Any experience with GedMatch?

[Gisse]

Hi All, I've seen reference to GedMatch and am wondering it is a tool worth looking at for matches? If so it asks for the raw data to be a GZIP? can anybody advise? Thanks

[abuelita]

When you download the raw data file from family tree it will be properly zipped. Don't unzip or do anything to it before uploading to GedMatch. They used to ask for the 36-concatenated, but I don't know now. 37? check.

And yes, it has been absolutely great for piecing together parts of our family because many of them never tested at, or uploaded files to, family tree.

[Gisse]

My understanding is that Ged Match asks for build 37, when I download the raw data from FTDNA, I am presented with two options, either as a VCF or a BAM file that has to be generated? I tried generating it a day ago but doesn't seem to work... how do I find the raw data in a build 37 format? The Y700 results were made available on the 25th Feb this year. any help is appreciated

[Jim Barrett]

You only upload Family Finder raw data to GEDmatch. Sign into your kit. Look in the Family Finder section. Under the myOrigins button there is a link to 'Download Raw Data'. Click on it. Scroll down to see six download options. On the left hand side there are three for Build 37. The last one is for 'Build 37 Raw Data Concatenated' click on it and the file will be downloaded.

[penguin]

I didn't have much luck with Gedmatch. I was hoping that people who test with ancestrydna would be on there and I would get more matches. But very very few people from ancestrydna are on there and the ones that are, only very very few of them have posted trees. The way gedmatch is set up , there is pretty much zero info on a match - either you need their tree or you need to email them, one at a time. But otherwise no info on matches. Also utilities there are user UN friendly especially after you get used to the features that are just one click away here and on other commercial testing sites. I also paid 10 bucks to use the premium utilities - they are flashy but all never fully copleted to maximize their use. its as if the engineers (not scientists) behind it said, oh wouldn't this Lazarus tool for recreating dead family members be cool -and start programming it, bu t then never polish it to the point of actual usefulness, but instead seem to get bored and move on to their next "oh wojldn't this be cool" half-baked program. So I spent a month on there and did everything I could, but in the end had nothing to show for it, just alot of time wasted. I know people's experience are differnt- so who knows, you might get lucky and find the long lost relative you couln't find elsewhere. If youree the "no stone left unturned" type and don't want to pay for testing at the other major test companies, and have some time to spare, and don't mind inefficeincy, then you have little to lose, not counting privacy issues. AFter 30 days, I purged my account and hope they delete from everywhere including their backupservers as promised. I was concerned about the privacy policies because anyone can view the data who sets up a free account. (not that the privacy policy is great here either as of recently because of their change in policty to allow non-customers- law enforcement - to view our data) . oh forgot to mention, some of their tools suck up huge amounts of time and aren't helpful; like there are a dozen ancstry breakdown toos, eahc of which is more useless than the last and provides "info" that will muddy your thoughts, not clarify them.

[Gisse]

Thanks Penguin for your view, I will try Gedmatch but I must admit that I am not expecting it provide much, hopefully that will change... who knows, time will tell

[John McCoy]

The tools on GEDmatch are very powerful, but as you indicated, much depends on whether your (unknown) relatives happen to upload their data, and then whether they will respond to when you attempt to contact them. At least when you find somebody on GEDmatch, you know they had to be smart enough to figure out how to upload their data, and to me, that shows a certain level of motivation. Over the space of a could years, I've found some surprising and very useful matches, as well as a couple thousand matches for which I have no explanation whatever -- but that's not unlike the other sites I've used, such as FTDNA Family Finder and MyHeritage.

[Biblioteque]

I have used Gedmatch for 7+ years and now have 3000 matches all over 15 cMs total; my primary use is for triangulation after I have found a tree match/s at one of the testing sites.

[penguin]

Biblioteque Did you find an interesting result based on your triangulations? How many such results in the 7 years? I do like the matrix tool here at ftdna, which then can be further followed with the chromosome browser - but not as many matches to play with. Also like 23and me usefulness for triangulation and very easy to use. I personally haven't turned up a clear tree based on doing so (must be my strange relatives) , so curious when people say theyve succeeded to hear details of what they find- like maybe a 4th cousin that you figured out how they were related based on traingulating 25 others? those kinds of details. Look forward to hearing more.

[prairielad]

My understanding is that Ged Match asks for build 37, when I download the raw data from FTDNA, I am presented with two options, either as a VCF or a BAM file that has to be generated? I tried generating it a day ago but doesn't seem to work... how do I find the raw data in a build 37 format? The Y700 results were made available on the 25th Feb this year. any help is appreciated

As mentioned Gedmatch Genesis only accepts Autosomal Raw Data.
From FamilytreeDNA that is the Raw Data from their Family Finder test

If you have taken the Family Finder test, there will be six Raw Data files in the Family Finder Raw Data download link,
File needed for Gedmatch Genesis is the Build 37 Concatenated Raw Data file.
It is a .csv file zipped with a .gz file extension.

[Biblioteque]

penguin - I have no interest in just gathering spreadsheets of shares cMs with matches, like many people, because this has no value for me. My interest is finding matches who have a tree with a shared ancestor/s and then trying to TG to prove that line. Triangulating 3rd Cousins and closer is easy and usually there are available adequate records. Beyond that is very difficult. My attempts prove to me that lines in many trees are incorrect (including my own). When I try to TG five people who tree-match on an ancester, and they do not overlap, my thought is "Dna does not lie; but people, paper and trees do sometimes lie."

Trying to get my tree matches to upload to GM is tres difficile. And, getting new matches there has slowed considerably since the Law Enforcement issue.

I am very confident of my tree except for 5 lines upstream of my gg grandparents level which are questionable; and these lines are my primary objective.

And, trying to TG has been laborious, burdensome and with a low success rate beyond 3C.

[dtvmcdonald]

I have had some very big successes from Gedmatch. Their main problem is that they don't get enough paper trees to go
with the DNA. But they DO, despite what some say, get lots of Ancestry kits. This means you can find segments from
Ancestry kits, to match up with your own FTDNA kit and kits for your matches at FTDNA. What you have to
do is select a tree at Ancestry and try to find the same kit at Gedmatch. This would
be trivial if Ancestry gave you the person's email. Since they don't, you have to try common matches. Ancestry intentionally
makes using their data very, very hard. In important cases I even have tried contacting the Gedmatch person to
ask if the have a tree. This usually fails.

But it has worked in a very few cases ... however, these were very important.

[B.Clark]

Has anyone had trouble with uploading a new ftDNA file to GEDmatch recently? I have my raw data but when uploaded to GEDmath Genesis site, there is a note that the chromosomes are out of order and nothing seems to be happening. I called ftDNA and was told it was likely a GEDMatch problem but cannot find a way to contact GEDmatch. Anyone know how to contact GEDMatch?

[KATM]

Has anyone had trouble with uploading a new ftDNA file to GEDmatch recently? I have my raw data but when uploaded to GEDmath Genesis site, there is a note that the chromosomes are out of order and nothing seems to be happening. I called ftDNA and was told it was likely a GEDMatch problem but cannot find a way to contact GEDmatch. Anyone know how to contact GEDMatch?

See post #6 by Ann Turner in this thread: https://forums.familytreedna.com/for...23620-gsa-chip