How do I use DNA to help my research

[queenbee]

Doing a separate thread, but relevant to my Gretna Green thread!

The brick wall is holding firm and some super helpful people have suggested using DNA. Husband has already Ancestry DNA test and the tree is also on ancestry.

but I've never used it to help with research, and to be honest I don't really know what I'm looking at.

My brick wall is a direct decendant option of 2 fathers in 1855. But I know very little about either man (see gretna green thread for the saga). So, in super simple English- what am I looking for on ancestry DNA that might help me? I just can't get my head around it!

[Anne in Carlisle]

Start by looking at each of the biggest matches. You can mark them in whatever way you want using the coloured spots provided in the 'Groups'. You might be able to assign a match to some of the biggest ones and gradually 'tick them off' in that way. You might find that Ancestry has suggested 'Common Ancestors' for some of the matches. These are often BUT not always right. Check them out and you might be able to eliminate some more.

Now, you might hopefully have a group of matches which also match each other and your OH but are difficult to pin down. These could be the ones you are looking for. It is a long and painstaking job and requires building many sample trees.

Another thing you could do is search for the surname in matches' trees. Use the search box at the top of the DNA list and search for each variation of the name separately. Another long job!

Do come back to us to ask more questions!
Anne

[PhotoFamily]

So, is the line of the descent something like

GGGrandfather (not sure if AorB) /GGrandfather(known) /Grandfather(known) /father(known) /You (female)?

Or is it a mixed gender line?

If strictly male descent - do you have a male sibling who would test?
If so...Y-DNA testing might be worth while.

Going back to AncestryDNA results:
Do you have known close first or second cousins who have tested or are willing to test? They can help group your matches as Anne in Carlisle has suggested.

[queenbee]

It's my husbands family and going through his mum so is mixed.

And a first cousin has tested and he and OH are linked on ancestry dna. Well, it knows they are cousins. Not sure if I need to verify or confirm anything.

[kylejustin]

If you have, say, a lot of DNA matches and they match each other, and you are looking to see if the father is smith vs turner....and the majority of matches have turner in their tree, then you know which partner fathered the child....

the idea is to put matches into family groups, all the people descended from a family or more properly, a couple. Once you have done this, and you know which group you are trying to tackle, it can be easier to work with. Messaging some people might reveal more info, such as family myth or evidence.

the problem will lie in not enough of a descendant group having tested at this stage. Some trees look anorexic because there aren't many descendants, or ones interested in genealogy.....but that can change.

[Anne in Carlisle]

It's my husbands family and going through his mum so is mixed.

And a first cousin has tested and he and OH are linked on ancestry dna. Well, it knows they are cousins. Not sure if I need to verify or confirm anything.

You don't NEED to confirm or verify anything if you don't want to. However, as we have suggested, it will help you sort out the families if you mark them according to which bit of the family they come from.
For example, on the DNA tests that I manage I have assigned a coloured dot to each of the 16 gg grandparents. When I work out where a match fits I mark it with a dot according to the area of the family they match. Of course, they don't necessarily have the same surname as the gg grandparent and they may be from generations before them! This helps to keep me focused.

I'm not sure if you have said which ancestor is the mystery father? Which grandparent, 2 x great? 3 x great? The further back the mystery is the smaller the DNA matches although you can get matches from as many as 5 x great grandparents and more.

Anne

[PhotoFamily]

Does his mother have a brother, or a brother's son who would test?

The advantage of Y-DNA testing is that it might give you a surname match. No advantage if the the two potential fathers have the same surname (e.g., are brothers).

AncestryDNA stopped doing Y-DNA testing years ago, so you'd need them to test elsewhere (familytreeDNA is usually the suggested site).

Going back to AncestryDNA results - are there known descendants of the two potential men? Ancestry allows you to search matches' trees by surname - are any trees showing up with those men in them?

[kylejustin]

Going back to AncestryDNA results - are there known descendants of the two potential men? Ancestry allows you to search matches' trees by surname - are any trees showing up with those men in them?

Her case is the gretna green thread. the husband at marriage is not the father listed on the birth cert, no evidence for either asides from the two records.

[PhotoFamily]

Since I had Ancestry up, I played with the parent matching. It didn't tell me anything useful that I didn't already know, but it may be useful to you. It's on the DNA profile page (where all matches are listed), notable because it is labeled as "beta". That would help sort the matches into parent1 or parent2 groups.

kylejustin all the more reason to do Y-DNA testing, IMO. If you can establish a direct male lineage back to the unknown male parent.