DNA to solve brickwalls?

[Sikes]

As I spend a lot of time stuck on my wifes brickwall (https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=873740.0) and mine (https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=873730.0).  I wondered if DNA could provide answers? Though my knowledge of this area is very basic. Is it correct to say, say via Ancestry DNA, that if my wife has a connection with the same surname (Mortimer in this case). With no connection in their current trees or obvious connections, it might worth tracing their tree down to maybe demolish my wifes brickwall?

We both have family stories (hers Roger Mortimer and mine Dafydd ap Mathew) that I would like to prove or disprove.

[ALAMO2008]

I avoided a DNA test for years don't know why.
My Great Grandfather came from Dublin his Marriage Certificate in Liverpool showed his Father was a Corkcutter named Anthony Chapman
I wondered if my Great Grandfather followed over an Older Brother who came over First
I found a Corkcutter in Liverpool named Anthony Chapman 3 years older
I decided to research him as the possibility that he was the older Brother
He married in Liverpool and named his Father as Anthony a Corkcutter which added to my Theory but couldn't prove it and none of my Relatives would accept my Theory.
The Brother first moved to Manchester and became a Mormon and then Emigrated to Salt Lake City and his Family Tree all grew up there and started an Ancestry Tree.
One year I finally took my DNA test
And Wow !!!
It matched my DNA to those Descendants of the Brother in Salt Lake City which proved we all shared the Anthony Chapman Corkcutter in Dublin and proved my Theory that they were Brothers
It certainly broke down my Brickwall!
I now recommend people use DNA to help them in their Research.

[Biggles50]

I suggest that you read my contributions to this thread.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863488.0

[Kaybron]

I took a DNA test to help find my grandmother's parents.  I asked a cousin to do a test so I could work out maternal and paternal matches to me.  This was helpful as it allowed me to do this and to also look at shared matches with my cousin.  My highest matches are with surnames of Spong (149 Cm) and Barlow (63 Cm).  I have managed to work out how these two surnames match and who the common ancestor is by building a tree.  I know my grandmother is related to these 2 matches but it has not brought me any closer to working out who her parents are.

There are a number of people who do a DNA test and are not really interested in ancestors.  They do not have trees and they do not reply to messages.  You really do have to be lucky sometimes and just wait until a good DNA match comes up.

My husband did discover a half-brother through DNA.  His half-brother had been searching for over 40 years and DNA was his last resort.  There have also been a couple of other discoveries but these need another person to submit a DNA sample and it is a bit daunting to ask them to do this.

Regards Kaybron 

[Sikes]

I suggest that you read my contributions to this thread.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863488.0

Thats very useful, thank you.

[TonyV]

Good question. Firstly you are correct to consider using Ancestry if you do go down the DNA route. That's because it has by far the largest DNA database of all the DNA companies. After testing you can widen your net by uploading your Ancestry test results to a few other sites. Ancestry, however, will not let you upload test results if you test with another company, so if you don't start with Ancestry you cannot access their database.

Testing should come with a warning however. You can get results that you don't expect and which can be very upsetting (I have personal experience). Nevertheless I have widened my family tree enormously as a result of testing, with cousins from families I had never heard of before.

[Biggles50]

In straightforward terms:-

If you have not taken a DNA test and used it to validate each Parental and Grandparental lines then your tree is a Genealogical Family Tree, that is it is “paper” based.

Your Family Tree is not a Biological Family Tree.

All it takes is for a single Birth Certificate to be fabricated and the whole line is not necessarily ones bloodline.

Siblings need to take a DNA test as does at least one Cousin from each side of your family.

Hopefully Second Cousins will show as matches but if not then those that are found on paper should also be approached to take a DNA test.

This can be a difficult task, it took three years of persuasion before my Cousins agreed to take a DNA test.

Multiple tests all help in narrowing down actual Biological relationships.

[Zaphod99]

I'll echo Biggles. And also add anyone interested in family history but doesn't have their DNA tested probably inherited the Silly Gene. Family history without DNA is like watching a film without sound.  It's lead me to discoveries that I would never have made otherwise, making a mockery of my research otherwise. But it isn't easy. You need many skills.

Zaphod

[SouthseaSteel]

Theres not a lot more to add to previous comments.  If you want to solve brickwalls, then take a DNA test, an Ancestry one, followed by subsequent uploads to other platforms if necessary.  it is a very simple decision to make as long as you appreciate what you may find out when the bottle is opened.  I manage many DNA accounts including my own and I just love the divinely logical puzzles that you get to solve featuring all sorts of utterly unexpected weird and wonderful facets.  Good luck!!