trying to find birth father

[jille68]

Hi,
So a few months ago I discovered the person I thought was my birth father isn't.  I only discovered this when a half sibling, who I didn't know existed, contacted me on Ancestry.  We also have another half sibling showing up, but they are not answering any contact from us.
It turns out we are in someway connected to one particular family, we're not sure if it's paternal or if it's the half siblings mum who belongs to the family.
Has anyone got any advice as to what we can do to trace this line?
Thanks x

[Gadget]

Hi 

This topic might be of help.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=864209.0


Gadget

[Biggles50]

Some questions

1 The sibling that contacted you, did they have roughly an 1800cM match to you?

2 Are they unsure of their actual parentage?

3 What is the half sibling’s cM match with the other half sibling?

4 What is your cM match with the other half sibling?

5 Do they have any other full or half siblings or first cousins who have been or will take a DNA test?

6 Does any of the Shared Matches between you and your half sibling give any clues?

[jille68]

Some questions

1 The sibling that contacted you, did they have roughly an 1800cM match to you?

2 Are they unsure of their actual parentage?

3 What is the half sibling’s cM match with the other half sibling?

4 What is your cM match with the other half sibling?

5 Do they have any other full or half siblings or first cousins who have been or will take a DNA test?

6 Does any of the Shared Matches between you and your half sibling give any clues?

the sibling that contacted me has 1909cM shared with me and just over 1700 cM with the other half sibling.  I share 1435 with the other potential half sibling.
The sibling I'm in contact with grew up with rumours that the person who is down as his birth father isn't his birth father and is just awaiting full confirmation of this, but it's 99% certain the named father isn't the correct one.
Both my brother and the half sibling's brother have done tests and we are awaiting confirmation of the results, but neither I or my half sibling match any person from the parental line that we grew up with. 
We are in touch with a few distant cousins who are trying to help us, however they don't have much information.  Others who we have contacted don't know anything at all the potential half sibling we're searching for.

[Gadget]

Are you sure that you are half siblings - maybe the same age group,etc.- as niece/nephew have roughly the same cM range (1201- 2282) as half sibs.

Add - age range could be broad though.

[jille68]

Are you sure that you are half siblings - maybe the same age group,etc., as niece/nephew have the roughly the same cM range (1201- 2282) as half sibs.

Add - age range could be broad though.

The sibling I'm in touch with is 9 years older than me and older than my brothers I grew up with, so I would say he is more likely to be a half sibling than a nephew. 
The other potential sibling, well I don't know his age, but he matches with the other half sibling (who has no matches to my family other than myself on DNA matches) and he also pops up on some of the other cousins I'm in touch with as their cousin.

[Biggles50]

I suggest that you keep options open in your thoughts about relationships.

My Father had an Uncle who was less than 3 years older than him.

The Cousins in my generation have over a 17 year span in their births

My Wife’s Great Grandfather actually Fathered children over a 42 year period.

Being specific.

It may well yield good results if each of you download your raw DMA Data and then after registering (its free) with Gedmatch you can upload the file and then look at comparing the DNA detail between each of you.  Once you get used to the free tools a months subs will enable use of the wider range of tools.

I have used similar tools that are on My Heritage to see the segments that I share with two mystery Cousins that I have.

Good luck in your quest and please do keep this thread updated.

[Maiden Stone]

I suggest that you keep options open in your thoughts about relationships.

My Father had an Uncle who was less than 3 years older than him.

The Cousins in my generation have over a 17 year span in their births

My Wife’s Great Grandfather actually Fathered children over a 42 year period.

I have nieces & nephews 9 years younger than me.
My eldest brother is 6 years younger than our youngest uncle.
2 of my classmates were uncle and niece, the niece a year older than her uncle.
37 years between my eldest and youngest cousins. 40 years between eldest and youngest cousins in previous generation. 

[Bates51]

Look at the shared matches between you and the half sibling who you are in contact with. They will highly likely belong to your biological father’s family. Look for a common ancestor amongst them. I found who the father of my grandmother was by doing this, and then discovered, totally unexpectedly,  that she had an affair which resulted in my father and one of his sisters! No wonder none of my paternal 2nd cousins were not showing up as matches!  I found that a new half 1st cousin was wonderful and shared photos and stories. If people are on sites such as Ancestry, you would hope they will help you.