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Going through my DNA matches I'm finding things I'm having a hard time understanding. There are three people at the top of my matches, one of which I've never heard of until recently, and I need some help.
The one I never heard of shows as 1st cousin, 1,034 cMs, 31 segments. I don't understand this segments thing either. This one stymies me because I have NO idea where she would fit in. Other cousins have never heard of her AND she is not on their list of matches. I believe it says we could share a great grandparent. We did correspond briefly and I'm pretty sure she said she was adopted. We were born in the same city but she's a lot younger than me.
Second one is a full blood 1st cousin I've known all my life. 826 cMs 37 segments
Third one says 2nd cousin but I guess is actually a half 1st. Same grandmother, different grandfather and my mom and hers were half sisters. Anyway, shows 607 cMs 29 segments. Known her all my life as well.
Some time ago I did write here about the 'surprise' I got concerning my half brother and the No Match in our DNA. Should have matched through my dad. I am wondering, now, if the first person above is from another paternal line. It would probably help if she wasn't adopted but you work with what you've got. I think it would be really crazy if we were related in that way.
Going through my DNA matches I'm finding things I'm having a hard time understanding. There are three people at the top of my matches, one of which I've never heard of until recently, and I need some help.
The one I never heard of shows as 1st cousin, 1,034 cMs, 31 segments. I don't understand this segments thing either. This one stymies me because I have NO idea where she would fit in. Other cousins have never heard of her AND she is not on their list of matches. I believe it says we could share a great grandparent. We did correspond briefly and I'm pretty sure she said she was adopted. We were born in the same city but she's a lot younger than me.
Second one is a full blood 1st cousin I've known all my life. 826 cMs 37 segments
Third one says 2nd cousin but I guess is actually a half 1st. Same grandmother, different grandfather and my mom and hers were half sisters. Anyway, shows 607 cMs 29 segments. Known her all my life as well.
Some time ago I did write here about the 'surprise' I got concerning my half brother and the No Match in our DNA. Should have matched through my dad. I am wondering, now, if the first person above is from another paternal line. It would probably help if she wasn't adopted but you work with what you've got. I think it would be really crazy if we were related in that way.
Any ideas? And what are these "segments"?
TIA for any help!
31 segments totaling 1034cM means you have 31 separate parts of your DNA that match the other person. Some of these segments are likely long, maybe 100cM or longer, many are likely short, 20cM or less.
More in-depth DNA research involves taking these individual segments and triangulating them with other related people to try and figure out which ancestor you inherited them from and possibly which part of the world they originated from (time frame for this question obviously varies from recent history to ancient population movements)
Could she be a great niece of yours? Do you have more siblings besides your half brother? Which cousin lines does she not match & who else does she match?
Going through my DNA matches I'm finding things I'm having a hard time understanding. There are three people at the top of my matches, one of which I've never heard of until recently, and I need some help.
The one I never heard of shows as 1st cousin, 1,034 cMs, 31 segments. I don't understand this segments thing either. This one stymies me because I have NO idea where she would fit in. Other cousins have never heard of her AND she is not on their list of matches. I believe it says we could share a great grandparent. We did correspond briefly and I'm pretty sure she said she was adopted. We were born in the same city but she's a lot younger than me.
She is either a Great-Grandchild, Great-Aunt/Niece, Half Aunt/Niece, or 1st cousin.
I'm guessing great grandchild is unlikely, and depending on the age difference, a great aunt/niece may also be unlikely. Half aunt is possible but since she's younger than you, more likely a half niece, or 1st cousin (although people can have aunts/uncle who are younger than them). To be a half niece, you would need to have a half sibling - do you? If not, I'm leaning more towards 1st cousin. If she's adopted, then it sounds like one of your aunts or uncles had a child they gave up for adoption. It's not unusual for family members to not know about these things. My dad's uncle had a child none of us knew about, and we only found out when she popped up as a DNA match.
The cousins that she does not match - are they all on one side of your tree, or are some of them on your paternal side, and some on your maternal side? What about who she does match? Are there any people she matches who you've identified a most recent common ancestor with?
Quote:
Some time ago I did write here about the 'surprise' I got concerning my half brother and the No Match in our DNA. Should have matched through my dad. I am wondering, now, if the first person above is from another paternal line. It would probably help if she wasn't adopted but you work with what you've got. I think it would be really crazy if we were related in that way.
If you do not know who your biological father was then she may very well be from that side.
Quote:
Any ideas? And what are these "segments"?
Segments are the portions of your chromosomes where you share DNA. They aren't hugely significant apart from meeting minimum thresholds. Segments that are 15+cM have 100% chance of being identical by descent, but since AncestryDNA don't provide a chromosome browser, that's not very relevant - you can't see how long the segments you share are (unless you only share one segment, in which case the total shared cM's is the same length as the one segment you share). This isn't really important when it comes to a match that shares a lot of DNA with you to be estimated a 1st cousin. It's more relevant when, for example, you have a match that shares a total of 8 cM across one segment - a segment that small has a 62% chance of being identical by descent, so you should keep in mind that a match like that may not necessarily be identical by descent.
Could she be a great niece of yours? Do you have more siblings besides your half brother? Which cousin lines does she not match & who else does she match?
Yes, I have 4 other 1/2 siblings but I know all of their kids and their grandkids. She doesn't match my maternal line and the people she does match I've never heard of. I do check all the names associated with our matches and I never find ANY family names associated with, what I thought was, my paternal lines. That's why I'm thinking she might be a match through my unknown paternal line?
When considering possible relationships, obviously age will have to factor in to your conclusion.
If DNA tests have been done to people on your mothers side, and your fathers side (cousins/aunts/uncles/parents), then check the "shared matches". She will match relatives from one side or the other. If she is alot younger, it she could be a niece or more likely a half niece.
Yes, I have 4 other 1/2 siblings but I know all of their kids and their grandkids. She doesn't match my maternal line and the people she does match I've never heard of. I do check all the names associated with our matches and I never find ANY family names associated with, what I thought was, my paternal lines. That's why I'm thinking she might be a match through my unknown paternal line?
31 segments totaling 1034cM means you have 31 separate parts of your DNA that match the other person. Some of these segments are likely long, maybe 100cM or longer, many are likely short, 20cM or less.
More in-depth DNA research involves taking these individual segments and triangulating them with other related people to try and figure out which ancestor you inherited them from and possibly which part of the world they originated from (time frame for this question obviously varies from recent history to ancient population movements)
I guess I was just surprised at that high cM number because it's higher than even my full blood cousin. I guess I'll have to do some more research on that "segments" thing. It did say we were possibly related through a great grandparent but I wonder why it wouldn't have shown one closer. Our origins are almost exactly the same.
I guess I was just surprised at that high cM number because it's higher than even my full blood cousin. I guess I'll have to do some more research on that "segments" thing. It did say we were possibly related through a great grandparent but I wonder why it wouldn't have shown one closer. Our origins are almost exactly the same.
Are you sure it is a first cousin? PAUK posted this for you:
She is either a Great-Grandchild, Great-Aunt/Niece, Half Aunt/Niece, or 1st cousin.
All of those relationships are in the range for 1000cM.
When considering possible relationships, obviously age will have to factor in to your conclusion.
If DNA tests have been done to people on your mothers side, and your fathers side (cousins/aunts/uncles/parents), then check the "shared matches". She will match relatives from one side or the other. If she is alot younger, it she could be a niece or more likely a half niece.
Thank you so much for that link! I will definitely be reading a LOT there.
This unknown cousin in my matches is 35 years younger than me at 41. Thinking about it, IF my dad is someone other than who I thought all these years, he probably had siblings. This girl could be the daughter of one of those siblings. More likely a granddaughter. I have grandkids close to her age! Those high numbers are what fascinate me because it makes me think she's closer than my own full blood cousins? I did think niece or half niece. Interesting.
I have found quite a few matches for my maternal side. Of course I can only tell for sure because of the family names in their lines. They are mostly listed as 3rd to 6th cousins with the majority showing 4th. I've found NONE for my dad's. All matches/cousins I've found, that I'm sure of, are maternal. Some of those others could possibly be the result of my "other dad" but I wouldn't know.
Last edited by AZDesertBrat; 10-30-2018 at 12:48 AM..
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