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This article is from Diahan Southard for Family Tree Magazine.
Triangulation is a broad term with application in many fields, from psychology to politics. In genetic genealogy, triangulation mirrors the process used by surveyors, who employ multiple triangles to help deduce the exact landscape of a particular area. Here’s how to use triangulation to your advantage when analyzing your DNA matches.
Genetic genealogists create triangles from groups of three autosomal DNA matches to get a better picture of how each member of the group is related to the others. Commonalities among the three individuals’ family trees may indicate shared ancestors. For example, if two group members have common Smith ancestors in Colonial Massachusetts, the third group member—who perhaps hasn’t yet reached that far back in her tree—might theorize she’s also connected to the Smiths and turn to traditional genealogical records to investigate.
You don’t have to be a DNA expert to start using triangulation to your advantage. You just have to have autosomal DNA test results from one of the four major testing companies (23andMe, AncestryDNA, Family Tree DNA or MyHeritage DNA), a known cousin with autosomal test results, and some shared matches. We’ll show you how to triangulate your way to family tree success.
