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I had a few emails from FF matches but I cannot connect with any of them. They don't seem to realize that the church records don't go back far enough in time.I have 518 matches and they are all cousins but I doubt that we will ever know the connection.
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The church records do go back that far*, and if you and the match are both family historians/genealogists, you will probably eventually find several connections to your matches, especially if you look for patterns in the ancestry of people who all match on the same segment and who match each other.Originally posted by 1798 View Post
Believe me, all of the genealogists who are rushing to test at all three companies plus upload their data to GEDmatch aren't doing so just to see more maps of where some of their ancestors came from thousands of years ago... well, not most of them, anyway.
This test is all about finding new ancestors through triangulating segment data and comparing traditional research.
*"That far" = usually within 10 generations. FTDNA is playing it safe with their "20th cousins" talk at the link the other poster provided.
Granted, I'm lucky (for testing purposes) to come from colonial US stock on both sides, and to have had three generations test on each side of my family. I usually find paper trail connections whenever new matches come in.
However, I also manage my husband's test. He's Australian with three of four grandparents born in the UK/Europe. So, he doesn't have the volume of matches that the rest of my family does. Plus, the ancestry of one of his grandparents is a mystery, and the rest of his tree is pretty patchy compared to what we colonials can usually manage.
I admit that it has been much harder going with his test, and after 18 months I have yet to be able to point at one match and say "oh yeah, they both descend from so-and-so in my tree." However, I have found definite patterns among matches that will be useful once I can take traditional research further, and even better, people have been able to tell me things like "everyone else on this segment is a descendant of so-and-so through separate lines, so odds are that your husband is also a descendant of so-and-so." When looking for fire, it's great to see these wisps of smoke. I know my research is better focused for it.
So, don't lose heart. Your tree isn't complete. Their trees aren't complete. Just because you don't see the connection doesn't mean it isn't there. You may even be staring your missing ancestors in the face when looking at their trees and not know it. This test is absolutely designed to find matches within the time frame of records being available. (In theory. Fire, war, and modern government employees who want to make room in courthouse basements are always afoot.)Comment
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