Theory of Family Relativity(tm)

Theory of Family Relativity(tm)

Another Valuable Tool from MyHeritage

MyHeritage.com has a cleverly named, very useful tool called Theory of Family RelativityTM. It is an automated, cross-service, DNA matching tool. You can either purchase the MyHeritage.com DNA service or simply upload your existing DNA data into their database. Ancestry.com and 23&Me.com both offer download options to retrieve your data from them. You can then upload to MyHeritage. Other DNA services in addition to Ancestry.com and 23&Me.com probably offer download as well. According to MyHeritage:

The Theory of Family Relativity™ is a genealogical theory that is crafted by connecting billions of family tree profiles and historical records on MyHeritage, and suggests how you and your DNA Matches may be related.

Relatively Estimation

There must be some algorithm that compares data between MyHeritage.com trees across accounts with a DNA match. The software finds possible connection paths of relatives / ancestors between the matching pair using the various connections in the trees. The found / suggested path is laid out as in the image at the top above.

Multiple Paths

Multiple Paths

Some Theories offer multiple path suggestions. These are other possible paths between the DNA match that might come from other trees across the platform. For example, I have a match with a Corcoran. MyHeritage.com shows several ancestral paths for the match:

  1. 1. Our tree >> Smith-Vaughan Tree >> FamilySearch Family Tree >> Corcoran Tree
  2. 2. Our tree >> Smith-Vaughan Tree >> Harbor Tree >> FamilySearch Family Tree >> Corcoran Tree
  3. 3. Our tree >> Smith-Vaughan Tree >> Harbor Tree >> Essig Tree >> FamilySearch Family Tree >> Corcoran Tree
  4. 4. Our tree >> Smith-Vaughan Tree >> Harbor Tree >> Wood Tree >> FamilySearch Family Tree >> Corcoran Tree
  5. 5. Our tree >> Smith-Vaughan Tree >> Harbor Tree >> Groth Tree >> FamilySearch Family Tree >> Corcoran Tree

For each path the site shows a confidence level. In the case of all five of the above the confidence is 20%. We have seen some as high as 85 and 90% confidence levels.

Multiple Theories

Multiple Theories

In some cases there is more than one Theory. It seems that these are distinguished by the relationship indicted by the theory. As you can see from the above image, Theory One shows “4th cousin once removed on your father’s side” while Theory Two is for a link to a “5th cousin on your father’s side.” Theory One provides five different paths. The first four have a 40% confidence level and the last a 35% confidence level. Theory Two provided five different paths with confidence levels 85%, 85%, 78%, and 70% respectively. I would be looking into Theory Two first, while not discounting Theory One until proven to Standard.

FamilySearch.org

Not only are the MyHeritage.com trees checked for a theory and path, they also incorporate the Family Tree at FamilySearch.org. When this is done, the FamilySearch.org Family Tree is the head of its section with connected family displayed as with any tree from MyHeritage.com. In the instances we have seen so far, the FamilySearch.org bring a connection between MyHeritage.com trees as opposed to beginning or ending the path.

A Resource

Theory of Family Relativity comes from the trees and therefore are the fruits of the research of other people. The suggested paths can be extremely helpful in filling in your connections with your DNA matches and fleshing out your own family tree. That said, each connection and person in the path should be thoroughly researched to Standard before adding them to your firm family tree.

Let us know if we can help you

If you need any help finding your ancestors, just let us know.

Christopher Hall

Christopher is an owner, a genealogy researcher, a family history consultant, writer, former college instructor, software engineer, and author. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Union Institute & University. He has a certificate in Family History Research from Brigham Young University - Idaho and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He has done genealogical research in the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland. He loves working with clients, digging into records old and new, paleography, genetic genealogical research, and traveling to the places where his and your ancestors lived. He finds writing reports and family narratives fun. He has been a software engineer for over 25 years. He takes pleasure in designing and building creative and useful websites and mobile apps.