only available in the UK/Ireland and the US, but the press release indicates that it will be launched in other countries later in 2015.

Because it can be confusing to work out the most cost-effective way of having your DNA tested, this blog posting covers the relative costs across companies. I've also outlined ways of getting around the major problem of AncestryDNA not providing a chromosome browser or other means of seeing or working out what the matching DNA segments are, which is an absolutely essential aspect of working with your DNA results.  See Chromosome Browser War by Roberta Estes, DNAeXplained (30 Nov 2014) for a detailed explanation why this is so important. Despite this major deficit of testing at AncestryDNA, which I and many others take every opportunity to comment on (and, yes, moan about), you may be surprised that my recommendation is to test at AncestryDNA first (!!), but then to use the FREE 3rd-party tool GEDmatch and also to transfer your results to another company (Family Tree DNA) for a very modest cost. This is a very cost-effective way in being in more than one DNA database, with a whole variety of tools to show the matching DNA segments, as well as having the advantage of Ancestry's far superior family trees and probably soon, the largest autosomal DNA database.

This article is geared to those ordering from the United Kingdom, but I've repeated the schematics with US prices near the end of the posting. I apologize now for not including the prices in Euros for Irish residents, but I'm unfamiliar with the shipping charges and other specific details for Ireland.

The type of DNA tested by AncestryDNA is autosomal DNA (atDNA), which is the DNA found on the autosomes (Chromosomes 1-22), but in addition, X-chromosome DNA is also included in the test (females have two X-chromosomes and males have one X-chromosome). The test can be done by both males and females and it covers all branches of your family tree. Although the majority of genealogically identifiable matches will be within the last 5 generations or so (that is, up to about the 4th cousin level), finding genealogical connections up to 10 generations or even further back is possible. There are 2 other types of DNA, Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), but they each follow only one branch of the family tree:

• Y-DNA can only be tested in males, is inherited from the fathers, and follows the father's father's father's, etc. line
  
• mtDNA can be tested in both males and females, is inherited from the mother (but is only passed on by females), and follows the mother's mother's mother's, etc. line.

The rest of this blog posting, however, only covers autosomal DNA.

There are 3 companies where consumers can order autosomal DNA tests for genealogical and other purposes, and if you live in the UK and US, all are available to you:

1. AncestryDNA  – available only in the UK/Ireland and United States (use the link Here for the US)
   Main advantages: the best and easiest to use family trees; within a short time, is likely to have the largest autosomal DNA database, and hopefully soon with a good percentage of those from the UK
   Main disadvantages: no chromosome browser or any tools providing matching segment information; high percentage of matches are unresponsive when contact is made and have little understanding about DNA testing
2. Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) – available worldwide (order the "Family Finder" test for autosomal DNA)
   Main advantages: access to all matching DNA segment data for everyone on match list, without needing to make contact; useful segment comparison and other tools; the best company for Y-DNA and mtDNA testing (not relevant to the discussion here)
   Main disadvantages: smallest autosomal DNA database, but has a much higher percentage of customers from outside the US (including those from the UK); "ethnicity" estimates are not considered by some as being as accurate as at the other 2 companies (with the exception of those of Ashkenzazi Jewish descent)
3. 23andMe – available in 56 countries, including the UK
   Main advantages: useful segment comparison and other tools; provides health information (currently only to UK and Canadian customers), which for some people is the only reason they tested there
   Main disadvantages: awkward and time-consuming to make contact with matches in order to be able to see matching segments (although unlike AncestryDNA, once contact is made, the matching segment data is revealed); caps the match list to ~1000, so legitimate matches may never make it on to your list, or may drop off the bottom (but if you invite everyone on your list to "share genomes", no-one drops off the bottom of the list and your match list can exceed the normal 1000 cap); with the current Version 4 chip used, tests fewer SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) than the other 2 companies

When ordering from AncestryDNA and 23andMe, you don't have to make a choice of which test to order, as only one is available. FTDNA offers a wide variety of DNA tests, and if you are wanting their autosomal DNA test, you need to order the "Family Finder" test.

All 3 of the companies provide a list of DNA matches (from which you can try and work out your genealogical connection), as well as estimates of "ethnicity" (so-called biogeographical analysis), and they all do a good job with the actual DNA testing, so no company is better or worse with regards to competence in doing the testing. Each has pros and cons from that point on, with a variety of things such as the website interface, availability (or lack of availability!) of the required tools to maximize what can be done with your DNA test results, ease of contacting your matches, what else is offered, and education resources, to name but a few. ISOGG (the International Society of Genetic Genealogy) has a really useful Autosomal DNA Testing Comparison Chart.

Testing costs have come down considerably over the last few years, such that autosomal DNA testing is generally affordable for the average person and genetic genealogy (that is, DNA testing for genealogical purposes) is becoming mainstream in genealogy research. It has the potential to break down "brick walls" (or confirm that a particular paper trail is correct, when several possibilities exist) and it also offers the possibility and opportunity for those who are adopted or conceived by sperm or egg donation to identify their biological family – there are multiple success stories each week of this happening.

Although the majority of people test at only one company, many of us take things further and test at 2 or even all 3 of the companies, in order to be in all possible databases. And if you get the DNA testing bug (it's a very contagious bug to "catch"!), you may find yourself encouraging your relatives to be tested too, as they will have DNA matches that you don't have yourself. Autosomal DNA gets jumbled up in a process called recombination, meaning that unless you are an identical twin, you have inherited a unique combination of DNA segments, so even close relatives will have DNA matches that you don't have yourself, and likewise you will have some they don't have, even though you are connected genealogically. However, you can still get a lot out of just testing yourself, so take the plunge and order a DNA test.

My parents and I have been tested at all of the "Big 3" companies and I've "sponsored" the testing of many other relatives. All my known ancestors (some going back more than 10 generations) were British, but because I live in the US, I was able to order the tests from there (and hand-carry the kits over to the UK), even when AncestryDNA wasn't available in the UK. I've been able to work out several genealogical connections with people on our match lists at all 3 of the companies (FTDNA, 23andMe, and AncestryDNA), so while it is more difficult at the moment for Brits to make these connections than it is for Americans (due to far fewer people from the UK having been tested and in the databases for matching), it is certainly possible – and with AncestryDNA in particular now being available in the UK, the databases of British testers will grow exponentially, so I have high hopes of being able to make many more connections in the future.
 

GEDmatch:

GEDmatch is a wonderful, FREE website (although they accept donations to help with server costs and upgrades), with an excellent reputation in the genetic genealogy community, where you can upload your autosomal DNA data (once you've downloaded it from FTDNA, 23andMe, or AncestryDNA) and obtain other matches. It has some sophisticated matching and comparing tools not available elsewhere, and you may be able to find connections not identified elsewhere, as you have the option to set your own matching thresholds. It also allows those who have been tested at one testing company to be matched to those who have been tested at another company.

Links for downloading your raw data (if you use a Mac (Apple) computer, Read This or This before downloading your data):

• 23andMe: See Download Raw Data (23andMe is the first company covered)
• FTDNA: See Download Raw Data (FTDNA is the second company covered) and Must-Have Tools for FTDNA Users: GEDmatch (Iowa DNA Project, 21 Jan 2015)
• AncestryDNA: See How do I download my AncestryDNA raw DNA data? or Download Raw Data (AncestryDNA is the last company covered), also the YouTube Video: How to Upload Your AncestryDNA Raw Data to GEDmatch (5:50)

Links for uploading your data and using GEDmatch:

• Using GEDmatch (from DNAAdoption.com, as is the "Download Raw Data" link for all 3 companies) has details on how to upload your DNA data and how to use some of the tools available – due to upgrades at GEDmatch, some of the screenshots aren't quite how they look now, but are still easily understandable
• GEDmatch: A free website to compare and analyze your DNA results – don't miss the link to the Word and PDF documents at GEDmatch Utilities (written by Barton Lewis and Kitty Cooper, 18 Feb 2014)
  

Transfers to Family Tree DNA:
 
FTDNA is the only testing company that accepts transfers of raw autosomal DNA data from other testing companies (only the results are transferred, not your actual DNA sample). Late last year, the cost for doing this was permanently reduced to $39, i.e., ~£26 (from $69) – and until the 28 Feb 2015, there is $15 off using the coupon code "15FOR15" (without the quotes), taking the cost down to $24 (~£16). Because no sample is required, there are no shipping charges.

To make a transfer, click on FTDNA Autosomal Transfer. You can even test it out (with some limited functionality) without paying anything, including seeing your top 20 matches (but first names and e-mail addresses are hidden), seeing the matching segments using the chromosome browser, and using the Matrix tool. If you refer 4 other people who upload their data (even if they don't subsequently do anything else), you can unlock everything for free. But because the cost is so low, referring 4 people seems like too much hassle to me, so I would just pay up to unlock your results. A few notes about transfers:

• FTDNA will accept transfers from AncestryDNA and 23andMe, but with the latter, only the Version 3 (V3) chip is compatible (used between November 2010 and November 2013) – the current chip is Version 4 and results from this can't be transferred as it has fewer SNPs than V3 (and fewer than FTDNA's chip), making it incompatible. If you aren't sure which 23andMe chip version you were tested on, log in to your 23andMe account, click on www.23andme.com/you/compare/, then go to the One-to-One tab and put your own name on both sides. If it shows >900K SNPs, then you were tested with the V3 chip; conversely, if it shows ~550K or ~570K SNPs, then you were tested using the V2 and V4 chips, respectively.
• The instructions for the upload of raw data don't give an indication that you have to unzip your raw DNA file, but you do have to do this.
• If you want to pay the $39 to unlock your results and have functionality, you have to click on the blue "Unlock for FREE" button first (which is counter-intuitive to me), and the window that then opens gives the option to pay $39 to unlock.
  

The least expensive option for UK residents is FTDNA, where the total cost is about £76 (I used an exchange rate of £1 = $1.50). The test itself costs $99 (~£66) and the shipping charge is $9.95 (~£7); you then have to pay for mailing back to the lab in the US, which is ~£3 via normal British Mail, or ~£9 if you opt for tracking – see International Tracking and Signature Services (formerly Airsure). AncestryDNA (UK) is ~56% more expensive than FTDNA's test, at a total cost of £119 (£99 for the test and £20 for return shipping, although if more than one test is ordered, shipping for subsequent tests is £10). 23andMe is the most expensive at a total cost of £125 (which includes return shipping; this is ~64% more expensive than FTDNA's test); for any additional 23andMe kits bought at the same time and shipped to the same address, there is a 10% discount. As of December 2014, in addition to ancestry, health-related information is provided to those resident in the UK (see List of UK Health Reports for the conditions and traits shown). Health-related information is also available to Canadian residents and up until 22 Nov 2013, was also provided to US residents, until the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put a stop to that until 23andMe has fulfilled the required regulatory requirements (it is still available to those who tested before 22 Nov 2013).

In the US, the total cost of autosomal DNA testing at all of the "Big 3" is identical ($109, including shipping). With the exception of FTDNA, the costs are less expensive in the US than in the UK (see corresponding costs near the end of this posting).

Figure 2 shows a schematic for how to "fish in 2 or 3 autosomal DNA ponds". The most cost-effective way to be in 2 DNA databases is to test at AncestryDNA (for £119) and then to transfer your DNA data to FTDNA (for £26 – see above for information on the FTDNA Autosomal Transfer), and in addition to upload your AncestryDNA data to GEDmatch. You then have the advantage of Ancestry's far superior trees and their match list, and yet also have matching segment information at both FTDNA and GEDmatch. In order to be able to see the shared DNA with your AncestryDNA matches, however, you will need to encourage them to upload their data to GEDmatch (and let you know their GEDmatch kit number) and/or to transfer their DNA to FTDNA, so this is a less than ideal solution to AncestryDNA not providing a chromosome browser or other means of obtaining the matching segment information.
Note: If you have already tested at FTDNA (the Family Finder atDNA test), there is no point in transferring AncestryDNA results there, as the 2 companies use the same Illumina chip.

Then to be in all 3 DNA databases, you will have to test separately at 23andMe; as shown in Figure 2, with the current Version 4 chip used at 23andMe, it isn't possible to transfer the raw DNA data to FTDNA. Overall, the least expensive way to be in all 3 databases is £270 for UK residents.

If you were tested with the Version 3 chip at 23andMe, which was sold between November 2012 and November 2013, you can transfer your raw DNA results to FTDNA, just as you can with the AncestryDNA results (Figure 3). It is only £26 to transfer your data, and for that low cost, it is well-worth being in the FTDNA database too. See above for how to check which chip version you were tested on.

The schematics above are duplicated here for US residents, with the costs in US $.

I can't wait for the influx of results to start coming in from Brits testing at AncestryDNA. Take a look at Presentations on DNA Testing, which gives links for presentations relating to using AncestryDNA, FTDNA, and 23andMe, and encourage your relatives and "Ancestry cousins" you have come across through normal genealogy research to be tested too. The more people in the DNA databases, the better for all of us. 

UPDATE (6 Feb 2015):

Two new blog postings with additional information:

• 2015: Most Bang for DNA Test Bucks (Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, 2 Feb 2015)
• Autosomal DNA 2015 – Which Test is the Best? (Roberta Estes, DNA eXplained, 5 Feb 2015)
  

​I was aware that AncestryDNA would be reducing the number of DNA matches to something more reasonable (see, for example, When Less is More), so I was fully prepared for a significant reduction in DNA matches for myself and my parents. However, I expected some consistency with what would be done (whether I agreed with it or not), but in my limited experience, this is not what has happened.

​As of 19 November 2014, when AncestryDNA made their changes, both my parents and myself had a reduction in the number of matches:

• My father formerly had 17,527 matches and now has 1514 matches (91% reduction)
• My mother formerly had 12,469 matches and now has 1441 matches (88% reduction)
• I formerly had 13,898 matches and now have 1720 matches (88% reduction)

All our known ancestors are from the UK and since the AncestryDNA test isn't yet available in the UK (although it is expected to be available sometime early in 2015), we don't have any shaky leaf hints except with each other, and my father with the cousin discussed below. We also don't have any of the new DNA circles, as I selected Family Tree DNA for testing other relatives (about 25 of them to date); only my parents and I have been tested at all of the "Big 3" testing companies for autosomal DNA (23andMe is the third one). 

Before the recent change at AncestryDNA, my father and I each had a shaky leaf hint with Deb, a known 4th cousin of mine (3rd cousin x1 removed for Dad), who for both of us was shown as a low confidence match, with an estimated relationship of 5th-8th cousin. Unfortunately, AncestryDNA doesn't provide any chromosome browser or any other tools tools for us to compare our DNA data on their website. However, because we all uploaded our data to the wonderful FREE website GEDmatch, we were able to see where we had matching DNA with Deb. There is a universal desire across the genetic genealogy community for AncestryDNA to provide information on the matching segments and/or some tools for us to do this ourselves, but they have been totally resistant to providing a chromosome browser or any tools whatsoever. They have purposely provided a "dumbed down" product, as they know that the majority of Ancestry users wouldn't use it; however, it is very disappointing that they refuse to provide any tools for those of us who would understand how to use them. See Chromosome Browser War (Roberta Estes, DNAeXplained, 30 Nov 2014) for a detailed explanation why this is so important – this blog posting also shows the difference between what AncestryDNA doesn't provide compared with the useful and essential tools that Family Tree DNA and 23andMe have available.

Using GEDmatch, I was able to do comparisons with the following kits:

• My father: GEDmatch kit # A961084
• Me (Sue): GEDmatch kit # A229901 and paternal phased kit # PA229901P1
• 4th cousin Deb: GEDmatch kit # A145432
• My Uncle: GEDmatch kit # F315518

The table below shows the matching DNA on doing one-to-one comparisons on GEDmatch, which illustrates that Dad and I share the identical segment on Chromosome 12, and this applies to whether phased data (see Phasingfor an explanation) are compared or not – we both share 8.5 cM with Deb on Chromosome 12. My paternal uncle shares more DNA with Deb, a total of 30.9 cM across 3 segments (7.4 cM on Chromosome 6, 15.0 cM on Chromosome 9, and the same 8.5 cM segment as Dad and me on Chromosome 12) – he hasn't been tested at AncestryDNA. When doing one-to-one comparisons on GEDmatch (Deb vs. Dad and my phased kit), I also checked using a minimum segment length of 1 cM, rather than the default of 7 cM, which shows we also have another short matching segment (4.3 cM for Dad and 3.7 cM for me) on Chromosome 9 over the same area as the 15.0 cM segment my uncle has, so this is likely to be "real" (IBD). With the addition of the short segments (we don't have any others besides this one), Dad and I share 12.8 cM and 12.2 cM, respectively, and Deb and my Uncle share >30 cM.

It is therefore really odd that although Deb has a shaky leaf hint with my father as previously (shown as predicted 5th-8th cousin, with a confidence of moderate), Deb has disappeared from my AncestryDNA match list. Since the longest segment my father and I share with Deb is identical and seems to be above AncestryDNA's minimum segment length to be declared a match of ~6 cM, I'm really puzzled why she isn't on my DNA match list any longer. My parents and I have all been tested at AncestryDNA and linked appropriately on my tree, so AncestryDNA is able to use my fully phased results for identifying appropriate DNA matches. If you have any suggestions for why this has happened, please add a comment below.

The only "logical" explanation I can think of is that maybe AncestryDNA is taking into account gender for determining the length of a segment, although that doesn't make any sense to me when they have my phased data (and I haven't heard any mutterings about this). When I check on Rutger's Map Interpolator, which uses their smoothed v.2 maps (Build 36), the sex averaged result for positions 128881883-132276195 on Chromosome 12 is 8.5 cM, with the Female and Male values being 4.9 cM and 13.7 cM, respectively – so my "female" segment is then well below 6 cM. Ann Turner, one of my favorite responders on the DNA-NEWBIE message board, provided instructions for how to use this interpolator (if you belong to this group, see Message 38320). Using my example:

• On Rutger's Map Interpolator, select Chromosome 12 on the pull-down list
• For Query, select "physical positions (bp) only"
• In the box, put "128881883 132276195" (or you can put one position on one line and the other on a separate line)
• The output screen will appear as
       No.  Chr  Query_Posn  Sex_Ave_cM  Female_cM   Male_cM
       1     12    128881883    167.4464         210.0233      126.4723
       2     12    132276195    175.9759         214.8793      140.1783
• Subtract the respective values on row 1 from those on row 2 for Sex_Ave, Female, and Male 

I was waiting for Deb to "transfer" her AncestryDNA results to Family Tree DNA to see our match lists there before finishing this blog posting. I wasn't surprised to find on FTDNA that Deb and my Uncle are shown as matches, but neither my Dad nor I are. The reason for this is that besides requiring a minimum matching segment of ~8 cM to be declared a match, Family Tree DNA's algorithm also requires that the total matching segments (down to 1 cM) be at least 20 cM, in order to minimize the chance of false-positives. So my issue with AncestryDNA isn't that Deb didn't appear on my match list, but rather why they have appeared to have handled me differently from my father. But all of this emphasizes the importance of everyone uploading their data to GEDmatch, which allows you to select your own criteria for making comparisons between any two individuals (whether they on the "one-to-many" match list on GEDmatch or not).

In addition to uploading AncestryDNA results to GEDmatch, I also highly recommend that everyone also "transfers" their results to Family Tree DNA (only the results are transferred, not your actual DNA sample), so you are fishing in as many DNA ponds as possible. The cost for doing this has been permanently reduced to $39, so for those in the US, the most cost-effective way to be in 2 DNA databases is to test at AncestryDNA (regular price $99 + shipping, but there is currently a sale on until 21 Dec 2014 for $89, and you may be able to find a coupon code for free shipping), then transfer your results to Family Tree DNA (click on FTDNA Autosomal Transfer) for $39 (no sample required, so no shipping). If you have tested at 23andMe, you will be able to upload your results to GEDmatch – however, you won't be able to transfer your results to FTDNA unless you were tested with the V.3 chip; the 23andMe V.2 test (sold prior to November 24, 2010) and the 23andMe V4 test (sold from November/December 2013) are NOT compatible with FTDNA's Family Finder product.

By the way:

• For a limited time, you can still download a list of your former matches before the culling, so especially in view of my experience here, I strongly recommend you do this while you still have the chance, in case you also had any legitimate matches in the past that you can no longer see. Go to your AncestryDNA Home page and click on SETTINGS (to the right of your picture, with the gear icon), then in the Actions box on the right, click on Download v1 DNA Matches.
• I've found a way to actually print off the detailed and technical Matching White Paper and also to "Learn More about DNA Circles" document. In addition to the latter being really hidden away if you aren't actually in a circle (see Debbie Kennett's blog posting Improved Cousin matching at AncestryDNA, 20 Dec 2014, for instructions for how to locate these), AncestryDNA also makes it extremely difficult to print more than a page of each document. They don't provide a link to a PDF, which could easily be printed off, and also if you try to use [Ctrl + A] to select all on a PC, that doesn't work either. But if you drag with your mouse to select the whole article, you can then copy everything and paste this into a Word document, but make sure you do this using the option to Keep Source Formatting. Virtually all of the formatting copies over very well, including the figures, equations, etc. Much as though I would like to provide an easy link here to the PDF I created myself from the resulting Word document, I didn't want to run the risk of having Ancestry's lawyers coming after me because of copyright issues! [NOTE: Debbie Kennett has posted a much easier way in the Comments section.]
  

Please leave a comment if you have any idea why AncestryDNA has kicked my 4th cousin off my match list and yet she still is on my father's. Thank you.

Those of us who are heavy users of GEDmatch are sorely missing the wonderful segment triangulation tool, which hasn't yet been restored since the relocation of GEDmatch to new servers. In order to be able to continue identifying triangulated groups with DNA matches, I'm using a workaround, by expanding what I previously did for the X-chromosome (Chr 23 in the figure below), which isn't included in the segment triangulation tool. In addition, segment triangulation on GEDmatch is limited to the highest 200 matches, so this method can also be used for lower level matches, even when the segment triangulation tool is back.

Even with GEDmatch's segment triangulation tool, this does not include the X-chromosome. If I'm only interested in doing X-chromosome segment triangulation, I firstly change the order of my matches in Figure 2, sorting on largest cM in the last X-DNA column, so the X-chromosome matches are grouped together. To do this, click on the little blue triangle shown by the blue arrow in Figure 2, which will turn red once sorted, then click on boxes shown at Figure 2, #1 for anyone with X-chromosome matches. As above, click on Chr-Browse – everything can be ignored for Chromosomes 1-22, so just go down to "Chromosome 23" at the bottom, to assess the X-chromosome, then start triangulating.

Final Comments: 

• Yes, this method is a bit tedious compared with using GEDmatch's segment triangulation tool, but I have found it useful during these months when the tool hasn't been available, and it is my Number 1 method for the X-chromosome (I manage far too many kits to have time to create and maintain GEDmatch segment spreadsheets for everyone).
  
• If you haven't ever made a donation to GEDmatch, or you haven't made one recently, please consider doing so, to help support the costs for additional servers and to minimize the chances of outages in the future. THANK YOU! There's a Paypal Donate icon at the foot of the GEDmatch Home page once you've logged in, allowing one-off or recurring (monthly) payments.