Trying to find an unknown ancestor

[CarolineWebb]

we know who his great grandmother is but the identity of great grandfather is unknown as she was unmarried and there is no-one named on the birth certificate!

Did he give a name for his father on his marriage cert?

Annie

We haven't seen a marriage cert. but we know that his mother never divulged the name of his father to him, apparently he did ask and she refused to say.

[Gadget]

Just to add, I later had other (lower cM)  matches cropping up that linked to ancestors of the earlier generations. 

[CarolineWebb]

I had this problems with a grt grandfather. I used a mix of DNA info and traditional genealogical methods. As Annie says, don't rely on the matches' trees but use them as a guide.

If you've identified a shared group, what range of cMs do they share with you? Also, is there anyone there who has a tree that you can verify? Have you messaged any of them to find out more about their lines? If you're lucky, you will be able to identify a common ancestor from the group.  Then investigate locations, etc.

It took me about 3 months to identify the correct 'father'. I checked my info at each step and didn't  use the Leeds method but used my own tried and trusted routines!

Gadget

We have already tried what you did for your quest. Unfortunately for us, the highest cm match we have is only 56 for people in a mystery group, therefore we have to go back several generations to find a common ancestor which is months, if not years of research!

[Rosinish]

It took me about 3 months to identify the correct 'father'. I checked my info at each step and didn't  use the Leeds method but used my own tried and trusted methods!

Gadget,

I was using a similar method of my own with an excel spreadsheet when I discovered the Leeds Method, it can be very helpful visually in front of you & very easy to follow.

However, someone on one of the DNA threads said it didn't work for them because of the lack of matches at the levels needed.

Annie

[aghadowey]

We have already tried what you did for your quest. Unfortunately for us, the highest cm match we have is only 56 for people in a mystery group, therefore we have to go back several generations to find a common ancestor which is months, if not years of research!

With or without using DNA many of us spend years trying to find ancestors or relatives.

[CarolineWebb]

I know that's the reality but we'll keep trying!

[dicko99]

If you have tested on Ancestry, you need to build a tree with as many ancestors as possible. Hopefully then you will get some common ancestor matches and you can use those to help group the rest of the matches.

What I did (not sure if this is the Leeds method) is create groups for each great grandparent pair. E.G. P1GSmithJones, P1GBloggs/Dickens M1GHowardRivers etc. then when you get a common ancestor, add all the shared matches to the same group.

Once you have things grouped, start looking for common surnames within the group and try to build them into a single tree with a common ancestor.

However, having said all that, what cracked it for me was more "social research". I found my grandmother on the 1939 census and the widow she was working for had a son of just the right age...

Good luck!

R.
 

[Gadget]

Annie -
I found my own methods were easier and I've helped a few others using my methods.  I've spent many years analysing large data sets so it was easier that way. It's just a bit of crosstabs and multivariate methods, as long as some of your matches have trees that can be verified.

I think it's whatever a person finds  easiest/understandable. Multiple methods always work best.

Gadget

[CarolineWebb]

If you have tested on Ancestry, you need to build a tree with as many ancestors as possible. Hopefully then you will get some common ancestor matches and you can use those to help group the rest of the matches.

What I did (not sure if this is the Leeds method) is create groups for each great grandparent pair. E.G. P1GSmithJones, P1GBloggs/Dickens M1GHowardRivers etc. then when you get a common ancestor, add all the shared matches to the same group.

Once you have things grouped, start looking for common surnames within the group and try to build them into a single tree with a common ancestor.

However, having said all that, what cracked it for me was more "social research". I found my grandmother on the 1939 census and the widow she was working for had a son of just the right age...

Good luck!

R.

It seems we have done very similar things to yourself but as you say, social research may be the way to go. The Mum was a domestic servant and each time she got pregnant lost her job. Need to look at men living at the same address maybe to get some ideas!