I’ve known about this technique for analyzing matches for a while, but I hadn’t fully applied it until now. Recently, Dana Leeds shared a helpful video walking through the process, which you can watch here:
So, I decided to dive in and see what insights I could uncover from my own DNA matches.
So, what did I discover?
One interesting match came from my first cousin’s granddaughter, who had both yellow and pink highlights, as we share the same grandparents.
By adding family tree information to the spreadsheet, I realized that I hadn’t connected some known matches to my tree. I was able to update this information and make those connections.
Initially, I was surprised to find only a few ‘pink’ matches compared to the other three branches of my tree. However, after reviewing my tree, I realized this could be due to my mother having only three first cousins on that branch.
While I didn’t uncover any major revelations, this process gave me a clearer understanding of how grouping matches can help unravel relationships.
I’ve used the Leeds grouping for several years. Using it I was able to help an adoptee who reached out to me asking “how are we related?” figure out who her father was. He was the “black sheep” of the family.
While I’ve known about the process for several years, I hadn’t taken the time to do it. I’m fortunate to have several of my parents’ first cousins who have tested. Between their shared matches and shared matches of my first cousins, I can usually identify the branch of relationship. After seeing the video, I decided to use the method with my results to see waht else I could learn.
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