8:00 p.m. Tuesday 30 June 2026
Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, County Clare
WWW version:
Outline
Introduction
For many centuries, individuals traditionally wrote out family trees
by hand on sheets of paper or rolls of wallpaper, rewriting them
frequently as new discoveries were made or new generations were born
and married.
By the 1980s, the desktop personal computer allowed family tree
information to be recorded electronically, and reprinted
frequently and efficiently as new information materialised.
By the 1990s, the World Wide Web allowed family tree information
to be re-published online, and later to be directly recorded
online.
By the 2000s, genetic genealogy began to emerge, with online Y-DNA
comparisons for surname studies requiring corresponding online
family tree comparisons.
By the 2010s, online autosomal DNA comparisons required more
online family tree comparisons.
By the 2020s, a multitude of rival DNA comparison websites were
requiring multitudes of duplicate (and often conflicting) online
family trees.
For several decades, I remained an advocate of desktop genealogy
software over web-based family trees. Efficient data entry
using keyboard shortcuts, and control of my own backups, seemed
preferable to battling slow broadband and trusting my work to the
whims and financial imperatives of a commercial website owner.
In more recent years, as my database grew larger (267,400
individuals) and my remaining life expectancy grew shorter, my
views changed.
It's time to stop reinventing the wheel and settle on a single
source of truth (SSOT).
What changes can genealogists expect in the 2030s?
- Pure research continues to lead to new discoveries which can
be commercially exploited.
- Most website users want long-term accuracy before shareholder
profit.
- Many website operators and shareholders want short-term profit
before accuracy.
- The mammoth legacy commercial genealogy websites like Ancestry
and MyHeritage use questionable business models, which place
profit before historical accuracy.
- What will be the outcome of this battle?
- The rest of the world has been embracing artificial
intelligence (AI).
- AI uses feedback loops to learn from its mistakes.
- Good website operators can use the real intelligence
of their users as a feedback mechanism to learn from past
mistakes and to correct errors.
- AI uses Large Language Models
like ChatGPT to generate text in relatively unstructured human
languages.
- Surely similar models could and will generate family trees,
which are much more highly structured lineage-linked databases,
helping to break down genealogical brick walls?
Collaborative genealogy is the inevitable outcome of the
integration of:
- traditional genealogy;
- DNA comparisons; and
- AI.
This talk is about the hows, the whys, and the side benefits of
collaboration.
In particular, collaborative genealogy is an essential part of
any surname study, such as those under the umbrellas of:
Also:
WikiTree can also answer questions like the following:
The material discussed in the rest of this talk is worth becoming
familiar with, whether you are:
- a local historian trying to organise your local 1926 census
returns;
- a traditional genealogist researching all sides of your
ancestry;
- a specialist in the history of your own surname; or
- a genetic genealogist trying to trace your relationships to
your DNA matches.
Unfortunately, aggressive AI scrapers are making it difficult to
run wikis or collaborative websites, with an arms race going on behind-the-scenes
between AI bot owners and webmasters
The DNA and
genealogy industry
Is the competition between the many DNA and genealogy companies and
websites healthy or unhealthy?
Why does the one company doing Y-DNA comparison (one chromosome)
charge so much more than the many companies doing autosomal DNA
comparison (22 pairs of chromosomes)?
Lack of competition or technological complexity?
Who here has not yet submitted a DNA sample for analysis?
Are you "fishing in all the gene pools"?
Isn't hosting a DNA comparison database a natural monopoly?
Selling subscriptions is more profitable than selling one-off
purchases or striving for accuracy at all costs.
Despite, or because of, this marketing push, the world is moving
into an era of collaborative genealogy, based on single world family
trees, or forests:
- Who here uses a single world tree?
Isn't hosting a single world tree also a natural monopoly?
How can there be more than one such website, all with similar
desirable ideals:
- a single accurate, editable, correctable, online world family
tree
- with just one profile for every person who has ever lived
- linked directly to the DNA data of those wishing to be
included in the tree?
How many such single world trees can there be?
The various candidates for the ideal single world tree all have
their own advantages and shortcomings, as do the multiple rival
legacy family tree websites designed to assist in the joint goals
of
- extracting, comparing and tracing DNA; and/or
- compiling, comparing and combining family trees.
None of the legacy websites has succeeded in simultaneously
achieving all of these goals, or in harnessing the power of
collaboration.
Genealogists from around the world are already contributing to
bringing about the ideal collaborative tree, and you can easily
join them.
More questions for
the audience ...
- Who has not yet started recording the family history for
posterity?
- How many different online and offline versions of your family
tree do you, or should you, maintain?
- One?
- One public version and one private version?
- More than one public version?
- As many versions as there are DNA comparison websites?
- How do you record the master copy of your genealogical
findings?
- Who has not yet committed anything to writing for posterity?
- Who uses pen and paper exclusively?
- Some people prefer to write and/or read family history in a
narrative format.
- Who uses word processing or spreadsheet software exclusively?
- Some people prefer to record and/or read family history in a
more structured database format.
- Some people even prefer to create in one format but to read in
the other format.
- Who uses standalone genealogy software?
- Who uses a genealogy website?
- Who makes regular backups?
As more and more genealogical records, most recently the 1926
census, become freely available online, and as more and more
people submit DNA samples for comparison, it becomes less and less
practical for every local historian and genealogist to maintain a
standalone family tree, whether on paper, on a home computer or
some other electronic device, or on a website.
- The more duplicates and backups we create, the more likely at
least one version is to survive for posterity, not necessarily
the most up-to-date or accurate version.
- Would you prefer to find your DNA matches and other long-lost
cousins on a single accurate world tree rather than on multiple
incomplete error-ridden stand-alone trees?
- Are you willing to make compromises involving control,
workload, accuracy and speed?
- FamilySearch.org, geni.com, WeRelate.org and WikiTree.com all
share similar objectives:
- to have exactly one profile for every individual who has
ever lived:
- "It's not your tree or my tree. It is our tree."
- Similarly:
"It's not your DNA or my DNA. It is our DNA."
- to merge duplicates when identified
- to avoid errors going viral
- to document sources
- etc.
- ... but there are differences:
- FamilySearch generates duplicates by turning sources into
new profiles, e.g. three profiles for each birth in a large
family
- geni.com allows duplicates to be created for free but
charges to merge them
- geni.com over-reacted to credential stuffing attacks on
other websites in 2023 and locked out users whose email
addresses were no longer valid
- WikiTree.com has an emphasis on DNA confirmation
- etc.
- ... and there are other, uneditable, uncorrectable, behind the
scenes, single world trees:
- AncestryDNA ThruLines and "Common ancestors" hints
- MyHeritage Theories of Family Relativity
How do you
and your matches link your new genealogical discoveries to your
DNA kits?
- Have you linked your pedigree chart to each of your own DNA
kits?
- Have you linked a pedigree chart to every other DNA kit that
you manage?
- You will often need to do your matches' genealogy for them to
push their known ancestry back to the common ancestor or, more
likely, ancestral couple, whom you share with each match.
- Do you update your pedigree charts with every new discovery?
- Do all of your newfound cousins do likewise with their
pedigree charts?
- Are you all frustrated by the need for all this duplication of
effort?
- repeating other people's research from scratch
- exporting and uploading new GEDCOM files
- editing multiple online family trees
- creating linked matches at FTDNA/MyHeritage
- Why not a single world tree for DNA analysis?
- A DNA match without a linked family tree - containing at least
one generation of deceased ancestors - is virtually useless.
- If the match name is unusual or if there is a pattern to
shared matches and triangulated matches, then it may be possible
to reinvent the wheel.
- Each DNA subject who neglects to link a family tree to his or
her DNA kit potentially causes thousands of matches to reinvent
the wheel in this way.
- The time wasted on repeating research on well-documented
recent ancestors would be better spent elsewhere.
- Collaborating genealogists are verifying and peer reviewing
each other's work and demanding proper sourcing, while abiding
by GDPR and other privacy concerns.
Why WikiTree.com?
- To take advantage of its benefits and to avoid the drawbacks
of its competitors
- Like Wikipedia for genealogists
- Has Wikipedia outcompeted proprietary encyclopedias?
- Can WikiTree outcompete proprietary genealogy websites?
- Crowd-sourced genealogy:
- volunteer genealogists
- volunteer programmers
- Both most of the data and much of the software are open-source
- The pedigree of WikiTree
- born 5 November 2008, annual WikiTree day
- married to GEDmatch, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, mitoYDNA, etc.
- will it outlive you and me?
- will WikiTree die?
- will our research outlive us?
- like the DNA websites, WikiTree allows for an Advance Directive
- "100% free" and "forever"
promises, but those promoting cloud computing must remember
that clouds evaporate.
- Life would be a lot simpler if
- the other DNA comparison websites followed 23andMe's lead
and stuck to DNA and the family tree websites stuck to family
trees, and everyone agreed on protocols (better than those
currently used by 23andMe) for linking and searching
- just one side of the match had to update just one single
world tree with each new discovery
- updates to the single world tree acted as a feedback
loop for an intelligent system to suggest new hints,
which might explain the possible relationships behind DNA
matches.
- ... but we still seem to be a long way from this ideal
- WikiTree is:
- a family tree website with links to DNA kits,
- not a DNA comparison website with links to pedigree charts.
- Waiting for others to add your ancestors to the 45,550,795
people already on WikiTree as of 29 Jun 2026, or to the
39,754,035 people connected to each other by a combination of
blood and marriage links, requires patience, but not as much
patience as waiting for your cousins to appear among your DNA
matches, because YOU can add your own ancestors, and your DNA
matches' ancestors, to WikiTree.
- Intelligence or stupidity?
- When confronted by the real intelligence of
collaborating genealogists, the DNA companies seem to be using
artificial stupidity to generate hints, rarely, if
ever, learning from past mistakes or user feedback to correct
errors in the tree
- MyHeritage
- allows hints other than "appears
in your family tree" (8) to be tagged as Confirmed (14) or
Rejected (105), but Rejected hints cannot be
filtered out or hidden
- has hints which are inconsistent with the "probable
relationship" column
- There is little evidence that either AncestryDNA or
MyHeritage is using amounts of shared DNA or triangulation
to check or generate hints.
- What Are the Odds?
plus combines DNA data and family tree data far more
effectively and successfully, as does BanyanDNA
- FTDNA does use linked matches to assign other matches to
the most distant ancestor through whom they are related, but
then, like an angler returning fish to the water, puts the
matches back in the paternal or maternal bucket.
- On all websites, long-dead ancestors are renamed "Living"
or "HIDDEN" or "Private" if their own dates are missing (see
Louis Kessler's
Behold Blog)
- Life is too short and your family tree is too large for it to
remain practical to do it all on your own.
- There is no need to reinvent the wheel if good genealogists
have gone before you.
- Who wants to check 15,915 separate user-donated trees at
ancestry.com for Brigham Young? (The number of trees
is growing at the rate of over 20 per week!)
How to use WikiTree.com
- Sign up here (open in new
private window!)
- There are five levels of free membership
- Guest account (includes advertisements)
- Family Member account (includes advertisements and allows
communication with others)
- Wiki Genealogist account (removes advertisements and
includes edit rights on post-1700 Open profiles created by
others, but requires you to first read and accept the Wiki
Genealogist Honor Code here)
- pre-1700 self-certification
- pre-1500 certification
- Is the Honor Code a realistic ambition, or is it Utopian "pie
in the sky"?
- You will be assigned a WikiTree ID of the form Waldron-201,
where Waldron is your Last Name At Birth (LNAB) and the 201
indicates the 201st Waldron profile added to WikiTree.
- A real human official (volunteer) greeter will welcome you.
- There are twice monthly Member Q & A
sessions via Zoom and weekly YouTube Saturday
Roundups
- There are seven levels of privacy:
- Anyone who has signed the Honor Code can correct errors and
omissions in Open profiles
- Duplicate Open profiles can be merged, with 30 days
notice to the profile managers
- Profiles of people born over 150 years ago or who died over
100 years ago must be Open
- Start adding your ancestors and relatives:
- manually, one by one; or
- by uploading a small GEDCOM file, maybe starting with just
your direct ancestors, and allow the GEDcompare system
time to search for whichever of those ancestors are already on
WikiTree; or
- by copying one by one from another genealogy website using
the WikiTree Sourcer
browser extension.
- If you would like an existing WikiTree user (e.g. me) to help
connect you to the main body of the single family tree, then add
him or her to your trusted list here.
Examples of using the
DNA features of WikiTree.com
- DNA kits can be linked to the WikiTree profiles of active
members and of deceased individuals
- Linking DNA kits to the profiles of deceased individuals
prevents their matches from wondering why they are not replying
to messages via the DNA websites.
- Add details of your DNA kits, in particular your GEDmatch kit
number and your mitoYDNA.org kit id here
- GDPR is cited for
- discouraging the addition of WikiTree profiles for living
individuals, unless you simultaneously invite them to become
registered members; and
- prohibiting the linking of DNA kits to profiles of living
individuals who are not registered members;
- so you must persuade your DNA matches to at least register,
link DNA kits, and add at least one generation of Open
profiles for deceased ancestors.
- WikiTree can answer questions like: "Who should I recruit for
DNA comparison?"
- DNA kits are listed on the profiles of all individuals who
should match
- e.g. Paddy Waldron
- e.g. Brian Boru (d.
1014)
- his descendant Conor O'Brien's
Y-DNA Test reveals haplogroup R-FGC13418
- the R-FGC13418 mutation is thought to have occurred
somewhere between Brian and Conor
- the enlightened and supportive early participation in the
new science of genetic genealogy of Conor, Lord Inchiquin
(1943-2023) was greatly appreciated by the millions who have
followed his example.
- e.g. The Cranny Clancys:
- lots of Clancy families claim a close relationship to Peadar Clancy
(1889-1920) from Cranny
- including descendants of Hugh Clancy of
Killard, of James Clancy of
Limerick, and of Patrick Clancy of Rosconnell, County Laois
- the first two Clancy families have most recent confirmed
Y-SNPs R-DC505 and R-A935
respectively
- e.g. Patrick Sarsfield,
1st Earl of Lucan (d. 1693) - the Sarsfield Homecoming
Project comprises three parallel searches:
- an archaeological dig
in Belgium for Sarsfield's remains
- a search among living Sarsfield males on FTDNA and
elsewhere for any man who might share his Y-DNA signature;
see chart
- a search on WikiTree and
elsewhere for anyone who might share his mtDNA signature
- WikiTree and 23andMe
- Degrees of confidence:
- Seeing known or suspected atDNA/Y-DNA/mtDNA relatives on
WikiTree who are already in the DNA system will encourage others
to swab or spit for the relevant analysis
- Known or suspected relatives on WikiTree who are not yet in
the DNA system can be encouraged to swab or spit
- WikiTree is a great way to find candidates for mtDNA and X-DNA
as well as Y-DNA and autosomal DNA comparisons
Further reading: More advanced
features of WikiTree
Conclusion
The 2030s promise to be the age of the collaborative online
single world family tree, for which I have become an advocate.
I hope that I have convinced the audience that the advantages of
WikiTree.com in particular, properly used, greatly outweigh its
disadvantages.
Could a collective effort by KDHS members get all 3,351 people in
Kilrush Urban on WikiTree in the next 100 days?
Or can I convince KDHS members and conference delegates from
around the world to join WikiTree and to connect themselves to
each other and to their West Clare ancestors?