The Ancestry “We’re Related” APP–Update

Beside a melt down of the APP over the weekend, the APP is working pretty well. My goal here, is to put some numbers behind this project, and to see how good or bad it is. My point to date is, I enter a name into my database and I am seeing Hints from Ancestry, some times even before I enter any dates.

All Data in my PC Family Tree Maker (FTM2014.1) file is solely from the APP. No records have been looked at, only what is presented in the APP.

For example:

• 374 People
• 14 Generations
• 1,215 Facts (all documented)
• 60 Citations
• 1 Source (the APP)

There are a few Data Errors, that are also documented. BUT the best part is that 148 people had Shaky Leaf Hints to use RECORDS to Prove to Disprove the APP.

I started this project by creating a Google Sheet of each of the relationship charts in the APP. That turned out to be a Back Up when the APP decided to stop working and I had to start over. Actually, that was a help, because I was able to use that time to create an Online Tree from FTM2014.1. The Google Sheet is here:

http://bit.ly/CR_WeAreRelated
Cousin Russ We’re Related

Using the APP you can view the Ancestors for the “Cousins” back to their common ancestor. This is what one looks like.

I took that data, and ONLY that data to create that Google Sheet. From there, I created an Ancestry Member Tree, using FTM2014.1.

My goal here is actually had TWO purposes, after I thought about this for a bit.

1 – To evaluate the APP for accuracy. At first, I saw a number of people put the APP down. I don’t know, but I want to see how it might work. I had a bad experience earlier with a web based app like this.

2 – Can an Ancestry Member Tree (AMT) be used for Collaboration. The became apparent with the number of Facebook Friends, who are also Genealogists work on an AMT with the owner of the tree.

I am sure  that each of us has “brick walls” and perhaps working together we can help with those issues. The best example has already happened as one of my new cousins was also a DNA Match. With the APP we are pretty sure who is the Common Ancestor. The APP suggests it, but I am a couple of generations short of that common ancestor. In looking into this one, I have a Local (locally published) book on the Location of our “common ancestor” that actually mentions my known family and my new cousin’s known family AND they were neighbors. That book, doesn’t have my ancestor, but may have my cousin’s ancestor. Together with might be able to help each other. A DNA and Paper Trail working together.

The next example of how this has worked already, is the APP has suggest to DearMYRTLE and I at lease ONE of our Common Ancestors. She mentioned one of her Cousin Connections from the APP, mentioned the Common Ancestor. I looked in my database and I already have her Ancestor in my database, as a brother of one of my ancestors. We didn’t have to research to find the common ancestor, but now we can PROVE this relationship from the Hints generated by our Ancestry Member Trees.

I have figured out how to communicate with my newly found cousins what I can only see in FTM2014.1 but would be helpful to them. For example, I have some File Notes, on how I enter my data, then they need to know. I figured out how to do that. My ToDo / Task list will also be available to them, in the AMT.

The plan, at the moment, is to let my new cousin’s, take their Ancestors and Prove the line. Not with a lot of work, as there are hints there, using the AMT Hints, select a Record that documents the information in the tree, update the profile with that record. I would then Sync the AMT with FTM2014.1, and see how we did. That is Records to Prove the APP data was correct or incorrect.

Just looking at the data so far, there are almost 700 RECORD Hints in the AMT, based on the data entirely from the APP.

Stay tuned.