Color Clustering: Top 25 Fourth Cousins

For more on Color Clustering & DNA, please visit my new website at: www.danaleeds.com 

For another look at how Color Clustering works with 4th cousins, I created a Color Cluster chart then added the test taker's top twenty-five 4th cousin matches. I was able to easily sort all but one of these 4th cousins into Color Clusters!

Original Color Cluster Chart (click here for Color Cluster Method)

Color Cluster chart for actual test taker.
Names changed for privacy.

This test taker's AncestryDNA 2nd & 3rd cousins fell into 4 Color Clusters, labeled C1 through C4, with three "unclustered" cousins.

• 2nd & 3rd cousins who are in more than one cluster are in red: Barbie, Ken, & Mark.
• 2nd & 3rd cousins who did not have shared matches with other 2nd & 3rd cousins are in "unclustered" columns: Lena, Sue, and Mike.

Color Cluster chart LABELED

Labeled Color Cluster chart

The test taker's four sets of great grandparents were identified from her research as follows:

• G1 - Bailey/Bowman (father's father's line)
• G2 - Stark/Dunn (father's mother's line)
• G3 - Hillard/Morris (mother's father's line)
• G4 - Washington/Manning (mother's mother's line)

I looked at each cousin's tree and did one of the following:

• Put a "NO" in the cell if there was not a tree and I couldn't easily identify to which cluster(s) the cousin belonged.
• Typed G1, G2, G3, G4, or a combination of those in the colored cell if the person had a tree and I could determine which surnames they fit in under OR if the genealogist had done research and discovered the relationship herself. (Note:  the "unclustered" cousin, Lena, was identified as belonging to G4.)

I then labeled the columns according to the cousins found in them: G1, G1, G2, G3/G4, G4, unclustered, and unclustered.

Adding 4th Cousins

Twenty-five 4th Cousins added into Color Clusters

Directly below this Color Cluster chart, I added the names of the first twenty-five 4th cousins. For each cousin, I looked at AncestryDNA's "Shared Matches" and determined which 2nd/3rd cousins they were matching. I colored in the appropriate cell and labeled the cell with the number of shared centimorgans (cM).

2nd/3rd/4th cousin Color Cluster chart

Above is the final chart which includes all of the 2nd/3rd cousins (sharing <400 cM) and, below it, the first twenty-five 4th cousin matches. A few things to note about the 4th cousins:

• Owen - at this point, Owen is still not in a cluster
• Mary & Bill - they both matched previously "unclustered" cousin Sue, so the three created a new cluster. We do not know what part of the family this cluster belongs to at this point
• Others - a few did not match any 2nd/3rd cousins, but when I opened their top match, they DID match a 2nd/3rd cousin, so I added them to that column

NOTE: Trees were not used to match the 4th cousins to the appropriate Color Clusters. The sorts were based only on shared matches. This Color Cluster method is  a quick, visual way to see how your cousins are related.

If you give this method a try, please let me know what you think and how it works for you.

Happy Sorting!

Color Clustering: Working with "4th Cousins"

Please see an updated version of this post and more on the Leeds Method of DNA Color Clustering on my new website, www.danaleeds.com

If you haven't read my first two posts about the Color Clustering (aka Leeds) Method, read the original posts:

• Color Clustering: Creating Color Clusters
• Color Clustering: Identifying "In Common" Surnames

An example of Color Clustering using Excel

I thought this method would be too messy to work with 4th cousins. But, I figured out yesterday how to make it work: I built my clusters based on the shared matches of 2nd and 3rd cousins and then I just sorted the "4th cousins" into these clusters!  

Here are the steps I used:

STEP 1: Create a Color Cluster chart (see first post)

Using all of AncestryDNA's predicted 2nd & 3rd cousins (who share less than 400 cM with the test taker), create a color cluster chart. (Note: If you are not comfortable with spreadsheets, you can use colored pencils and paper or whatever you have on hand!)

Example of test taker whose DNA sorted

into 4 Color Clusters plus one 

Unclustered (purple) match, Drew

Depending on which relatives have tested, Color Clustering often results in 4 columns which are related to the four sets of great grandparents. See the original post for examples and possible explanations of cases where there are not 4 columns created. 

Note: One match, Mona (red print), sorted into TWO columns. She most likely is related to the test taker through BOTH the yellow and orange families.

STEP 2: Identify these columns if possible.

In this case, we were able to determine the relationship of the test taker to the 4 clusters (C1 through C4). If you cannot identify some (or any) of these groups, you can skip this step.

STEP 3: Compare 4th Cousins Shared Matches to your Color Cluster Chart

Color Clustering using 4th Cousin Matches
(last 10 in grey).

Below the original Color Clustering, I wrote the names of the test taker's first ten "4th cousin" matches (in grey boxes). For each person, I opened the Shared Matches and looked to see which 2nd and 3rd cousin names they matched with and assigned them that color. Note: This is not proof that they are related to that branch of your family, but it is a strong clue! (I do not continue to add more columns; I am only determining which color cluster these matches match!)

STEP 4: Sort 4th cousins who do not have 2nd or 3rd cousin matches by looking at their shared matches.  

Showing 4th cousin, Teresa, had a shared
match that matched Mona so she was
assigned to both the orange & yellow clusters.
.

One 4th cousin match, Teresa (in red print), did not have a cousin within the 2nd and 3rd cousin matches. But, when I opened the shared matches of her closest match, she matched Mona. Since Mona is in the Orange & Yellow clusters, Teresa was assigned to both clusters.

Note: As with most techniques, this method works best when the branches of your family - especially your 4 sets of great grandparents - are completely unrelated. But, one of the neatest thing about this method is that your matches do NOT have to have FAMILY TREES and this will STILL WORK!!

Note: While the above example uses real data, the names have been changed for privacy. Also, this test taker had a single random person in a 5th column without a tree or any 2nd/3rd cousin matches. We have not identified this "unclustered" Purple match.

Happy Sorting!

Color Clustering: Identifying "In Common" Surnames

Please see an updated version of this post and more on the Leeds Method of DNA Color Clustering on my new website, www.danaleeds.com

After creating Color Clusters using the new Color Cluster Method (aka Leeds Method), the next step is to identify the surnames associated with these groups. (For creating Color Clusters, please read my original Color Clustering post.)

Note: This method is especially useful for people working with adoptees or other unknown parentage cases where they do not already know what surnames to concentrate on!

COLOR CLUSTERS: Identifying Common Surnames

STEP 1: Create Color Clusters and determine which clusters you need to work with (or work with all of them).

Actual data from an adoptee I worked with,
but names changed for privacy.

In this case, the adoptee identified the Blue Cluster as her biological mother's. We were trying to identify her biological father, so we concentrated on the Orange and Yellow Clusters. (The Green column did not have a cluster.)

STEP 2:  Determine which matches have trees and which do not and label.

Actual data from an adoptee I worked with,
but names changed for privacy.

I look at each match and see if they have a tree - whether attached or not attached! I then label them to indicate "tree" or "no tree."

STEP 3: List the "4th Gen" (great grandparents) surnames for each match with a tree. If they don't have 4th Generation matches, use grandparents or even parents.

Actual data from an adoptee I worked with,
but names changed for privacy.

To find the surnames, open the match's "pedigree and surnames" page and look at the surnames under the "4th Gen" column. If their tree is complete enough, you will see 8 surnames at this level - the match's great grandparents. In this example, both Gabby and Jamie have all 8 great grandparents listed on their tree along with their surnames.

STEP 4: Identify common surnames, if any, in each Color Cluster.

Actual data from an adoptee I worked with,
but names changed for privacy.

(I find this step truly amazing!) I have highlighted the shared surnames:

• Orange Cluster: Griffin & Bartles
• Yellow Cluster: Paulson, Austin, and Gray

STEP 5: Assign potential surnames to the Color Clusters, if identified, and use these clues to further your research!

Actual data from an adoptee I worked with,
but names changed for privacy.

At this point, you have clues as to what surnames you are looking for in each cluster. Continue your research using these clues!

You also might be able to look at first cousins or other "close family" matches to help label these clusters. (And, a big thank you to John Motzi for his help in refining this process!)

Happy Clustering!

Color Clustering: Creating Color Clusters

Please see an updated version of this post and more on the Leeds Method of DNA Color Clustering on my new website, www.danaleeds.com

Unsure of how other people were sorting their Shared Matches from AncestryDNA, I created my own method. This method is quick - it usually takes less than 10 minutes - and visually shows genetic connections while also "sorting" the matches into groups reflecting the test taker's great grandparents' lines.

Please test out this method and let me know what you think! Although I think it will be valuable for many genealogists, I think it will be especially useful for adoptees, Search Angels, and others who are trying to identify unknown, close relatives.

NOTE: For the examples below, all results are real, but the names are fictitious.

COLOR CLUSTERING: The Method

STEP 1:
Using AncestryDNA, list all of those they label as "second" or "third" cousins, but skip over any second cousin that shares more than 400 cM. 

STEP 2:
Assign a color to your first DNA match (for example, blue to Ralph.)

STEP 3:
Open the shared matches for that person (Ralph), and assign them each the same color in the same column (blue).

STEP 4: 
Find the first person who does not have a color assigned (Robert), and assign him a color in the next column (orange).

STEP 4:
Open the shared matches for that person (Robert), and assign them each the same color in the same column (orange).

STEP 5:
Continue steps 3 & 4 until all of your shared matches have at least one color assigned to them.

COLOR CLUSTERING: Analyzing the Results

4 Columns/No Overlap:

If your results show 4 distinct clusters, like below, without any overlap, your sort is likely showing matches to your 4 sets of great grandparents.

Less than 4 Columns:

If your results show less than 4 clusters, it is likely these clusters represent 3 of your 4 sets of great grandparents and that you have no matches at the 2nd/3rd cousins levels who have tested for the 4th set of great grandparents.

Some Overlap:

If your results show 4 clusters but some of your matches have been assigned more than one color (for example, Herbert & Stacy are both blue and orange), your sort is likely showing either your 4 sets of great grandparents, but also showing you that two of these results (i.e. blue & orange) are on one side of your family. Or, the overlapped clusters (blue & orange) might belong to one set of great grandparents and, in this example, you are missing matches for 1 set of your 4 sets of great grandparents.

Lots of Overlap

In this real example, there is a lot of overlap between all of the clusters except the yellow and brick red clusters. All of the overlapping clusters are on the maternal side of this test taker and visually show a lot of cousins marrying cousins resulting in pedigree collapse. The paternal mother's side is represented by both the yellow and brick red clusters. The paternal father's side has no cousins matching at the 2nd/3rd cousin levels. So, even though there are a lot of clusters and matches, this sort represents only 3 of the 4 sets of great grandparents for this individual.

 A special thank you to everyone who allowed me to access their DNA and gave me feedback!

Please be aware: Your results may vary! This new method is still in its infancy and more test cases are needed to see how it works in various situations.

TIP: When I say "2nd and 3rd cousins," I am using the categories Ancestry has used to define them. The 3rd cousins appear to go down to 90 shared cM which works out well for this process.

TIP: If you chart is "too messy," look at the shared cM of your top matches and take off any that are above 400 shared cM. Then redo the chart. Hopefully, it'll be a lot "cleaner!"

Happy Clustering!

Immersed in DNA

I have been immersed in DNA for the past few months! I am ready to start blogging again, but here's a quick update:

January/February: Worked with an adoptee to locate his biological father.

with Blaine Bettinger in Austin "immersed" in DNA

May: Attended a 2-day workshop with Blaine Bettinger in Austin and learned how to do Visual Phasing, use some advanced DNA tools, and more! 

June: Started working with other "unknown parentage" cases and DNA Detectives as a "Search Angel" (meaning without charging).

with CeCe Moore at GRIP in Pennsylvania

July: Spent a week at GRIP in Pennsylvania taking "Advanced Genetic Genealogy" with CeCe Moore, Blaine Bettinger, Dr. Tom Jones, and genetic counselor Brianne Kirkpatrick of WatershedDNA.

Come hear me speak on "Only Half My Genes: The Search for a Biological Father"

August: This weekend, I will be giving my first presentation - based on DNA and adoption - outside of my local genealogical society. If you're near Huntsville, Texas, I hope you can come and join us! My presentation is at 11:30 on Saturday morning. The event is the Frances Sprott Goforth Memorial Genealogy Weekend and you can find a flyer by clicking here.

I am excited about the field of Genetic Genealogy and where it is headed!

A Day of DNA with Diahan Southard

Diahan Southard, known as "Your DNA Guide," is a genetic genealogist who teaches through seminars and video training, publishes DNA quick guides, and provides consultation services. On Saturday, Diahan shared three presentations with the members and guests of the Houston Genealogical Forum (HGF).

Me and Diahan Southard at HGF - Nov 2016

Getting Started in Genetic Genealogy: A Beginner's Guide

During the first presentation, "Getting Started in Genetic Genealogy: A Beginner's Guide," Diahan talked about the three types of DNA tests - YDNA, mtDNA, and atDNA - and also the three main testing companies: Family Tree DNA, AncestryDNA, and 23andMe. She discussed the benefits and shortcomings of each type of test and talked about which tests she recommends you take and why. Genealogy Gems Premium Members have access to the video of this presentation from when Diahan presented it at RootsTech. Below is a short preview which shows Diahan's entertaining, yet informative, style.

 

5 Tips to Make Sense of Your DNA Testing

The second presentation was "5 Tips to Make Sense of Your DNA Testing." Two of the tips included using the results with what she calls The Ancestor Method and The Cousin Method. With the Ancestor Method, you start with a genealogical question about someone on your tree and try to use DNA matches to answer that question. With the Cousin Method, however, you start with a DNA match and try to determine how they are related. 

Diahan shared the approximate number of people who have been tested at each company, which I found suprising. While FTDNA has only tested about 750,000 and 23andMe has tested about 1.2 million, Ancestry is expected to reach 3 million people tested by the end of the year! So, if you can only afford to test at one place, Ancestry DNA is probably your best option.

If you haven't heard this lecture, or you'd like to watch it again, Diahan gave this talk with Genetic Genealogy Ireland and it is currently posted online for viewing!

The Combined Power of YDNA and Autosomal DNA: A Case Study

Diahan's final talk was "The Combined Power of YDNA and Autosomal DNA: A Case Study." In this talk, Diahan talked about expectations, results, and gave us a list of things "to do." 

Although many of us probably advise those we ask to take DNA tests that "surprises" are sometimes found, what should we do when we uncover one of these surprises? Diahan suggested asking each person you test before you test whether or not they would like to know about any unusual results. I think this is a terrific idea which could save a lot of time spent worrying about whether or not you should tell the person what you found!

My Interview with Diahan Southard

Lastly, as part of my role as Chairman of the Publicity Committee for HGF (Houston Genealogical Forum), I interview via email each of our upcoming presenters. You can read my interview with Diahan Southard at the HGF blog.

A Review of a True Genetic Genealogy Story: "The Stranger in My Genes: A Memoir" by Bill Griffeth

DNA tests can reveal family secrets. When a "secret" has been hidden on the Y chromosome causing the tester's DNA to not match his own surname, we call it a "non-paternity event." Somewhere in the past, whether they were aware of it or not, one of the fathers who shared that Y-DNA was not a biological father. And, though the term "non-paternity event" sounds very scientific and cold, the results of realizing one of these events is in your tree can be shocking.

Over the past few days, I have followed Bill Griffeth's story as he tells about his own Y-DNA test results and how they affected him. After taking a Y-DNA test at the request of his cousin, he received an email in October of 2012 which broke the news harshly: "Your father was not Uncle Charles."

Bill could not believe that his highly moral mother could have had an affair. He refused to believe the test results and decided to take another test. He was hoping the test company had made a mistake.

The Stranger in My Genes: A Memoir, which was released last month, is a wonderfully told tale of how one man attempted to reconcile the startling discovery that the father who raised him was not his biological father. He had spent years researching his Griffeth family and even wrote a book about them: By Faith Alone: One Family's Epic Journey Through 400 Years of American Protestantism. Bill shares of conflicting emotions as he decided whether or not to share this information with others. His biggest question: should he ask his mother, who was in her 90s, about his birth or would it hurt her too much after keeping the secret all these years?

I've also recently read three other books that I believe would interest most genealogists:

 I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe is the fictional tale of Rosetta whose young husband decided to fight in the Civil War. Not wanting to be left behind, Rosetta disguised herself as a man and signed up to fight by his side. Learning about the daily life of these soldiers and how they suffered and died was heartbreaking, but also insightful as I research my own Civil War ancestors.

Maude, written by Donna Foley Mabry, tells the  life story of Donna's grandmother, Maude. Maude first married when she was "barely over fourteen years old" in 1906 and follows her throughout her lifetime. The reader follows Maude through events like the 1918 flu epidemic, the Great Depression, and both world wars. This wonderfully told story gives insight into what it was like to live through each of these events, and Maude's story was absolutely fascinating.

Someone's Daughter, by Silvia Pettem, was a book that was recommended during my Excelsior's "Practicum in Genealogical Research" class this summer. The author was a volunteer at an annual cemetery event where she came across the grave of a "Jane Doe" who had been murdered over 50 years earlier. Silvia hated to see this young woman remain unidentified. Jane Doe must have had friends and family somewhere who had always wondered what had happened to her.  So, Silvia embarks on a long journey to determine Jane Doe's identity. Along the way, she encounters others who have searched for missing loved ones for decades. An incredible use of genealogy skills to help identify some unknown victims of crimes and other missing individuals.

Surprising Connection Between My Husband's and My Tree

My husband I do not share any direct ancestors. However, my father's DNA test led to a surprising discovery of an 1873 marriage between the granddaughter of my 4x great grandparents and the son of my husband's 4x great grandparents. Here's how I made the discovery...

Ancestry's hint showing my dad's potential DNA
match with Hardin Davis Trammell

DNA "MATCH"

I was looking at my father's DNA matches on Ancestry under "New Ancestor Discoveries."  Ancestry says these are "potential new ancestors or relatives who are not already in your family tree." My dad's DNA showed 5 of these "potential" matches. So, what was strange? I recognized 3 of the people. But, not because they are related to me and my father. I recognized 3 of the people because they are related to my husband!

One of these 3 potential matches was for Hardin Davis Trammell (1844-1915). That's a fairly unusual name, right? Well, Hardin Trammell is my husband's 3rd great grand uncle. In other words, he's a son of my husband's 4x great grandparents. I didn't have much information on him, but I did have 25 'shaky leaf' hints. One of those hints was a story by another researcher which says that his second wife's name was Eliza L. Bookout.

Bookout? That's another unusual name! And, it's another name I recognize. My 4th great grandparents were John & Sarah "Sally" (Vaughan) Bookout! And, they had a daughter named Eliza whose family I hadn't yet found.

My next step was to find out more about Hardin D Trammell and Eliza L Bookout.

THE MARRIAGE

Hardin Davis Trammell, the son of my husband's 4x great grandparents, first married in 1866 after fighting in the Civil War. He married Sarah (Ragsdale) Cook in 1866 and had 4 children over the next few years. Sadly, Sarah evidently died in childbirth when their youngest son was born on February 27th, 1873. Hardin was left with four young children aged 5, 3, 1, and the newborn.

Hardin & Eliza (Bookout) Trammell in front of their Oklahoma home circa 1910
Photo on Ancestry by mossbuster; used with permission

Not surprisingly for the time, Hardin quickly remarried to provide a mother for his young family. At the age of 30, he married 18-year-old Eliza Bookout on May 29th, 1873. The couple had 10 more children together, so together they raised a total of 14 kids. They remained together until Hardin's death in 1915 at the age of 71.

My husband, a descendant of Jarrett Trammell, and I, a descendant of James & Ellender Bookout, share
DNA with the descendants of Hardin D & Eliza (Bookout) Trammell

CONCLUSION

Because the descendants of the 10 children of Hardin D and Eliza (Bookout) Trammell share DNA with both my husband's family and my own, Ancestry discovered our "potential match." Although my husband and I don't share DNA or common ancestors, we are both related to the descendants of Hardin D Trammell and Eliza E Bookout!

What Can You Learn from AncestryDNA Matches with Very Small Trees?

This morning I watched DearMYRTLE's video, "AncestryDNA Matches with Angie Bush." Angie is Dear Myrtle's "DNA expert." She started by explaining what you can learn from Ancestry DNA matches that have 'shaky leaf' hints. I was already comfortable with those. But, next she talked about those matches that DON'T have hints.

Up until now, I've always ignored those. Many of them have very small trees. The 'tree' Dear Myrtle and Angie worked on only had 2 people! But, they were able to figure out the common ancestor! Wow!

Angie also pointed out that part of why they were able to make the connection was because the family was from Utah and there is a large family tree on Family Search for Utah. Well, I don't have any family from Utah. Could I still make this work?

I went to my matches and my highest unknown match is a 3rd cousin, with a confidence level of "extremely high", who only has 13 people on her tree. 13 people? How will I be able to find a match with that?

I clicked on "View Match" and could see all 13 people. The one surname I recognized was "Waggoner", though this isn't a direct line of mine. And, I didn't recognize the only person with that name, Margaret Elizabeth Waggoner.

I clicked on Margaret and saw her birth (in 1901) and death dates (1982) and that she died in Oklahoma. Hmmm... my Waggoner's are from both Kansas and Oklahoma.

I next went to my tree and looked for a Margaret Elizabeth Wagoner. I actually found a Margaret Waggoner born "about" 1901. That's a match! This Margaret's mother is Mary Ellen "Ella" (Coppenbarger) Waggoner who is a sister of my great grandmother, Myrtle Mae (Coppenbarger) Peters!

The family of our great, great grandparents, Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger & Elizabeth (Bennett) Coppenbarger
My great grandmother is Myrtle Mae (dark hair 2nd from left) & my my match's is "Ella" (the tallest standing)
Photo from FindAGrave posted by JRS, my father

So, this 'match' and I share great, great grandparents, Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger & Elizabeth (Bennett) Coppenbarger, making her my 3rd cousin! Just like the DNA match suggested!

I have now contacted this match and offered to share my research. I hope she has something to share, too. But, I think she might not even know Margaret's parents names. In that case, I'm happy to help her out! And, I was able to fill in more information about Margaret on my tree.

I'm off to try another match!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net