GET MORE FROM YOUR ANCESTRY DNA TEST

At one time it was rare to find anyone who had taken a DNA test for genealogy. Now it’s rare to find a family historian who hasn’t tested. AncestryDNA (ancestry. co.uk/dna) is the testing company of choice for family history. Ancestry has the largest database with more than 18 million people tested, and you will get most of your best matches there.

With the big growth in the database most people are finding that they are getting lots of good matches, sometimes with second cousins or closer, right from the outset. It is always best to focus on your top matches, which effectively means those that Ancestry predicts to be related to you as fourth to sixth cousins or closer. If your ancestry is predominantly from the UK you will probably have between 200 and 500 matches in the fourth to sixth cousin or closer range, and 10,000 or more matches in the fifth to eighth cousin range. People with Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry tend to have more matches than those of English ancestry. This is partly down to more inter-relationships in rural communities; emigration