“”Through DNA analysis, I was able to determine the grandparents of a relative whose biological father was unknown. There’s no way at this point to determine which of their sons was the father of the child in question, but it’s clear that one of them was.
And a photo of a first cousin of that relative indicated they shared facial features. The similarities between their faces was a nice addition to my DNA evidence, but it really is not considered any sort of evidence itself. We have all seen siblings who bear little physical resemblance to each other and as the relationship becomes more distance the similarities can become even fewer.
But distant relatives can share some common facial features or looks. But it’s not the sort of information that can be considered proof of a relationship because passage of “looks” through the generations is partially just the luck of the genetic draw.
While travelling recently, I was told by someone ” that guy over there looks like you.” And sure enough he did–although the lack of hair helped.
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My college roommate, Ms. Clapp, is descended from George Gaylord Clapp (b. 1660 England), the US founder of the family. She has the same nose as her ancestor as show on the cover of the book ” The Clapp Memorial” http://books.google.com/books?id=TLZi3eMwLzcC&q=george+gilson#v=onepage&q&f=false
Oddly enough, 25 year later when I got into genealogy, I found out I was also descended from George Gaylord Clapp. I didn’t inherit the nose, however.