I have loaded the FTDNA Mitoch and Family Finder results of a profile I manage of a close relative. Geni has sent quite a few notes identifying remote cousins of my relative. Eg a cousin not appearing on the family tree who Geni has connected I presume through the shared DNA. This is brilliant as the family tree is usually accessible as well. Am I correct that this is what Geni is doing?
2 comments
-
Jim Henderson It seems to me that what you say is correct.
For each one, you can click on the link to the person to open the profile, then at the top, if Geni says you are related, you can click on the link to see the relationship. If you see a few steps through a clear path, you have found a long-lost cousin :-) Sadly, that doesn't happen much for me. Usually I get a note that a relationship path can't be found, or a convoluted path through the spouses of remote ancestors. I don't regard those as genuine relationships, and I don't follow up on them.
The DNA matching that Geni does is much too wide for my liking.
Hope you find some real cousins.
-
Bjørn P. Brox Remember that DNA matching is comparing DNA, and does not and should definitely not be influenced by your Geni relationship to a profile.
It's all opposite: If your suggested DNA match relationship to a person does not match what your tree shows your tree might be wrong, - some parents might be wrong or you are missing some connections and you need more research. That is the whole idea of using DNA in genealogy, - prove or dis-prove relationships.
However, just remember that intermarriages (some distant relatives get children together) might show an estimated relationship closer than the real one, and that it is just estimates.