Using DNA Matches on GEDmatch

 Beginning My Research on GEDmatch

First, I have to say that GEDmatch is one of the coolest tools out there.  At first, I didn't really know what to do with my DNA or how to use it as a research tool that supports finding connections in my family tree.  I think the first things I played around with were genetic origins and the random tool on there "Are My Parents Related".  Mine weren't.  lol.  Anyway - I have a new system I like to do with the surnames in my family tree that I am stuck with.  I even tried this with a surname I had traced back to an ancestor of mine born in 1816, Ernst Gottlob Hahner / Haehner / Haener.  My DNA Matches with the common surname in their tree had an extensive tree starting back in the 1500's and extending until the mid 18th century when their ancestor who was a female Haener had married into another family.  Now I get the fun puzzle of linking where my tree leaves off in 1816 to the disconnect in their tree in the  mid 1700s and see where the connection can be made.  Very exciting.

So, my method has begun with me logging into GEDmatch and opening the same 3 tabs by holding control + clicking on the link.

• Search all GEDCOMs
• User Lookup (Find information on your matches)
• One-to-One Autosomal DNA Comparison

Search the Surname

I search the surname with the Search all GEDCOMs tool.  This brings up a list which may be extremely extensive, depending on the name.  I have had searches with 0 matches, searches where my tree is the only match, or searches with thousands of results.  Feel free to add more fields if you need to make a common last name more specific.

Search the User for their Kits and GEDcoms & See if You Match!

Go to the search results and copy paste the Email address from the result (without clicking anything on this page) to the search field on the other tab with User Lookup open.  (I used a name with me as the only match for privacy reasons).

User Lookup then brings up a page with the associated Email address, Kit Number and Name, and GEDCOM.  I then take the Kit numbers and copy paste them and use another tab I have off to a split screen and run it through the 1:1 Autosomal DNA comparison with my kit(s).  If I have a hit, I print the info on the "GEDmatch User Lookup result" to take notes on, as well as the page with the autosomal DNA comparison so I can know the chromosome and centimorgan cM numbers.

Explore Their Tree and Pedigree  

Next comes the exploring.  I usually hold down control + click the GEDCOM from the User Look up page for all of my DNA matches.  I try to look through their pedigree for a connection, but sometimes it is hidden or you are not able to find the ancestor that orginally came up on the Search all GEDcom list.  Then, I would go back to the original list which is always open in that first tab, and hold control and click the actual GEDCOMID: Indiv: ID (blue link in the screenshot above).  It will bring you right to any public information about that individual that was in the persons tree. 

I staple the GEDmatch User Lookup printout along with the 1:1 autosomal match (without image, just text), and the pedigree chart and staple this together.  If I had more than one match for that user, I include both.

Plan Future Research

Now I have a point of reference to go back and search for these persons of interest or potential matches through FamilySearch or Ancestry.  It is sometimes useful to make an entire tree in Ancestry if you have a lot of information from another match and would like to continue to build until you can establish the connection with your own tree.

I know that there is a lot more I can do with DNA.  I am continually trying to build on this, and starting to pick up on what chromosomes pair with what family lines in my tree.  I am hoping one day to pair this with the Leeds Method, or a super version of the Leeds Method to be a great source of information for future research.  Let me know what works for you!!