3rd - 5th cousins

[SmallTownGirl]

Although I don't have a Tree there, I recently uploaded my [Ancestry kit based] "raw" DNA to MyHeritage and have just been contacted by someone in California who is, apparently, my 3rd - 5th cousin.  She doesn't have a MyHeritage Tree either, she's just using the Family Search public tree facility.  She's spotted that I'm in the UK and has given me the name of her g.grandmother, Annie, who was b. in Kettering in 1901.

I've checked Annie's details and gone back a couple of generations (on the FS Tree), but don't recognise any names, so have no idea what to do next.

Do I need to ask the Californian for details of her n-th x grandparents (and I have no idea which generation(s) mean "n" in this context) to see if I can spot any familiar names/places?  Or what, please.

Am completely lost.  Not got to grips with this DNA thingy at all - as you can probably tell. 

Any help, much appreciated.
Thanks
STG

[Gadget]

What shared DNA does it give for you both?

Gadget

[SmallTownGirl]

What shared DNA does it give for you both?

Gadget

3rd - 5th cousin?
DNA Match quality?
0.6% (39.9‎ cM)Shared DNA
2Shared segments
Largest segments 33.8‎ cM

She says she has few DNA matches and maybe I'm "too far down". 

Thanks

[Gadget]

I use this facility to see the possiblilities of my matches.

https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4

I put yours in here https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4/39.9

It shows a range of possible relationships that you need to explore - it looks as if you will need to help her do her tree so that you can work out your relationship.

Have you looked at the other matches that you share with her?  They might give clues.

[SmallTownGirl]

Am doing my very best to understand this, but it does make my brain hurt.

So, our "match(s)" could be one or more of any of the relationships in the highlighted boxes?

I've looked through the names of all the other matches on her profile and there's not a single surname that rings a bell.   Oh dear 

[Gadget]

It's not easy at that level. I've managed it with a few but it does take time and lots of paper trailing. Is there anyone among your shared matches who is closer to you in cMs?  If so, work on that person's line.

Also, you could get her to do some work on her tree. If she's keen to find a relationship, then she should do the  searching too.

[SmallTownGirl]

Thanks for all your help. 

STG

[sugarfizzle]

She is not definitely your 3rd to 5th cousin, as Gadget says.  This is purely an estimate, but even if it were correct, that could still indicate that you share 2G to 4G grandparents, or even more distant.

If you have a well documented tree going back as far as your 4G grandparents, all 64 of them, (possibly as far back as 5G, 128) you will have done a lot better than most people (taking into account missing fathers, missing mother's names, lack of records etc).

If she has done the same as well you have a chance of finding the link between yourselves, assuming that there is a link.

Seeing as neither of you appear to have a public tree to compare, your chances are very much reduced.

You say she has one suggestion, her great grandmother from Kettering, presumably (?) the only known ancestor of hers from UK. If she has someone else from UK that she doesn't know about for reasons given in 2nd paragraph above, you could be looking at the wrong person completely.

But if it is the link, her great grandmother has several ancestors as well, you could have to go back potentially 3 to 4 generations before you find a connection.

Apart from using shared matches, personally I wouldn't follow this up, until anything further comes up. It's always nice to be contacted though, I seem to do most of the contacting.

Regards Margaret

[SmallTownGirl]

Thanks Margaret.

As I was saying else-thread, I actually have four separate trees - one for each grandparent - and, inevitably, some are more completely researched than others. 

I don't know why she chose Annie from Kettering, but I've looked at Annie on the FS Tree and gone back a few generations, but still can't see any surnames I recognise, so am thinking it's probably a lost cause.

Because I don't have an account with MyHeritage, I can't contact any of my other matches and just have to wait to see if they contact me.  Hey ho