A small question.

[byke]

Dear members,
I am a male aged 37 years old, and have a question.

My mother was adopted at a very young age, and was able to track down her biological birth mother. However when it came to understanding who her father may have been, she never got an answer or indication who he was or where he may have come from. There was a suggestion he was a sailor .... But I am not sure how trustworthy that info is.

Obviously when trying to make a family tree it's kinda hard when so much info is missing at such an early start.

Is there any DNA test I could do that may have the remotest possability of shedding some light? Is there any way to look for DNA relations from a male to his grandfather on his mothers side?

Cheers

[J Honeychuck]

Dear members,
I am a male aged 37 years old, and have a question.

My mother was adopted at a very young age, and was able to track down her biological birth mother. However when it came to understanding who her father may have been, she never got an answer or indication who he was or where he may have come from. There was a suggestion he was a sailor .... But I am not sure how trustworthy that info is.

Obviously when trying to make a family tree it's kinda hard when so much info is missing at such an early start.

Is there any DNA test I could do that may have the remotest possability of shedding some light? Is there any way to look for DNA relations from a male to his grandfather on his mothers side?

Cheers

If your mother is still living, testing her with 23andMe.com might provide clues with its Family Finder and Global Similarity Advanced features.

Regards,
Jim

[cacio]

To expand on Jim's answer, tests like 23andme or family finder can find relatives up to, say, 4th cousins. That is, if a 3rd or 4th cousin of yours has tested and you test too, the test will tell you that you are related. Of course, it is very random whether a relative happens to have tested or not, but sometimes people are lucky.

It might also give some indication of geographic origin, but it is very hard to distinguish within Europeans, so don't expect much from this.

If your interest is about your mother's lineage, then it is best if you test your mother (you would be one degree farther away from potential relatives, and of course, the closer the relative, the easier it is for the test).

cacio

[canaryislandgirl]

Byke - adoption search

Byke,

If your mother is living, and you can afford it, you should test her with the family finder test and 23andme also. The family finder site is geared toward genealogy and people are usually helpful. 23andme has a huge database, but it is hit or miss if people will respond. I am helping several adoptees trace their trees using the matches. My husband had no info before doing the tests, but found his father's family on family tree dna 's site. He is closing in on who his mother is, by using the results and matches from both companies together. We couldn't have done it without using both databases together. If you want to do the work, I will send you a message with instructions on how to find the families. You are ahead of the game, because you already have your grandmother's name. Good luck !

[byke]

Many thanks for the feedback, I will try and see what I can do in regards to getting my mother tested.

I have done a family finder test through FTDNA previously and had a interesting result (3rd cousin) but again, I have no idea who they are or how I am related to them.

I had thought they only show results father to father to father etc .... So I have only been looking for family links on that side.

On another note I have also done a y-111 test and basic mtdna test also ..... But I have no idea how to get any relevant information from it.

Cheers

M.

[nathanm]

Many thanks for the feedback, I will try and see what I can do in regards to getting my mother tested.

I have done a family finder test through FTDNA previously and had a interesting result (3rd cousin) but again, I have no idea who they are or how I am related to them.

I had thought they only show results father to father to father etc .... So I have only been looking for family links on that side.

On another note I have also done a y-111 test and basic mtdna test also ..... But I have no idea how to get any relevant information from it.

Cheers

M.

Y-DNA will only match descendants of your direct paternal ancestors, and mtDNA will only match descendants of your direct maternal ancestors, but Family Finder (FF) can match relatives from any branch of your family tree.