Agree wholeheartedly. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to persuade matches on Ancestry to upload to a chromosome browser site. Time that could be better spent. It's also a reason I test my most important people with FamilyTree DNA. I want to see the segments (and to have the potential for Y-analysis). Ancestry's denial of this CB service is beyond frustrating because the have the facility and actually use it to produce their SideView analysis. Good-on-ya 👍
It frustrates me how many people go to the time, effort and expense to take a DNA test on Ancestry and then waste it by not doing things like having a tree, responding to messages (if you don't have a tree), uploading to other sites or having a basic idea of who their matches are
@@sie4431 I know how frustrated you are because I feel the same. The problem is that most people are only interested on the meaningless admixture and don't care about genealogy.
Well said. The chromosome browser on MH is the reason I was able to understand genetic genealogy and segment matching so quickly. It's an excellent visual tool.
Actually, I found your rant very useful. A well order presentation which made it easy to follow. I liked the comparison of segment data to original documents. The difference is it is evidence created by nature rather than man. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
Excellent! Thank you! This is exactly what I've been ranting about for years! So why doesn't Ancestry provide a chromosome browser? Is it technically that difficult for them? They seem to be able to provide other kinds of not-so-helpful to me "wiz-bang" and "eye candy" . I've been told by another RUclips genealogy expert that they never will add one, and by another that it's not necessary! Well as you say, for many of my matches it is not, but for those the matches that may be related to my my two huge brick walls (German and Irish) is is! If I have learn to read those Kurrent and Sütterlin Scripts why shouldn't I have segment data available? The Ancestry database is huge! It is where I have far and away the most matches and perhaps the most important one? No way I'm going to get even a fraction of those to upload to Gedmatch! The only ones that do are the crazy ones, like me! :-) Thankfully I have a few key matches that have tested at 23andMe and/or MyHeritage. And go figue, to even be able to look at the family trees of my matches I have to pay ransom fees for an Ancestry subscription! Highway Robbery! But you know, we are probably beating a dead horse!
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I'll be watching for it, thanks. I had a meeting at Ancestry's HQ in Lehi a few years ago when they were surveying users for input. My No.1 request was a chromosome browser. Obviously that never happened. As I recall the only thing that did happen was a request for color coding shared match groups, but probably many people were requesting that. I feel like they are more interested in feedback on their ethnicity estimates since that is what drives sales of DNA kits, not serious genetic genealogy. I've never taken ethnicity estimates too seriously. Comparing my know genealogy with those estimates from 5 testing companies, they are all "up in the night"! Though 23andMe seems closest to what I know. Anyway at least those estimates can be fun and sometimes good for. few laughs. If they all had their reference populations accurate, they should all have the same results, but they don't. As we know, the real genetic Gold are the shared DNA matches.
🎉 Great video as usual! I agree completely with your points. If all of my Ancestry matches were also on GEDmatch, then I’d have saved myself years of work. Alternatively, if Ancestry had just a fraction of the GEDmatch tools related to chromosome analysis, then I could achieve the same outcome. You make an excellent argument about original records, indexes and chromosome data. Your comments about the pileup regions are going to save much time for new users of chromosome browsers. The DNA Painter website with its chromosome maps, WATO tool and Shared cM tool plus so many others is a great site for genetic genealogists. Similarly, if these tools were directly available for Ancestry users, we could achieve so much more.
Thanks for taking time to watch and respond. Yes, if more comprehensive tools were available on the platforms where the most matches are, we'd all build our family tree faster (even with results were folks only took the test for ethnicity results).
Amen! I cannot believe Ancestry lacks a chromosome browser - it would help clarify Thru-Lines information. I would disagree with you as to the frequency a chromosome browser would be used. It is the key to solving questions due to triangulation. Thank you. And use any influence you may have to encourage Ancestry to add a chromosome browser.
I have a lot of pedigree collapse in my family tree and without this tool, it wouldn't have been possible to advance. That's why I prefer Myheritage over Ancestry.
I desperately need chromosome browsing at Ancestry for my matches because I have lots of family that show sharing matches with multiples lines on both sides. I am from Appalachia in Western Maryland and unfortunately a lot of cousins married cousins from the same family or families that I relate on both sides, etc. I think chromosome browsing is always needed.
I really need it on ancestry for my husbands fathers family. We don't know anything about his fathers family besides a handful of facts. It's terrible. They don't want serious genealogy hobbyists apparently.
Yeah Ancestry needs to get on board. They don't even need to give us a special interface just add the numbers to the expanded segment details. They should also give us the ability to upload outside DNA kits even at a large price.
Absolutely!! I have made marvelous progress from Ancestry's match list/index, but I have to list these as something like 'probably' or 'confidant'. Without the browser, I cannot be 'highly confidant'. With the browser, I can be. On mother's side, I am highly confidant re a 6.8 cM match.... (He did share other autosomal.) But that scant segment I could id to a specific ancestor! Thanks, browser! This is particularly a problem for for my father's side (WV strong pedigree collapse). So many of my matches are from Ancestry. Without a browser, I have found MRCCs for hundreds of them. But so many are multiple relationships.... With a browser, I could probably nail down where the DNA came from for many of them. Without a browser, there's no hope of that. The strong pedigree collapse only started abt 1720. Before that, lines seem to have been pretty discrete. I cannot be truly confident on DNA connection to many of these lines BEYOND THE 20TH CENTURY without a browser!!! Ancestry is sitting on the volumes of original records for my father's entire line, and won't let me see them.... I love ya otherwise, Ancestry, but please get in the game here!!!
Thanks for confirming what I shared in this video. Next week, I will take aim at companies who don't offer Chromosome Browsers. But, perhaps there is hope on the horizon?
Chromosome browsers have been really useful for my research, particularly where we have clusters of matches from countries we have ancestry. Still, we have brick walls getting back to those countries due to lack of access to records, or the records not existing at all. For example, we know there is Malagasy ancestry coming from my mum's Mauritian Creole ancestry, but we don't know which branch, how far back and what their names are because we're stuck at the generation born after slavery. We have several clusters of matches on Chromosome 7 and 14 who are Malagasy and African Americans (with likely Malagasy Ancestry). We also have another cluster of matches who are Chinese who all have origins from the same area of China that we suspect our Chinese ancestors came from. On my dad's side I've been able to figure out how some of his American matches are related because they all matched a Dutch relative on the same segment and it turned out we all share the same 4x great grandparents from Friesland, Netherlands.
Thank you. This was very helpful and validates what I have been discovering using the Chromosome Brower. It really is very helpful in making connections across ancestry I see.
The relationship between the records indexes and the 'index' of DNA matches struck a cord with me. When you were talking about the importance of being able to see actual records as opposed to just an index, it reminded me of how one of my X times GGMs was listed under the wrong surname in a death index due to 'squashed' handwriting. Details are important.
@@carolynatkinson5456 That Ancestry "Chromosome Painter" is not a chromosome browser. It doesn't show you which segments you share with your relatives.
@@carolynatkinson5456 sadly not quite the same. Ive transferred most of my DNA research over to MyHeritage as it has a full function browser and a great triangulation tool. I'm only keeping Ancestry for the user-built trees, as soon as MyHeritage gets more trees I'll shift over to that. My preference would be for Ancestry to have a stronger DNA toolset, but according to "privacy concerns" they appear reluctant to do so.
@Carolyn Atkinson Unless a Chromosome Browser came out in the last month, which might be possible. I'm a little behind the game on some things. However, they have a Chromosome Painter (for ethnicities) which is NOT the same thing as a Chromosome Browser which colors DNA segments.
Really really interesting, I have been researching my family for years in what has obviously been a very amateurish way, but I don;t know where to begin to fix this.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I do struggle with finding what I'm looking for what feels like most of the time, but I'm trying to figure it out. I find a lot, just not necessarily what I'm looking for.
Great rant - however, visual chromosome browsers are often used only visually and imprecisely. The underlying data specific start/end points need to be used. ONLY THEN, with the specific, overlapping data can then be attributed to a common ancestor set (the mother/father couple).
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics You don't think it is too late to change their policy? I wish they had a chromosome browser but It seems to me that there would be major problems for Ancestry if they changed now.
Always find the original record. Indexes (indices?) can be wrong. I was stumped for a while until I looked closer and found a name was transcribed incorrectly in an index.
Yep. It happens regularly. However, a poorly indexed record can get you close to what you need. But the original records are better (even when they're wrong). But with DNA, it doesn't lie. It just tell you the whole truth. You need to compare your DNA to other people's DNA. Chromosome Browsers make that possible.
Here’s my answer to the question of why the heck wouldn’t I use the chromosome browser?: Notwithstanding that the chromosome browser is a great tool, it’s only as useful as the number of DNA Matches that you have on that platform. If one was available on Ancestry, for sure I would be using it. But it’s not worth doing with the matches that I have on the other platforms. And in the case of 23andMe, there’s the additional impediment that I first need to be “connected” with the match.
See, that's the problem. "It's useful if I can use it where my matches are" doesn't negate its usefulness. It is a useful tool and any company that wants to be viewed as having a comprehensive set of tools for it's subscribers are doing a terrible disservice. So, you are correct that on a platform that has your matches but doesn't give you the Chromosome Browser you can't take advantage of it. But that doesn't mean the tool isn't valuable. Does that make sense.
Not to blow anyone's mind or anything but a little trick the members of LDS taught me showed me that ALL the indexes online are only a FRACTION of what they have online that is viewable. The index CAN be helpful but most of the time the information simply has not been indexed yet. That means you have to go online type in the event , location and date to see the raw image. In other words it is likely there you just haven't looked at it yet.
My wife made a video about diving into the FamilySearch Wiki to view the browse only collections. FamilySearch Wiki: How to Use the Free Genealogy Research Guide ruclips.net/video/jIR6hatnyEE/видео.html With handwriting recognition technology here and being implemented, perhaps more of the collections that are digitized but unindexed will be made searchable. However, another problem is the lack of volunteers in the indexing program. That will be the case until more people see the value in volunteering.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Oh that is awesome I will check out that video! Yeah I actually talked to them about that as I speak Spanish as well as German and was willing to translate / index for the Spanish collection as I read Spanish Paleography. They said they didn't know how that worked or if it was something that they could do. That was a while back, maybe they changed their methods? Oh that would be amazing to be able to do. If you know if they are accepting volunteers I would love to get the link :D
Andy, great topic and discussion. Was wondering if you could confirm a conclusion I've made using FTDNA's chromosome browser: Dad, brother, sister and I tested with FTDNA. Dad has two male autosomal matches whose different BELLIS male ancestors (born between 1750-1792) lived in relative proximity to each other in KY and died there. One match, also a BELLIS, tested his Y-DNA and matches Dad's. I've been trying to prove how the 3 KY male ancestors were related to each other as well as see if I could figure out which chromosome segments were in play in order to find other matches who triangulate there. (Unfortunately most of those autosomal matches are in Ancestry.) In Dad's chromosome browser, I compared us siblings and the two male matches. Yay: we match on Ch16! Sometime later, I tried pulling up the two male matches in my FTDNA results...they weren't there! How could that be? I went back into Dad's file, pulled up the same five matches plus Dad's nephew (his brother's son) in the Matrix. I was the only one who didn't triangulate with the two KY cousins. I have concluded that the several segment portions that the two male matches matched Dad on Ch16 were segments I inherited from Dad's mother. Am I correct? Thank you for your expertise! P.S. Triangulating in FTDNA is a two-step process unlike My Heritage where it's part of the browser.
Have you used the Chromosome Browser on MyHeritage, GEDMatch, or 23andMe? If your DNA isn't on those platforms, then you don't have access to them. If you do, then play with the tool a bit more. My wife, who is the Debbie Downer of DNA, finds the Chromosome Browser tool on MyHeritage super easy to understand and use. However, there are fewer matches on MyHeritage than AncestryDNA which isn't helpful for her.
Hi Andy, I send this link to people who I'd like to upload to GEDmatch or the like, but I feel it's a little aggressive in its title. Could you perhaps re-title it to Please Don't Ignore Chromosome Browsers or The Importance of Chromosome Browsing in Genetic Genealogy? It's an amazing video, and I don't find it ranting - just passionate (The Importance of Chromosome Browsing in Genetic Genealogy - A Passionate Plea) perhaps? :) It's so logical and useful, I just feel the title challenges some egos and we can't afford to lose anyone when we're imploring them to join a chromosome browsing site. Thank you! Blessings from Australia, Kellie
I have a list that contains one common ancestor. They are my aunt and uncle, out of them there are some of my cousins that have taken DNA tests. can I use them to home in on a certain ancestor?
Depending on the platform where your relatives DNA is available, if it has a Chromosome Browser, that's the main idea. You map out the chromosomes of known relatives and compare them to unknown to see where things intersect. Then you have validated who is related to whom. The next step is to figure out how. Does that make sense?
I know I should be using triangulation on a family which was alongside mine in Devon England, their relatives match us so frequently but to be able to pinpoint where the relationship occured is difficult. I have mapped their whole family down from GGgrandparents and the matches are all from one man. I don't think I can prove anything though, I've asked a male relative to do a YDNA101 test, perhaps that will be the proof we need. Anyway, thanks for your talk.
Hi. I am hoping you can help me, I have just started working on my family tree. My maternal grandfather is unknown but I have identified a man who could possibly be my grandfather (he is now deceased) If his half brother does a DNA test, should this be able to confirm the relationship?
THAT wasn't a rant. Maybe it drilled down on one issue, but you presented solid arguments and comparisons. This made total sense because it is correct. There will remain those that fail to do the background work enough to understand your points and there are some people that can never be reached. That's okay. We move forward, easily and without them. Until one of those companies you allude to are run by genealogists and not accountants, we will see no chromosome browser from them. We don't represent enough immediate dollars....and foreseeing the future is not a reliable accountant skill set. See? That is a rant.
I have never had any luck looking at segments. So I currently see a 3rd cousin on My Heritage and a 3rd cousin on Ancestry and a 4th maybe 3rd cousin on 23andme all have an overlap on segment 15. Does this mean they are related?
Not necessarily. Visual Phasing helps with grandparents. You'd need to have DNA from your parent and their siblings and their close relatives to use VP for great-grandparents.
I've looked at them, and they are pretty colors, but they don't make sense. I've watched a couple videos on them, but they just don't make much sense in relation to how particular individuals are related.
Why is that? Did the videos not explain the tool well? Here is the short version. A-B-C in the exact same place = genetic relationship. Now, what that relationship is still requires validation from different sources. But, if someone shares 229 CMs with you, that could be a 2C. But what side of the family? If you use Yourself (A), match (229cM) and a known 2nd cousin from your father's side (C) and you share centimorgans at the same place on the same chromosome (you're related on the same side of the family tree). If you use A & B from the previous example and a known 2nd cousin from your mother's side (D) and you DON'T share centimorgans at the same place on the same chromosome (you're NOT related on the same side of the family tree). With that confirmation (much like a genealogical record suggest who is related to whom), The 229CM now tells you to look at your father's relatives, starting with 2nd cousins, Half GG-Aunt / Uncle; Half 1C1R; 1C2R; Half GG-Niece / Nephew for the most likely relative. In short, the CB confirms who is related to whom and typically on what side because you attempt to choose relatives without tree collapse or endogamy. With known matches from distinctly different lines, you can then look at the Parent View tool on Ancestry and confirm what they're putting forth. Otherwise, you're looking at an index and hoping it's accurate.
How many of your prior posts on DNA matching did not use a chromosome browser? Does this video invalidate your prior posts that did not employ a chromosome browser?
It's easy to see why Ancestry doesn't provide the chromosome browser and the reason exposes the company's real motivation for existence. They exist (like most American businesses) to maximize profit and if providing a better product threatens profits then a better product will not be provided. If users were utilizing the browsers and solving their genealogy issues faster then those users would not be subscribed as long. The company does not exist to provide a service, it exists to take your money. And they will only improve the service when those profits are threatened by competitors. Americans won't see much helpful improvement in Ancestry functionality (other than marginally useful fluff) until the business model is threatened.
I wonder if Timber is the sticking point for Ancestry's reluctance to provide this much-needed tool. Simple solution: give us the raw data, which I assume is what is given to us when we download and take it elsewhere, with a disclaimer re Timber. Problem solved!
I wouldn't think it has anything to do with Timber. I think it has to do with who is buying their product. AncestryDNA isn't marketed specifically to genealogists. Ancestry would likely be looking at a lawsuit if they just added a chromosome browser. They could probably get around it if they made people opt in, but that would make their chromosome browser database much smaller than their full database.
Forgive me if I don't understand what you mean. That's exactly what it would do. On MyHeritage, you can chose the people you wish to compare and then MyHeritage will paint the chromosome segments in common and box the triangulated segments. SO, if you have a reported cousin, so long as they share DNA with you, then the Chromosome Browser works.
Honestly, you need a logical mind to make use of a chromosome browser, and the great majority of people I've dealt with with genetic genealogy - or anything else - simply don't have one. Most people, if you tell them A is bigger than B, and B is bigger than C, how is A related to C, look at you blankly. Family History Fanatics just doesn't get that most people can't reason well enough to do what he does, and I don't get it either. But it's reality. Why Ancestry gets away with what they get away with. I think most people just aren't raised to think in American schools. In the 19th century, anyone who couldn't use a chromosome browser wouldn't have made it past 4th grade.
Not much of what Ancestry offers would survive the application of that defeatist rationale. Maybe we would get 50 DNA matches, ThruLines, and potential father/mother hints? Who needs DNA details or paper trail records when the great majority of people blindly accept hints?
Thanks for sharing your opinion. However, I have several 1,000 test cases to work with from my training videos and workshop. I also have a built-in test subject - my wife. My wife understands genealogy records. She's starting to understand the complicated genetic genealogy tools that I teach about on this channel. (Since she edits my videos, she's learning so much. Which is part of my evil plans to help her learn. Wa-ha-ha.) In my genetic genealogy workshops (and with my wife), a chromosome browser makes more sense than most of the tools offered. A=B=C in the same place on the same chromosome = match. Granted, the next step is to figure out how, but that's a very simple formula that many people can understand quickly. Visual Phasing, One-to-Many tools, Shared cM relationship recommendations, false matches, and so forth are extremely complicated tools. But compared to Chromosome Browsers and boxing the triangulation point (or not), the CB is the most easy to understand tool. (Again, I draw upon the folks I've taught to come to this conclusion). So, I will politely disagree. But I do appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts.
This Will Change How You THINK About DNA Triangulation ruclips.net/video/tVILinGKTFA/видео.html
I wholeheartedly agree! Ancestry is ripping us off by denying us a chromosome browser!
I don't think ripping us off is correct. More, their not a comprehensive tool. They have some great tools but they are lacking this one.
Agree wholeheartedly. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to persuade matches on Ancestry to upload to a chromosome browser site. Time that could be better spent. It's also a reason I test my most important people with FamilyTree DNA. I want to see the segments (and to have the potential for Y-analysis). Ancestry's denial of this CB service is beyond frustrating because the have the facility and actually use it to produce their SideView analysis. Good-on-ya 👍
Thanks. Wait until next week when I share my thoughts about two companies that don't offer chromosome browsers.
It frustrates me how many people go to the time, effort and expense to take a DNA test on Ancestry and then waste it by not doing things like having a tree, responding to messages (if you don't have a tree), uploading to other sites or having a basic idea of who their matches are
@@sie4431 I know how frustrated you are because I feel the same. The problem is that most people are only interested on the meaningless admixture and don't care about genealogy.
I’ve been using chromosome browsers for a decade and to this day I’m still amazed by what they help us to accomplish
I agree. They are helpful.
Well said. The chromosome browser on MH is the reason I was able to understand genetic genealogy and segment matching so quickly. It's an excellent visual tool.
This is a very cathartic rant, you articulated everything I have wanted to say and more.
Great minds think alike?
I've given up. He can rant until the cows come home, and most people won't grow a basic set of brains.
Actually, I found your rant very useful. A well order presentation which made it easy to follow. I liked the comparison of segment data to original documents. The difference is it is evidence created by nature rather than man. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
My pleasure. Glad you liked this mini-rant. Next week is part two. It uses more strong language.
Excellent! Thank you! This is exactly what I've been ranting about for years! So why doesn't Ancestry provide a chromosome browser? Is it technically that difficult for them? They seem to be able to provide other kinds of not-so-helpful to me "wiz-bang" and "eye candy" . I've been told by another RUclips genealogy expert that they never will add one, and by another that it's not necessary! Well as you say, for many of my matches it is not, but for those the matches that may be related to my my two huge brick walls (German and Irish) is is! If I have learn to read those Kurrent and Sütterlin Scripts why shouldn't I have segment data available? The Ancestry database is huge! It is where I have far and away the most matches and perhaps the most important one? No way I'm going to get even a fraction of those to upload to Gedmatch! The only ones that do are the crazy ones, like me! :-) Thankfully I have a few key matches that have tested at 23andMe and/or MyHeritage. And go figue, to even be able to look at the family trees of my matches I have to pay ransom fees for an Ancestry subscription! Highway Robbery! But you know, we are probably beating a dead horse!
Wait for next week's video. I share my thoughts about companies that don't provide chromosome browsers.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I'll be watching for it, thanks. I had a meeting at Ancestry's HQ in Lehi a few years ago when they were surveying users for input. My No.1 request was a chromosome browser. Obviously that never happened. As I recall the only thing that did happen was a request for color coding shared match groups, but probably many people were requesting that. I feel like they are more interested in feedback on their ethnicity estimates since that is what drives sales of DNA kits, not serious genetic genealogy. I've never taken ethnicity estimates too seriously. Comparing my know genealogy with those estimates from 5 testing companies, they are all "up in the night"! Though 23andMe seems closest to what I know. Anyway at least those estimates can be fun and sometimes good for. few laughs. If they all had their reference populations accurate, they should all have the same results, but they don't. As we know, the real genetic Gold are the shared DNA matches.
🎉 Great video as usual! I agree completely with your points. If all of my Ancestry matches were also on GEDmatch, then I’d have saved myself years of work. Alternatively, if Ancestry had just a fraction of the GEDmatch tools related to chromosome analysis, then I could achieve the same outcome. You make an excellent argument about original records, indexes and chromosome data. Your comments about the pileup regions are going to save much time for new users of chromosome browsers. The DNA Painter website with its chromosome maps, WATO tool and Shared cM tool plus so many others is a great site for genetic genealogists. Similarly, if these tools were directly available for Ancestry users, we could achieve so much more.
Thanks for taking time to watch and respond. Yes, if more comprehensive tools were available on the platforms where the most matches are, we'd all build our family tree faster (even with results were folks only took the test for ethnicity results).
Amen! I cannot believe Ancestry lacks a chromosome browser - it would help clarify Thru-Lines information. I would disagree with you as to the frequency a chromosome browser would be used. It is the key to solving questions due to triangulation. Thank you. And use any influence you may have to encourage Ancestry to add a chromosome browser.
I'll allow your disagreement with the frequency. That's definitely something worth discussing.
Chromosome browser is the only thing that makes everything fall into place
No always, but it sure does help.
I have a lot of pedigree collapse in my family tree and without this tool, it wouldn't have been possible to advance. That's why I prefer Myheritage over Ancestry.
I desperately need chromosome browsing at Ancestry for my matches because I have lots of family that show sharing matches with multiples lines on both sides. I am from Appalachia in Western Maryland and unfortunately a lot of cousins married cousins from the same family or families that I relate on both sides, etc. I think chromosome browsing is always needed.
I really need it on ancestry for my husbands fathers family. We don't know anything about his fathers family besides a handful of facts. It's terrible. They don't want serious genealogy hobbyists apparently.
Upload to MH
Yeah Ancestry needs to get on board. They don't even need to give us a special interface just add the numbers to the expanded segment details. They should also give us the ability to upload outside DNA kits even at a large price.
I don't think we'll ever win the upload battle, but I do wish we could get the chromosome browser.
Absolutely!!
I have made marvelous progress from Ancestry's match list/index, but I have to list these as something like 'probably' or 'confidant'. Without the browser, I cannot be 'highly confidant'. With the browser, I can be.
On mother's side, I am highly confidant re a 6.8 cM match.... (He did share other autosomal.) But that scant segment I could id to a specific ancestor! Thanks, browser!
This is particularly a problem for for my father's side (WV strong pedigree collapse). So many of my matches are from Ancestry. Without a browser, I have found MRCCs for hundreds of them. But so many are multiple relationships....
With a browser, I could probably nail down where the DNA came from for many of them. Without a browser, there's no hope of that.
The strong pedigree collapse only started abt 1720. Before that, lines seem to have been pretty discrete.
I cannot be truly confident on DNA connection to many of these lines BEYOND THE 20TH CENTURY without a browser!!!
Ancestry is sitting on the volumes of original records for my father's entire line, and won't let me see them....
I love ya otherwise, Ancestry, but please get in the game here!!!
Thanks for confirming what I shared in this video. Next week, I will take aim at companies who don't offer Chromosome Browsers. But, perhaps there is hope on the horizon?
More information may be found in the original record than the indexer thought important, you are so correct
Chromosome browsers have been really useful for my research, particularly where we have clusters of matches from countries we have ancestry. Still, we have brick walls getting back to those countries due to lack of access to records, or the records not existing at all. For example, we know there is Malagasy ancestry coming from my mum's Mauritian Creole ancestry, but we don't know which branch, how far back and what their names are because we're stuck at the generation born after slavery. We have several clusters of matches on Chromosome 7 and 14 who are Malagasy and African Americans (with likely Malagasy Ancestry). We also have another cluster of matches who are Chinese who all have origins from the same area of China that we suspect our Chinese ancestors came from. On my dad's side I've been able to figure out how some of his American matches are related because they all matched a Dutch relative on the same segment and it turned out we all share the same 4x great grandparents from Friesland, Netherlands.
Thank you. This was very helpful and validates what I have been discovering using the Chromosome Brower. It really is very helpful in making connections across ancestry I see.
I'm glad you enjoyed my educational rant.
The relationship between the records indexes and the 'index' of DNA matches struck a cord with me. When you were talking about the importance of being able to see actual records as opposed to just an index, it reminded me of how one of my X times GGMs was listed under the wrong surname in a death index due to 'squashed' handwriting. Details are important.
I've never heard from anyone else a comparison of indexes to the match list. So true and easy to understand!
It's very frustrating to have to work around Ancestry's arbitrary brick wall of no chromosome browser.
Yes. Yes it is.
Looking at you Ancestry......
Ancestry has it, it is at the bottom of your Ethnicity Inheritance after you click on to your DNA Story
@@carolynatkinson5456 That Ancestry "Chromosome Painter" is not a chromosome browser. It doesn't show you which segments you share with your relatives.
@@carolynatkinson5456 sadly not quite the same. Ive transferred most of my DNA research over to MyHeritage as it has a full function browser and a great triangulation tool. I'm only keeping Ancestry for the user-built trees, as soon as MyHeritage gets more trees I'll shift over to that. My preference would be for Ancestry to have a stronger DNA toolset, but according to "privacy concerns" they appear reluctant to do so.
@Todd LANGTRY and LivingDNA
@Carolyn Atkinson Unless a Chromosome Browser came out in the last month, which might be possible. I'm a little behind the game on some things. However, they have a Chromosome Painter (for ethnicities) which is NOT the same thing as a Chromosome Browser which colors DNA segments.
Really really interesting, I have been researching my family for years in what has obviously been a very amateurish way, but I don;t know where to begin to fix this.
I prefer the original records. Often times such as on Census records they often get the name wrong as well as other information.
I couldn't agree more.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I do struggle with finding what I'm looking for what feels like most of the time, but I'm trying to figure it out. I find a lot, just not necessarily what I'm looking for.
I just had that happen yesterday.
Appreciate this articulate and informative video! Thank you Andy!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching and sharing your feedback.
Great rant - however, visual chromosome browsers are often used only visually and imprecisely. The underlying data specific start/end points need to be used. ONLY THEN, with the specific, overlapping data can then be attributed to a common ancestor set (the mother/father couple).
A chromosome browser is incredibly useful at times. Andy is spot on. Repent Ancestry. Repent.
Repent? If you mean in change your policy - yes. Please change the policy.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics You don't think it is too late to change their policy? I wish they had a chromosome browser but It seems to me that there would be major problems for Ancestry if they changed now.
Always find the original record. Indexes (indices?) can be wrong. I was stumped for a while until I looked closer and found a name was transcribed incorrectly in an index.
Yep. It happens regularly. However, a poorly indexed record can get you close to what you need. But the original records are better (even when they're wrong). But with DNA, it doesn't lie. It just tell you the whole truth. You need to compare your DNA to other people's DNA. Chromosome Browsers make that possible.
Hurray! Well said!
Thanks for watching and sharing your feedback.
Here’s my answer to the question of why the heck wouldn’t I use the chromosome browser?: Notwithstanding that the chromosome browser is a great tool, it’s only as useful as the number of DNA Matches that you have on that platform. If one was available on Ancestry, for sure I would be using it. But it’s not worth doing with the matches that I have on the other platforms. And in the case of 23andMe, there’s the additional impediment that I first need to be “connected” with the match.
See, that's the problem. "It's useful if I can use it where my matches are" doesn't negate its usefulness. It is a useful tool and any company that wants to be viewed as having a comprehensive set of tools for it's subscribers are doing a terrible disservice. So, you are correct that on a platform that has your matches but doesn't give you the Chromosome Browser you can't take advantage of it. But that doesn't mean the tool isn't valuable. Does that make sense.
Not to blow anyone's mind or anything but a little trick the members of LDS taught me showed me that ALL the indexes online are only a FRACTION of what they have online that is viewable. The index CAN be helpful but most of the time the information simply has not been indexed yet. That means you have to go online type in the event , location and date to see the raw image. In other words it is likely there you just haven't looked at it yet.
My wife made a video about diving into the FamilySearch Wiki to view the browse only collections.
FamilySearch Wiki: How to Use the Free Genealogy Research Guide ruclips.net/video/jIR6hatnyEE/видео.html
With handwriting recognition technology here and being implemented, perhaps more of the collections that are digitized but unindexed will be made searchable. However, another problem is the lack of volunteers in the indexing program. That will be the case until more people see the value in volunteering.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Oh that is awesome I will check out that video! Yeah I actually talked to them about that as I speak Spanish as well as German and was willing to translate / index for the Spanish collection as I read Spanish Paleography. They said they didn't know how that worked or if it was something that they could do. That was a while back, maybe they changed their methods? Oh that would be amazing to be able to do. If you know if they are accepting volunteers I would love to get the link :D
Andy, great topic and discussion. Was wondering if you could confirm a conclusion I've made using FTDNA's chromosome browser:
Dad, brother, sister and I tested with FTDNA. Dad has two male autosomal matches whose different BELLIS male ancestors (born between 1750-1792) lived in relative proximity to each other in KY and died there. One match, also a BELLIS, tested his Y-DNA and matches Dad's. I've been trying to prove how the 3 KY male ancestors were related to each other as well as see if I could figure out which chromosome segments were in play in order to find other matches who triangulate there. (Unfortunately most of those autosomal matches are in Ancestry.)
In Dad's chromosome browser, I compared us siblings and the two male matches. Yay: we match on Ch16!
Sometime later, I tried pulling up the two male matches in my FTDNA results...they weren't there! How could that be? I went back into Dad's file, pulled up the same five matches plus Dad's nephew (his brother's son) in the Matrix. I was the only one who didn't triangulate with the two KY cousins.
I have concluded that the several segment portions that the two male matches matched Dad on Ch16 were segments I inherited from Dad's mother. Am I correct?
Thank you for your expertise!
P.S. Triangulating in FTDNA is a two-step process unlike My Heritage where it's part of the browser.
Send this to www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/contact so I can consider it for a longer response.
No idea how to use it! 😩
Have you used the Chromosome Browser on MyHeritage, GEDMatch, or 23andMe? If your DNA isn't on those platforms, then you don't have access to them. If you do, then play with the tool a bit more. My wife, who is the Debbie Downer of DNA, finds the Chromosome Browser tool on MyHeritage super easy to understand and use. However, there are fewer matches on MyHeritage than AncestryDNA which isn't helpful for her.
Thank you thank you thank you!
Absolutely. While It hasn't changed anything, I felt it was something that needed to be said.
Hear, hear!
glad you agree
I have a question. I have a match on GedMatch with 7segments with only 4cm. By our 1600 ancestors may be the same. Any insight?
Hi Andy, I send this link to people who I'd like to upload to GEDmatch or the like, but I feel it's a little aggressive in its title. Could you perhaps re-title it to Please Don't Ignore Chromosome Browsers or The Importance of Chromosome Browsing in Genetic Genealogy? It's an amazing video, and I don't find it ranting - just passionate (The Importance of Chromosome Browsing in Genetic Genealogy - A Passionate Plea) perhaps? :) It's so logical and useful, I just feel the title challenges some egos and we can't afford to lose anyone when we're imploring them to join a chromosome browsing site. Thank you! Blessings from Australia, Kellie
I have a list that contains one common ancestor. They are my aunt and uncle, out of them there are some of my cousins that have taken DNA tests. can I use them to home in on a certain ancestor?
Depending on the platform where your relatives DNA is available, if it has a Chromosome Browser, that's the main idea.
You map out the chromosomes of known relatives and compare them to unknown to see where things intersect. Then you have validated who is related to whom. The next step is to figure out how. Does that make sense?
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Thank you I think I can do that on both sides separately
Totally agree
I know I should be using triangulation on a family which was alongside mine in Devon England, their relatives match us so frequently but to be able to pinpoint where the relationship occured is difficult. I have mapped their whole family down from GGgrandparents and the matches are all from one man. I don't think I can prove anything though, I've asked a male relative to do a YDNA101 test, perhaps that will be the proof we need. Anyway, thanks for your talk.
Hi. I am hoping you can help me, I have just started working on my family tree. My maternal grandfather is unknown but I have identified a man who could possibly be my grandfather (he is now deceased) If his half brother does a DNA test, should this be able to confirm the relationship?
Testing all older relatives can help you triangulate your DNA matches and separate your lines. So, test the half brother.
THAT wasn't a rant. Maybe it drilled down on one issue, but you presented solid arguments and comparisons. This made total sense because it is correct. There will remain those that fail to do the background work enough to understand your points and there are some people that can never be reached. That's okay. We move forward, easily and without them. Until one of those companies you allude to are run by genealogists and not accountants, we will see no chromosome browser from them. We don't represent enough immediate dollars....and foreseeing the future is not a reliable accountant skill set. See? That is a rant.
Okay. It was a baby disagreement.
which test's include chromosome browser?
MyHeritage DNA, LivingDNA, and if you transfer your DNA to GEDMatch, that's the third resource even though it's not a test
Finally! This is why I have had more than fifty relatives tested.
I have never had any luck looking at segments.
So I currently see a 3rd cousin on My Heritage and a 3rd cousin on Ancestry and a 4th maybe 3rd cousin on 23andme all have an overlap on segment 15. Does this mean they are related?
What are you using to see that they overlap? GEDmatch?
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics For one cousin I used an old GEDmatch screen shot, MyHeritage has their own segment page, then 23andme for the last cousin.
Can visual phasing help you with great grandparents analysis?
Not necessarily. Visual Phasing helps with grandparents. You'd need to have DNA from your parent and their siblings and their close relatives to use VP for great-grandparents.
@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I did test my dad mtdna but I don’t think any of my parents siblings have done testing.Thanks for the informative videos.
I've looked at them, and they are pretty colors, but they don't make sense. I've watched a couple videos on them, but they just don't make much sense in relation to how particular individuals are related.
Why is that? Did the videos not explain the tool well?
Here is the short version.
A-B-C in the exact same place = genetic relationship.
Now, what that relationship is still requires validation from different sources.
But, if someone shares 229 CMs with you, that could be a 2C. But what side of the family?
If you use Yourself (A), match (229cM) and a known 2nd cousin from your father's side (C) and you share centimorgans at the same place on the same chromosome (you're related on the same side of the family tree).
If you use A & B from the previous example and a known 2nd cousin from your mother's side (D) and you DON'T share centimorgans at the same place on the same chromosome (you're NOT related on the same side of the family tree).
With that confirmation (much like a genealogical record suggest who is related to whom),
The 229CM now tells you to look at your father's relatives, starting with 2nd cousins, Half GG-Aunt / Uncle; Half 1C1R; 1C2R; Half GG-Niece / Nephew for the most likely relative.
In short, the CB confirms who is related to whom and typically on what side because you attempt to choose relatives without tree collapse or endogamy. With known matches from distinctly different lines, you can then look at the Parent View tool on Ancestry and confirm what they're putting forth. Otherwise, you're looking at an index and hoping it's accurate.
How many of your prior posts on DNA matching did not use a chromosome browser?
Does this video invalidate your prior posts that did not employ a chromosome browser?
It's easy to see why Ancestry doesn't provide the chromosome browser and the reason exposes the company's real motivation for existence. They exist (like most American businesses) to maximize profit and if providing a better product threatens profits then a better product will not be provided. If users were utilizing the browsers and solving their genealogy issues faster then those users would not be subscribed as long.
The company does not exist to provide a service, it exists to take your money. And they will only improve the service when those profits are threatened by competitors. Americans won't see much helpful improvement in Ancestry functionality (other than marginally useful fluff) until the business model is threatened.
Amen
Thanks.
I wonder if Timber is the sticking point for Ancestry's reluctance to provide this much-needed tool. Simple solution: give us the raw data, which I assume is what is given to us when we download and take it elsewhere, with a disclaimer re Timber. Problem solved!
I wouldn't think it has anything to do with Timber. I think it has to do with who is buying their product. AncestryDNA isn't marketed specifically to genealogists. Ancestry would likely be looking at a lawsuit if they just added a chromosome browser. They could probably get around it if they made people opt in, but that would make their chromosome browser database much smaller than their full database.
The only thing that would make CB useful is if you can compare your Chromosome to reported cousins.
Forgive me if I don't understand what you mean. That's exactly what it would do. On MyHeritage, you can chose the people you wish to compare and then MyHeritage will paint the chromosome segments in common and box the triangulated segments. SO, if you have a reported cousin, so long as they share DNA with you, then the Chromosome Browser works.
@Family History Fanatics Ancestry doesn't have the comparison feature. All they show you is you person chromosomes from mom and dad.
@@whyaskwhybuddry upload your raw Ancestry test to My Heritage and FTDNA
In italiano
Non parlo italiano, mi dispiace.
Why are so many genealogy videos presented as a boring ass zoom call?
Honestly, you need a logical mind to make use of a chromosome browser, and the great majority of people I've dealt with with genetic genealogy - or anything else - simply don't have one. Most people, if you tell them A is bigger than B, and B is bigger than C, how is A related to C, look at you blankly.
Family History Fanatics just doesn't get that most people can't reason well enough to do what he does, and I don't get it either. But it's reality. Why Ancestry gets away with what they get away with.
I think most people just aren't raised to think in American schools. In the 19th century, anyone who couldn't use a chromosome browser wouldn't have made it past 4th grade.
Not much of what Ancestry offers would survive the application of that defeatist rationale. Maybe we would get 50 DNA matches, ThruLines, and potential father/mother hints? Who needs DNA details or paper trail records when the great majority of people blindly accept hints?
Thanks for sharing your opinion. However, I have several 1,000 test cases to work with from my training videos and workshop. I also have a built-in test subject - my wife. My wife understands genealogy records. She's starting to understand the complicated genetic genealogy tools that I teach about on this channel. (Since she edits my videos, she's learning so much. Which is part of my evil plans to help her learn. Wa-ha-ha.)
In my genetic genealogy workshops (and with my wife), a chromosome browser makes more sense than most of the tools offered. A=B=C in the same place on the same chromosome = match. Granted, the next step is to figure out how, but that's a very simple formula that many people can understand quickly.
Visual Phasing, One-to-Many tools, Shared cM relationship recommendations, false matches, and so forth are extremely complicated tools. But compared to Chromosome Browsers and boxing the triangulation point (or not), the CB is the most easy to understand tool. (Again, I draw upon the folks I've taught to come to this conclusion).
So, I will politely disagree. But I do appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts.
The Ancestry chromosome browser has helped me break brick walls.
Ancestry doesn't have a chromosome painter. It has ThruLines and a Chromosome Painter (Side View).
Amen