Family tree results

[Heatherltl]

I am searching for my ancestors with the family trees on FTDNA. I can see my known ancestors in peoples trees, but I am not matching them when I use the search with DNA results. I can not understand this, as I have tried with a few different known ancestors and they are not matches. Any advice? Thanks

[Jim Barrett]

We Must Have More Information

Which tests have you completed? Which tests have the people with your ancestors in their trees completed? How far removed are you from the people you are talking about?

No one can give you a meaningful answer without knowing what tests have been taken and the distance between the possible matches.

[Germanica]

Assuming you took the Family Finder test and so did the people in question, there will be a lot of people out there who share distant ancestors with you but don't necessarily share enough DNA with you to show up as a match. There's also the possibility of tree errors and non-paternity events. But most likely, you don't share enough DNA to show up as a match.

The chart found here shows how quickly with each generation the amount of approximate shared DNA gets reduced to less than one percent: http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_...tics#Method_II

I don't know FTDNA's exact minimum requirements for someone to show up on your match list - but looking at mine, it looks like it might to a minimum of 20cm+ total? On paper, that's no more distant than a fourth cousin - but of course the more distant it is, the more randomly the amounts you might share tend to be. So one 5th cousin might show up on your match list but a different 5th cousin might not - meanwhile a 6th cousin could also be on your list. It all depends how much DNA you happen to share.

[Heatherltl]

Thanks for the reply, that does make sense. I have done the Family finder and MTDNA. I am not sure the distance of these people that are my relatives that I do not seem to match. I have however matched on a few people where we share ggg grandparents.

[Jim Barrett]

People whose most recent common ancestors are their Ggg Grandparents would be 4th cousins. FF matching has started missing matches at this distance.

[dna]

[----] FF matching has started missing matches at this distance

, due to the way autosomal DNA is inherited.

W. (Mr.)

[GoofusBroadway]

case in point...

I wanted to test a 4th cousin from an older generation, hoping it would help us find more matches and be able to triangulate better. We had 4 other FF tests who he could potentially match. I bought him a FF and a 37-marker yDNA.

His FF results came in... he didn't match ANY of the 4 FF tests... not one. So by then I'm thinking I may have wasted my money. I thought I'd have to tell this man he wasn't who he thought he was.

But then... his yDNA results came in. His matches were spot-on with the other yDNA kits we have. So he was a relative, after all.

Autosomal DNA inheritance is just the luck of the draw, really. Having said that, I have been successful finding other relatives with FF tests.

k.

[Germanica]

I wanted to test a 4th cousin from an older generation, hoping it would help us find more matches and be able to triangulate better. We had 4 other FF tests who he could potentially match. I bought him a FF and a 37-marker yDNA.

His FF results came in... he didn't match ANY of the 4 FF tests... not one. So by then I'm thinking I may have wasted my money. I thought I'd have to tell this man he wasn't who he thought he was.

But then... his yDNA results came in. His matches were spot-on with the other yDNA kits we have. So he was a relative, after all.

Autosomal DNA inheritance is just the luck of the draw, really. Having said that, I have been successful finding other relatives with FF tests.

k.

Also, if he was a 4th cousin from an older generation - meaning if he was your grandfather's 4th cousin, for example, he would actually be your 4th cousin twice removed and that means he'd share even less DNA with you and be less likely to show up as a match.

[GoofusBroadway]

Good point, but he really is my 4th cousin. My grandfather and he were 2nd cousins twice removed.

k.

[georgian1950]

Good point, but he really is my 4th cousin. My grandfather and he were 2nd cousins twice removed.

k.

Family Finder is overly conservative in finding matches. I wish there was a way to force a relationship with Family Finder so that you could use the Chromosome Browser between kits that should be matches.

[dna]

Family Finder is overly conservative in finding matches. I wish there was a way to force a relationship with Family Finder so that you could use the Chromosome Browser between kits that should be matches.

Beyond certain number of births there could be no DNA shared, in such cases no tool would help.

W. (Mr.)

[Tenn4ever]

I had a very extensive family tree before I did DNA testing on myself and numerous cousins from different family lines.

The autosomal testing for myself and about ten cousins has only confirmed our paper documentation, which is great, but has not filled in those missing maiden names of ggg grandmothers or an entire family line of a great grandfather who is incognito

The Y tests have been more helpful in adding to the family tree in far out generations.

For those who have extensive family trees through a lot of documentation the testing many times will not help to add to a tree but only help by confirming what you have already documented with records.

If you only have a family tree through gg or ggg grandparents the autosomal testing will be more helpful than for those who have more extensive trees.