Ancestry DNA

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  • eccomi_qui
    eccomi_qui Posts: 1,831 Member
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    taylormom79 wrote: »
    eccomi_qui wrote: »
    What kind of DNA do they need?

    Whatever you’ve got to spare

    I’m balding so
  • MrSith
    MrSith Posts: 1,636 Member
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    I'm thinking of doing this. I'd like to know more about my family as my great great grandfather was left on a doorstep and took the name of that family.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited January 2018
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    MrSith wrote: »
    I'm thinking of doing this. I'd like to know more about my family as my great great grandfather was left on a doorstep and took the name of that family.

    This sounds like an exciting challenge! At that genetic distance (your ancestor's parents' children would be your half third cousins), you will not be able to prove a specific relationship using DNA, but you could potentially find some clues. By sorting your matches by the city where your ancestor was found, you may be able to find a group of matches, and then see using conventional research if there are any potential candidates for your great-great-grandfather's parents who lived in the right time and place.

    I have a 2nd great grandmother whose parents I was unable to trace using conventional research (she was born before the census named female family members), but I had a strong theory about who her parents might have been based on location and dates. DNA found a large number of cousin matches to descendants of her possible parents at the expected genetic distance. It's not proof by genealogical standards, but it's an additional piece of supporting evidence.

    Your best chance is to test members of the oldest living generation descended from your great-great-grandfather.

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