Linda - a very good question. This may be one of the better ways to find Common Ancestors when they are beyond brick walls. Here's some points: 1. I would only focus on the large segments (the small segments could mean anything and will only cloud your search, at this point) 2. Since all 5 of you share the same large segment (about 12cM or so, starting at 2155758), there is a high probability that you all got that segment from the same Ancestor. This is a very important clue, and starting point. 3. You may want to start a group email (among the 5 of you) to share your Ancestral info. In particular you want to know if any 2 of you has a Common Ancestor. A. In general two folks with an atDNA match, will only share one Common Ancestor - actually all they really determine is the husband/wife pair from whom they descend. B. If any 2 can work out the Common Ancestor, the other 3 should look very carefully at the place/time, and compare that with their own Ancestry. 4. As mentioned before, I think the best way to recognize Common Ancestors (other than GedMatch), is to share Ancestries: A. Ahnentafels are hard to wade through; GEDCOMs and Trees usually have a LOT of non-ancestral data (compounding the problem of searching) B. Prepare an alphabetical list of your SURNAMES, as far back as you can reasonably go (I've found 4 atDNA matches that are 10th cousins) C. For each SURNAME, list the Patriarch (or Matriarch) with dates and places, or any other recognizable info - the objective is to have your match easily pick out his/her Ancestor from your list D. For the purpose of finding Common Ancestors with atDNA matches, I recommend including in your list every alternate or possible Ancestor you've ever run across (even on-line stuff). For this last point, you can focus on the validity and documentation, if two (or more) of you agree it's the match. I know this isn't good genealogy, but we're trying to make connections with atDNA that may well be beyond our documented trees. Let's say your collective match is to a Common Ancestor that is your 7G-grandparent (you five would be 8th cousins) - how many of us know all of the 512 ancestors we have at that level? Your atDNA match could be any one of them. The atDNA doesn't know what you have documented, or that the records were burned, etc. Your Common Ancestor is equally likely to be one ancestor as another, whether you know them all or not. And in the process of finding Common Ancestors, BOTH parties have to know of the Ancestor in order to determine a match. [For about half of my new atDNA cousins, I have researched and extended their trees for them - usually based on a Common SURNAME or a probable place/time that fit both our trees]. Although this approach is a little rocky, it may give you a starting point, a clue, something specific to attack with all of your genealogy skills to then prove or disprove with documentation. I hope this helps - you are on the right track to work in groups that share the same large segments. Jim Bartlett On 01/06/12, Linda<[email protected]> wrote: Hello List, What is the chosen method to search for the common ancestor on an "in common with" match between 5 people about whom you know nothing to connect them? Only one of the 4 gives GEDCOM and surnames and I cannot relate my McKee husband to those surnames although several "could be related". (A 5th name turned up on the in-common-with list but showed zero match on the chromosome bar with anyone. I assume that is not meaningful ---?---) The match they all share is on the 9th chromosome as follows: McKee-Walters........2155758--8555148----13.9 cM--2795 snp McKee-Dismukes.......1950788--9337789----16.38----3295 McKee-Moore..........2155758--7810080----12.42----2395 McKee-Uloth..........2155758--8387775----13.73----2695 Other small hits: Moore, Dismukes, McKee on the 2nd chromosome Moore, Uloth, McKee on the 3rd Dismukes, Moore, McKee on the 5th Dismukes, Moore, McKee on the 6th Walters, Uloth, McKee on the 10th Moore, Walters, McKee on the 16th Perhaps this could be my first Family Finder success story with the List helping out..........Please. Any suggestions, comments appreciated. I have had very little luck in attempting to communicate with matches to find the common grandparent as it seems they all have less info than I do. Linda McKee