Author Topic: Finding my Biological grandfather  (Read 4515 times)

Offline MarkyP

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Finding my Biological grandfather
« on: Saturday 08 September 18 11:27 BST (UK) »
Hello all, I'm hoping you might be able to explain how to use a match for your DNA on Ancestry.com.

To fully explain my mother learnt a number of years ago that her father (my grandfather) wasn't her biological father. So we have both done a DNA test with Ancestry and until recently had no really close matches, only 4th to 6th cousins, which would take a lot of research. However last week she got a match for a second cousin which got us quite excited. My mother has researched her maternal side of the family thoroughly and this second cousin doesn't seem to be from that side.

My understanding is that the match could be a second cousin or a first cousin once removed in which case the shared ancestor would be a great grandparent, is this correct? Is it as simple as researching the 2nd cousins ancestry (she hasn't done it from the tree that's on Ancestry) and if the cousin doesn't pop up on her maternal side (which I'm pretty sure she doesn't) then the match would be from my mother's unknown paternal side? And one of the descendants from this cousins great grandparents would be my mother's biological father?

Thanks for any help in advance and I hope that makes sense.

Mark.
Jerome - Hampshire (including IOW)
Parsons - Surrey, Somerset and Devon

Offline Lily M

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 08 September 18 11:39 BST (UK) »
From my own personal experience, I have a 1st-2nd cousin who shares a Gt.grandmother with me.  Also have two 2nd-3rd cousins - in both cases one of their parents share a Gt.grandparent with me.

Offline sugarfizzle

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 08 September 18 16:22 BST (UK) »
Mark, DNA isn't an exact science, but at 2nd cousin range is likely to be extremely close.

Technically, as I'm sure you know, a second cousin shares great grandparents with your mother. With DNA a second cousin match could include 1st Cousins (1x removed), 2G Uncle or Aunt, 2nd Cousins,1st Cousins (2x removed), so could theoretically share grandparents, great grandparents or 2G grandparents.

Hopefully the match will reply to any messages you or your mother send, and from his/her age and tree, if any, you may be able to work it out. He/she (they) may have close cousins from this same line that appear as the more remote 4th to 6th cousins that you have already noted.

Work for the moment on 2nd cousins, perhaps the most likely, until/unless you hear from this match.

Then look for shared matches between you, your mother and this match - any surnames that crop up in common between the three of you could prove useful.

Exciting, hope you find some answers, Gadget found her great grandfather.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=800065.0

Regards Margaret
STEER, mainly Surrey, Kent; PINNOCKS/HAINES, Gosport, Hants; BARKER, mainly Broadwater, Sussex; Gosport, Hampshire; LAVERSUCH, Micheldever, Hampshire; WESTALL, London, Reading, Berks; HYDE, Croydon, Surrey; BRIGDEN, Hadlow, Kent and London; TUTHILL/STEPHENS, London
WILKINSON, Leeds, Yorkshire and Liverpool; WILLIAMSON, Liverpool; BEARE, Yeovil, Somerset; ALLEN, Kent and London; GORST, Liverpool; HOYLE, mainly Leeds, Yorkshire

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Offline MarkyP

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 09 September 18 07:54 BST (UK) »
Thanks very much for your answers.

So Margaret, do I need to go back to this match's 2G grandparents? Is that to work out 2G uncles and aunts?

Cheers,

Mark.
Jerome - Hampshire (including IOW)
Parsons - Surrey, Somerset and Devon


Offline sugarfizzle

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 09 September 18 10:29 BST (UK) »
Everyone will tackle this differently.

My first step would be to contact this match.  Not sure I would mention the problem first, more along the lines of 'We have come up as second cousin matches, I'm not sure how we connect'.

If they have an online tree, definitely look at children of their 8 great grandparents. Try to find someone of the right age and in the right place to be your mother's father, your grandfather in the tree.

If they haven't got a tree, or its private, or only mention direct ancestors, you will have to investigate backwards with any names you have.

My only reservation is that, although you probably share great grandparents, you do need to have some idea of whether you are the same generation or not.

My husband's great niece is a match with him at myheritageDNA, any children she had could show up as potential 2nd cousins.

So, in this case, the common ancestor is actually my husband's father, not his grandfather, so you and your mother could possibly be descended from the same person as your match, not a sibling of his.

There are a lot of other possibilities as well.

Take a look at shared cM project

https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2017/08/26/august-2017-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/

Would love to know how you get on.

Regards Margaret
STEER, mainly Surrey, Kent; PINNOCKS/HAINES, Gosport, Hants; BARKER, mainly Broadwater, Sussex; Gosport, Hampshire; LAVERSUCH, Micheldever, Hampshire; WESTALL, London, Reading, Berks; HYDE, Croydon, Surrey; BRIGDEN, Hadlow, Kent and London; TUTHILL/STEPHENS, London
WILKINSON, Leeds, Yorkshire and Liverpool; WILLIAMSON, Liverpool; BEARE, Yeovil, Somerset; ALLEN, Kent and London; GORST, Liverpool; HOYLE, mainly Leeds, Yorkshire

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Offline brigidmac

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 09 September 18 10:59 BST (UK) »
It is worth looking at mutual matches to your DNA with this 2nd cousin check location matches with mutual 3rd and 4th cousins if you can pinpoint a village that may give an extra clue ..

You can work out who are the mutual matches with your grandmother among more distant cousin matches of you and your mother and then look at mutual matches who don't have surnames in common.

An unknown 2nd cousin for my mother turned out to have mutual grandmother but he new nothing about her let alone that she.d had a daughter before marrying his grandfather.

Good luck
Roberts,Fellman.Macdermid smith jones,Bloch,Irvine,Hallis Stevenson

Offline Gadget

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #6 on: Sunday 09 September 18 12:58 BST (UK) »
Margaret has asked me to explain how I found my great grandfather:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=800065.msg6575891#msg6575891

Briefly:

First of all you need to know as much as possible about your grandmother. I knew quite a lot about my great grandmother's locations around the time of my grandfather's conception. She moved between the two. I also knew the first names and occupation of great grandfather.

I found a very distinctive group that, after usual  genealogical research,  I found to be descended from two brothers. These took me to the correct locations and time period and found that they had a brother with the first names and occupation that I knew about.  I constructed trees for each of the brothers. Further discussion with these matches confirmed the findings.

Gadget

Added - the primary matches were at 3rdC or 3rdC1R level.
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Offline Gadget

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #7 on: Sunday 09 September 18 13:04 BST (UK) »
Forgot to add that there was no other possible relationship between us. That was why I constructed the trees, just in case.



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Offline Gadget

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Re: Finding my Biological grandfather
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 09 September 18 14:49 BST (UK) »
Another general tip:

Don't take any of the matches' trees as accurate. I tend to check and triple check them. In a couple of instances with a matched pair, one had entered the wrong husband and one had entered the wrong father. It made quite a difference!

Also, not all people on Ancestry have linked their trees to their DNA. If it says 'no tree', always click on their profile to check that they don't have an unattached one.

Gadget
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