At least 90% of my DNA matches still haven't linked a GEDCOM file to their kits, and many people haven't taken the additional step of pointing their GEDCOM file to the correct entry person.

I just identified a 6th cousin (clear paper trail, and a 9 cM segment) by comparing GEDCOM files, so I know the process works!

You can generate a GEDCOM from your personal genealogy database, or you can generate one from your tree on Ancestry and then upload it to GEDmatch.

The easiest way to set the entry point person is to use the search GEDCOM option to locate the individual entry that corresponds to the DNA kit, and then fill in the blank with the kit number. You can test to be sure your GEDCOM file is correctly linked by doing a one-to-many match on one of the kits that is a good match with yours, and then looking for your own kit on their match list. You should see the "G" link pointing to your GEDCOM file, and when you click on it, you should end up on the record for the person whose DNA was sampled for your kit. At the same time, you can check to be sure your e-mail address is correctly listed.

Let's get it done! The GEDCOM files and the links are what makes GEDMATCH so useful in finding relationships.

John McCoy
(RealMac@aol.com)