tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post3813951857224510732..comments2024-03-26T11:22:41.940-07:00Comments on Genea-Musings: How Accurate Is an Ancestry Quick and Dirty Tree?Randy Seaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17477703429102065294noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-82220390609990408592018-11-09T21:05:22.499-08:002018-11-09T21:05:22.499-08:00I haven't done too much DNA research yet but I...I haven't done too much DNA research yet but I've found doing "quick & dirty" trees useful for other types of research too. As long as we keep the limitations in mind, building these trees in Ancestry, Rootsfinder or offline will be usefulClorindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03089250524407044322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-3556538826797298282018-11-06T05:48:19.830-08:002018-11-06T05:48:19.830-08:00Quick and dirty trees are helpful for thinking out...Quick and dirty trees are helpful for thinking out loud about hypotheses. Only once I prove a connection do I add it to one of my public and searchable trees. Before then, the hypothetical tree is private and not searchable, the same as yours. The "green hint" parents are wrong nearly half of the time, so I have lots of blanks waiting to be filled in as I accumulate more info. Q&D trees are not yet ready for prime time, but they're a good tool for testing ideas!Marian B. Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03816923876592602598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-3053885939391254912018-11-05T19:38:14.263-08:002018-11-05T19:38:14.263-08:00I am currently in the process of building a few of...I am currently in the process of building a few of these Q&D trees. Like you, Randy, and as Blaine suggested, they are private and secret. I don’t know how useful they will be in my research, but I’m willing to try anything that will help break down some of my brick walls. I am completely aware of the cautions and will proceed with those in mind. I'll get back to you if I turn up anything. I sure hope I do. <br />Thanks for the post. Diane Gould Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15362418860289987479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-72783090250060636622018-11-05T18:53:05.310-08:002018-11-05T18:53:05.310-08:00I have found quick and dirty trees invaluable. I h...I have found quick and dirty trees invaluable. I had been using this process a couple of years before Blaine mentioned it. For me, they were always down-and-dirty trees ;)<br />Of course they needed to be built with a lot of common sense and a pound of salt. <br />But they work. For me, about half the time. This has been particularly useful because I was in search of a biofather in an endogamous area. I had no large and well-established tree to work from.<br /><br />Matches who are geographic outliers are gold. <br />And when you start with a match's five person tree, and 3 of them are private, but you have grandparents with names and dates, it is worth a shot. Lots of the time, I can build back, and find that their gggrandparents were siblings to mine. And that other matches, at the right DNA level, are shared matches, and they are descended from another sibling. <br />These trees are not really 'trees', and are not proof of anything. They are working explorations.<br />But they are solid and fairly confident 'hints'. <br />Combined with other DNA analyses, they can be very powerful.<br /><br />Linda Schreiberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11858967138913513166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-15824520793323462622018-11-05T18:11:05.367-08:002018-11-05T18:11:05.367-08:00I don't like Hints that refer back to my own s...I don't like Hints that refer back to my own sources!<br /><br />I have a DNA match of 40 Centimorgans that is also a 20 Centimorgan match to my Mother and a 20 centimorgan match to my Paternal Aunt. The Match only had a six person unattached tree. Using the quick and dirty tree method I found a potential link to my mother's family about 5 generations back. The hints and Potential parents stalled out after three generations on some of the branches and I was not able to find a link to my fathers side. My own research on my fathers family only goes back four generations on my Irish branches. I will keep banging on the Q & D stalled branches but I do not want to spend too much time on somebody else's ancestors.<br /><br /><br />I do not plan on fixing or documenting this Q & D tree. I will slowly build out and down my primary tree with sources to tie into this new branch of my mother's family. I will leave the Q & D tree unsourced and hidden.Greenhill39https://www.blogger.com/profile/00299254736724530993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-42609748479733409832018-11-05T17:36:37.645-08:002018-11-05T17:36:37.645-08:00Here's my take on Blaine's "quick and...Here's my take on Blaine's "quick and dirty tree". It can be helpful to a lot of people and at the same time really difficult to do. Let me explain. Making them is easier when you deal with people who have a ton established trees. However, it can be hard to make Q and D trees in various situations. Like if your family goes to a different country fairly early on. It helps to also check where the tree comes from AND you can always go back and edit mistakes you make.<br /><br />I was a little cautious about making the trees. But, after practicing I found they work as long as you follow along with established and sourced trees. It really just depends. I do agree that you need to be cautious about them. In the end, you can still go back and fix any problems.Cferrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16711766128001014965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-66008087437485223902018-11-05T16:58:24.186-08:002018-11-05T16:58:24.186-08:00Proof arguments!!! Oh yes, that would be super swe...Proof arguments!!! Oh yes, that would be super swell. But do I think it will ever happen? No, unfortunately, Ancestry doesn't seem to encourage its users to engage in proofing or even basic critical analysis of the hints they're given, which leads to garbage in their trees. And suggestions often aren't received well by tree owners.<br />And I wonder if there is any benefit from my checking "no" to the hints given to me. Their algorithms for suggesting hints let through absurd impossibilities such as offering an English birth/baptism record from the early 1800s for one of the people in my tree whose birth facts (already supported by other documents) were for Pittsburgh in the early 1900s. Makes the vetting of those hints a longer and harder job than it ought to be, IMHO.Donahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521576471803541895noreply@blogger.com