I've just recently discovered the Barefoot Genealogist. You are amazing, Crista! Such a good teacher. So full of practical information. And able to explain things simply. I am very grateful that you are willing to so freely share your expertise. Thank you!
Thank you so much Crista. All of your tips are always so helpful! Tidying up can also result in finding some information that you missed along the way. That has happened to me. You revisit a record and all of a sudden you find a hint that makes sense.
All good tips. I've been searching over twenty years. Have spells of sorting and throwing out, but not as often as I should. I also use post-it notes, which are hard to keep up with. Will try to do better.
You never disappoint me. I watch your utube videos almost every night. As usual, I learned a lot. Anxious to apply the information into my genealogy. Thank you for doing what you do so well.
Thanks, Crista!! For Christmas, my daughter got me a notebook called a Rocketbook Everlast. It is a reusable notebook for use only with Frixion pens. At the bottom of each page is a series of icons, each assigned to a specific file folder in your cloud or an email address. A phone app scans and directs each page to the folder designated by the logo. It creates either PDF or JPEG files. Also, if you take notes on multiple pages, you can select the app combine them into a single PDF file. Granted, there will not be a paper notebook to archive as the pages are saved digitally. After they are saved, you erase the pages with a moistened microfiber cloth. It works very well and I've been using it more and more, not just for genealogy, but for fiction writing, editing notes for my novel, etc. Just thought I'd throw that out as this notebook works well for me.
Today, I was preparing my research for handing off to the next generation. and I tossed out a lot of paper files that were extraneous. I don't have the same problem on Ancestry or on my computer. I've been more careful with that stuff :D but I hear what Crista is saying. Hard drive space is not an issue with Terra Byte drives :D As for data entry, I spent many years now, since 1980 working on the different computers. Then for 7 1/2 years as a manager of a mailing list (which was created by free volunteer labour) of over 100,000 files. To say I learned the hard way about being careful about data entry, is an understatement.
I have been doing family history since 1976 I can say I have totes of papers the last four generations passed down I am just now getting organized with papers and am spending more time offline being sure names are on the back of pictures. If you go to a county seat that is the way one wall of my computer room is, albums laying on their sides like the big record books in a quart house go to the cycling 8ft by 8ft shelving I still have 30 totes I haven’t went through yet. Some were between 20 to 23 thousand hard copy pictures in 47 albums. And 25 2 ½ d ring archive binders same with Pictures. 5TB and many flash drive scattered around the USA with cousins. I also have made 8x10 copies of my grandkid’s grandparents on all the walls so my kids and grandkids will ask questions. I have one grandson so far is interested in family history and has won state champion for family history. I spend 4 to 8 hours a day in the computer room a lady in the Gini club told me she wasn’t that dedicated. And I hope my kids and grandkids will pick up where I leave off, and my age I know I can’t do it forever. And hope they won’t take for granted what I have left them and let it go by the wayside!
I always enjoy your videos and you have helped me a lot. I highly encourage you to meet your goal in meeting your DNA matches. I have been doing this and it has been a wonderful experience. It is amazing to me how there is so often an instant connection and how it helps you understand even more about your family.
My favorite genealogy notebook is called Elfinbook, The pages are somehow made of stone but they feel like smooth paper, so you can wipe them off with a damp cloth and reuse them over and over. If it turns out to be something I want to keep, it comes with software for your phone so you can take a picture of it and keep it. I don't work for them, I just really like it. I love OneNote too.
I started with a bad habit of finding information, and if it had other links, opening all of the links in different windows (BIG MISTAKE!). My husband would always interupt me to go somewhere and I would have to shut down all the windows and log out, before I get all the information. Then have to go in again, and again, and again, which makes it look like I am stalking the family. I am not, I just can't get through all of it. Also STAY ON TASK is another problem I have. I will go looking for one thing, but something in that record will get me curious and by the end of the day, I will have not gotten what I went looking for, but I've read some really interesting stories!
I love your videos. You explain everything so clearly. I have on my calendar to clean up my trees, but I have been avoiding it. However, after watching your video I feel like I have a plan of action. I know where to get started and that was what was holding me back. Thank you for all the videos.
Girl, you sounded like me! Printing out those census forms and filling them in; filing all those papers in folders; making lists....whew. Now tell me, did you go back and throw out all those forms you filled in?
I always love watching your videos crista! So informative and helpful!! I have got a lot of certificates that dont apply to my family and want to get rid of them. Also i have certificates to do with my dna matches trees.
Thank you for the information on Tidying up, boy did I needed to hear that. I've been doing my tree for a very long time. I have a question about paper files. I have things my 2nd great grandmother had saved, and I now have them. Some things I know I don't need to save, but haven't tossed them, old Christmas cards from people. She also has old letters that really doesn't have history information, and some hard to read. Others date back to my 3 and 4 GGfather. I just don't know the best way to save them. How do you know what to keep, where to keep them, and what doesn't need to be kept. I sometimes find myself looking at something I've see before years ago because I haven't dealt with it correctly. Sorry for the long question, need some advice and I will be glad to hear from anyone who has ideas or have done it. Thanks
I understand, fully, the sentimentality attached to some of these items. I have found that if I can take a good picture of the item (like old Christmas cards, for example), I can feel more confident in throwing them away. Hope that helps. (~Crista)
I like so called travellers notebooks. Think of it as a Filofax without those annoying rings. All kinds of sizes, and you attach several books to elastic fasteners instead of single sheets of paper attachibg by way if rings. I make my own books. I have an A6 notebook and fold A5 paper, notch it and just use hair elastics to fasten.
These are great tips Crista! I especially love the Bullet Journal idea. Wish I could make it RootsTech this year. Maybe one day. I’ll be looking for your follow up later on. Thanks!
Another great video of tips and helpful info, Crista. I love how real you are, in volunteering areas where you too make mistakes or have trouble. I was excited to hear that you too are a Bullet Journaler! It's been some time since this video posted. Did you ever get around to creating anything about that for those of us that couldn't go to RootsTec and see your presentation about it? If you did, I would love to know how to access it and gain some tips!
Hi Crista, I'm new to your channel! Evie in Carlton Oregon just told me about you and this channel! It looks like you are AWEFULLY busy with your family history and helping others with their own family history, but I'm hoping that we can chat sometime, since I live fairly close to Evie!
In a previous lesson, you stated you use BUJO for your projects. Is there anyway you could share how you do BUJO with your genealogy research. Very interested.
Hi Crista. Love all of your videos! I took your advice and started tidying up my family tree by deleting people from my tree that I had added just by copying from other people's trees (through hints) to pare it down to people that I have researched and verified myself. unfortunately, the media from the people I deleted was not deleted from my Media Gallery, so now I have to go through each media item individually to delete them from the gallery, which is incredibly time consuming. Also, navigating through the Media Gallery is not user friendly. For instance, if I want to look at a media item on page 18 in my gallery, I have to advance the pages one at a time, which is tedious. Any suggestions?
Hello. I have a SERIOUS Question. I have been doing my Tree for 15 years. And I finally decided to to my DNA nearly 2 years ago. It helped a Great deal since my Great Grandpa family was from England and Ireland. I have alot of DNA matches to trace my back to ppl. But for the Love of God. I can't find a Direct connect for him. It very upsetting.Thrulines doesn't give any info. I'm lost and stuck.
HI JoAnna, thank you for being with us for so long. We know what it feels like to come up against a brick wall when doing research. We have an article on our support site with some research tips and additional free resources that may be of some help. support.ancestry.com/s/article/Overcoming-Roadblocks-in-Your-Research?language=en_US
Tidying up my old notes I discovered two new ancestors who are on other DNA matches' trees too. Has Ancestry abandoned DNA circles? Mine haven't changed in months (seemingly) even though I should have quite a few more circles.
Dan - Glad the tidying up helped you make a new discovery. Currently, no new DNA Circles are being created. This feature has been in BETA and is currently being re-evaluated.
Thank you, Crista, I love your videos! I also have the stacks of papers and copied census records and notes from when I started doing genealogy decades ago. I am trying to switch things to computer to I can consolidate information and throw away the paper pile.. I noticed that you use Family Tree Maker, and I have a question about that: I was given Family Tree Maker 2014. I was excited at first because I had heard you mention it on previous videos, but I haven't put it on my computer yet, because even though I found many good reviews of Family Tree Maker from a number of years ago, there were warnings on recent reviews that the software was no longer able to sync with Ancestry and was no longer being supported by the company that put it out. I would love to use it if it is, indeed, still a help and still usable -- and I gather it must be if you are still using it -- but why are some sites saying that it no longer works with Ancestry? Do you intend to keep using it? And if so, is the 2014 version that I was given still a good one? Many thanks!
Family Tree Maker 2014 will still work as a stand alone genealogy program. However, because it is now more than five years old, it will not interface with Ancestry. I use the current version of Family Tree Maker (FTM 2017). It syncs with Ancestry and allows me to view hints and search Ancestry from within the software program. (~Crista)
Does anybody know what the family tree icon means on the left side of a family members name means?when I am looking at my tree in the pedigree view some people have it,not all
I only look for your videos as you make it easy for this mature older person. The one I loved the most was how to split a tree with just ancestors and descendants, now all I need is how does one split a tree with so many cousins and their parents, HELP PLEASE, I tried manually and it got messed up. Thanks in advance.
My question is that years ago, I would get free trials of ancestry and put up a tree, so there are older trees that I know are mine but I do not remember the passwords to access them and delete them. Any ideas on how to do that?
Hi RocketRenee46! Thanks so much for stopping by! We're glad to confirm that although Family Tree Maker is owned and supported by Mackiev, it is still able to be fully synced with your Ancestry Family Tree. We'll include a link from our support center below with more information. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions and we'll be glad to help! support.ancestry.com/s/article/Family-Tree-Maker-FAQ
Great ideas. For some time I've been thinking about deleting my older, smaller, incomplete trees on Ancestry, but I have a fear that if I delete them, my newer, more complete & larger tree will have people deleted also. Each tree is completely separate from the other. If I delete my mom in the oldest tree, she won't disappear in my newest, most up to date tree, right?? I'm just afraid that all my hours of research will be gone.
Hi Ginger, we'd like to recommend reaching out to the support team of MacKiev in regards to your question regarding memory and Family Tree Maker and how to best install it. For all your questions regarding our platfom we're here to help!
I have roots magic and the extra saving of the media when it syncs with my ancestry tree is absolutely frustrating! Do you have any tips on how to avoid the duplicate saving?
What can I do when a service starts putting up all kinds of names on my tree that I don't even know about? Just because they're related to someone who is probably related to me, doesn't mean I really wanted all those names there. I know, I can hear people saying why wouldn't you? They did you a favor. Without the stories, they are just names, especially when they're names I've never even heard.
Hi Patricia, thanks for stopping by. We would like to reassure you that we do not add or delete people from their family trees. Are you referring to a tree that is shared with someone else? If this is the case the person you share the tree with may be the one adding new people to the family tree.
@@AncestryUS No. I was actually talking about another dna, family tree service etc. It was meant as a generic question. Thank you very much for answering me.
My major goal this year is to find my biological 2nd great grandfather! It was a born out of wedlock, kept secret situation and no records that I know of. I have done hours of dna matches and have found common last names and a possible 2nd cousin to my grandfather who I have built his tree with no luck in finding someone in the location this grandfather has to be in. But He has to be connected to this unknown man! I feel so close but so far away. It would mean so much to my grandfather to find this mans identity. Do you have any tips or ideas for me??
This is a great time in your research process to start doing some "target testing." Identify living descendants of the great-grandparent who is the child of your mysterious great-great-grandfather, and invite as many of them to test as possible. At a minimum, you want one descendant of each child of that person. The more of them that test, the more likely you are to capture more of the DNA of that gg-grandfather and it greatly enhances your chances of connecting with matches that will help you solve this mystery. Hope that helps. And, if you need more tips just let me know. (~Crista)
Hi, Im attempting to gain more of a methodology with my ancestry trees and cannot seem to find an answer to my question so far. When accepting hints for a person, how do I know when to add something as an alternate fact or override it? I’ve found that when I start to go through and analyze my evidence/sources, I’ll have a full birthdate attached to a census when in reality the census only gave a birth year? In that case would I leave the census attached to the full birthdate? Or create an alternate with just the year? Just trying to help myself for when I’m trying to prove facts..and which sources support those facts. Thanks!
Thanks very much for stopping by, Adrienne! Census records can often be a good first step in finding a birth date, but won't always be an accurate year of birth. You can occasionally find that an individual (particularly adults, the ages for children will generally be more accurate) may not know their accurate age. We can suggest using that date as a starting point. You're welcome to save the birth year as an alternate fact or attached to the full birthdate, which ever makes more sense for you and that particular ancestor. Records may contain inaccurate information, so it’s best to seek and compare multiple sources.
I prefer to only list a singular fact for things like birth and death. A person can only be born once. They can only die once. So, I enter the date and then attach all of the evidence that supports the conclusion I came to. The conclusion may adjust as new evidence comes to light. I attach that new evidence and then, as needed, add why I chose the date I did in the description field for that fact.
Question: Is there a way to change people on a hinted record? For example, if I get a "hint" for an agricultural census and it is not the person listed in the hint because it is actually the son. I want to keep the document, but under the son instead. I only see where it will let me select yes, no or maybe. I tried clicking on the document to select add to my tree, but that did not work. Thank you
Look at the URL. Delete everything from from "&hid" and after. Then hit enter. Now, you are looking at that same record as if it was a search/save record instead of a hint record. You can now save it to anyone in your tree.
Crista there was a person on ancestry whom I share 530 CMS with and we had no idea how we could be related. She was in touch with me ever so often. I suggest she have her full sister tested to see if she hared DNA with me too since her parents did not want to be tested. (Her parents were married so were grandparents, etc. but something happened somewhere since I share DNA with both of my parent's families.) the last time I heard from her was around Christmas when she said her sister had sent in a test. About a week ago I log in and she no longer shows as relative but yet she still has an account. What does that mean? did she remove her DNA off ancestry or was a mistake made on ancestry's side? Perhaps confusing 2 people's tests?
She may have turned off her matches. That means that she can not see her matches and she can not be seen by her matches. This is something that people do sometimes when they make a discovery that they may not be ready to deal with. She may have learned something about her own parentage when her sister's DNA results became available, for example. Have you sent her another message recently?
Why do I have the brother-in-law to my Great Uncles brother-in-law in my tree, including a whole bunch of hints. Also why is there hints for some families who I realize are not part of my tree?
@Alberta Frey you only have people in your tree that you have added. If you are copying from the trees of other people (which I would STRONGLY discourage), this can happen very easily.
Hi Edward, thank you for the question. At this time it is not possible to merge family trees, we do have an article on our support site with some tips on how you can combine the information in your trees, support.ancestry.com/s/article/Unable-to-Merge-Family-Trees?language=en_US
Crista I have a question for you! If you have someone come up at Extremely High close family -1st cousin could it possibly be a half sibling. I only know my moms side siblings father is unknown I mean it’s 2085.8 across 69 DNA segments
NShores that’s what I’m thinking., it says close relative but she looks a little younger then I am. I’m waiting for a reply. I’m 48 so I hope to find some of my roots before it’s too late 🙁
NShores I just hope she’s as open about it as I am that’s my fear.. I have no clue other than a name for my birth father and I believe that’s the line she’s coming from due to such a close relation. As my mothers line is 2-3 4-5 cousins
NShores unfortunately all I have is my fathers name and not even sure if I have the spelling right haha., that’s really cool though! Did you have anyone closer than grandfather that you have contact with?
Nice tip, Jason Jase! We appreciate you sharing what works for you with other visitors to our community. We'd also like to chime in and recommend using our custom tags to help you better organize your research. Click here to learn how to use them if you've yet to check this popular option out : support.ancestry.com/s/article/MyTreeTags?language=en_US . We appreciate your support and please call on us anytime you need a little assistance in the future. 🌳
I love your info - but I need to say this since it has bothered me for years... when I was trying to locate my bio father and that of my husband, I had to basically get a second doctorate in DNA. Ok, I can live with that. But the fact that we both had some close relatives that did not reply and had not signed on for a while meant it took me over a year beyond what it should have to get the answers (using a lot of 4th cousins). When I see You/Ancestry just hand over matches and the info for TV shows my head nearly explodes. It is so wrong to do that for a select few when some of us have paid Ancestry for a decade and were early on the DNA train yet you must make it easy for these people because they are in the TV show. I can’t explain adequately my anger about that. I get Ancestry doesn’t really care about members, but this is unfair and wrong.
Do hope you can help or anyone please..Not an easy story.I was put in an Orphanage.I have met my real Mother+family but they are settled.Not interested in sharing the family tree with me.Now my birth mother although not said the words yet insinuated my Father was my Grandfather!!Made me feel awful but thats another story.I have just received my Ancestry.com DNA results in the hope would it show who my father is?Thankfully I have been blessed with good health as my understanding is babies who are the results of incest can suffer with Health problems or other problems.So I question my mother giving the impression who my father is.I saw a social worker last year+the information is different a guy called John,could.ve been my father??So received my results,I was surprised as am a bit of a traveller+drawn to other countries lol..but I am 100%Irish+Ancestry got it right I know my connection with the West Coast of Ireland!Kerry,Cork etc.My mother,Grandfather etc came from Kerry+my Grandfather came from near Cork.Theres was a large community of Irish in London over the years.Could my Mum have been intimate with another Irishman.Hope you can help.Thank you.
Stella, Thank you for sharing your story. When you look at your DNA Match list, how many centimorgans of DNA do you share with the top match on your list? When you look at Shared Matches with that individual and compare it with your full list of matches, how much DNA do you share with the highest match that is NOT shared with your top match?
The easiest way is to have them download a copy of their tree and email it to you. Then, you would need to use some desktop software, like Family Tree Maker, to import their tree, extract the pieces of it you want, and combine it with your own tree. The other option is to go to their tree and save information from it to your tree, one family at a time.
Hello Crista ... this is totally off-topic for this particular video, but I have a question. This morning I received an email indicating that someone had added a comment to one of my ancestor's photos/graphics on their Gallery page. The link from the email, however, only takes me to the main page of Ancestry.com. I'm wondering how to find the 'comment' she left on my ancestor's photo without having to go through the many, many photos and graphics attached to my ancestor's profiles in their Galleries. The email doesn't indicate which ancestor she commented on, and the link doesn't take me to her comment directly. Am I missing something important here?
Can you forward that email to me at ASK {at} ancestry.com? I'll have someone take a look at it and see if we can figure out why it isn't taking you to the right place in your tree. Thanks! (~Crista)
Click on TREES | Create and Manage Trees. Then, click on "Trees Shared With Me." From there you can REMOVE your access to a tree that someone else has shared with you.
Hi. I’m from the UK wanting to order a 1950 marriage certificate from the United States that will give me more clarity to my family mystery. Though, how do I go about ordering a copy of it? I have like an index version of it on Ancestry. Com like...
Hi, is it possible to subscribe to just your videos and not all the ancestry teasers and ads? I love your videos but don't want to filter through all the rest. Thanks!
That's a great question, Terri. I don't think you can. But, I did just put up a website. And, if you sign up for my newsletter, I will be sending out an email each time there is a new video. You can find it at cristacowan.com
Actually there is, sort of. Go to the play list section of the Ancestry channel. There is an “add to library” button. This adds the playlist to your library and I think you can see if there are unwatched videos. I don't think you can get an alert unfortunately.
I have yet to take the test for concerns on what I will discover. My mother was adopted outside the system - which is a curious branch but the real doozey is that I was an ovulm donor for three difficult families. I produced over 100 eggs and I have no idea what became of them all... if anything. Are my concerns warranted and what advice would you give?
I have no idea where to ask this question so I will ask it here and maybe someone can help me to figure this out. On both sides of my family tree I have dna matches that pop up that have me stumped. The first one got a hold of me trying to figure out info because he has a section of his tree missing. He is listed as being both my 2nd cousin and my father's 2nd cousin but from what I can see through his tree we have some common last names but nothing that looks like a common ancestor I share 212 cms with him and my father shares 512 cms. His big missing piece is his father's father's side. The other is on my mom's side and he also is missing a large chunk his is his father's side. My mom is listed as a close relative with a shared cm of 2008 and I'm listed as a 1st cousin with a shared cm of 1004. Any ideas? I'm at a loss for both of these and it's driving me nuts. I also have a big brick wall on my father's side after a like 2/3 generations where we seem to sprout out of the ground which could be where that line is having problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated by anyone. Thanks. :)
If someone shares 512 cM of DNA with your father, this person is likely a half 1st cousin, a 1st cousin 1x removed. Look at the SHARED MATCHES your dad has with this person. Do you recognize any of those people? Is it possible that your dad's grandfather is also the grandfather of this match? The match that shares 2008 cM with your mom is likely either her half-sibling, her aunt/uncle, or her niece/nephew. Again, looking at SHARED MATCHES between your mom and this match, can you tell based on the matches they have in common which side of your mom's family tree they connect with. If it is only one side, they are likely a half-sibling or aunt/uncle. If it is both sides, it is more likely a niece/nephew. Hope that helps. Please ask more questions if you have them. (~Crista)
@@AncestryUS thank you I wanted to see if what I was seeing was right and you seem to be coming to the same conclusions I have. My biggest problem with the one on my mom's side is my nana always told her the guy she considered her father wasn't her father because she was married to someone else and they weren't divorced yet but separated and I guess she was seeing these guy my mom always thought of as her dad though they didn't get married until she was like 3 or something so she didn't know much about his side of the family since he was supposed to just be her step father. Then we did the dna tests and we weren't getting matches on her supposed dad's side so we tried her step father the guy she always actually thought of as her dad and we were getting matches so we're pretty sure he is her actual dad and not the other guy and the guy she shares dna with doesn't know who is father is so there isn't really anything to compare to since he doesn't have that line done. It's basically the same for the guy on my father's side his father doesn't know who his father is so he has a whole line missing and I can only go back 2 or 3 generations on two of his lines it's like they just don't exist before that, they were deleted or nobody else has done any digging any farther back. With the guy that's related to my father we have some matching surnames a couple places but no names that are in common not even in in siblings names. This is why I asked since it seems to be a brick wall on each side. Thank you for helping me it's pretty much what I figured but I wanted a second opinion on my thoughts. Much thanks august
Thank for the information, but I would like to see exactly how I can clean my computer out. Is there a video that I can watch step by step to show me how to do what you are saying?
K allinen - are you referring to a program on your computer, such as Family Tree Maker? Or do you mean extra pictures or documents actually stored on your hard drive?
Be careful when you are saving records like census records (where the whole family is listed). If a name is listed slightly different in the census than in your tree, the computer will think it is an entirely different person and add them to your tree again. Instead click on the "Not a New Person" link before saving the record.
We have checked the audio quality of this video on several different computers and mobile devices here and it is coming through crystal clear on our end. What exactly is the problem you are experiencing on your end?
The audio is crystal clear for me on my iPad. I do see a bit of lag syncing audio with video, though. Hey, Christa is a ROCKSTAR. Christa, I wish they would provide you more high end audio/video gear. It kind of looks like you may shoot in front of a chroma drop.
I often hear a high “ringing” or buzz when she speaks. It’s something I’ve noticed on a lot of her videos over the years. I don’t know if she’s recording on a set or in a hall, or if she’s maybe using the built-in mic on the phone/camera, but I agree - get her a professional microphone and a sound engineer! Something where she’s not doing all the work to project her voice for the camera. I’m on an iPad mini today, but I’ve heard it on laptop or desktop computers, too.
You want to talk about ancestry and decluttering...what about keeping people from stealing photos from our tree and uploading them as thier own...same with people doing the same with documents etc. Let the person who uploads it first to ancestry get the credit. Not duplicate after duplicate after duplicate and the hints they cause. I'm not here paying all of this money per month to get hints of things that I was the first person to post the pics. Another things is when people get hints and attach my family members to thier trees and there is no way they can be connected but they add them anyway just because they see a leaf. That in turn along with ancestry's crazy algorithm give me thier trees as hint on return......grrrrr. We have to sort through so much garbage nowadays on ancestry...more than ever. So I provide info...you change others to access it. It's a business...I get it. But I dont want to pay for others misinformation.
Ancestry has billions of historical records. Your subscription enables you to access those records. Ancestry also gives you the choice of having a public or private tree. If you choose to have a public tree, you also agree to allow others to copy information out of your tree. If you do not wish for that to happen, you are welcome to privatize your tree.
@@AncestryUS copying is fine but when people used to get info/media from other trees it would link everything to the original poster to keep everything simple but now they can just blatantly make thier own copies and call it thier own contribution. Can you just help keep things more secure and go back to the old way of distributing or linking photos to others trees. My contributions stay original and you have more people paying for information and not leaving over duplicate hints. It's a win-win for us both. Privatizing my tree kills my research and makes me not want to subscribe anymore. A lot of hard work and dedication goes into me providing you with public information/ media you do not have. I am working for you...I've provided that and DNA and you need to scratch my back and not just take my 40 dollars a month and slap me in the face and tell me to make my tree private. I will share anything I have or find...all I ask for is credit when shared and not theft of the originals. You can keep it from being copied saved or screenshot but you have to actually take some of that money and put it back in security. If I have to pay to add these to my tree...so should others....and not by blatant theft.
And once you get your security back like you originally had let us be able to report and not keep anything except what the original poster had put up....that gets you more money and less hints I have to look at that are duplicates of what I researched or contributed in the first place....cut the clutter on your end please.
@@Buckshot00fan You will find i think that hints only encompass about 10 % of Ancestrys databases ,ignore them for the most part and use the card catalog to look for your family by relying so heavily on hints you're missing a lot that you're paying for
@@stephg768 yes I understand and thank you for the tip. I'm just on the give credit where credit is due kick. It makes people like me not want to share and make my tree motivate but that doesn't help the community or the company. I dont mind sharing but people taking credit for others work is very discouraging...I have so much more I could upload but I don't.
I've just recently discovered the Barefoot Genealogist. You are amazing, Crista! Such a good teacher. So full of practical information. And able to explain things simply. I am very grateful that you are willing to so freely share your expertise. Thank you!
Crista you are really carrying the whole Ancestry UA-cam! Your my fav :)
We're so glad you're enjoying the videos! 😊
Everything Crista does is "Top Shelf" ! She has pulled me out of many a ditch. Blessings upon you, Crista ! ☺
Thank you so much Crista. All of your tips are always so helpful! Tidying up can also result in finding some information that you missed along the way. That has happened to me. You revisit a record and all of a sudden you find a hint that makes sense.
All good tips. I've been searching over twenty years. Have spells of sorting and throwing out, but not as often as I should. I also use post-it notes, which are hard to keep up with. Will try to do better.
You never disappoint me. I watch your utube videos almost every night. As usual, I learned a lot. Anxious to apply the information into my genealogy. Thank you for doing what you do so well.
Thanks, Crista!! For Christmas, my daughter got me a notebook called a Rocketbook Everlast. It is a reusable notebook for use only with Frixion pens. At the bottom of each page is a series of icons, each assigned to a specific file folder in your cloud or an email address. A phone app scans and directs each page to the folder designated by the logo. It creates either PDF or JPEG files. Also, if you take notes on multiple pages, you can select the app combine them into a single PDF file. Granted, there will not be a paper notebook to archive as the pages are saved digitally. After they are saved, you erase the pages with a moistened microfiber cloth. It works very well and I've been using it more and more, not just for genealogy, but for fiction writing, editing notes for my novel, etc.
Just thought I'd throw that out as this notebook works well for me.
That sounds really cool! I may have to check that out for myself. (~Crista)
Today, I was preparing my research for handing off to the next generation. and I tossed out a lot of paper files that were extraneous. I don't have the same problem on Ancestry or on my computer. I've been more careful with that stuff :D but I hear what Crista is saying. Hard drive space is not an issue with Terra Byte drives :D
As for data entry, I spent many years now, since 1980 working on the different computers. Then for 7 1/2 years as a manager of a mailing list (which was created by free volunteer labour) of over 100,000 files. To say I learned the hard way about being careful about data entry, is an understatement.
Thank you Crista! You do such a great job or explaining things so that they are understandable to me. Thanks again !
I have been doing family history since 1976 I can say I have totes of papers the last four generations passed down I am just now getting organized with papers and am spending more time offline being sure names are on the back of pictures. If you go to a county seat that is the way one wall of my computer room is, albums laying on their sides like the big record books in a quart house go to the cycling 8ft by 8ft shelving I still have 30 totes I haven’t went through yet. Some were between 20 to 23 thousand hard copy pictures in 47 albums. And 25 2 ½ d ring archive binders same with Pictures. 5TB and many flash drive scattered around the USA with cousins. I also have made 8x10 copies of my grandkid’s grandparents on all the walls so my kids and grandkids will ask questions. I have one grandson so far is interested in family history and has won state champion for family history. I spend 4 to 8 hours a day in the computer room a lady in the Gini club told me she wasn’t that dedicated. And I hope my kids and grandkids will pick up where I leave off, and my age I know I can’t do it forever. And hope they won’t take for granted what I have left them and let it go by the wayside!
I always enjoy your videos and you have helped me a lot. I highly encourage you to meet your goal in meeting your DNA matches. I have been doing this and it has been a wonderful experience. It is amazing to me how there is so often an instant connection and how it helps you understand even more about your family.
You are tops, Crista ! I have learned SOOOOO much about working in Ancestry. THANK YOU for your excellent work !
This subject is exactly what I needed to hear, Thanks for the information!
My favorite genealogy notebook is called Elfinbook, The pages are somehow made of stone but they feel like smooth paper, so you can wipe them off with a damp cloth and reuse them over and over. If it turns out to be something I want to keep, it comes with software for your phone so you can take a picture of it and keep it. I don't work for them, I just really like it. I love OneNote too.
I started with a bad habit of finding information, and if it had other links, opening all of the links in different windows (BIG MISTAKE!). My husband would always interupt me to go somewhere and I would have to shut down all the windows and log out, before I get all the information. Then have to go in again, and again, and again, which makes it look like I am stalking the family. I am not, I just can't get through all of it. Also STAY ON TASK is another problem I have. I will go looking for one thing, but something in that record will get me curious and by the end of the day, I will have not gotten what I went looking for, but I've read some really interesting stories!
I love your videos. You explain everything so clearly. I have on my calendar to clean up my trees, but I have been avoiding it. However, after watching your video I feel like I have a plan of action. I know where to get started and that was what was holding me back. Thank you for all the videos.
You are so very welcome, Rh Ra! (~Crista)
Girl, you sounded like me! Printing out those census forms and filling them in; filing all those papers in folders; making lists....whew. Now tell me, did you go back and throw out all those forms you filled in?
Believe it or not, I did. (~Crista)
I love your videos. I have learned so much from you and you keep me interested in genealogy when I hit rough spots.
good information!! I am still a beginner with ancestry and use it once a year.
I always love watching your videos crista! So informative and helpful!! I have got a lot of certificates that dont apply to my family and want to get rid of them. Also i have certificates to do with my dna matches trees.
When I start decluttering and organizing, I find all kinds of little notes of genealogical information!
Cathy - Me Too! It sometimes leads to new vigor on brick walls!
Thank you for the information on Tidying up, boy did I needed to hear that. I've been doing my tree for a very long time. I have a question about paper files. I have things my 2nd great grandmother had saved, and I now have them. Some things I know I don't need to save, but haven't tossed them, old Christmas cards from people. She also has old letters that really doesn't have history information, and some hard to read. Others date back to my 3 and 4 GGfather. I just don't know the best way to save them. How do you know what to keep, where to keep them, and what doesn't need to be kept. I sometimes find myself looking at something I've see before years ago because I haven't dealt with it correctly. Sorry for the long question, need some advice and I will be glad to hear from anyone who has ideas or have done it. Thanks
I understand, fully, the sentimentality attached to some of these items. I have found that if I can take a good picture of the item (like old Christmas cards, for example), I can feel more confident in throwing them away.
Hope that helps. (~Crista)
I appreciate the effort you have made to help us with our genealogy. Tidying up is just what I need to do!
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I really enjoyed this video.
I like so called travellers notebooks. Think of it as a Filofax without those annoying rings. All kinds of sizes, and you attach several books to elastic fasteners instead of single sheets of paper attachibg by way if rings. I make my own books. I have an A6 notebook and fold A5 paper, notch it and just use hair elastics to fasten.
These are great tips Crista! I especially love the Bullet Journal idea. Wish I could make it RootsTech this year. Maybe one day. I’ll be looking for your follow up later on. Thanks!
Thank you for this information, it will be helpful.
Another great video of tips and helpful info, Crista. I love how real you are, in volunteering areas where you too make mistakes or have trouble.
I was excited to hear that you too are a Bullet Journaler! It's been some time since this video posted. Did you ever get around to creating anything about that for those of us that couldn't go to RootsTec and see your presentation about it? If you did, I would love to know how to access it and gain some tips!
Hi Crista, I'm new to your channel!
Evie in Carlton Oregon just told me about you and this channel!
It looks like you are AWEFULLY busy with your family history and helping others with their own family history, but I'm hoping that we can chat sometime, since I live fairly close to Evie!
Thank you. I needed a nudge to scan assorted and various documents that I've accumulated since 1995!
Thank you fit sharing your wisdom. You mentioned a video about dealing with duplicate people. I've looked through your UA-cam videos & not seeing it.
Good info....Please check your Shipman tree.
Thank you!! So helpful and timely for me. :-)
Hi Crista, do you have examples of the notes you take in the records?
In a previous lesson, you stated you use BUJO for your projects. Is there anyway you could share how you do BUJO with your genealogy research. Very interested.
Is there a program thar cab help instead of going throuhj line by line?
The audio was great on my computer
Thanks for the info
Love your tutorials. I can’t seem to find Family Tree Maker. I do see Family Tree Builder. Is it possible they changed the name?
Good stuff, as usual!
How do I receive your services, or get your help with my family tree?
Hi Crista. Love all of your videos! I took your advice and started tidying up my family tree by deleting people from my tree that I had added just by copying from other people's trees (through hints) to pare it down to people that I have researched and verified myself. unfortunately, the media from the people I deleted was not deleted from my Media Gallery, so now I have to go through each media item individually to delete them from the gallery, which is incredibly time consuming. Also, navigating through the Media Gallery is not user friendly. For instance, if I want to look at a media item on page 18 in my gallery, I have to advance the pages one at a time, which is tedious. Any suggestions?
Hello. I have a SERIOUS Question. I have been doing my Tree for 15 years. And I finally decided to to my DNA nearly 2 years ago. It helped a Great deal since my Great Grandpa family was from England and Ireland. I have alot of DNA matches to trace my back to ppl. But for the Love of God. I can't find a Direct connect for him. It very upsetting.Thrulines doesn't give any info.
I'm lost and stuck.
HI JoAnna, thank you for being with us for so long. We know what it feels like to come up against a brick wall when doing research. We have an article on our support site with some research tips and additional free resources that may be of some help. support.ancestry.com/s/article/Overcoming-Roadblocks-in-Your-Research?language=en_US
What info would you get thru the dentist?
You mention a family history wiki. Where is that located? Thanks for all of your great information
You can find the Family History Wiki here: wiki.rootsweb.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Tidying up my old notes I discovered two new ancestors who are on other DNA matches' trees too. Has Ancestry abandoned DNA circles? Mine haven't changed in months (seemingly) even though I should have quite a few more circles.
Dan - Glad the tidying up helped you make a new discovery.
Currently, no new DNA Circles are being created. This feature has been in BETA and is currently being re-evaluated.
Thank you, Crista, I love your videos! I also have the stacks of papers and copied census records and notes from when I started doing genealogy decades ago. I am trying to switch things to computer to I can consolidate information and throw away the paper pile.. I noticed that you use Family Tree Maker, and I have a question about that: I was given Family Tree Maker 2014. I was excited at first because I had heard you mention it on previous videos, but I haven't put it on my computer yet, because even though I found many good reviews of Family Tree Maker from a number of years ago, there were warnings on recent reviews that the software was no longer able to sync with Ancestry and was no longer being supported by the company that put it out. I would love to use it if it is, indeed, still a help and still usable -- and I gather it must be if you are still using it -- but why are some sites saying that it no longer works with Ancestry? Do you intend to keep using it? And if so, is the 2014 version that I was given still a good one? Many thanks!
Family Tree Maker 2014 will still work as a stand alone genealogy program. However, because it is now more than five years old, it will not interface with Ancestry. I use the current version of Family Tree Maker (FTM 2017). It syncs with Ancestry and allows me to view hints and search Ancestry from within the software program. (~Crista)
Does anybody know what the family tree icon means on the left side of a family members name means?when I am looking at my tree in the pedigree view some people have it,not all
Where are you seeing this?
I only look for your videos as you make it easy for this mature older person. The one I loved the most was how to split a tree with just ancestors and descendants, now all I need is how does one split a tree with so many cousins and their parents, HELP PLEASE, I tried manually and it got messed up. Thanks in advance.
Crista, I am trying to get in contact with HR about a research position, can you help with that?
I have twin uncles, but only one is listed in all the census. Is this normal?
Hello. How do I combine my ancestry.com tree and my old family history info in PAF (that I just rediscovered)?
My question is that years ago, I would get free trials of ancestry and put up a tree, so there are older trees that I know are mine but I do not remember the passwords to access them and delete them. Any ideas on how to do that?
In people with dates that are unknown, how do I enter this? I am getting tons of these when I print a data error report. should I enter unknown?
Does Family Tree Maker still exist and still partner with Ancestry?
Hi RocketRenee46! Thanks so much for stopping by! We're glad to confirm that although Family Tree Maker is owned and supported by Mackiev, it is still able to be fully synced with your Ancestry Family Tree. We'll include a link from our support center below with more information. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions and we'll be glad to help!
support.ancestry.com/s/article/Family-Tree-Maker-FAQ
Great ideas. For some time I've been thinking about deleting my older, smaller, incomplete trees on Ancestry, but I have a fear that if I delete them, my newer, more complete & larger tree will have people deleted also. Each tree is completely separate from the other. If I delete my mom in the oldest tree, she won't disappear in my newest, most up to date tree, right?? I'm just afraid that all my hours of research will be gone.
Each tree is completely separate. So, deleting an old, outdated tree will not, in any way, affect your current, active research tree.
I guess its best to do treemaker on a pc not a phone with not much memory on it!
Hi Ginger, we'd like to recommend reaching out to the support team of MacKiev in regards to your question regarding memory and Family Tree Maker and how to best install it. For all your questions regarding our platfom we're here to help!
www.mackiev.com/ftm/
I have roots magic and the extra saving of the media when it syncs with my ancestry tree is absolutely frustrating! Do you have any tips on how to avoid the duplicate saving?
I would recommend that you contact RootsMagic support for assistance with this matter.
What can I do when a service starts putting up all kinds of names on my tree that I don't even know about? Just because they're related to someone who is probably related to me, doesn't mean I really wanted all those names there.
I know, I can hear people saying why wouldn't you? They did you a favor. Without the stories, they are just names, especially when they're names I've never even heard.
Hi Patricia, thanks for stopping by. We would like to reassure you that we do not add or delete people from their family trees. Are you referring to a tree that is shared with someone else? If this is the case the person you share the tree with may be the one adding new people to the family tree.
@@AncestryUS No. I was actually talking about another dna, family tree service etc. It was meant as a generic question. Thank you very much for answering me.
My major goal this year is to find my biological 2nd great grandfather! It was a born out of wedlock, kept secret situation and no records that I know of. I have done hours of dna matches and have found common last names and a possible 2nd cousin to my grandfather who I have built his tree with no luck in finding someone in the location this grandfather has to be in. But He has to be connected to this unknown man! I feel so close but so far away. It would mean so much to my grandfather to find this mans identity. Do you have any tips or ideas for me??
This is a great time in your research process to start doing some "target testing." Identify living descendants of the great-grandparent who is the child of your mysterious great-great-grandfather, and invite as many of them to test as possible. At a minimum, you want one descendant of each child of that person. The more of them that test, the more likely you are to capture more of the DNA of that gg-grandfather and it greatly enhances your chances of connecting with matches that will help you solve this mystery.
Hope that helps. And, if you need more tips just let me know. (~Crista)
Hi, Im attempting to gain more of a methodology with my ancestry trees and cannot seem to find an answer to my question so far. When accepting hints for a person, how do I know when to add something as an alternate fact or override it? I’ve found that when I start to go through and analyze my evidence/sources, I’ll have a full birthdate attached to a census when in reality the census only gave a birth year? In that case would I leave the census attached to the full birthdate? Or create an alternate with just the year? Just trying to help myself for when I’m trying to prove facts..and which sources support those facts. Thanks!
Thanks very much for stopping by, Adrienne! Census records can often be a good first step in finding a birth date, but won't always be an accurate year of birth. You can occasionally find that an individual (particularly adults, the ages for children will generally be more accurate) may not know their accurate age. We can suggest using that date as a starting point. You're welcome to save the birth year as an alternate fact or attached to the full birthdate, which ever makes more sense for you and that particular ancestor. Records may contain inaccurate information, so it’s best to seek and compare multiple sources.
I prefer to only list a singular fact for things like birth and death. A person can only be born once. They can only die once. So, I enter the date and then attach all of the evidence that supports the conclusion I came to. The conclusion may adjust as new evidence comes to light. I attach that new evidence and then, as needed, add why I chose the date I did in the description field for that fact.
time stamps please
I really need a way to combine two trees (mine and that if my now husbands) to one because of marriage and childbirth. How can I do this?
Hi, S. F. Unfortunately, there is no way to do that currently. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Question: Is there a way to change people on a hinted record? For example, if I get a "hint" for an agricultural census and it is not the person listed in the hint because it is actually the son. I want to keep the document, but under the son instead. I only see where it will let me select yes, no or maybe. I tried clicking on the document to select add to my tree, but that did not work. Thank you
Look at the URL. Delete everything from from "&hid" and after. Then hit enter. Now, you are looking at that same record as if it was a search/save record instead of a hint record. You can now save it to anyone in your tree.
I have a private question to ask how do I ask any genealogist a question?
You are welcome to find me on Instagram and send me a DM.
Crista there was a person on ancestry whom I share 530 CMS with and we had no idea how we could be related. She was in touch with me ever so often. I suggest she have her full sister tested to see if she hared DNA with me too since her parents did not want to be tested. (Her parents were married so were grandparents, etc. but something happened somewhere since I share DNA with both of my parent's families.) the last time I heard from her was around Christmas when she said her sister had sent in a test. About a week ago I log in and she no longer shows as relative but yet she still has an account. What does that mean? did she remove her DNA off ancestry or was a mistake made on ancestry's side? Perhaps confusing 2 people's tests?
She may have turned off her matches. That means that she can not see her matches and she can not be seen by her matches. This is something that people do sometimes when they make a discovery that they may not be ready to deal with. She may have learned something about her own parentage when her sister's DNA results became available, for example.
Have you sent her another message recently?
Why do I have the brother-in-law to my Great Uncles brother-in-law in my tree, including a whole bunch of hints. Also why is there hints for some families who I realize are not part of my tree?
@Alberta Frey you only have people in your tree that you have added. If you are copying from the trees of other people (which I would STRONGLY discourage), this can happen very easily.
If you have 2 trees on the same account, can you merge the 2 trees into 1 tree?
Hi Edward, thank you for the question. At this time it is not possible to merge family trees, we do have an article on our support site with some tips on how you can combine the information in your trees, support.ancestry.com/s/article/Unable-to-Merge-Family-Trees?language=en_US
I have almost 1000 records saved from family search + all my paperwork. 😔
Crista I have a question for you!
If you have someone come up at Extremely High close family -1st cousin could it possibly be a half sibling. I only know my moms side siblings father is unknown I mean it’s 2085.8 across 69 DNA segments
NShores that’s what I’m thinking., it says close relative but she looks a little younger then I am. I’m waiting for a reply. I’m 48 so I hope to find some of my roots before it’s too late 🙁
NShores I just hope she’s as open about it as I am that’s my fear.. I have no clue other than a name for my birth father and I believe that’s the line she’s coming from due to such a close relation. As my mothers line is 2-3 4-5 cousins
NShores unfortunately all I have is my fathers name and not even sure if I have the spelling right haha., that’s really cool though! Did you have anyone closer than grandfather that you have contact with?
NShores oh wow!! That’s too bad he never got in touch how did you ever find out he was a half uncle? At least you had help., 😊
NShores that would be great if your willing.,
I put question marks on suffix if I haven't found all proofs on the person.
Nice tip, Jason Jase! We appreciate you sharing what works for you with other visitors to our community. We'd also like to chime in and recommend using our custom tags to help you better organize your research. Click here to learn how to use them if you've yet to check this popular option out : support.ancestry.com/s/article/MyTreeTags?language=en_US . We appreciate your support and please call on us anytime you need a little assistance in the future. 🌳
I love your info - but I need to say this since it has bothered me for years... when I was trying to locate my bio father and that of my husband, I had to basically get a second doctorate in DNA. Ok, I can live with that. But the fact that we both had some close relatives that did not reply and had not signed on for a while meant it took me over a year beyond what it should have to get the answers (using a lot of 4th cousins). When I see You/Ancestry just hand over matches and the info for TV shows my head nearly explodes. It is so wrong to do that for a select few when some of us have paid Ancestry for a decade and were early on the DNA train yet you must make it easy for these people because they are in the TV show. I can’t explain adequately my anger about that. I get Ancestry doesn’t really care about members, but this is unfair and wrong.
Do hope you can help or anyone please..Not an easy story.I was put in an Orphanage.I have met my real Mother+family but they are settled.Not interested in sharing the family tree with me.Now my birth mother although not said the words yet insinuated my Father was my Grandfather!!Made me feel awful but thats another story.I have just received my Ancestry.com DNA results in the hope would it show who my father is?Thankfully I have been blessed with good health as my understanding is babies who are the results of incest can suffer with Health problems or other problems.So I question my mother giving the impression who my father is.I saw a social worker last year+the information is different a guy called John,could.ve been my father??So received my results,I was surprised as am a bit of a traveller+drawn to other countries lol..but I am 100%Irish+Ancestry got it right I know my connection with the West Coast of Ireland!Kerry,Cork etc.My mother,Grandfather etc came from Kerry+my Grandfather came from near Cork.Theres was a large community of Irish in London over the years.Could my Mum have been intimate with another Irishman.Hope you can help.Thank you.
Stella, Thank you for sharing your story. When you look at your DNA Match list, how many centimorgans of DNA do you share with the top match on your list?
When you look at Shared Matches with that individual and compare it with your full list of matches, how much DNA do you share with the highest match that is NOT shared with your top match?
Can I download this to a tablet so I can watch it on a long boring flight?
How do link a portion from a relative's tree? I have a cousin who's tree go back to 1400s.
The easiest way is to have them download a copy of their tree and email it to you. Then, you would need to use some desktop software, like Family Tree Maker, to import their tree, extract the pieces of it you want, and combine it with your own tree.
The other option is to go to their tree and save information from it to your tree, one family at a time.
@@AncestryUS Thank you.
Hello Crista ... this is totally off-topic for this particular video, but I have a question. This morning I received an email indicating that someone had added a comment to one of my ancestor's photos/graphics on their Gallery page. The link from the email, however, only takes me to the main page of Ancestry.com. I'm wondering how to find the 'comment' she left on my ancestor's photo without having to go through the many, many photos and graphics attached to my ancestor's profiles in their Galleries. The email doesn't indicate which ancestor she commented on, and the link doesn't take me to her comment directly. Am I missing something important here?
Can you forward that email to me at ASK {at} ancestry.com? I'll have someone take a look at it and see if we can figure out why it isn't taking you to the right place in your tree. Thanks! (~Crista)
FTM still links to Ancestry? How? I can't get it to do that anymore.
In order to connect to Ancestry, you have to be using the most current version of FTM, which is FTM 2017.
Can you still get Family Tree software?
You can still get Family Tree Maker. www.mackiev.com/ftm/index.html
where is the link to remove unwanted other trees?
Click on TREES | Create and Manage Trees. Then, click on "Trees Shared With Me." From there you can REMOVE your access to a tree that someone else has shared with you.
Hi. I’m from the UK wanting to order a 1950 marriage certificate from the United States that will give me more clarity to my family mystery. Though, how do I go about ordering a copy of it? I have like an index version of it on Ancestry. Com like...
Scroll to the bottom of the page where you found the index, it should tell you where document is being held and how to obtain a copy.
Steph G Thanks Steph
I have somewhat tan skin dark brown hair blue green eyes what am I?
Why did my dna results change from the initial results?
I believe that the information in this video will answer your question. ua-cam.com/video/DcrH0Jx4OVo/v-deo.html
Hi, is it possible to subscribe to just your videos and not all the ancestry teasers and ads? I love your videos but don't want to filter through all the rest. Thanks!
That's a great question, Terri. I don't think you can. But, I did just put up a website. And, if you sign up for my newsletter, I will be sending out an email each time there is a new video. You can find it at cristacowan.com
Actually there is, sort of. Go to the play list section of the Ancestry channel. There is an “add to library” button. This adds the playlist to your library and I think you can see if there are unwatched videos. I don't think you can get an alert unfortunately.
I have yet to take the test for concerns on what I will discover. My mother was adopted outside the system - which is a curious branch but the real doozey is that I was an ovulm donor for three difficult families. I produced over 100 eggs and I have no idea what became of them all... if anything. Are my concerns warranted and what advice would you give?
I have no idea where to ask this question so I will ask it here and maybe someone can help me to figure this out. On both sides of my family tree I have dna matches that pop up that have me stumped. The first one got a hold of me trying to figure out info because he has a section of his tree missing. He is listed as being both my 2nd cousin and my father's 2nd cousin but from what I can see through his tree we have some common last names but nothing that looks like a common ancestor I share 212 cms with him and my father shares 512 cms. His big missing piece is his father's father's side. The other is on my mom's side and he also is missing a large chunk his is his father's side. My mom is listed as a close relative with a shared cm of 2008 and I'm listed as a 1st cousin with a shared cm of 1004. Any ideas? I'm at a loss for both of these and it's driving me nuts. I also have a big brick wall on my father's side after a like 2/3 generations where we seem to sprout out of the ground which could be where that line is having problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated by anyone. Thanks. :)
If someone shares 512 cM of DNA with your father, this person is likely a half 1st cousin, a 1st cousin 1x removed. Look at the SHARED MATCHES your dad has with this person. Do you recognize any of those people? Is it possible that your dad's grandfather is also the grandfather of this match?
The match that shares 2008 cM with your mom is likely either her half-sibling, her aunt/uncle, or her niece/nephew. Again, looking at SHARED MATCHES between your mom and this match, can you tell based on the matches they have in common which side of your mom's family tree they connect with. If it is only one side, they are likely a half-sibling or aunt/uncle. If it is both sides, it is more likely a niece/nephew.
Hope that helps. Please ask more questions if you have them. (~Crista)
@@AncestryUS thank you I wanted to see if what I was seeing was right and you seem to be coming to the same conclusions I have. My biggest problem with the one on my mom's side is my nana always told her the guy she considered her father wasn't her father because she was married to someone else and they weren't divorced yet but separated and I guess she was seeing these guy my mom always thought of as her dad though they didn't get married until she was like 3 or something so she didn't know much about his side of the family since he was supposed to just be her step father. Then we did the dna tests and we weren't getting matches on her supposed dad's side so we tried her step father the guy she always actually thought of as her dad and we were getting matches so we're pretty sure he is her actual dad and not the other guy and the guy she shares dna with doesn't know who is father is so there isn't really anything to compare to since he doesn't have that line done. It's basically the same for the guy on my father's side his father doesn't know who his father is so he has a whole line missing and I can only go back 2 or 3 generations on two of his lines it's like they just don't exist before that, they were deleted or nobody else has done any digging any farther back. With the guy that's related to my father we have some matching surnames a couple places but no names that are in common not even in in siblings names. This is why I asked since it seems to be a brick wall on each side. Thank you for helping me it's pretty much what I figured but I wanted a second opinion on my thoughts. Much thanks august
Thank for the information, but I would like to see exactly how I can clean my computer out. Is there a video that I can watch step by step to show me how to do what you are saying?
K allinen - are you referring to a program on your computer, such as Family Tree Maker? Or do you mean extra pictures or documents actually stored on your hard drive?
Could a person who shares a father with ur mother only show 760 cm as your aunt?
duplicates are happening more often. 4-19-2019
Be careful when you are saving records like census records (where the whole family is listed). If a name is listed slightly different in the census than in your tree, the computer will think it is an entirely different person and add them to your tree again. Instead click on the "Not a New Person" link before saving the record.
Tidy up your calorie intake, lol.
In the legal process
The audio of this video is terrible!
We have checked the audio quality of this video on several different computers and mobile devices here and it is coming through crystal clear on our end. What exactly is the problem you are experiencing on your end?
The audio is crystal clear for me on my iPad. I do see a bit of lag syncing audio with video, though. Hey, Christa is a ROCKSTAR. Christa, I wish they would provide you more high end audio/video gear. It kind of looks like you may shoot in front of a chroma drop.
Audio is fine on both iPad and MacBookPro
It sounded ok to me on my iPad
I often hear a high “ringing” or buzz when she speaks. It’s something I’ve noticed on a lot of her videos over the years. I don’t know if she’s recording on a set or in a hall, or if she’s maybe using the built-in mic on the phone/camera, but I agree - get her a professional microphone and a sound engineer! Something where she’s not doing all the work to project her voice for the camera.
I’m on an iPad mini today, but I’ve heard it on laptop or desktop computers, too.
You want to talk about ancestry and decluttering...what about keeping people from stealing photos from our tree and uploading them as thier own...same with people doing the same with documents etc. Let the person who uploads it first to ancestry get the credit. Not duplicate after duplicate after duplicate and the hints they cause. I'm not here paying all of this money per month to get hints of things that I was the first person to post the pics.
Another things is when people get hints and attach my family members to thier trees and there is no way they can be connected but they add them anyway just because they see a leaf. That in turn along with ancestry's crazy algorithm give me thier trees as hint on return......grrrrr.
We have to sort through so much garbage nowadays on ancestry...more than ever.
So I provide info...you change others to access it. It's a business...I get it. But I dont want to pay for others misinformation.
Ancestry has billions of historical records. Your subscription enables you to access those records. Ancestry also gives you the choice of having a public or private tree. If you choose to have a public tree, you also agree to allow others to copy information out of your tree. If you do not wish for that to happen, you are welcome to privatize your tree.
@@AncestryUS copying is fine but when people used to get info/media from other trees it would link everything to the original poster to keep everything simple but now they can just blatantly make thier own copies and call it thier own contribution. Can you just help keep things more secure and go back to the old way of distributing or linking photos to others trees. My contributions stay original and you have more people paying for information and not leaving over duplicate hints. It's a win-win for us both. Privatizing my tree kills my research and makes me not want to subscribe anymore. A lot of hard work and dedication goes into me providing you with public information/ media you do not have. I am working for you...I've provided that and DNA and you need to scratch my back and not just take my 40 dollars a month and slap me in the face and tell me to make my tree private. I will share anything I have or find...all I ask for is credit when shared and not theft of the originals. You can keep it from being copied saved or screenshot but you have to actually take some of that money and put it back in security. If I have to pay to add these to my tree...so should others....and not by blatant theft.
And once you get your security back like you originally had let us be able to report and not keep anything except what the original poster had put up....that gets you more money and less hints I have to look at that are duplicates of what I researched or contributed in the first place....cut the clutter on your end please.
@@Buckshot00fan You will find i think that hints only encompass about 10 % of Ancestrys databases ,ignore them for the most part and use the card catalog to look for your family by relying so heavily on hints you're missing a lot that you're paying for
@@stephg768 yes I understand and thank you for the tip. I'm just on the give credit where credit is due kick. It makes people like me not want to share and make my tree motivate but that doesn't help the community or the company. I dont mind sharing but people taking credit for others work is very discouraging...I have so much more I could upload but I don't.