Family Historian User Group

I have been creating a family tree with me as the root person. My Dad has recently taken a couple of DNA tests and I want to export a Gedcom file just with his side of the family to FamilyTreeDNA, Ancestry and also to GEDmatch. Please can someone advise? I have never exported any data before so as much 'how to' detail as possible please. Many thanks.

Welcome to your first FHUG posting Carolyn.

Could you please answer a few questions to clarify your objectives.

What exactly do you mean by your dad's "side of the family"?
Do you mean just his direct blood line ancestors, i.e. parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and so on?

You want to export to FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry and also to GEDmatch.
The first two are OK websites, but I have not heard of GEDmatch and may need investigation.

Both FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry are online websites, so care should be taken with personal details.
What kind of sensitive details would you not want to put online?
Typically, living people details are excluded leaving just their name or even less.

The general process is documented in how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia|> Exporting a Family Tree with/without Media especially under how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#export_to_website_without_sensitive_data|> Export to Website Without Sensitive Data. Since you never exported any data before, that will appear quite a daunting process. So you will no doubt have many questions on 'how to' achieve your objectives. That is why you need to answer those earlier questions, so we have a clear understanding of your objectives, and give you very specific 'how to' details.

Thanks so much for your prompt response and offer of help. Much appreciated.

My family tree contains both my mother's and father's ancestors but as my father has taken the DNA tests (at FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry) I only want to include his ancestors in the data which I export. I have researched quite widely to include relatives beyond just parents/grandparents/ggrandparents etc. ie beyond his direct blood line.

The only living person in the tree would be my father but I would want to keep his personal data confidential of course.

My father's father was adopted at birth so the purpose of the exercise is to connect with others in order to try to identify his birth family. I have my grandfather's mother's name and an address on his birth certificate.

After uploading my father's raw DNA data onto Gedmatch I have connected with cousins and believe I have located the family through a concentrated 'cousin cluster' but I need more clues to be sure. My father's pedigree will help identify who these matches are and help others to connect with him.

I hope this makes my situation clearer. Thanks again for your help.

I had not heard of https://www.gedmatch.com/ before and I cannot find any details of the GEDCOM dialect it prefers.
But since it appears to be a free service I might find time to experiment with different GEDCOM dialects.

how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia|> Exporting a Family Tree with/without Media explains the process, and I will highlight the options for your objectives below.

In the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#export_gedcom_file_command|> Export GEDCOM File Command section you will select your father on the left and click > Add to Selection button. Then click Add using Query button and choose Ancestors. Leave the Exclude records options at default settings. For the Media Records option select Exclude to eliminate all the Media records & files, because none of your target websites can upload media.

In the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#export_to_website_without_sensitive_data|> Export to Website Without Sensitive Data introduction consider whether [[private]] text or the Living flag need to be added before you even use the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#export_gedcom_file_command1|> Export > GEDCOM File Command.

Skip the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#clean_unwanted_fields_plugin|> Clean Unwanted Fields Plugin section.

Use the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#clean_living_persons_plugin|> Clean Living Persons Plugin to privatise your father.

Skip the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#file_split_tree_helper_command|> File > Split Tree Helper Command section.

Repeat the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia#export_gedcom_file_plugin|> Export Gedcom File Plugin section three times for FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry and GEDmatch. The first two have specific export modes predefined for those websites. For GEDmatch try (Std) Standard GEDCOM 5.5 until we know better. You will not need to set any Extra Options.

Checkout the Plugin Help & Advice pages for Output Formats for each chosen website where there are also Import Details for the website. All that advice is also in plugins:help:export_gedcom_file:export_gedcom_file|> Export Gedcom File Plugin that you can peruse beforehand.

BTW: You can use a free Ancestry account if you are only interested in uploading a tree and not extracting records.

carolynps - why just send your father's side of the tree, he might be related to "other" sides of the tree!

Mike - GEDmatch https://www.gedmatch.com/login1.php, very interesting. It is a pity it is not more widely known with more peoples uploads, seems a bit techie, no bells and whistles, but just really a case of experimenting with thresholds and gives much better results than the "overoptimistic" ancestry DNA etc, but I suspect they use similar 'algorithms'. As regards the Gedcom file, I suspect they need very little detail, just enough to create the "tree" links/connections/families.

I can't remember exactly what the problem was, but my Ancestry 'raw' DNA download was not compatible to upload with at least one site and I had to do a simple text edit on the file (web search for fix), hopefully that is fixed now.

This is one of many help sites:
http://blog.kittycooper.com/2015/04/usi ... match-com/

Thank you very much to Mike and Jim for your advice. I have been away visiting family but now I'm back I can give this a go. I will let you know if I have any more questions.
I was recommended to use Gedmatch by cousins I have found via FamilyTreeDNA and also by one of FTDNA's project administrators. It seems to be a great free service which helps connect people tested by a number of different companies and I have found it very useful.

jimlad68 wrote:carolynps - why just send your father's side of the tree, he might be related to "other" sides of the tree!

Jimlad68, although this may be true, they will all link back eventually to a common ancestor, and it is that person one is looking for. If you clutter your tree with aunts/uncles cousins etc, ( who don’t contribute to your dna) it will make it harder for you and others to spot this common Ancestor.

If you look at any Gedcom Tree on GEDmatch, they are pretty basic. They are textual, with one line per person, showing birth,marriage and death on the same line, which makes it extremely dificult to spot the Margaret Smith, who was married in 1770 Stilton, Huntingdonshire that you may be looking for. Especially as our US cousins seem to predominate the site at present.

I’ve learnt, since doing my own DNA test, that most people expect miracles, and trust that having a DNA test will solve all their research for them. The majority of matches I have on Ancestry for example, haven’t even bothered to load a Tree! Which to me, is a complete waste of time, for them and me