Family Historian User Group

I have just received my DNA results from FTDNA and would like to upload my FH Gedcom to their website. MY FH tree comprises both my line and that of my husband, but I only want to upload my part of the tree going back about five or six generations.

I have read Knowledge Base<Exporting a Family Tree with/without Media and I assume that I need to start by using the Export GEDCOM File Command to select the relevant records. My preference then would be to use the Export Gedcom Plugin but as FTDNA is not yet included in the list of products in the Output Formats section, I am unsure exactly how to proceed after that.

Is anyone able to help me with this? Does anyone else have experience of uploading a FH Gedcom to FTDNA?

Many thanks

Lizzie

Hi Lizzie,

You are certainly on the right track, and all the techniques you mention are correct.
If you need any detailed advice about them then please do ask.

I don't recall anyone discussing migrating a GEDCOM file to https://www.familytreedna.com/ before.

I have checked its How to Upload Your GEDCOM advice and it does not specify any details.

So in the Export Gedcom File Plugin start with the Standard GEDCOM 5.5 and Remove all the Multimedia entirely.

After inspecting what gets uploaded you may need to experiment with Standard GEDCOM Draft 5.5.1 and other options.
Since there is no free trial mode I cannot help and you will be our guinea pig.
Any advice about the best settings can be added to the Plugin the next time I update it.
A significant new update is due soon so your feedback will be very pertinent.

Hi Mike

Thank you so much for your prompt reply which was very helpful. It's nice to know that I'm on the right track, at least to begin with! I may well need to come back to you in due course if I get stuck or need more detailed help.

In any case, I will let you know how I get with using the plugin and uploading the GEDCOM.

Lizzie

My issue with FTDNA family trees is that they do not recognise baptism or burial dates and places, only birth and death dates and places. Prior to 1837 where I don't have any birth or death information those people are devoid of any meaningful information on my FTDNA family tree. I am unwilling to corrupt my Family Historian project, just to suit FTDNA, by introducing ficticious or approximate birth and death dates and places where that information does not exist in the records.

Trevor Rix

That is useful feedback Trevor, and it might be possible for the Export Gedcom File Plugin, when in FTDNA mode, to convert Baptism/Christening into Birth facts where they do not exist, and similarly for Burial/Cremation into Death facts where they do not exist.

Mike, I would not want that to happen. I would not want incorrect information showing on my FTDNA tree

Sorry Trevor, I misunderstood your comments, and thought you wanted to substitute dummy Birth/Death details so FTDNA was more meaningful, so I will ensure that feature is optional.

An optional compromise might be to simply insert just the year from the date, I know it might still be wrong for January events, but it would be obvious they were not accurate dates.

Could add the Approx qualifier to simple dates.
For Range Dates it would reduce to just the year part(s).

BTW: Due to lack of further feedback, I am not actively pursuing any such options currently.

The Plugin Store version of the Export Gedcom File Plugin now has an export mode for (FTD) Family Tree DNA that primarily uses the (Std+) Full Data Standard GEDCOM 5.5 rules together with an option to adjust Baptism & Christening and Burial & Cremation Events into Birth and Death Events respectively with approximates Dates.

If anyone can provide feedback on what GEDCOM features Family Tree DNA supports then the settings can be further refined.

Just to say that FTDNA. will be releasing myFamilyTree 2.0 as from the 18th November.
And also improving the family tree tools over the next few months.

Not sure exactly what GEDCOM facts will be imported into FTDNA when the rollout is complete but suspect that may well be changed from what is there now.

One other thing the new version will allow is to download a GEDCOM from their Family Tree, so may need to check what this download consists of as well.