I posted this missive about DNA matches and errors and thought it would make for a good tip. If you are on our Facebook page, you may have already seen it. Comments welcome.

Your DNA matches can be used as clues even if their trees are wonky.

I have matches on one branch of my family where a few people have assigned parents for an ancestor that have been disproven and are questionable from a geographic standpoint.

But…they are still my matches. I know how they are related. It’s just that they’ve given my ancestor parents that are not right. I don’t have to use that information–they won’t change it either which is frustrating, but a reality.

I can still see who I have as shared matches with those people.

And my approach if I think someone is wrong about something is to ask what evidence they have of the relationship or statement that I’m questioning. Generally speaking, I don’t make statements if I don’t have some sort of documentation to back it up. My “gut” focuses on eating and digestion, not making genealogical statements–other than statements about which ancestral cuisine I could do without or which ones I like (sauerkraut).

Sometimes it leads to a dialogue and they realize there is an error.

Sometimes they just say “they don’t know” or “it doesn’t matter.” I usually respond with “if you find any evidence, please let me know I’d love to hear about it” and offer to share what I have. I don’t often hear from those people.

Sometimes it turns out that I am wrong and the person has solid and reliable evidence of the statement they made. I’m always willing to admit that, but I need some evidence.

But I’ve taken a gentle approach with most of these errors largely because it’s better on my blood pressure and there are better ways to use my time. I write up what I have found and what my conclusions are. I can’t convince some people that they are wrong. And getting into arguments with genealogists who aren’t necessarily interested in being correct is not a good use of my time. Discussions and disagreements with those who are making a concerted effort trying to figure stuff out is.

Just my 1/50 of a dollar.

Or my 16% of a bit. I think my math is right.

Check out Ancestry’s St. Patrick’s DNA sale–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

You are about ready to have a cousin take an autosomal DNA test. Make certain that they are aware that taking this test could expose family secrets. Most people are aware that a test could reveal that they have children others have not known about or that even they did not know about.

But the DNA test could reveal more. It could reveal that a parent or grandparent is not their biological grandparent. It could also reveal that one of the testee’s relatives–including siblings, aunts, uncles, and others–either had children of which no one was aware of or whose biological parents were not who they thought they were.

It is important to remind the testee that the secrets that may be revealed may not just be about them.

Check out Ancestry’s current DNA prices–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

Many men who served in the United States Civil War did not enlist in the state where they resided. For a variety of reasons a man may have enlisted in a unit from a neighboring state. The usual reason was to help a state meet its quota or perhaps there was an enlistment bonus that motivated someone to cross a state line.

Don’t dismiss a potential reference to your soldier ancestor simply because he’s from the “wrong” state.

But don’t just assume that a John Miller from Illinois is the same one who enlisted in Ohio because it “could have” happened. That sort of jump is somewhat uncommon and will take some research to prove.

Ultimogeniture is an inheritance practice where the right of inheritance belongs to the youngest child (usually limited to the youngest son). It was practiced in some areas of Europe.

It is in contrast to primogeniture. That is where the oldest child has the right of inheritance–again usually the oldest son.

One of my new AncestryDNA autosomal matches has the last name of Rucker–she has no tree. It’s also the maiden name of my 4th great-grandmother. The last name is not unusual and most of us are related distantly through an early 18th century immigrant to Virginia. Most, but not all. That’s the first thing to remember.

There’s more.

I do not want to assume that my new DNA match connects to me through her strict paternal line because I also have that name in my family tree. There are several things to consider. Rucker could be her married name, or the name of a step-parent who adopted her, both of which would change things immediately. Even if Rucker is her birth name, she could be related to me on another family entirely. The amount of DNA we share is small (10 cM). We also have no shared matches to allow me to narrow down where we likely connect.

Even if her earliest male Rucker ancestor is the same as my Rucker ancestor, it is still possible that the DNA we share comes from another common ancestor in another portion of her tree entirely. Given that we have no shared matches and there’s not tree, any conclusions are speculative.

Check out Ancestry’s current DNA prices–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

From a while back…

Some rural cemeteries, especially very small ones that are no longer used, may require crossing private property to access. If this is necessary, obtain permission from the landowner before attempting to access the cemetery. Cemeteries that are along a roadside or have public access are a different story, but there also may be restrictions about “visiting hours,” decorations that are allowed, etc.

Check out Ancestry’s current DNA prices–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

Your DNA matches tell a part of your family’s history, but not all of it. There’s more to your family history than who shares a biological relationship with who, what potential illnesses you may share with your family (and pass to your descendants), and your physical characteristics.

There’s where your family lived, how they lived, how the larger world impacted them, how they impacted their world, etc. Those stories are often discovered by locating as many records as possible for your relative and seeing what those records have to say.

And some of the most important people in your ancestor’s life may have shared no DNA with them at all. DNA is an important part of your genealogical research, but it is not the only part.

Check out Ancestry’s current DNA prices–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

DNA matches can be confusing for a variety of reasons. For me, the main reason for the confusion is individuals to whom I am related to in more than one way.

AncestryDNA had identified all the shared matches I had with one match as being matches to my maternal side. The matches that had been identified were consistent with that. Except for one. AncestryDNA indicated one of the shared matches was to my paternal side.

A person could be tempted to think that AncestryDNA was wrong–and it’s possible that sometimes they are. This is not one of those times. It turns out that this match (which AncestryDNA identifies as being a maternal match) is actually related to me four ways–through three different sets of maternal ancestors and one set of paternal ancestors. None of these relationships are closer than my 3rd great-grandparents.

The green match–shown with green on the image because part of their last name is “green”–only matches to other matches identified to as being paternal matches of mine. Those shared matches with the green match that have been identified (approximately 20%) are connected to me through my 4th great-grandmother who was a Dingman.

This was easier for me to determine because I’ve already determined some of my matches and my tree is about 75% known through my 5th great-grandparents. That helps with the analysis, but that’s not the point of this tip.

The point is that there may be a very small number of shared matches you have with a match that are related to you in a different way than are the other shared matches. This can take time to figure out. It is also why it is advised to determine as many matches as you can–even on the families in which you have no DNA interest.

You have a DNA interest in all your matches. The more matches you know, the easier it is to work on the ones you do not or the ones who appear to be related on your brick wall families who were likely your motivation to take a DNA test in the first place.

Check out Ancestry’s current DNA prices–maybe you can purchase your own kit or a test kit for that relative you’ve been wanting to ask.

A marriage bann is usually a verbal announcement, typically in a church, that a couple intends to get married. In some cases, they may be published and publicly posted for people to read instead of being verbally announced but the banns are a chance for those who have knowledge why the couple should not be married to state that fact.

A marriage bond is a legal document guaranteeing that the person getting married has no legal impediment to marriage. Marriage bonds usually have a stated financial value that is only to be paid if the person for whom the bond was signed was not legally able to get married. The person getting married signs the bond and usually one or two bondsmen sign it as well. The bondsmen likely know the marrying party well enough to know that they have no legal challenges with getting married.

Banns and bonds serve a similar purpose, but they are different.

Wedding bands are something else entirely–the ring on the finger. The band at a wedding may also play music <grin>.

In any jurisdiction, determine how many courts heard cases during the time period your ancestor lived there. There may be one court that hears probate or estate matters, another that hears guardianships, one that hears criminal cases, one that hears equity cases, etc.

It can be easy to overlook records if you do not do that. The FamilySearch wiki is one place to start learning about these records, but also reach out to local researchers, genealogical and historical societies for additional information.

Questions to ask are:

• what court heard divorces?
• what court heard foreclosures?
• what court settled probate matters?
• what court heard property disputes?
• what court heard guardianship matters?
• and so on.

Search NewsBank’s GenealogyBank for your ancestors.