What Am I Going to Do with 39,000 Relatives?
In a recent post, James Tanner over at Genealogy’s Star wondered what he was supposed to do with 4,894 relatives at RootsTech.
I smiled at that question.
This year, my Relatives at RootsTech list tops 39,000.
Clearly, I’m not going to meaningfully interact with all of them. So instead of feeling overwhelmed, I’ve created a plan.
My Focus: 3rd and 4th Cousins
Rather than scrolling endlessly, I’m concentrating on my 3rd and 4th cousins. These are the relatives most likely to:
- Share identifiable common ancestors
- Connect to my current research questions
- Potentially overlap with DNA matches
In past years, I copied names and relationship details into a spreadsheet.
And then?
I ignored the spreadsheet.
This year, I’m doing something different.
Turning RootsTech Connections into Research
Instead of letting the data sit outside my working files, I’m entering these cousins directly into my RootsMagic database and attaching them to our documented common ancestor.
To make this easier, I created a custom fact type in RootsMagic to record our shared ancestor.
With this custom fact in place, I can:
- Tag each cousin with the shared ancestor
- Create a group based on that fact
- Quickly relocate all RootsTech connections later
- Systematically document each relationship
No more forgotten spreadsheets.
Extending the Strategy to Ancestry & DNA
I’m also searching for these cousins on Ancestry. (Hint: use a similar username or ID on both RootsTech and Ancestry to make this easier.)
If I find them on Ancestry, I check:
- Do we share DNA?
- Are we already connected in my match list?
- Does their tree confirm our documented common ancestor?
This is where Relatives at RootsTech becomes more than a social experience — it becomes a targeted DNA research strategy.
What I’ve Already Learned
This process has revealed something important:
I have not done enough descendancy research on my fourth cousins.
That realization alone makes this exercise worthwhile.
By documenting these cousins now — attaching them properly in RootsMagic and verifying their lines — I’m building the framework I need to better understand my 4th cousin DNA matches.
Instead of randomly chasing matches, I’m strengthening the tree first.
And that feels like progress.