Hi all, I wanted to post my situation here to see if the more experienced researchers can advise me or point out errors. I'll get right to the science.
My father-in-law, living, was born illegitimately to a known mother (deceased). We have no idea who his father was. We tested him on AncestryDNA and found matches on both sides. Gedmatch dot com tells me that his parents were not related to each other. The AncestryDNA matches on his mother's side, who we were able to mutually confirm through oral history and photos, do not also match the family who would be his paternal lineage.
So far I have penciled out this family's tree, and I've corresponded a bit with one of the matches. The family had 6 children, and only one of the male children could have been old enough to father my FIL. Let's call the patriarch "Adam" and the eldest son "Aaron". (Edited to add: both are deceased.)
The AncestryDNA matches are
Person 1: 771cM; grandson of Adam on his mother's side
Person 2: 747cM; ID unknown
Person 3: 593cM; ID unknown
*Person 4: 558cM; great-granddaughter of Adam and great-niece of Aaron
Person 5: 406cM; grand-daughter of Aaron and great-granddaughter of Adam
**Person 6: 311cM; grand-daughter of Aaron and great-granddaughter of Adam
Person 7: 277cM; ID unknown
*Person 4 is Person 1's daughter
**Person 6 at some point also uploaded to gedmatch dot com, which yielded 337cM
My working theory is that Adam was my FIL's father, because he was only a few years older than the mother, while the age difference between Aaron and the mother was huge, but still scientifically possible.
If Adam was the father, then Person 1 would be a half-nephew of my FIL. If Aaron was the father, then Person 1 would be a full first cousin of my FIL.
Thank you for reading.
My father-in-law, living, was born illegitimately to a known mother (deceased). We have no idea who his father was. We tested him on AncestryDNA and found matches on both sides. Gedmatch dot com tells me that his parents were not related to each other. The AncestryDNA matches on his mother's side, who we were able to mutually confirm through oral history and photos, do not also match the family who would be his paternal lineage.
So far I have penciled out this family's tree, and I've corresponded a bit with one of the matches. The family had 6 children, and only one of the male children could have been old enough to father my FIL. Let's call the patriarch "Adam" and the eldest son "Aaron". (Edited to add: both are deceased.)
The AncestryDNA matches are
Person 1: 771cM; grandson of Adam on his mother's side
Person 2: 747cM; ID unknown
Person 3: 593cM; ID unknown
*Person 4: 558cM; great-granddaughter of Adam and great-niece of Aaron
Person 5: 406cM; grand-daughter of Aaron and great-granddaughter of Adam
**Person 6: 311cM; grand-daughter of Aaron and great-granddaughter of Adam
Person 7: 277cM; ID unknown
*Person 4 is Person 1's daughter
**Person 6 at some point also uploaded to gedmatch dot com, which yielded 337cM
My working theory is that Adam was my FIL's father, because he was only a few years older than the mother, while the age difference between Aaron and the mother was huge, but still scientifically possible.
If Adam was the father, then Person 1 would be a half-nephew of my FIL. If Aaron was the father, then Person 1 would be a full first cousin of my FIL.
Thank you for reading.

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