Requester Family Research

Table of Contents

Goals

Background

DNA Testing Overview

Autosomal DNA

Y-DNA Test

mtDNA Test

X-DNA results

Ancestry Ethnicity Projections

Looking at Generational Differences

Average Shared Autosomal DNA and Relationships

DNA Matches

Ancestry.com Matches

Tester

Pedigree

Gedmatch.com Matches

Testers

Match

Trees that match DNA

Chromosome Browser

Family Tree DNA Matches

Tester

Other Research

Newspapers

Find A Grave

Final Thoughts and To Do List

Goals

The goal of this project is to determine the genetic rootsfor ***. The author is a helper in the search and not connected genetically. The author is a “search angel.

Background

<Document background information here.

DNA Testing Overview

“DNA doesn’t lie”. That is a common saying among folks who are familiar with using commonly available DNA testing for genealogy. There are 3 commercially available tests on the marketplace: autosomal DNA (cousin / family finder), Y-DNA (available only to men), mtDNA (available to both men and women to trace maternal lineage).

Autosomal DNA

This is commonly referred to as the cousin / family finder test. We each inherit 50% of our DNA from each of our parents who inherited 50% from each of their parents. In a perfect world, one would assume that we could inherit 25% from each of our grandparents, but that is not the way the genetics work. We don’t know how which pieces and parts that we will inherit from each parent which explains why we don’t look like a carbon copy of our siblings. *** has tested with Ancestry.com.

Y-DNA Test

Remember basic high school biology. Our gender is determined by the combination of what we get from our parents.

mtDNATest

Mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA is passed from our mother from her mother from her mother from her mother …. And so on and so on. Both men and women can take the mtDNA test but only men can take the Y-DNA test.

X-DNA results

While Ancestry.com does not openly provide your X DNA matches, if you pull your raw data from ancestry.com and upload it to gedmatch.com or familytreedna.com, you will see X Dna matches.

Ancestry Ethnicity Projections

insert screen shot here>

Looking at Generational Differences

Due to the way that we inherit DNA, this is only a very general guideline and should not be taken as the gospel.

It helps to understand a bit about the possible connections. Eventually, whoever I match up with will have a shared ancestor. I found this chart to be very helpful. Remember, that we don't know how much of each segment of DNA we get from our past ancestors so this is simply a guide. Recombining will cause differences in the amount of DNA shared between family members and the ethnicity estimates between siblings.

Cousin / Shared Grandparent / Possibilities
1st / Grandparent / 4
2nd / Great Grandparents / 8
3rd / Great Great Grandparents / 16
4th / Great GreatGreat Grandparents / 32
5th / Great GreatGreatGreat Grandparents / 64

Average Shared Autosomal DNA and Relationships

% shared / cM half-identical (or better) / Relationship
100% / 3400.00 / Identical twins (monozygotic twins)
50% / 3400.00 / Parent/child
50% / 2550.00 / Full siblings
25% / 1700.00 / Grandparent, grandchild, aunt-or-uncle/niece-or-nephew, half-siblings
25% / 1593.75 / Double first cousins
12.5% / 850.00 / Great-grandparent/great-grandchild, first cousins, great-uncle or aunt/great-nephew or niece, half-uncle or aunt/half-nephew or niece
6.25% / 425.00 / First cousins once removed, half first cousins, great-great-aunt/uncle, half great-aunt/uncle
6.25% / 425.00 / Double second cousins
3.125% / 212.50 / Second cousins, first cousins twice removed, half first cousin once removed, half great-great-aunt/uncle
1.563% / 106.25 / Second cousins once removed, half second cousins, first cousin three times removed, half first cousin twice removed
0.781% / 53.13 / Third cousins, second cousins twice removed

Source of table information: I added the commentary about the family that connects about that level.

DNA Matches

When researching DNA matches for genealogy it is critical to look for “clusters” or people who share common ancestors. Because researchers rarely have much information to work from, reviewing and verifying the family trees of their matches will likely result in finding those common ancestors.