So you’ve tested with a DNA company and are now looking to dive into your DNA matches in order to make connections and build out your tree. How are you going to keep track of the thousands of matches that you have and that may just be the ones at the testing company? What if you’ve uploaded your DNA to other testing companies in order to maximize your DNA matches or even GEDmatch/Genesis? You may literally have tens of thousands of DNA matches to sort through! A spreadsheet? A contact management program? A dedicated desktop application for DNA analysis? An online service? There are so many options but what is the best for you?
The answer to this ultimately will lie with you but I’m here to give you some options to help stay organized. From my own personal experience, this became a critical decision I had to make. I tested with Ancestry where I currently have 27,988 matches. I also uploaded my raw DNA file to MyHeritage where there are an additional 5,620, FTDNA has an additional 2,820 and finally GEDmatch/Genesis where I have access to at least the top 3,000 matches for a total of 39,428 DNA matches. Granted, many of these are doubled up as they may be for the same person at multiple sites but that is still a lot of information to keep track of.
Desktop Software
Having worked in computer and software sales for a number of years, my first instinct was to use some kind of desktop application. It didn’t take me long to find Genome Mate Pro. This a program offers a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux. I was very pleased with the program’s capabilities in keeping track of the DNA matches from multiple sources. It was able to combine those that were duplicates of the same person from different sources and providing effective reports such as triangulation, and chromosome matching. However, I found it more than a little technically challenging and the process of getting the data from the sources needed to import was complex. One look at the 276-page manual available will help you understand.
My next solution was to have a better look at my own genealogy desktop software. I’ve been using Family Tree Maker since about 2006 and it has evolved quite a bit over the years. Added to this is the addition of a DNA fact field that you can use within your family tree to track information as well as some new DNA reports that offer some very helpful insights into your DNA with the purchase of the Charting Companion add-on. However, when it comes to fully tracking DNA matches that are not yet confirmed, this solution was still not going to work for me. I also understand that there are other desktop genealogy applications that may offer better DNA kit tracking but the problem remains that they are meant for entering information of known DNA matches that you have confirmed in your tree rather than an extensive list of unknown DNA matches.
Spreadsheet
What about a spreadsheet? As much as I love spreadsheets for tackling large amounts of data, I’ve seen several pre-built spreadsheets designed for this purpose but have not yet come across one that is simple and doesn’t involve a lot of steps to populate and maintain and there aren’t enough hours in a day for me to start designing one of my own! I do believe that spreadsheets can play a valuable role in DNA analysis. However, for the purpose of keeping track of my DNA matches and communications with them, it was not the right solution for me.
Online
My next option was an online service of some kind. I had already been keeping notes for my DNA matches at the Ancestry site for my Ancestry matches but how was I going to do the same for my matches at the other sites/services? Cue RootsFinder! When I was first made aware of RootsFinder and their new DNA tools which were in beta at the time, I was absolutely thrilled! I could import my DNA match information from multiple sources (including Ancestry) and have them all in one place. There was a fantastic section for keeping individual notes. The reports and graphs were very helpful and visually easy to follow. There is an import process for each of the sources that you have to wrap your head around but it wasn’t very complicated and the instructions were very clear. In the end, there were 2 reason why I did not continue to use this solution. First, it didn’t seem to allow you to cross reference DNA matches for each source together. Instead, you had to analyze them separately which became a bit confusing and had me jumping back and forth quite a bit. Secondly, Rootsfinder recently ended the beta period and it is now $34.99 to have full access to all of the DNA tools they have available. While I still believe this is the best $34.99 you’ll ever spend if you are looking for a good DNA match analysis site, I thought I’d see what other options there were for tracking my matches specifically.
Finally, I had already registered for an free account on the DNA Painter website and had started mapping my chromosomes as many of us may have done. For those not familiar with DNA Painter, it allows you to quickly and easily import DNA match information which results in matched segments being “painted” onto a visual representation of your 23 chromosomes. It allows you to bring in match information from GEDmatch/Genesis, MyHeritage, FTDNA, and 23&Me. The only service I wasn’t able to bring in is Ancestry which I felt was ok since I was already keeping detailed notes on my Ancestry matches at their site. I found this profoundly helpful in analyzing my DNA matches and with the availability of a notes section for each match, I was now able to keep detailed notes on all matches in the same way I was already doing with my Ancestry matches.
The second image above depicts DNA match notes shown for a GEDmatch DNA match imported into DNA Painter where you can see all pertinent details followed by a corresponding DNA match for the same person in Ancestry. You can see that I have put the same match notes into both. If a match was only from GEDmatch, MyHeritage or FTDNA, the notes would only be found in DNA Painter. Conversely, if the match was found only at Ancestry, the notes would only be there.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, I recommend that you try a few different solutions to see what works best for you. Choose one that will allows you to easily understand your DNA match and cross reference with other sources. Ensure that it clearly indicates how you are communicating with them for follow up and ultimately assists you in confirming your relationship with them. You have to be comfortable with the solution you choose as it is likely to be for the long haul. It would likely be difficult or impossible to transfer notes from one solution to another.
Happy Matching!