Step 3: Pedigrees
Input Your Ancestral Information at FTDNA
Using Your MyFTDNA Home Personal Page
The information you post on your FTDNA personal pagei about your ancestors is a big part of DNA testing. Don't ignore it!
When you are tested at Family Tree DNA, you are given access to myFTDNA Home--your
Personal Page--as soon as your test kit is returned.
You will need your kit number and a password (which FTDNA sends you when your
kit is returned) to log in at www.familytreedna.com to view your “personal page”.
(If you have forgotten your kit number or password, you can call FTDNA at (713) 868-1438 or email helpdesk@familytreedna.com)
There are three places on your FTDNA Personal Page where you can input ancestral information:
1. “Personal Profile”
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This is your testing and contact information.
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You can add your Most Distant Ancestor Information here..
2.“Most Distant Ancestor”
This link in the left sidebar of your personal page allows you to input information about your ancestors and their birth locations. This information is not as important to the surname project or in finding matching paper trails, but allows you to see your ancestral birthplaces on a map and this information is included in the information FTDNA gives you about your matches.
"Most Distant Known Paternal Ancestor” is the important one for your YDNA test.
“Most Distant Known Maternal Ancestor” is your mother’s mother’s mother’s line—important for mtDNAi tests. NOT the wife of your paternal ancestor.
3. Upload Your GEDCOM - uploading a GEDCOM if you have one is not essential, but it is a good way to share your family tree with those you match.
GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication which is a cross-platform plain-text file program developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Nearly all genealogy programs support the importing and exporting of GEDCOM files.
The symbol for the GEDCOM will appear next to your name when you are a match for another man, and he can click the link to view your GEDCOM to find any connections.
If you do not have a genealogy program with which to create a GEDCOM you can download free genealogy software from MyHeritage.com. To get the latest version of this free software, Family Tree Builder 5.1, use the following link: http://www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder
Tips:
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Do not attempt to upload an entire GEDCOM with thousands of names to the MyFTDNA page as it will reject it. It is much easier and less confusing to create GECOMS of just the Y-DNA or mtDNA line that the DNA was tested for. With Family Finder resultsi, we recommend uploading a tree with all direct lines back to the 5th generation.
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If the results have been or are going to be uploaded to ysearch.org or mitosearch.org, then also upload your GEDCOM to those results as well.
Additional info on GEDCOMs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDCOM
Uploading your GEDCOM makes it accessible to
anyone whose DNA results matches yours.
When you see the blue GEDCOM symbol (below) next to the name of your match, that means he has uploaded his GEDCOM (his family tree).
