Charting Companion for Apple "Macs"; FTM 2019

We are hard at work converting Charting Companion 7 to Apple's macOS operating system. When the conversion is completed, Charting Companion will run on MacBooks and iMacs. We still have a fair bit of work to do. We will notify all our customers when the new version is ready. Here are "work-in-progress" screen shots of the Family Group View, Ancestor chart and Descendant chart running on a Mac:

Charting Companion 7.2.10 has been released to provide compatibility with the new Family Tree Maker 2019.

If you have an earlier version of Charting Companion, our upgrade policy is: If you purchased after June 2018 (ver. 7), you get a free upgrade. In the Charting Companion menu, click on "Help -> Check for upgrades". If you purchased after Oct 2017, you get a discount (contact us). Before Oct 2017: purchase a new Registration Key. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

DNA Matrix: Snatching A Century-Old Secret From the Grave

When my cousins and I tested our DNA, we were not prepared for the surprise revealed by Charting Companion's DNA Matrix chart. Note the red centiMorgans (DNA Units) at the intersection below the boxes.

The red indicates that the amount of DNA shared is too low for "first cousins". Also, the yellow-highlighted DNA shared by the family on the left (blue), is consistently in a very low probability range. (Click for a detailed explanation of the DNA Matrix). There is something wrong with this chart: the genealogical relationships (family tree) are inconsistent with the laboratory results. This tree, by the way, is based on official government birth certificates. What is the explanation of this discrepancy? After further investigation centering around some puzzling remarks made a long time ago by relatives now gone, we came to the conclusion that the (blue) family on the left could be from a different father. In 1909, my feisty 19-year old Scottish grandmother Connie had just gotten off the boat, alone and unsupervised on a new continent. What could go wrong? Well, she met a mystery man and had her first daughter Ruby. Later, she met & married my grandfather Alfred, who impersonated Ruby's birth father. The real tree looks like this:

We share one grand-parent with the family on the left, which makes them half-cousins. All the red is gone, as the DNA is consistent with the new tree. Charting Companion's DNA Matrix chart revealed a secret that would otherwise have been lost forever. We all had a chuckle, ever so grateful to our grandmother, for had she done anything differently, we would not exist! Try the DNA Matrix on your own tree to prove your research. Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. You can also download your Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage GEDCOM file. Get Charting Companion today and make family history. Charting Companion is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

DNA CSV Match Files: How to Define Your Own Format

When you get your DNA test done, you can upload your raw DNA file to a matching service such as GEDMatch, or use DNAGedcom to retrieve your match results from Ancestry, 23andMe, or Family Tree DNA. When the matching process is complete, you can download a CSV (Comma Separated Value) spreadsheet with all your matches.

Charting Companion enables you to combine the match results with a Descendant Tree, giving you a DNA Matrix that describes the relationships in a clear and simple diagram. Charting Companion automatically recognizes twenty-three of the most common and popular CSV match file formats. If your CSV match file is not identified by Charting Companion, or if you have built your own custom match file, you can get Charting Companion to recognize it by labeling it as a "User-defined" file, and telling CC where the columns are located. CC needs only three columns: Kit No. 1, Kit No. 2, and the total match length in cM (centiMorgans). In the example above, the second row (highlighted in blue) contains the original column headers that were in the file. The first row (yellow) are the standard CC column headers assigned by the user: Kit 1, Kit 2, Chromosome number, start, end and length. All other columns are ignored. To assign column headers to your own CSV match file, simply click on the "View" button in the DNA Matrix tab of the options dialog. See Help File or User Guide for complete details. Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. You can also download your Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage GEDCOM file. Get Charting Companion today and make family history. Charting Companion is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

DNA Matches Spreadsheet - How to Easily Manage Your Contacts

When you get your DNA test done, you will discover hundreds or thousands of new matches: distant cousins who share your DNA. But, you have yet to determine how they are related to you. Now you are faced with the task of connecting with these matches. How can you tell to which branch of the family they belong? Who do you contact first? How do you prioritize?

Charting Companion makes this easy for you with the DNA Matches spreadsheet. The DNA Matches spreadsheet is automatically created when you do a DNA Matrix. In the DNA Matches spreadsheet, all your DNA matches are listed in order of centiMorgans (cM, how much DNA you share), and organized by which branch of your family they are likely from. In the DNA Matches spreadsheet, the people in the left column are in your genealogy database. In the example below, they are the descendants of the same grandparents, divided into four families. The people in the top row are the DNA matches (highlighted in yellow). At the intersection are the degree of match (cM). The two people highlighted in pink are the closest match (400 to 600 cM). The people highlighted in blue only match the elusive Flurgis family, because they don't tie into any other branch. Clearly these are the matches to contact first if you have a brick wall in that part of your family tree.

The DNA Matches spreadsheet finds the needle in the haystack, and makes the important information jump out. The DNA Matches spreadsheet is included in ver. 7 of Charting Companion. Click for more details. Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

New Box Corner Styles and Background Images

Charting Companion 7 introduces new box styles, to improve Ancestor and Descendant charts: rounded, notched or octagon.

You can also add a background image or color to enhance your charts:

If you have an earlier version of Charting Companion, our upgrade policy is: If you purchased after June 2018 (ver. 7), you get a free upgrade. If you purchased within the last year, you get a discount (contact us). Within two years, purchase a Registration Key. Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

DNA Simulation - Automatically Building Your Family Tree

Charting Companion 7 features a new technology to help place adoptees and orphans in a family tree: the DNA Simulation. Based on the DNA Matrix , the DNA Simulation will construct a Descendant tree, then will systematically try to link the "orphan" to every person in the tree, one at a time. Charting Companion will validate the tree by calculating the expected centiMorgan (cM) implied by the hypothetical relationship, and comparing it to the actual laboratory DNA test results. Each iteration is called a "scenario". If the DNA test results are outside the cM range, the scenario is bad, will be discarded, and Charting Companion will advance to the next possible position of the orphan in the tree. If the DNA results are consistent, the good scenario will be recorded. All possible scenarios can then be reviewed for further investigation. (see video).

In addition to linking to existing persons, Charting Companion will also insert hypothetical or placeholder spouses and children, and attempt to link the orphan to these additional people. The added persons represent potential extramarital relationships, previous unknown marriages, unknown children, children given up to adoption, non-paternal events, etc. They are meant to suggest possible connections that would otherwise be very time-consuming to evaluate manually.The DNA Simulation is available in Charting Companion 7. See video for detailed explanation. If you have an earlier version of Charting Companion, our upgrade policy is: If you purchased within the last year, you get a free upgrade (contact us). If you purchased within two years, you get a 20% discount (contact us). Within three years, purchase a Registration Key. Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

DNA Matrix: Supported CSV File Formats

Last March Charting Companion announced a new chart: the DNA Matrix . The DNA Matrix is available as a free upgrade to all customers who are using ver. 6 of Charting Companion.

The DNA Matrix helps you by showing an overview of DNA matches in a clear, simple chart. Charting Companion can also "validate" your tree by comparing actual DNA test results, against the number expected from the relationships. Are there surprises in your tree? Click for more details. Click for video.

Charting Companion now automatically recognizes the following CSV match file formats:

• 23andMe (Direct)
• AncestryDNA (AncestryDNA Helper)
• AncestryDNA (DNAGedcom)
• FTDNA Chromosome Browser (Direct)
• FTDNA Chromosome Browser (DNAgedcom)
• FTDNA Family Finder (Direct)
• FTDNA Family Finder (DNAgedcom)
• FTDNA ICW
• GEDmatch: One to many
• GEDmatch: Tier 1 Triangulation
• Genome Mate Pro
• MyHeritage (Direct)
• Pedigree Thief
• User defined

The "User defined" format allows you to assign the Kit No. and centiMorgan columns to a file format of your own design, or a format not (yet) supported above. Send us a copy of your CSV file if it is not included, we'll add it!

DNA Matrix showing centiMorgan (cM) matches between members of a family.

Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

Charting Companion Announces New DNA Matrix Chart

Charting Companion announces a new chart: the DNA Matrix (aka "McGuire Method"). Genetic research offers new ways for genealogists to build their family tree, where conventional records and sources are not available. Genealogists are submitting DNA samples to testing companies who can identify distinctive patterns in the DNA, and match the genealogist to millions of other participants. Adoptees are using DNA to search for biological parents. Distant cousins and other relatives can contribute to your tree by providing information on branches where they have more research than you do. The DNA Matrix helps you by showing an overview of DNA matches in a clear, simple chart. Charting Companion can also "validate" your tree by comparing actual DNA test results, against the number expected from the relationships. Are there surprises in your tree? Click for more detail.

DNA Matrix showing centiMorgan (cM) matches between members of a family.

Charting Companion works with all genealogy programs: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, GEDCOM, etc. Get Charting Companion today and make family history.

"Beech Hill Roots" book: Descendants of William and Elizabeth Ward, Nova Scotia

Beech Hill Roots is a set of 5 books recording the family tree for thousands of families, all of whom can trace their ancestry back to pioneers William and Elizabeth Ward who came to Nova Scotia, from Yorkshire in 1774. They settled at Beech Hill, south of Kentville, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their descendants spread far and wide across Canada, the US and beyond.

Along with identifying the descendants of this couple, there are notes, pictures and an extensive index. Over 40 years of personal interviews by countless researchers and individual families who contributed. Publicly available and private collections were consulted.

Two hundred 5-volume sets were printed.

Who is in the book? This 5 volume set of books contains 2,776 pages and is not just for the Ward or Bishop families! At last count, there were 15,335 direct descendants in 11 generations. The final database numbered in excess of 30,000 individuals.

The 500 page Index (Book 5) is unique even in the genealogy world to allow more success in looking up names. Married women are listed twice, with their maiden and married surnames. Parents of spouses are shown. Special Appendices precede the index to provide additional, useful information, such as descriptive place name information and maps.

The Register format of Beech Hill Roots allows the reader to follow their roots back to the original family. William and Elizabeth (Flintoff) Ward who came to Beech Hill in 1774 with 18 month old Moses. New research reveals Elizabeth’s real name was Flintoff, not Grant as commonly assumed.

Beech Hill Roots leaves a legacy of family history from Kings County, Nova Scotia that spans the continent, especially for anyone having ancestry in Kings County. Generations to come may find links to their past before it is faded from memory.

Get your copy of Beech Hill Roots: USD $205 plus shipping.