using dna to try and find unknown grandfather

[Gadget]

Fingers crossed - I think I've found my great grandfather after 2 months of checking, matching, paper trailing, etc. (and over 60 years after hearing about him!)

Lots of hard work but I found a handful of close shared  matches (125 cM to 56 cM) all with a particular surname that I didn't recognise. All werethose listed  from the wider Birmingham area, which links to my great grandmother's whereabouts 1862-1871. Only 2 trees were available and, in the end, I traced one match who only had himself and parents on a none linked tree, with only his father mentioned. He didn't share the dominant name on the tree but I checked his father's marriage and found that his mother had the dominant name. I then traced the family back and found the link to the others and finally to the probably great grandfather.

Nothing certain but very very promising.

Gadget

[Hmootm]

That's great, you must be so pleased 😀

[Gadget]

I've got to do a lot more checks but I think 'pleased' is an understatement 

I found that using the shared matches  was the most useful and also  checking if there were any trees that the match hadn't linked to their DNA. I also had a pretty good paper trail for my great grandmother already.

[Hmootm]

Oh yes, that's the other problem! My Nan's family were immigrants from Russia so I've not been able to get back very far on that line either 😓

I live in hope that one day, a close match will appear! Fingers crossed 😀

[flower fairy]

Fingers crossed - I think I've found my great grandfather after 2 months of checking, matching, paper trailing, etc. (and over 60 years after hearing about him!)

Lots of hard work but I found a handful of close shared  matches (125 cM to 56 cM) all with a particular surname that I didn't recognise. All werethose listed  from the wider Birmingham area, which links to my great grandmother's whereabouts 1862-1871. Only 2 trees were available and, in the end, I traced one match who only had himself and parents on a none linked tree, with only his father mentioned. He didn't share the dominant name on the tree but I checked his father's marriage and found that his mother had the dominant name. I then traced the family back and found the link to the others and finally to the probably great grandfather.

Nothing certain but very very promising.

Gadget

 This is so encouraging. My gran was born illegitimately in 1918 in Redruths mother and baby Magdalen home. My great grans address at the time seems to have been some kind of private hotel in Redruth although she and all the family for generations back were from Veryan and the surrounding areas. Have never ever even known my grans fathers name  so is this actually possible??
    I have done my DNA and uploaded it to all the sites I can and have made contact with the closest matches, one being my 2C1R. This is where I then become confused. Should I be looking at shared matches with him and myself, or just with myself? I have looked for matches to Veryan and have a quite a few people with matches to Veryan, do I look for names I don't recognise. I really am totally in the dark so wouldn't mind an "idiots" guide of how you went about it if you would help at all.  Happy for you to PM so we don't end up spamming the page.

Thanks for any help at all xx

[Gadget]

Hi

I think yours might be a bit more difficult than mine as mine was my grandfather's father and I had a pair of first names*, occupation and two places  to go on. Also, I did have a reply from one of the matches who gave me some information.

Basically, it's looking at shared matches, probably in the same cM range that I had, who don't appear tolink with any other lines and who have sourced trees. You then have to try to link up names, places and dates in their trees.  Also, work out what occupation your great grandmother had at the time and her whereabouts.

Furthermore, and importantly, verify the trees that the matches have put up. I found an error in one of the trees which confirmed the line that I'd identified and, thus,  led back to the the link family.

Gadget

* which weren't known  family names, in a family which usually included at least one ancestral name.

[Gadget]

If you get the shared matches of who you think might be related through this line, pm me their site details and yours and  I'll have a look at their trees to see if I can spot anything.


Gadget

[flower fairy]

Thank you. It might take me ages to get to this point but I am really hoping that someday I can have another branch to my grans side. It looks very bare.

 I am trying to pluck up the courage to ask her to take a test, she will be 100 in November, but I really don't want to upset her. I would rather never know than feel I have upset her, it has always been a very hard subject to her, in fact I don't think she has ever talked about it and as far as I am aware was never told anything by her mum who was only 17 when she had her.     

    Me and my mum, (who was an only child and is sadly no longer with us), always thought it was someone who either went off to war and never returned, or someone my great gran was in service with. So would I be looking for great grandads ancestors or descendants or both?

     Thanks for your suggestions, I will try this and see what I come up with. 

[Gadget]

Sorry about things.

I'd look for Great granddad's ancestors and descendants.(added -  and his siblings ancestors/descendants)  I worked around both.

Gadget