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  1. #1

    Default I'm close to finding unknown grandfather, but

    Hi all, help is needed.
    Both my father and I have uploaded DNA to all available sites to try and find matches to his unknown father. The nearest matches are 165CM to 109 CM. I've done the Leeds method, DNA painter, Gedmatch, and colored dots on Ancestry, and have linked and mapped matches (one or two I cannot match)100CM to 30Cm on Ancestry family tree but obviously unsure where my grandfather would fit in yet. So, other than having potential guesstimates on the DNA painter of his position in the tree, are there any other methods I could use?

  2. #2
    Starting to feel at home
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Devon
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    Hi Stuart,

    I presume you have built out the family trees of the two closest matches to see at what point, if any, they have a mutual ancestor. You should also try to do this with any matches you have "in common" with them.

    When you get to a point where you think you may have identified the missing father you will need to make a tree for both his maternal and paternal ancestors and hopefully confirm you have the right person by finding cousins who match to both side of the tree.

    If you find a surname that you think might be significant in your search you can put that in the DNA search bar to see if there are any distant cousins who have that in their trees and then take note of where where those cousins live. Sometimes tiny clues can provide a lead.

    Have you activated Thru-lines on Ancestry DNA and "attached" your father's DNA to it? That can be beneficial.

    A new feature on Ancestry DNA is the Ethnicity breakdown estimate for both the paternal and maternal side. While it may not be 100% accurate it can potentially give pointers in the right direction, if, for instance, it picks up that your father's missing father is 25 % Scottish, and you can identify cousins who are showing Scottish ancestry.

    Good luck with your search. Sometimes you need to wait a while before the "right" cousin match comes along and acts like a Rosetta Stone to help you decipher the mystery.

    Deeny.

  3. #3

    Default

    Thankyou Deeny,

    I have built out the trees of closest matches, there are one or two I cannot link, I have linked 10 matches to 1 common ancestor and suspect this will be his father's paternal or maternal side.
    I have activated Thru-lines and it has matched his mother's side (as his half-sister's DNA is on there) but as I've put his father as 'unknown' there are no paternal links coming through?
    I will check the Ethnicity breakdown as I didn't know it split it into the two. Thankyou.
    Good advice. Thanks

  4. #4
    Famous for offering help & advice
    Join Date
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    1,277

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    I think you are going to need a stronger match to get close to identifying a potential Father. I have a 401cM DNA match which has enabled me to narrow down my potential Father to one of 3 men. The youngest of the 3 is the most likely, but his Mother appears to be possibly German, and I have no Germanic DNA. My next match after the 401cM is 54cM with no trees, so limiting cross matching. You will no doubt get some stronger matches than 165cM at some point, it may well just be a waiting game. Good luck!

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