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Questions: - Will an Ancestry Pro-Tools subscription add the feature to ALL kits you manage / collaborate on, or just your primary? - If you associate a tree with a kit, link a few dozen matches in the kit to that tree, then temporarily disconnect the kit from the tree, then reconnect the kit to the same tree, will you have to manually reconnect the matches?

You're an angel! I just got Pro Tools, and I couldn't figure out how to get to the "Matches of Matches" feature. Your video was very helpful! Thank you!

Who knew, thank you so much.

I had to correct several of my family's memorials, and am now a contributor myself. This site is maintained by individuals, like me, with no credentials, other than their personal interest. But, it is still pretty awesome.

I was looking for a family member in the cemetery that I believed he was buried in. I could not find this relative on Find-a-grave or Billion Graves. So, I emailed the cemetery. Sure enough, he was there. Along with 4 other family members. They had no headstone and I believe that is why he was not listed.

The wildcard search!! I had no idea -- thanks much!

Not all graves have monuments or markers, and not all cemetery maps and listings are accurate. Quite often the cemetery records were kept by volunteer or unpaid officials without much expertise, and the records of some older cemeteries have been lost. To make things more difficult, in some places these documents have become unavailable to the public.

My ancestry is well documented. What bothers me is the ancillary information is occasionally wrong with no real way to challenge it.

Very good information. I use it as a source frequently, but it is not always accurate.

What happens when the people that would know some info gone. I don't have anyone to talk to about this anymore. 😮

I found FindAGrave a few years ago and began leaving "flowers." A couple years ago I was contacted by a man who had found my uncle's untended grave. Since it was memorial day and my uncle had died during WWII, this gentleman and his wife cleaned up his grave; he then found my flowers on FindAGrave, contacted me, and I was able to share my uncle's story.

If you submit a correction these days and the memorial keeper does not accept or decline it after a certain amount of time find a grave automatically accepts it.

A lot of people just copy from other trees that are wrong on ancestry

Well, after watching this I subscribed to Pro and I have already solved some mysteries among my matches. I’m not sure for how long I will keep this extra subscription but I was glad to see it does have some use. I haven’t tried out more than the shared matches yet.

I would like to add a few things...just because names are listed on a head stone, it does not necessarily mean those people are buried in that cemetery. I have a 2x ggf whose children are listen on his head stone. Most of them are actually buried elsewhere. Next, just because a cemetery says it's less than 100% photographed doesn't mean that not all of the stones have pictures. Often times, stones get destroyed by time and weather. I have many ancestors without head stones. I have photographed cemeteries where head stones have disintegrated, and there's nothing left of them. So with all of the people buried in the cemetery, only so many head stones can be photographed. Lastly, death records may also have the cemetery listed as to where the person is interred. So just because Aunt Hortwnse says someone is buried in this cemetery, it doesn't necessarily mean she's right. Check your death records for primary sources before consulting Find A Grave.

Funny video lol. I’m very new to genealogy. But I found this video just seeing what CZcams videos are out there on genealogy and some other keywords. The funny thing is this video came up first 🤣

it is a great resource, but always cross reference and double check. For example, my grandfather had a cousin listed as a brother. Of course, we knew this was incorrect, but people make assumptions and enter information they don't have primary source info or direct relation to.

Ancestry is losing my business after at least 15 years. They got rid of access to things like military records, newspapers, etc. and made supplemental subscriptions unto themselves. Seems like the Mormons are getting quite greedy.

Hi Amy, one other reason for someone not replying is that the DNA test taker might have passed but they haven't transferred the management of their dna to another family member. I know this because one of my 1st cousins has done this which is quite sad. Kind Regards, Dave

Are all these websites for UsA/ Americas ? My ancestors are from Belgium, France, Netherlands and Germany, how do I trace these without subscribing to a Euro based archive?

For months we've been told about free 'features' that encourage collaboration but pro tools does the exact opposite. If just 1% of 25 million dna testers pay for it each month that's $2.5 million each month. No company releases a product in the hope of getting just 1% uptake. As it's not available as a stand alone item it's mandatory to have at least a basic subscription and add pro tools on top so the reality is it costs far more than the 'advertised' price. To rub salt in the wounds let's not forget they are selling us information we provided to them by way of buying dna kits from them.

I recently got my DNA results from Ancestry and I texted a few people but one of them it shows that he read it but no response

Yes, don’t trust all results you find. Have another source for confirmation. Even headstones can be wrong!

Naw, it’s all about the money! I started using ancestry in 2009. They have taken so much away. I can’t even look at sources I added i.e census, newspapers. Now, I am asked to purchase? Even photos on camera roll, someone else looking at my photo has to purchase my photo? I agree, everyone should get the fact checker for free, for all your reasons! I applaud Find A Grave and the Chicago Tribute obituaries for there free info. And I did the DNA with free matches. No more…

I stopped using Ancestry once they started locking down more and more stuff behind paywalls

Hey! First time here! ... just wanted to say I completely understand where you're coming from, and, i also agree. With me, when i was growing up, my Grandparents used to tell us stories of their lives, their siblings, cousins, parents and grandparents. My parents also used to share their family trees that they had drawn up based on the stories told to them, and, their memories. And we even had (for one branch of the family), lawyers who had handled the probate of the family estates for generations, give us a copy of the family tree based on their records. Those things were my starting point. It's a great foundation, but, it sometimes gets to the point where there's only so much that can do for you. For example, for me, based on the information I had, I only got, maybe, the name of the father of one of my ancestors, but, not the mother. Then try coupling the stories your family told you, with official records ... sometimes your family's stories might differ from official records, simply because there were things that the family did not know, or, maybe, the stories got a little twisted over time. For example, my family did not know that we had Native American ancestors, until various family members did DNA tests ... we still have to prove it via documentation, etc. (& unfortunately documentation for that part of the world, especially at that time, is still quite lacking), but, it is believable, because we know and can prove that several generations of our family were based in that country & neighboring countries (we'd been told they were of a different cultural background though ... which, according to the DNA, wasn't a complete lie, as, it showed us they were descended from both cultures ... we just didn't know about the other). But, yea, sometimes, where your family stories leave gaps, DNA, and official records, can help fill them.

All very good advice and instruction. I would change one thing: in regard to the example of after 1930 as a starting place for date of death, I would use 1929 instead, because the decedent could have died later in the year of 1930 than the day the census was taken. Thank you, I’m looking forward to your wildcard video.

I am really sick of the upselling to get enhancements that should be included in your membership.

Estimate is correct! Origins are extremely brood when you first get your results back. Origins narrow over time, but you MUST record your DNA matches, to figure your true origins. That's where all these companies are scamming people, by not sharing this key little fact. There is NO WAY of knowing your true origins until you DO THE WORK and record each match into the family tree. Autosomal DNA matches don't tell you, your exact origins, it's only "family results." That is where the scam comes into play. Would you take the test, if you were told, it will take thousands of your (precious hours) to figure out your family's true origins? The Autosomal DNA matches provided to you are 100% accurate BUT you have to do the work with those matches. YDNA and mtDNA are the tests needed to figure out "Origins," which are completely different from atDNA. And even with YDNA/mtDNA tests, you would need a huge data base built from atDNA before you can confirm those results. Genetic Genealogist/Tutor @puzzleoforigins

Thank you SO MUCH !!!!! Got an envelope of negatives from the 1940's. Can't want to SEE them!

Once upon a time my wife and I signed up to take requests to find and photograph graves/headstones. In our area there are dozens and dozens of large and tiny cemeteries. At first it was fun (for about one week?). But all of a sudden we started getting demands by requesters to “hurry”, and, “why haven’t you sent my request yet!” I had figured this was something you did when you had a few spare minutes. And it certainly isn’t a full time job! So when people started getting nasty, I told the “find a grave” website to go to he11, and I’ve never gone back since.

Overwhelmed by countless DNA matches? No, I only have a few hundred so I have the opposite problem. This sort of feature will save some people time but for people like me, who live outside north America where DNA testing is less popular, it could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for. As Amy mentions one of the problems is matches who lack trees, don't respond and can't be researched. When you don't have many matches this is more than annoying, it can be a brickwall itself, especially if multiple people can help but don't respond I'm disappointed by Ancestry charging us these days but at least this is genuinely useful. If it leads to new info then I'll happily pay. If anything it means I won't have to pester other users for basic info

They lied about my blood! I don’t trust them anymore! I’ll never throw money their way ever again!

You're the best Amy. Thank you posting this.

I love that they put the motorcycle actually! Unique tombstones are some of my favorites in cemateries

Great explanation.

Cant find a grave unless you enter all the data you already know where the grave is !

Thank you for the video!! I have found that the - how are your matches related to each other - to be inaccurate in some instances, so you may get wrong suggested relationships. Cousin instead of uncle, Nephew instead of grandson, which could lead us to follow a wrong family line, so we can't be definite on some of these relationships. What's the best way to determine he accuracy here?

I'm in Australia, and I'm getting the enhanced Shared Matches. When I purchased the Pro Tools a few days ago, it took a couple of days for the DNA Pro Tools to show up. Thank you for always being so on the mark with your videos. They are easily followed.

I get the same thing on 23&Me and I do not have to pay for it.

My Heritage gives the two people who are related to me without a subscription. It does matter if they have a tree. The same common people repeat a lot. I'm sure it's not the same but I broke a wall with it. Have you seen it?

It's a game changer, but it looks like there are still some bugs. For example, you can't see the longest segment of the other match (it shows up as blank cM).

The Allen County library is superb

My approach (from the beginning) is, Hello, my name is _____. I'm wondering if you would like to correspondence to discover out common ancestors. I don't get hung up if they respond or not. Through consistent research 'Work on my family tree' I have discovered and identified many relatives. As a result, I'm am in a position to work with others! Wishing all a great day and a happy life!

For the record, distant cousins get me excited. These are the people that corroborate ancestry from centuries ago. That's certainly been the case for me.

I can't believe that Ancestry does the DNA match and then compares it to family trees of those matches. If it's true, then how come so many DNA matches have either no tree or a limited few have a tree with 1 to 7 people. It's a puzzle to me for certain

One point people are not making is this gives one the impression that the three matches have the same Most Recent Common Ancestors (MRCA). The MRCA between you and your match may be a different person than the MRCA between your match and your shared match. People tend to assume that the two MRCAs are the same person. They may or may not be. In other words the shared segments may not be the same between you and your match and you and your shared match!!

Australia has it, too. The first thing I found out was when the home person on the attached to DNA test kit public family tree is not the tester.

I don't have pro, but that's a really nice feature.