Due to the interconnectedness of the many shtetls in the region around Belogorodka, we have created an Ancestor Project on Gedmatch for those with Jewish ancestors from the region of Volhynia. Most of our Belogorodka Descendants Group is included.
Here are instructions for joining the project if you have a Gedmatch Kit Number, or have taken an Ancestry or MyHeritage DNA test or have your raw data from any other DNA testing company. You can also contact mcytron@jewishgen.org to find out more:
Downloading Raw Data from Ancestry:
Log in to ancestry.com (you can get a free account)
Click on your name in the top right corner
Select "Account Settings" in the dropdown menu
Select "DNA" in the left column
Click on your account name under "your DNA tests"
Click "Download DNA Data"
Ancestry will then ask you to verify your account by receiving an email or entering your password.
You'll be sent another email with a link where you can download your data. It can take up to 24 hours. The raw DNA data you download is just a small zip file named something like "dna-data-(date).zip".
Inside the .zip file is a .txt file you can upload after creating a Gedmatch account. This will give you a "kit number" you can share with others (and which could be added to the Volhynia Ancestor Project).
Download MyHeritage Data
Roll over "DNA" and select "Manage DNA Kits"
Click on the three dots and select "Download Kit"
Check the box accepting the terms and click "Continue"
You will receive an email with a link you can click on to download the kit.
Pay attention to where you save the file and the name you give it so you can find it later. You can upload this raw data file to several other sites.
Create GedMatch Account
You can create an account at https://www.gedmatch.com by clicking the "join for free" button.
Once logged in, click on "upload your DNA" in the right column
Choose the file you downloaded from MyHeritage and add your username and other info. You can select either "opt in" or "opt out". The "private" option, however, will not allow you to compare your kit to others and wouldn't be useful.
When you have your kit number, let me know and I can add it to the Ancestor Project.
Or you can request to join yourself by clicking on "Ancestor Project" on the main page in the right column under "Free Tools"
Click on the "Search Projects" tab.
Type "Volhynia" in the Search box and click "join" selecting the kit number(s) you want to add. Or contact us at mcytron@jewishgen.org and you can be added manually.
Once you are added, you can find the Ancestor Project by clicking on the Ancestor Projects link in the right column on the main Gedmatch page. Our Project will appear in the dropdown on the next page.
You can use different kinds of sorting to get different results. We recommend starting with:
MCRA (most-common recent ancestor): Which shows you the people you share the largest total amount of total DNA with, displaying all the shared segments on different lines.
cM (centimorgans): Which sorts your largest segment matches, which are measured in centimorgans (cM), displaying each segment on a separate line.
Segment Start: This shows, at a glance, how and where your segments overlap/triangulate with others in the group. This can indicate a shared ancestor in the past, but it can also signal an artifact of the endogamy in our genetic makeup.
Working together with the traditional genealogy of known relationships between documented cousins, we can begin to identify real genetic connections. The longer the segment (over 10-15cMs), the larger the probability that it's a match in more recent generations. If you have the advanced tools, you can also view triangulations and clusters of shared matches. Contact me (info in page footer) if you need help or guidance.