Adoption or Unknown Parentage Research Using Genealogy+DNA: Searching without Any Information Traditional Genealogy + DNA + Descendancy Research + Living People Search + a Whole Lot More
After 7 days of extensive research and DNA mapping on a new case, I was able to narrow my non-legally adopted client's biological father down to 2 brothers, and on day 8, I had found one child (out of many) of the 2 brothers willing to take a DNA test to confirm which of the 2 brothers it is. She excitedly agreed to test to see if she has a newly found brother or 1st cousin! There is a lead on his biological mother (narrowed down to one line) with a possible birth certificate number, but getting that certificate, when you can't show proof it's yours or how you're related, is a whole other story. This recent unknown parentage case, out of many, has brought me to share part of the methodology I use. These are just guidelines and some tips for adoptive research that combine DNA and traditional genealogy with my “Uncovered Roots Method” DNA Research; descendancy research; living people search; and a WHOLE lot more, but this is in no way the full process that I use. 😉 These tips can be used in adoptive research or anyone looking for an unknown biological parent or other relative. 😉 Sometimes you may find your parent or other relative with this method, and sometimes you may just get down to a particular family or family line. 😉 Steps to Adoption or Unknown Parentage Research if No Information:
Other Tips: Have you tried a "no name search" in the areas where you suspect you were born, with just your birthdate? Interactive Questions: Are you adopted or did you grow up with just one known parent and are looking for a biological parent? Have you reached a genealogy brick wall for a particular ancestor or relative? Have you tried these tips to find a parent, ancestor, or any other relative? I’d love to hear your comments below in the comment section! More Genealogy Resources: Learn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page! More Genealogy Research Tips: Get more family history and genealogy research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category and on my dedicated Genealogy Research Tips page! More DNA + Genealogy Tips: Get more DNA + genealogy research tips under the DNA Simplified category! More Genealogy Brick Wall Tips: Get more genealogy Brick Wall research tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category! Genealogy + DNA Coaching: Are you adopted or have an unknown parent and need help figuring out your DNA match’s or where to start, but want to research on your own? I offer private, one-on-one family history and genealogy coaching services! Genealogy + DNA Research Services: Are you adopted or have an unknown parent and need to hire a genealogist to find a biological parent or birth family? I offer my “Uncovered Roots Method” DNA Research Service for just that! This post is a participant in The Genealogy Blog Party: November! The Best of the Genea-Blogs
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Ancestry’s New SideView Ethnicity Inheritance DNA Feature!Ancestry just came out with a new DNA feature that splits your ethnicity inheritance by each parent, upping the genealogy game! They also just updated ethnicity results. New DNA Ethnicity Inheritance Feature: They use their new SideView technology with your DNA matches, by assuming your matches are from one specific parent, which is not always the case. 😉 This new technology organizes the DNA you share with them. They can’t tell which parent is parent 1 or 2, but you can most likely figure that part out yourself. 😉 I checked it our right away today! I’m not so sure how accurate it is though. I also compared it against my mom’s and my uncle’s (my father’s brother). Keep in mind that we get half of our DNA from or mother and half from our father, and we don’t necessarily get half of all their ethnicities, which could explain the discrepancies in mine. For my uncle though, that fact doesn’t seem to explain why he has no Germanic Europe for our main paternal family line. It shows it on his maternal side. It should be from both sides. I don’t know how far back they are going, but I guess I must also keep in mind that it is believed that our main family line most likely originally came from Switzerland in the 1400’s. 😊 For my mom, I know that for at least the last couple of hundred years or so she had no one from Scotland on her father’s side, only her mother’s. She did have Irish from one line on that side though, and I must also keep in mind that if they go further back, they could have originally come from Scotland, or it is just because they are so close. I am not a DNA or ethnicity specialist, other than using it to find your unknown relatives or biological family, but I did major in biochemistry. 😉 DNA Ethnicity Update: They also updated the ethnicities once again. My ethnic regions stayed pretty much the same, minus the Germanic Europe being taken off and the percentages changed a bit. 😉 They added 2 new regions for my mom, Germanic Europe and Norway. They also changed around her percentages quite a bit. They cut her Irish in half, but it reflects in her Scottish and England & North Western percentages, which makes sense. They added 2 new regions for my uncle, Portugal and another indigenous area, in which both make sense. His percentages only changed ever so slightly. If you’ve done your DNA with Ancestry, then go on Ancestry and check it out! Interactive Questions: What do you think of this of this awesome new DNA feature from Ancestry? Does yours seem pretty accurate? Let me know what you think about it after you’ve checked it out, in the comments below! More Genealogy Resources: Learn about more resources you can use in your genealogy research and to preserve your family history under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page! More DNA Posts: Interested in genetic genealogy? Find more DNA posts under my DNA Simplified category! Other Ancestry resources, features and tools that may be of interest: Continued from Part 6 Continue with me in part 7, my final part, of my genetic genealogy journey of a temporary brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match that had just showed up, when I already know all the descendants in that line! I left off last, in Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 6, with it being narrowed down even further. I had ended up with my match having a higher possibility of being my grandfather’s great grandchild or my great uncle’s great grandchild. Let’s check my uncle’s cMs matched to the mystery match for another perspective. If I use the same method I used on my own cMs to narrow down the possible relations that I used in Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5 and Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 6, by eliminating what is not practical against my Uncle’s centimorgans matched to him, the possibilities are: 1c2r, 1c1r, ½ great- nephew. The histogram findings in the DNA Painter Shared cM Tool are: 1c2r (highest on histograms) ...his uncle’s (aka my great uncle) great grandchild??? Even though this wasn’t necessary, this narrowed it down even more for me! It always helps by getting rid of another generation to deal with. 😉 I now have one possible relationship to work with! In summary, I am now confident that my match is my 2c1r and my uncle’s 1c2r (my great uncle’s/my uncle’s uncle’s great-great grandchild). There are also no other unknown/mystery matches matched to my mystery match as of yet. Even though we would have the same shared matches of course, it is easier to see them from his shared matches with me, as opposed to my thousands of shared matches to that line, since he is only half related to that line. Oh my gosh, I finally got a working number for my matches mom, near the end of this second day on this! I’m going to call now and get back to you all! I called my match’s mom and spoke to her for a while. I made sure to ask pertinent questions to see which of my match’s 4 grandparents could be my great uncle’s child. I asked if she had tested, and she said she had. Since his mom said she had tested, and I know I am not a match to her, her 2 lines/my match’s 2 maternal grandparents are out. That now leaves me with 2 possible children for my great uncle, one of either of my match’s paternal grandparents. I asked if her husband looked more like his father or his mother, and she stated that he looked just like his father; my matches father does not really resemble my great uncle or our family. I was hoping to get a photo of her husband’s parents (my match’s paternal grandparents and one being the probable child of my great uncle), but she said she didn’t have access to any pictures right now, as she had just moved. Hmmmmmmmm, my match’s paternal grandmother’s mother was in Sedgwick County, KS at the time her daughter (my match’s paternal grandmother) was born in 1930. My great uncle was also in Sedgwick County, KS at that time. My match’s paternal grandmother’s mother was also married only a little less than 5 months before the birth of her daughter (my match’s paternal grandmother). My match’s paternal grandfather’s mother was in Cloud County, KS, just four counties over, at the time her son (my match’s paternal grandfather) was born. She had just married her husband within the year of her son’s birth; although, I have not gotten their marriage record yet. It’s very interesting that her son, my match’s paternal grandfather, is named Donald, the same name as my great uncle. I also finally got a working number for my match’s uncle, and I called. I was hoping for a photo of his parents, but he had asked how he was supposed to do that, more in a not willing sort of way. He seemed a little upset with the information presented to him, but I got the feeling that he wasn’t necessarily surprised. He then said he wanted to end the conversation and was not interested in it anymore. I am hoping that one day I can get a photo of my match’s paternal grandparents, along with his paternal grandfather’s mother’s marriage record, not that a child can’t come about while married to someone else. 😉 I am also hoping that my match will be willing to speak to me about his matches, and let me view them, as I would be able to confirm it by HIS shared matches. His mother said she would give him my number, not to mention I left him a message on Ancestry (that has been viewed) and Facebook, with no response. ☹ Well, here it is, after discovering my match 2 days ago: In summary, I find it very interesting that my match’s paternal grandfather was named Donald, the same name as that of my great uncle, but I strongly believe his paternal grandmother is my great uncle’s child. She was born in the exact area where my great uncle was at the time, and her mother didn’t marry until she was almost 5 months pregnant with her. I will not know for certain until I can compare pictures, and until my match is willing to respond to me and hopefully lets me view his matches. 😊 To follow this story from the beginning, you can find the links below: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 1 Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 2 Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 3 Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 4 Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5 Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 6 Find more research tips under the category Genealogy Research Tips, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA tips under the DNA Simplified category. I'd love to read your comments! My older site theme does not support the "Leave a Reply" field labels; if you'd like to leave a comment on a blog, the fields are: Name, Email, Site (if you'd like), and Comment, the standard fields 😉 ←Back to Genealogy Research Tips Page This post is a participant in the Genealogy Blog Party! Other related genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 6Continued from Part 5 My genetic genealogy journey of a temporary genealogy brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match relative that had just showed up, when I already know all the descendants in that line, continues with Part 6. While still trying to get working numbers for my match and his mom, I left off last in Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5 by narrowing down my possible match relationships in DNA Painter, using deductive reasoning. I used the DNA Painter Shared cM Tool and their relationship histogram charts. Compare Relationships against Dates and Places, Again: Now it’s time to narrow down my deductions even more, by comparing the possible relationships left against dates and places!
I am going to eliminate his sisters, as it would have been obvious if they were pregnant. By building my own quick tree for my match's lines, where I only had his father and "Private" mother to go off of, which I talked about in Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 3 and Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 4, I had found the following:
This info is based off no one being adopted, etc. No matter what, he (my mystery match) is descended from my grandfather or his sibling, most likely his brother… More Centimorgan Relationship Elimination: Now I just need to work with the last possible centimorgan relationships that I had narrowed it down to, with my new findings. In Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5, I had narrowed it down to 2c, ½ 1c1r, 2c1r (and a possible 1c2r from the histograms in the DNA Painter Shared cM Tool).
So, in short, I am now left with my match having a higher possibly of being my grandfather’s great grandchild, or my great uncle’s great grandchild. Stay tuned for more in Part 7 where I wrap things up, and see how my mystery match is related! 😊 Interactive Questions: Are you making sure to compare your DNA match relationships against dates and places to help break down brick walls? Are you weeding out as many of those centimorgan relationships that you can? Let me know in the comments below! Update, December 25, 2021: Part 7, the final part in this solving a DNA mystery match series, is now here!: Genealogy Brick wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 7 Follow This Story from the Beginning: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 1 More DNA and Genealogy Research Tips and Resources: Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA/genetic genealogy tips under the DNA Simplified category. You can also find some DNA research resources, to help you in your research, on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. Other related genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5Continued from Part 4 Continue with me on my genetic genealogy journey of a temporary brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match that had just showed up when I already know all the descendants in that line, from Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 4! I left off last by working a bit on his parents’ lines just to gather the info I needed to see which of the lines was the connection, while waiting on working numbers, then comparing yearbook photos of his parents and their siblings to my grandfather and his siblings, to no avail. I had worked a total of two hours on my case already and decided to stop and continue the next day. Good morning! Okay, time to get going on this and try to finish up. I’m going to need a pumpkin chai latte for this! Regular tea just won’t cut it this morning; I need something special to help me focus better and get this figured out! 😉 More Centimorgan Relationship Elimination: Back to the Centimorgan relationships: I’ve got to make sure I take out every possible matched centimorgan relationship in DNA Painter that is not directly descended from my grandfather or one of his siblings because my match has matches to my grandfather’s paternal and maternal lines; therefore, he has to be descended from my grandfather or one of his siblings. Anything above my grandfather’s generation is now out, otherwise my DNA match would only be matched with my grandfather’s paternal line matches, or my grandfather’s maternal line matches, not both. All the possible match relationships of my match being descended from a possible half sibling to my grandfather are also out, for same reason as above. After discovering my match’s and parents’ ages, anything above my generation is also out. I now just need to focus on my match being in my generation and one generation below, with a smaller possibility of being 2 generations below. I am now left with: ½ 1c, ½ 1c1r, ½ 1 c2r, 1c1r, 1c2r, 2c, 2c1r, and 2c2r (½ g niece/nephew not possible). If I also go with the higher probable percentages, then I only have 2c, ½ 1c1r, 1c2r, 2c1r, ½ 1c2r left to work with. If I focus on my generation and the generation below only (going off my match’s and his parents' ages), then I’m left only with 2c, ½ 1c1r, 2c1r. This narrows it down significantly. If I check those relationships with the histograms in the DNA Painter Shared cM Tool, there is more of a chance of my match being my 2c, ½ 1c1r (and 1c2r if I go as far as another generation below), but this is just a guide only. Now I need to work with these findings, along with dates and places of my grandfather and his siblings, compared against the same information needed from my match’s lines. Wow, who knew what a special pumpkin chai latte could accomplish! 😉 Stay tuned for more in Part 6 where I get down to the nitty gritty, and see what I deduce by these comparisons! 😊 Interactive Questions: Have you used DNA Painter Shared cM Tool in your DNA research to help break down brick walls? Let me know in the comments below! Update, December 12, 2021: Part 6 is now here!: Genealogy Brick wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 6 Follow This Story from the Beginning: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 1 More DNA and Genealogy Research Tips and Resources: Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA/genetic genealogy tips under the DNA Simplified category. You can also find some DNA research resources, to help you in your research, on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. Below you'll find some other genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 4Continued from Part 3 This is the continuing story, continued from Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 3, of my temporary genealogy brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match that had just showed up. I call it a temporary brick wall because I have not really exhausted all of my resources, but I had found all the known descendants for those lines (not to mention that I know of that generation’s descendants very well), and he is not one of them. So, a recap of my last steps:
Compare Geographical Areas: Hmmmmmmm, I worked back on his father’s (the only name in his tree) and mother’s (found in public record databases as an associate to his father) lines just to gather only the info needed to solve this, and I am still confused. Usually from this point, I just need to compare the areas of where the match’s lines were from, with my line. His father’s line was in Wichita, Kansas, just as my Steinmans were for a while, and Long Beach, California, just as my Steinmans were for a while! That’s great; I found the connection! Wait, what??!! Not! His mother’s line was in San Antonio/South Gate, Norwalk, Long Beach, and Downey, California, just as my Steinman line! Ugh, back to square one! I need more tea! Wake up! Wake up! Compare Photos: Time to quickly look up some public yearbook pics of some of his family members I had found by fanning out, and try to see if there are any resemblances, to narrow it down to either his mother’s or his father’s side. My grandfather and his siblings below... My match's father and his siblings below...Hmmmmmm, I don't see much of a resemblance. My match's mother and some of her siblings below...Hmmmmmm, I see no resemblance. I have worked a total of 2 hours on this mystery thus far: it’s time to stop because it’s late, my tea is no longer helping, and I need a fresh mind! Stay tuned for more in Part 5 where I’ll narrow down the relationships according to the centimorgans even more by using more deductive reasoning! 😊 Interactive Questions: Have you compared photos in your research to help break down brick walls? Have you sought out photos for your matches in yearbooks, public records or social media? Let me know in the comments below! Update, November 28, 2021: Part 5 is now here!: Genealogy Brick wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 5 Follow This Story from the Beginning: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match- Part 1 More DNA and Genealogy Research Tips and Resources: Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA/genetic genealogy tips under the DNA Simplified category. You can also find some DNA research resources, to help you in your research, on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. Below you'll find some other genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 3Continued from Part 2 Continue with me in my story, from Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 2, of my temporary genealogy brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match that had just showed up. I call it a temporary brick wall because I have not really exhausted all of my resources, but I had found all the known descendants for those lines (not to mention that I know of that generation’s descendants very well), and he is not one of them. So, a recap of my last steps:
Fan Out: None of the numbers in any of the public record databases, for my match, were working numbers. Time to fan out! 😊 By searching through public records and seeing other associates and relatives, and their ages, I found that my match’s father’s first wife was not his mother. There was no other record showing that his father and mother were married/ a couple, except being associated in public records, and her Facebook (which I trolled 😉).
I was able to search out his mother’s maiden name in public records. I then added her as his mother to my tree I had built for them, and then added a couple of children to her and his father (one male, one female), once again with no first names or any other info added for the children. I was able to find just one child born to them, a daughter. I then had thought for a moment that maybe she was his stepmother, and that’s why she was associated with him on all his records. Through more Google digging, I had realized that the child I had found born to them was the same person; he had changed gender. I had found a college bio online for their daughter, and in looking at the photo had realized it was my match, who had just recently changed his name and gender. I then added his name in quotations to the daughter I had originally found for them. Any other records I would now look up, would be searched with both names. So far, all his mother’s numbers were non-working as well. In the meantime, while I was trying to get a working number, I decided to work on his mother’s and father’s lines on my tree I made for them, to see what DNA relationships would fit, based off ages and places. Stay tuned for more in Part 4 to see what I had discovered! 😊 Interactive Questions: Have you fanned out in your research to help break down brick walls? Have you sought out your matches in public records or social media? Let me know in the comments below! Update, Novemeber 14, 2021: Part 4 is now here!: Genealogy Brick wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 4 Follow This Story from the Beginning: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match- Part 1 More DNA and Genealogy Research Tips and Resources: Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA/genetic genealogy tips under the DNA Simplified category. You can also find some DNA research resources, to help you in your research, on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. Below you'll find some other genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 2 This is the continuing story, continued from Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 1, of my temporary genealogy brick wall for yet another new DNA mystery match that had just showed up. I call it a temporary brick wall because I have not really exhausted all of my resources, but I had found all the known descendants for those lines (not to mention that I know of that generation’s descendants very well), and he is unknown of. Messaging through Ancestry: Next, I messaged him on Ancestry, which I RARELY do. Most people rarely message back from Ancestry, don’t notice it for a long time (or never notice it), rarely are on it, or just take too long getting back. Some people who do their DNA, just do the DNA test, and that was their only purpose. Many check out their results when they get them, and don’t go on frequently after that. This is usually the case with unlinked trees that have just a few people, or they have no family tree at all. I also just like to get my info and solve my mysteries quickly, so I just don’t waste time with messaging, not to mention that I love solving puzzles and challenges! Public and Social Media Search: Then I Googled him, searched him out on Facebook, and looked him up in public online records to look up his phone number and age, and verify relatives. By Googling and checking him in public records, I was able to verify his age so that I would know the age range of the person I was seeking out on Facebook. I got lucky that his father, who had passed away in 2004, was still associated with him in some public records. It also helped me to see other relatives and associates of his to also find those people associated with him on Facebook (you can also do this for other social media), so that I would know I had the right person. Thank goodness there were only 3 people on Facebook that had his uncommon name, and only 2 looked to be about his age! I also got lucky in that 2 had profile pics! I “stalked” the 3 Facebook pages, and I found the one with some of the other names associated with him that were also associated with him in the public records. Stay tuned for more in Part 3! Interactive Questions: How has your experience been messaging your matches on Ancestry? Have you sought out your matches in public records or social media? Let me know in the comments below! Update, November 6, 2021: Part 3 is now here!: Genealogy Brick wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 3 More DNA and Genealogy Research Tips and Resources: Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA/genetic genealogy tips under the DNA Simplified category. You can also find some DNA research resources, to help you in your research, on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. Below you'll find some other genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Well, I just hit a new, temporary brick wall in my family tree. I just noticed a new DNA match in the 2nd to 3rd cousin category in Ancestry last night. This person is matched to my father’s line, and has to be matched through my paternal grandfather or one of his siblings; his shared matches were the first clue. Since he is matched to ALL the lines of my paternal grandfather, he has to be descended from that generation. This is not the first unknown of descendant/DNA mystery/family secret match from ANY my lines. I have found and solved many unknown of children/descendants/family secrets that no one knew about; I will try to blog about those stories when I have time. This one just happened, so it is still fresh in my mind. I know ALL of the descendants of those lines, and had published my descendant books on those lines about 6 years ago, and he was not one of them. Hmmmmmm, a new DNA mystery to solve! Challenge accepted! 😉 So, time to get an early start and wake up with my morning tea; I’ve got a new DNA mystery to solve, and my challenge awaits! 😉 His centimorgans shared with me are 201. This leaves him (only according to his centimorgans) most likely matched as a 1/2 gg-aunt / uncle; a 2c; a 1/2 1c1r; a 1c2r; a 1/2 gg-niece / nephew; a 1/2 2c; a 2c1r; a 1/2 1c2r; or a 1c3r, and a less probability (but still possible) as a 1/2 c3r †; a 1/2 2c1r †; a 3c; a 2c2r; a great-great-aunt / uncle; a 1/2 great-aunt / uncle; a 1/2 1c; a 1c1r; a 1/2 great-niece / nephew; or a great-great-niece / nephew (according to the DNA Painter Shared cM Project tool). Okay, time to get going on this! He had an unlinked tree with only 3 people in it: him as private, his father’s name and date and place of death, and his mother as private. The first thing I did was quickly build my own tree for them in Ancestry, as always. I found his father’s information right away. I found a marriage for his father, and added that spouse as a possible (who I thought at first) mother. I then added a few male and female children born to them with no first names or any other info, as I usually do, and searched for them. I found 2 children born to them, but neither had the name of my match. This was all in the first 10 minutes. Stay tuned for more in Part 2! Update, October 30, 2021: Part 2 is now here!: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part 2 Update, November 6, 2021: Part 3 is now here!: Genealogy Brick Wall: Another New DNA Mystery Match-Part3 Find more research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, and DNA tips under the DNA Simplified category. P.S... My older site theme does not support the "Leave a Reply" field labels; if you'd like to leave a comment on a blog, the fields are: Name, Email, Site (if you'd like), and Comment, the standard fields 😉 ←Back to Genealogy Research Tips Page Below you'll find some other genealogy brick wall research cases that may be of interest: Have you and a sibling taken a DNA test and were either shocked or confused about why you didn't have the same ancestral DNA results or ethnicity percentages, when you have the same parents? Did you think that you and your sibling should have the same exact ethnicity and percentages, well, because, you're siblings? Not exactly. Let's take a look at why this could happen in genetic genelogy! DNA Ancestry vs Cultural Ancestry: Don't siblings Have to Have the Same Ancestral DNA? No, you and your siblings do not necessarily have the same ancestry results in your DNA. DNA ancestry can be quite different than cultural ancestry. Think of it like a bunch of colored marbles in a jar, and that each color represents a particular ancestry. Ancestral DNA Mini Experiment: Pretend that you have a jar of colored marbles, and that you cover your eyes, reach in, and pull out a handful; then your sibling does the same. Do you think that you and your sibling will pull out the same combinations? The answer is most probably not. It is the same thing with your ancestral DNA. Random Mixture of DNA: Yes, you will each get 50% of your DNA from your mother, and 50% of your DNA from your father, but that DNA isn’t passed down in a single block; not every child gets the same 50% from their mother or the same 50% from their father, just like in the little jar of marbles experiment above. Each child will get a random mixture of that 50% DNA (a particular colored marble) from each parent. Full Ancestry vs Mixture of Ancestry: If your parents each have 100% of a particular ancestry (this is not the usual case nowadays), but each has a different ancestry than the other, you and your sibling should each get 50% of each. It’s when your parents have a mixture of ancestry (usually the case) that you and your siblings will have different ancestral DNA results from one another. Since most people are made up of many ethnicities, the mixture in the marble jar will be more varied, thus each handful pulled out has a higher chance of being different from the previous handful. Interactive Questions: Have you taken a DNA test and were either shocked or confused about why you and a sibling didn't have the same ethnicity results? How different is your ancestral DNA with your sibling? Do one of you have more of a particular ethnicity than an other? I'd love to find out how different you and your siblings' DNA ethnicity is! Let me know in the comments below! More DNA Tips and Resources: Find more genealogy DNA research tips under the under the DNA Simplified category of my blog and on my dedicated Genealogy Research Tips page! Haven't tested yet or looking into tools you can use in your DNA research? Find some DNA genealogy resources on my Genealogy Resources page! ←Back to Genealogy Research Tips Page Related DNA+Genealogy Content That May Be of Interest: |
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BlogI hope my family history and genealogy blog on genealogy research tips, resources, events, and more, along with my own genealogy journeys, will help you in your research and in building your family tree to learn more about your ancestors and family history to preserve for future generations to come! Come visit me at Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family if you're interested in starting your family history journey, booking me for your next speaking event, or family history and genealogy heirloom products!
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