Going in Circles 24 Times

Because so many have tested on Ancestry DNA, Ancestry tells me that now (15 May 2017) I have over 950 4th cousins or closer in their database. They also inform me that I have 24 DNA Circles. Circles require that we each have a family tree posted at Ancestry, so I can see how each match is related to me, at least according to our respective trees.

So with 24 Circles, I began wondering just how many matches that included. A circle must have at least 3 people, so that requires at a minimum 2 matches per circle. It wasn't too hard to determine the number of matches that they had calculated, since at each circle it displays the number of members (not all member match me, but match people who do match me) and the number of matches. So all I had to do was add up those 24 numbers and it came to 144.

The ancestor who showed the most matches was on my paternal side: Stephen Hoggatt with 15, his wife Margaret Thornburg had 12. Stephen's grandson Francis Hockett (the name changed after they moved north) had 14 and his wife Rebecca Hartley also had 14. The ancestors with the smallest number were also on the paternal side: Timothy Chase and his wife Lucy Irene Howe each had 2 matches.

Then I wondered how many individuals were in that 144 since some people are in more than one of my circles, especially since often there is a circle for each one of a couple. This took a little more work, but I found it interesting to list who the individuals were and while I was at it, which circles they were in. I had already determined that my circles are divided half and half between paternal and maternal ancestors, 12 in each one. So it shouldn't have surprised me that my 1st cousin once removed on my maternal side is in all 12 circles for that side of the family. If I counted correctly, the number of different individuals totaled 63. Think of that, 63 cousins that I need to contact and then we can compare and share information. It looks like I need to get busy and send some messages.