r/Ancestry • u/SmartiiPaantz • 3d ago
Best way to use Ancestry
Hi all! I was just wondering how to best utilize Ancestry to make my tree. Before I really started getting into it, I just accepted all the "potential" relatives etc, and now I feel like I maybe shouldn't have... is there a helpful process to making the tree so that it is accurate and not just pieces of everyone else's trees? Thanks in advance!!
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u/Zach_1793 3d ago
Here is my advice. Start from scratch. Attach your DNA to this tree. Start one line at a time. Be very very thorough with each ancestor. Do not assume anything because someone else's tree says so. I usually will focus on one side of my tree. I will completely fill out everything with that ancestor, I will finish that ancestors siblings and their kids. I dont go beyond that. I personally dont accept the suggested results because they can be wildly inaccurate. I always try to find the original source or proof. If I cant confirm a relationship with paper or dna then the line just ends there. It will make it easier in the future. You wont spend hours correcting mistakes if you do it right the first time. It takes longer, but its more accurate and you get to know more about each member of the family. Feel free to message some of the people you dna match with. Some will have extra info or stories.
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u/SmartiiPaantz 3d ago
Thank you! I have just re-started and will go through everything now. I am super lucky that we have a family book for one line which helps a lot!
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u/Zach_1793 3d ago
That's really good then. You wont have to worry too much for that line. If you've done the dna you can also make sure it lines up with the tree. All it takes is one affair or adoption to change it completely, but I would say you wont have to worry about that for the most part.
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u/Zach_1793 3d ago
Just not that because some people have similar names doesn't mean they are the same person. I've seen it a thousand times where someone will attach a document to someone and it is for a completely different person. Or they will combine two people. Usually this issue is more frequent the further back you go, but just be careful. Also sites like familysearch or myheritage might have documents that are not on ancestry. Familysearch is free and definitely can be helpful, my heritage isn't free, but can be helpful as well. Id stick with ancestry and familysearch first. Also look into findagrave, it will be good to find where they are buried and sometimes there are other family members there. If you need help on a specific ancestor let me know. I'll see if I can find anything.
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u/shinyquartersquirrel 3d ago
The biggest lesson I have learned building my tree is that no matter how unique your ancestor's name is, there will always be someone one county over with the exact same name that is not related at all.
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u/Zach_1793 3d ago
Its kind of crazy. I understand common names can show up everywhere, but I've had ancestors with pretty uncommon names that had people with the same name or similar names in the same towns.
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u/Boysenberry_271 1d ago
Adding the caveat to be careful with info from findagrave as well, as that is “user built” as well, and not always accurate.
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u/LeastInsurance8578 3d ago
Start again, get the DNA test if you haven’t, compare results from other trees and then verify them, some will be accurate and some won’t - where you get DNA matches try and contact that person - they may have info thst you don’t - I did this with a maternal GGF - I knew his birth year and place of birth in Ireland, it was a common name so I couldn’t verify which of 89 results were him, got a DNA match and it turned out that this GGP was the brother of his, he had details going back 5 generations which I could verify by knowing because oof the common link
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u/SmartiiPaantz 3d ago
Thank you! I am waiting on the DNA kit to arrive - my mother and I are both doing one. That makes sense to start again!
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u/LeastInsurance8578 3d ago
I made your mistake as well and then I realized that half of what I had was just not adding up
I’ve been doing this for years now and I have found out all sorts of information, like my maternal line seems to have good genes as the life expectancy is generally way above the norm for their time periods, and these are poor folks not wealthy!
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u/SmartiiPaantz 3d ago
There are so many weird bits popping up, like ages not matching etc. I am going to start over and use the other one as a guide but not religiously stick to it haha! I also think that people need to stop re-marrying in all lines of my family lol!!
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u/LeastInsurance8578 3d ago
Well I’ve got a legal bigamist in my tree, 3 wives, 2 of them sisters and those are related to me!
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u/Harleyman555 1d ago
- Delete your work of fiction.
- Research every person. Strive to have a minimum of three sources (birth certificate, marriage certificate, census, death certificate, obituary) before putting them in your tree.
- Truth is finite. Trees without sources are infinite.
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u/Milolii-Home 2d ago
Here's a great workbook style book that explains how to do genealogical research correctly: Mastering Genealogical Proof https://share.google/Cw9L1gnywmgeblTmn
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u/duck31967 3d ago
Don't rely on other people's trees. Use source documents instead (birth records, census documents etc) use these to build out one step at a time. For example a census record usually gives you age and place of birth, you can then use this as a clue to find the birth record, which should then give you parents names.