First post and match

[Stray]

Hey folks, I'm totally new to all of this and find it very interesting and exciting. I have done my testing and have gotten my results back. It is exciting because I got a 12/12 match on my paternal side and I also got a HVR1 & HVR 2 match on my maternal side.

Sadly, however, the paternal's side email address is no longer valid and the maternal side has not responded to emails.

I find it all interesting, because I would think that someone that is interested enough to have a DNA test done, then they would be someone who has worked on their genealogy for some time and hit road blocks along the way. For me, that has been for over 20 years, so the prospect of two possible matches for me was exciting to hear.

The paternal side is in the project that I am in, so I have some starting information that I will try to research on my own for a bit. My maternal side match, however, I have no idea.

Is there a way to find out what possible project this person was in on the maternal side? I've done the mitosearch and it seems that it is the very same person and email address that has not responded. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[darroll]

Stray,
I have ran into the same problem. A lot of the people doing research will accept your information and you never hear from them again. We posted some of our DNA results on YSEARCH and someone had an exact match…but… They posted their results on another WEB site, they blocked all surnames that would be of any value. Of course we have no way to contact them. This caused me to stop sharing our information. It looks like National Geographic will end up with most of the DNA test results, they do not have surnames though. Good Luck. dc

[R2-D2]

Hey folks, I'm totally new to all of this and find it very interesting and exciting. I have done my testing and have gotten my results back. It is exciting because I got a 12/12 match on my paternal side and I also got a HVR1 & HVR 2 match on my maternal side.

Sadly, however, the paternal's side email address is no longer valid and the maternal side has not responded to emails.

I find it all interesting, because I would think that someone that is interested enough to have a DNA test done, then they would be someone who has worked on their genealogy for some time and hit road blocks along the way. For me, that has been for over 20 years, so the prospect of two possible matches for me was exciting to hear.

The paternal side is in the project that I am in, so I have some starting information that I will try to research on my own for a bit. My maternal side match, however, I have no idea.

Is there a way to find out what possible project this person was in on the maternal side? I've done the mitosearch and it seems that it is the very same person and email address that has not responded. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Don't give up trying to contact them. E-mail FTDNA and explain your situation; see if they can forward a letter to the person's home address.

[rivergirl]

Hey folks, I'm totally new to all of this and find it very interesting and exciting. I have done my testing and have gotten my results back. It is exciting because I got a 12/12 match on my paternal side and I also got a HVR1 & HVR 2 match on my maternal side.

Sadly, however, the paternal's side email address is no longer valid and the maternal side has not responded to emails.


The paternal side is in the project that I am in, so I have some starting information that I will try to research on my own for a bit. My maternal side match, however, I have no idea.

Is there a way to find out what possible project this person was in on the maternal side? I've done the mitosearch and it seems that it is the very same person and email address that has not responded. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Id try the email again, maybe after a month or so. They may be on holidays, sick or just have missed your email. I sometimes find I dont get a response the first time, but do the 2nd. Having said that my one exact match for mtDNA has never responded

Have you put your yDNA and mtDNA in a haplogroup project? Or is there a geographical project that may be suitable. Maybe your match is in one of these. You can find Hapolgroup projects etc by clicking on the blue JOIN button on your personal page.
Some people opt to have matches set for projects only, no the entire database.

[Stray]

Thanks for the replies. I am part of a surname project and from what I've seen so far, it looks like I can join another project. I've been looking them over to see what would make the most sense to do, but will probably wait as I continue to learn more about this.

Thanks again.

[Donald Locke]

Stray

I wouldn't get overly excited about a 12/12 match.
12 markers in most cases doesn't prove a kinship, it only suggests there could be a kinship. It takes the higher marker levels being tested along with a solid paper trail linking your branch to another branch of the same surname.

We had several 12/12 matches between Locke men in my project which got some folks including myself riled up thinking they were a match. When all involved upgraded to the higher marker kits, they later learned they were in no way blood related. Consider upgrading your kit before presuming you have a good match to another participant. I call it a false positive match lol.

This is a common issue with new participants not understanding that at the 12 marker level, you can and will likely have some 12/12 matches, but that it doesn't mean you are related, it only suggests you could be related.
Some Admin's including myself suggest everyone upgrade to at least the 25 marker level, 37 marker being better if one can afford it to do so.
The higher test helps rule out what I call the false positive matches which you find at the 12 marker level.

I also wouldn't presume just because someone has DNA tested that they are in to genealogy and has done the research themselves. Many of my participants are not in to genealogy, but were convinced to join us to help us determine which branch they descended from.
In some cases, I am the primary researcher for some of the lineages that have DNA tested and I am not related to them lol. So in some cases, I would be the one to talk to, not the participant because many of the participants don't know their own family's history.

Mine is a rare case because I do a single surname study on my surname, so I do research on all the lineages of my surname, not just on my own line.
Sounds silly but that is the case in my project, I tend to know far more about the other family's then they know about their own lineage

Talk to your project admin, see if he or she would be willing to forward a snail mail for you to the other participant and or for that admin. to send that participant a snail mail themselves to let them know you are wishing contact.
Don't ask your Admin. for the name or home address of a participant, that is private information that the Admin's won't share with you.
But it can't hurt to ask if the Admin could help you with a letter to the other participant and wait and see if the Admin. will agree with doing that.

But as an Admin. myself, I would first suggest you upgrade your test, and try to contact the other participant to try to get a new email address and to see if they wish to contact you about a possible kinship.

The 12 marker kit for me is only a stepping stone in to your DNA, it only gives you a small glimps, but doesn't quite tell you what your really wanting to know. Are you related to other branches of people of your same surname?
Only the higher marker levels and some good research in the paper records can tell you that.

In one case where we did have a 12/12 match, both participants did share some things in common between their 2 branches. I suggested they both upgrade which they both did, and even at the higher marker levels they still continued to be a good match. So I finally suggested they both upgrade to the 67 marker level, they ended up being a 66/67 match!
We are now searching the paper records to see if we can figure out who the common male ancestor is. With that good of a match, they are no doubt directly related and both branches are only traced back to 1790's in Kentucky.

In this one case where a 12/12 match did end up being a good match at the highest marker level, we wouldn't have known about this kinship between the 2 branches had it not been for DNA testing. The only thing we are missing now is that ever so elusive paper trail to link the 2 branches together.

Good luck to you and again, consider upgrading when you can. It pays to upgrade!

[darroll]

A perfect match of 37 markers means that the two individuals matching shared a common ancestor in RECENT times (Y-DNA).
A 12 point test with a perfect match means an ancestor in earlier times. Our perfect match goes back to 1795. If you do not have a match in one of the two categories, you are not related, and it is about time to do some research. d

[Stray]

Stray

I wouldn't get overly excited about a 12/12 match.
12 markers in most cases doesn't prove a kinship, it only suggests there could be a kinship. It takes the higher marker levels being tested along with a solid paper trail linking your branch to another branch of the same surname.

Good information and I do appreciate it. I continue to learn more about this process and I'm learning as I go.

I actually did start with the 37 marker test, because I simply just knew I would get into this more as I learned more. The 12/12 match that I have, they only did the 12 markers and they are in my project. However, as stated, their email is out of date.

I also got a 37 marker match with a genetic distance of 4. However, they are not in my project and they have no contact email available either.

I don't guess there is an easy way to determine what projects matches are in?

Update on my maternal side, I did hear from the participate, which is exciting. They had been traveling, so I was a bit eager I guess.

Thanks for all of the information and level setting my expectations. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I learn more.

- Stray

[terence]

Searching for the cousin who dropped the email address

STRAY
You have the surname, right?
Well, think where they would be hanging around. If the surname is KLATCHER
go to various forums and find KLATCHER. Try ancestry.com and genforum.com. Also check rootsweb.com . Even google KATCHER.
Some of those who do DNA testing participate only within their pre-established group -- they only want to CONFIRM the paper trail, and do not wish to contribute to the database and solicit contact from other humans who might be a 6th or 27th or 48th cousin...
Reminds me of the ladies with blue hair in my town who all descended from the Mayflower families---they got very offended when I remarked that they were not the ONLY ones!!
I have never had a close match. I am disappointed, sure. But I chalk it up to the good feeling I get from donating my body to science...