Ancestry DNA expectations

[Glen in Tinsel Kni]

I've got serious doubts about both grandfathers and a hefty dose of Irish when everything says Lincolnshire, Sheffield and Walsall for 2 or 3 centuries. A surprise great grandfather only dna could uncover as the paper trail looks bullet proof. Two mystery maternal groups of almost 90 people and a healthy bit of target testing and still no nearer to an answer (maternal half sib tests would be a huge boost but hell will freeze over before that happens).

I'm slowly linking my matches to each other but not to me. It's probably fair to say I'm related to half of Sheffield based on current findings and the other half largely zipped off overseas; mostly USA or Canada based on matches.

[TreeDigger]

I think you are trying to say the tree didn't branch....

I'm.. not sure what you mean by that, but I happen to have the research results stuck in GenoPro (I find the visualization to be quite helpful when looking for relationships).

[TreeDigger]

I've got serious doubts about both grandfathers and a hefty dose of Irish [...]  Two mystery maternal groups of almost 90 people [...] I'm slowly linking my matches to each other but not to me.

Maybe you need to start from scratch again and just follow DNA instead of 'bullet proof' paper trails. I did the latter for approx. 20 years in search of my gr-grandfather's mother (and his birth certificate), and only after two seemingly unrelated DNA matches coupled with a vague family story did I find his mother was *not* the woman who married my 2x great-grandfather.

[Biggles50]

Forget paper trails, by themselves they are not worth the paper they are printed on.  I have Certificates that are basically a lie, the people on said certificates are not correct.

A paper trail may or may not show the correct lineage, only if a line is validated by DNA matches can the line be assumed to be correct but even then there can be doubt as one gets back to a paper trail.

Build trees about your DNA matches.

Printout a 6/7 generation pedigree family tree and for each DNA match that you have in said tree mark on the MRCA pair.   You then have a visual guide as to where the “blackholes” are in your tree related to there being no DNA matches.

Even if you find a DNA match with cM values in the 20’s and build a tree about them, it may or may not be correct.

Keep options open.

[chrissiecruiser]

Hi all, Chris here from South Australia.

I have been trying to find my hubby's father's parents as he was adopted.
After receiving his birth certificate, I now know the maternal family.
The Ancestry DNA has proven this line.

BUT, there are no paternal matches to follow up.  I am beginning to think that someone in the family visited mum.

10 years later, she had another boy child who was also adopted.

A sad state of "affairs".

I really had hoped that dna would prove this line.

Cheers,
Chris

[TreeDigger]

Your next step to possibly get some answers is to download the 'raw' DNA file from Ancestry and upload it to i.e. My Heritage and Family Tree DNA. It will cost a small fee to unlock certain features, but at MH you can use the chromosome browser, as well as finding possible matches on both sites.

Casting the widest net possible (possibly even by doing another test on more sites) is the best way to find missing relatives.

[Biggles50]

Hi all, Chris here from South Australia.

I have been trying to find my hubby's father's parents as he was adopted.
After receiving his birth certificate, I now know the maternal family.
The Ancestry DNA has proven this line.

BUT, there are no paternal matches to follow up.  I am beginning to think that someone in the family visited mum.

10 years later, she had another boy child who was also adopted.

A sad state of "affairs".

I really had hoped that dna would prove this line.

Cheers,
Chris

I agree with Tree Digger, upload your DNA to as many sites as you can.

Then if no likely DNA matches at an appropriate DNA level appear it can be a case of waiting until they do.

If someone in the family as you say visited Mum then that would reflect in the cM results.  It could even be as close as a First or Second Cousin opening Pandora’s Box.  I would suggest approaching these to see if they will take a DNA test, it took me three years of persuasion for one of my First Cousins took a test and of my known Second Cousins, none are interested or willing, such is family.