My AncestryDNA Clusters Are Limited At This Time

 I received the AncestryDNA Cluster feature earlier this week and want to write a report about it.

Ancestry announced this on 1 July 2025 in their blog post DNA Matches By Cluster by Angie Bush.  The post notes:

"Matches by Cluster is a new feature available to Ancestry Pro Tools members*. Clusters are a powerful genetic genealogy tool that allows you to visualize, sort, and group your DNA matches so you can easily see how your matches are related to each other through DNA. Clusters often represent branches of your family tree, making it easier to identify common ancestors and solve genealogical puzzles!

"What Is a Cluster?

"Each group, or “cluster,” represents people who likely share the same common ancestor with you. Instead of looking at hundreds of individual DNA matches, you now have organized groups of matches. This makes it easier for you to figure out which side of your family any individual match belongs to.

"How Do Clusters Work?

"DNA matches sharing between 65 and 1300 cM of DNA are grouped into grids as shown below (if you have more than 100 clustered matches, you will not see this grid view). Each group or cluster represents DNA matches that are shared with each other, and represent a branch of your family tree."

My AncestryDNA page looks like this (two screen captures shown):

 The cluster grid is shown in the upper image, with three colored clusters of a total 

of 18 DNA matches between 65 and 1300 cM.  

The top image indicates that the AncestryDNA Cluster tool found only "Paternal" 

matches and no "Maternal" matches.  I'm not surprised , and will discuss that later.

The lower image shows the first cluster expanded to show all of the matches in that 

cluster. I rolled my mouse over the Note in the 3rd match in the cluster to note the 

common ancestor couple if I know it.

Here is the enlarged view of the three cluster grid (with the names on the left as 

initials, using Dan Maloney's free "Genealogy Blurring Tool"  Chrome extension):

My three clusters are for common ancestors of:

Orange cluster (8 matches):  My great-grandparents Thomas and Julia E. (White) 

Richmond.

Salmon cluster (5 matches):  My 2nd great-grandparents James and Hannah (Rich) 

Richmond.

Violet cluster (5 matches):  My grandparents, Frederick Seaver and Alma Bessie 

Richmond.

Note that not everyone related to the Seaver family is related to everyone in the 

Richmond line with shared DNA above 65 cM (the white boxes are those).  The gray 

boxes show relationships between matches with over 65 cM.

I only have 30 AncestryDNA matches with 65 cM or higher, and they are all in my 

family tree.  25 of them are paternal and 5 of them are maternal.  I don't have any 

maternal clusters because my mother and my maternal grandparents were only 

children, and I don't have any DNA matches from half of my maternal 2nd great-

grandparents.  Tthere are 4 different common ancestors in those 5 matches.

My hope is that AncestryDNA will lower the minimum from 65 cM to say 40 cM.  

That would create more useful clusters for me since there would be 100 AncestryDNA 

matches, although only 31 are from my Maternal side.

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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