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Smiths DNA Project- Update- The Trees

Posted by smithsworldwide in Smith DNA Project Updates on September 30, 2024 Views:(33) Replies (0)
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Recently, FamilyTreeDNA has updated and changed the way trees are shown on the FamilyTreeDNA site. It's a great change and uses MyHeritage as the way to upload and link to a tree on their site to show WITH your profile on FTDNA. MyHeritage, of course, has some great tools and is a more flexible way to do trees.

Have been mulling this over for the last month. Long time members of the Smith project know that this project has always sought to show a tree of some type with the results, privatizing information within the last 80-100 years. We've gone from spreadsheets some 20 years ago, before FTDNA even had online websites for projects, to, most currently, using TNG as the way to display trees and try to keep them sortted out along with related DNA results. Have, for some years, encouraged people to send in trees, which are listed and then compared for any DNA conflicts. Have at various times had others who were also assisting in admining, in particular, the trees, and that also has been very welcome and enjoyable.

Again, the reason we have used various methods of showing trees is that there has not been a good way, without these efforts, to show trees in groups, with room for discussion per group. ie, the YDNA chart on FTDNA does not show the link to the trees. And, one person might have a tree and it might actually conflict or at least be challenged as to veracity with someone else who has much the same tree OR who does not match on YDNA. At one point, I was creating gedtrees individually to put with kits, but this was before FTDNA put editable trees on their site. Even then, I like the way TNG shows trees, with a lot of different formats, and th ability to put permissions for individual members by branches (this prevents, for example, one just anyone from coming onto the site and editing other people's information) FTDNA has now decided to have people go to myHeritage and has disabled tree editing on FTDNA. I think this is a great idea and now it's up to the members to use myHeritage for this purpose and I want to help.

I think the time has come to pare back keeping personal trees that include every detail and generation for members on this site, while continuing to keep the comprehensive database related to DNA. And, rather, for members, having the trees shown link back to myHeritage, thus encouraging everyone to update their trees on myHeritage with FTDNA. We will, in turn, add a link on the branches here to point to where the trees are on myHeritage, which will be a more general view on this site. Will still put up direct lines, VERY direct lines that lead from the earliest ancestor down to the currenct member, but for all other people involved in that line, the best place is to put a large gedcom up on myheritage.

It will take probably about a month, but might take less time, to change the way the branch trees are depicted here, along with adding instructions, etc. We are still going to be looking at tree discrepancies and will update the database here but on a different basis.

Still would like to have additional volunteer admins for the project

On a personal note, I have found it difficult to keep up this summer and fall and that is due to both illness and travel and that has lent itself to this change in the trees. You may recall that at one point in the past, I used to have extensive custom charts showing exactly how different YDNA testers matched with each other but that involved making a copy of all markers into a custom database here. I had to give it up at one point because it was just too time consuming.

So, if you would like to volunteer, please send a message to info@smithsworldwide.org

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