Taking advantage of changes to AncestryDNA groups and "enhanced shared matching" to sort DNA matches

We have seen a lot of changes at AncestryDNA recently. Ancestry subscribers now have 64 groups and 32 colours to work with. ProTools subscribers also have "enhanced shared matching". More recently, we've had the Chrome extension - Genealogy Assistant - to assist us. 

What does this mean for me?

• I have more groups and colours to work with.
• The display of groups is different.
• I can see how much atDNA a shared match not only shares with me but also with the match I are working with eg Frank shares 824cM with me and 51cM with my match JBis.
• I can see my matches below 20cM on the shared match page if that person shares 20cM or more with the match I'm looking at eg James shares 50cM with my match JBis and 10cM with me.

Over the last couple of months, I've been evolving how I use these features. I'm sure it will continue to evolve but I thought it was time to document where I'm at in March 2025.

I still use my "Twisted Leeds Method". My first step is to sort matches down to 20cM into the possible paternal and maternal lines. I then sort the matches into the possible four grandparent lines. From there, the sorting depends on the "DNA dilemma" to be resolved. I have my matches sorting into the sixteen 2xGGP lines.

I'm not going to discuss evidence and proof in this post but do remember that you need to gather DNA and documentary evidence for proof that is "on the balance of probabilities" to "beyond reasonable doubt". Also total shared cM and tree triangulation supported by documentary evidence generally works well up to our 2xGGP but beyond that we generally need to add chromosome triangulation. 

Remember that you can use whatever sorting process that suits you but make sure that it's systematic and exhaustive ie don't miss matches or groups of matches. You can change your grouping at any time.

You can see the box colours that I use here-

• White boxes for the paternal and maternal lines.
• Light blue boxes for the PGF line.
• Light green boxes for the PGM line.
• Pink boxes for the MGF line.
• Light mauve boxes for the MGM line.

As we can see, the first symbol is in the group name inside the coloured box, I'm now using this system of letters and numbers to identify groups.  So the combination of colours and symbols are all adding value and mean that I don't need to revisit matches unnecessarily.  However, I will question why a match is in one group when shared matches are in other groups.

Here's the long list of groups that I'm currently using as they appear on my AncestryDNA test. You can see  that they are not displaying by paternal and maternal lines like they were previously but the upside is seeing those symbols inside the boxes. Before I did this, the boxes just showed P or M which wasn't informative. Keep reading as I explain what each of these groups is used for.

Here are the groups that I use for the first sort into the four grandparent lines. As I go deeper into my match list with "enhanced shared matching", I'm starting to add additional matches to these groups for further exploration if I ever get around to it. The final group is pretty self explanatory.  I will also use that if I'm not sure which of two groups the match is in. I can then come back at a later time and see if additional matches that have arrived allow me to work out the line.

Here are the sixteen 2xGGP groups that I am using. Please note that I have moved beyond using the alpha descriptions for the four grandparents and eight GGP. Other tests have a combination eg when sorting a 1C, I generally only group to their 2xGGPs on the lines I share with them and the other line might just be grouped to the other parent or grandparents for the line we don't share. 

Next are the groups that I use to record informations about MRCA with the match and my relationship to the match-

• Matches are "starred" when I have gathered DNA and/or documentary evidence to support the relationship between myself and the match but not proved "beyond reasonable doubt" in all cases
• If the MRCA between me and the match is beyond my 2xGGPs, the MRCAs are shown in black boxes with the numbers 3, 4 and 5 in white.
• All relationships beyond 4C must now be recored as "distant". So I'm using groups to record 5C, 6C and 7C with a white box with black numbers inside. When they are "removed" cousins, I use that group regardless of the number of times they are removed. I also have a group for double cousins. This saves me having to write notes and is also a visual prompt when looking at the match. Having the match in these groups also means they are sortable.

Finally, I'm now using these groups to reflect my research. These are all in brown boxes with white letters as you can see. I use these groups for all of those matches who I'm still searching for the MRCA. With "enhanced shared matching", I began to see the need to cluster groups of matches and focus my research on the match that was closest to our MRCA. So I decide on the "key" match and then make all the related matches "secondary". I decide on this case by case but the secondary matches would be children and grandchildren and. depending on the research I'm doing, might be siblings, nieces and nephews and up to second cousins. I then group these as a "cluster researching MRCA".

At times, I can see a match is in a cluster but I can't find the link. These matches are then in the "C" and "U" groups.

I use the "N" group so that I don't need to keep looking for trees if I know they are not there or will not help me in my research. It's all aimed at not having to duplicate or triplicate my work as there's so much to do!

Finally, I use the "T" group where I can't get the links that are showing in ThruLines from other DNA matches or documentary evidence.

I'm just starting to develop groups for my cousins who have given me access to their tests. These will grow as I start to work with these tests more using all the recent improvements.

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