A mirror tree is a tool that some genealogists use in order to discover more relatives that are DNA matches. A genealogist starts with his or her own family tree and then makes a mirror image of the family tree of a cousin. Here is a quick look at some of the pros and cons of mirror trees.
A mirror tree is a direct copy of a family tree. The mirror might be of the entire tree, a certain line in the tree, or a tree of someone who is one of your DNA matches.
A genealogist who takes an AncestryDNA test will be presented with “Shared Ancestor Hints”. In short, these hints point at people whom the genealogist shares some DNA. The purpose of a mirror tree is to “trick” Ancestry’s algorithm into providing additional “Shared Ancestor Hints” that a genealogist had not already been given.
To make a mirror tree, a genealogist starts by taking the AncestryDNA test. Next, create a family tree on Ancestry.com. Then, the genealogist selects a person that is a close DNA cousin – and who has a family tree that is linked to their DNA – and makes a mirror of that person’s family tree. The genealogist then links his or her own DNA to the mirror tree.
Pros of making a mirror tree:
Cons of making a mirror tree:
Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:
* Tips for Discovering Biological Family with AncestryDNA
* AncestryDNA Introduces Genetic Communities
* Make Copies of What You Post on Ancestry.com
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