Ancestry.com’s new features will link DNA results and family trees

Ancestry.com has announced new features, currently in beta testing, that allow you to better understand DNA results and your family tree.

Beyond the ethnicity profiles touted in television advertisements, DNA testing makes it possible for you to match with real-life cousins, with the closest kin listed first. I match more than 78,000 people. The new feature ThruLines has some has great elements — for instance, enabling you to link family trees and DNA results, which could make it easier to see how some of your DNA matches fit into your family story. Remember that Ancestry tests autosomal DNA only. And due to the halving of your DNA from a particular ancestor each generation, it only normally identifies kin linked six generations or so in the past. In other words, for Joseph H. Brooks (1842-1925), my Civil War-era ancestor, I have only 6 percent of his DNA, if that. Still, links can be made with other descendants who have DNA tested and have public family trees at Ancestry.com. If the tree is not public, no link will be made. One major drawback to ThruLines is that there’s no way to link to ancestors who did not marry, and you’re encouraged to accept many as “potential ancestors.” One has to be very careful if linking to one of these.

To find the other new features for Ancestry.com DNA and activate their beta use, go to “extras,” then “ancestry lab” to enable “MyTreeTags,” which allows you to tag an ancestor in various ways, such as “work in progress.” You also can enable “new & improved DNA matches,” which will show your DNA results listings with more information. Under “filters,” you have many new options, including grouping DNA matches from one family.