Advice requested

[Simon Mead]

Hi all,

1.   I have an unknown male who fathered a son born in 1908.
2.   Said son fathered 2 daughters by different mothers.
3.   I have Ancestry DNA results for both.

In this situation is there any possibility that one could get close to identifying the unknown male?
How would one set about it?

[Ruskie]

Maybe you could look at other matches that you and the two daughters have in common. 

Contact them to see if the mother of the son b 1908 and any males in their trees may have come from the same area or may have had the chance to cross paths nine months previously.

I think when looking for mystery fathers/grandfathers you might also need to consider other male relatives of any possible father eg brothers.

Upload your raw data to other DNA test companies such as My Heritage to widen the net of to catch any matches.

[JohnDoe2020]

The challenge is to differentiate the dna from the mothers. I would upload the dna files to either FTDNA or My Heritage where you can compare the two sisters using a chromosome browser. My heritage has the advantage of a clustering tool also. The upload is free and you can view matches but to use the tool you will need to pay a one time fee of 39 dollars. You only need to pay for one sister. Then compare their dna using the browser. Where they match should point to the father. To use the cluster tool for both you would have to pay the fee for both accounts. Run the tool for each sister and look for the common clusters of members. You may also find additional matches on either site that will help.

[Ruskie]

The challenge is to differentiate the dna from the mothers. I would upload the dna files to either FTDNA or My Heritage where you can compare the two sisters using a chromosome browser. My heritage has the advantage of a clustering tool also. The upload is free and you can view matches but to use the tool you will need to pay a one time fee of 39 dollars. You only need to pay for one sister. Then compare their dna using the browser. Where they match should point to the father. To use the cluster tool for both you would have to pay the fee for both accounts. Run the tool for each sister and look for the common clusters of members. You may also find additional matches on either site that will help.

Can you elaborate please? What kind of match would the sisters have which would point to the father?
What specifically should Simon look for?

[Simon Mead]

Where does GEDMatch fit in? Does it compare to FTDNA and My Heritage?
As Ruskie says it's discovering what the data means, knowing how to interpret. And it all depends on the 'unknown' person or his descendants having had a DNA test to compare with.
It's a wonderful tool but I find it all so complex. 

[Ruskie]

Yes, I find it complex too Simon. 

I have uploaded to Gedmatch but rarely use it (too complex). It is definitely worth trying though. As well as other things, I believe it can shows matches with people who have tested with any of the DNA companies and who have uploaded their data to Gedmatch.

Some people have a lot of success with it so it probably requires some persistence to fathom. 

[JohnDoe2020]

Good afternoon. Start with shared matches for the two girls. Create groups and identify the matches within each group. If the two girls share a father, then look at the shared matches for the two of them. As you describe the situation, these two should be half sisters and match somewhere around 1600 cm. The matches in this group will be related to the father and his ancestors.

Using a chromosome browser comparing the two girls, you will see 23 chromosomes graphically illustrated by a grey line form. The matches between the two will be shown as a colored line directly on top of the gray line. This illustrates matching segments of each chromosome that the girls share. This represents the fathers dna that they will share. Then when looking at other matches using a browser together with the two girls you are looking for like segments. This will be dependent of finding matches in those other systems, which you probably will. I found a half sister and a first cousin using both ftdna and my heritage.
You dont need a browser. You can do this with the grouping method I began with. It is fortunate you have both of the girls from the same father.

[Ruskie]

Simon, have you contacted the daughters to ask if either of them know the identity of their grandfather?

John, you suggest using comparison of chromosomes to show the fathers DNA that the girls share, but  how do you use that technique to identify a grandfather?

[Simon Mead]

Neither of them know anything about the grandfather.