Must-Have Tools for FTDNA Users: Gedmatch

Between the recent windfall of free and reduced-price transfers from Ancestry, and the end of the year holiday sale, the FTDNA database is now estimated to contain about 565,000 customers.  The December 2014 sale is reputed to have sold in the neighborhood of 10,000 kits, and the first few months of 2015 should see many of us enjoying a bumper crop of new matches.

The Iowa DNA Project has already begun to see members who purchased kits at the beginning of the December sale start to receive their Family Finder results.   Most of our members have already begun to lay the groundwork to make the most of their new results.  With the basics already been covered, results in and raw data available, it is time to consider using essential and powerful free third party tools.

Get Your Name Out There

As you become more familiar with the world of genetic genealogy, you will begin hearing the term ‘Gedmatch‘.   Gedmatch is a website run by volunteers who allow users to freely upload, analyze and compare raw data.  The obvious advantage of this service is that it is available to all customers of the ‘Big 3’: FTDNA, Ancestry and 23 and Me.  So, if you have tested with FTDNA, you can still scoop up additional matches with cousins who have tested with other companies and have also uploaded their data to Gedmatch.

To take advantage of this opportunity, download your raw data, go to the Welcome Page at FTDNA and scroll down to the Family Finder Section.

Once you are on the ‘Raw Data’ page, you must download TWO FILES:

• Build 36 Raw Autosomal Raw Data
• Build 36 X Chromosome Raw Data

Both Build 36 files must be downloaded from FTDNA and then uploaded to Gedmatch one at a time for the raw data to be processed.  After you have registered at Gedmatch, log in and upload your data from your Gedmatch Home page.  Click the link and upload your Autosomal DNA, or Family Finder file FIRST.  Then click the second link and upload your X file.

It usually takes about two days for raw data to be processed, or ‘tokenized’ by Gedmatch.  During times of heavy usage it may take longer.  Once your raw data is tokenized you may run it against the entire Gedmatch database by using the One To Many matches utility.  The results will include up to 1500 potentially new matches. In the meantime, you can experiment with various tools, including a wide variety of specialized admixture, or ancestry tools.

Gedmatch is extremely popular with the genetic genealogy community and there is a wealth of information to help you navigate its complexities.  Detailed tutorials and information can be found here under the Gedmatch section.  A series of tutorials to help you learn more about various Gedmatch tools is available here. Gedmatch’s services are free but donations are strongly encouraged and will not only help support the growing infrastructure and hardworking volunteers but also give you access to an advanced set of genetic genealogy tools.