Where do I begin to find my grandad?

[AngelaF67]

If you have access to 1939 register, there is a person of that name living in Brierfield. He is a widower.

There is a Family Tree too which has a photo and shows a death for him in 1956. It might be worth looking at. I searched Jos* Hay* and it brings up options.

Thank you I’ll take a look 👍x

[jc26red]

Does your mum remember anything else about the son? Rough age, was he older than her? and a name might help pinpoint a location for both father and son together.

Obviously, he might be still living so try and to these checks yourself as you can’t put living people’s details on here.

[jc26red]

Also, does your mum have any half siblings… same mum but father being the man she was married to.? If one of them also takes an Ancestry DNA test, it’s easier to compare and sort out, check and make a list of them. Anything else that doesn’t match with her sibling(s) are potentially your mums paternal relatives.

In Ancestry, look at the top 5 matches that have trees… see if you recognise the names. If you do, you can add a note or colour code them as a maternal match.  Ones you don’t recognise, also make a note as possible paternal match. Check how many cM they match.
You can also search the results for surname matches and open their trees and search for the home person. Sadly there are many trees which have minimal or only living people in them so you can’t see any names. If it’s a very close match, try messaging them, say you match but not sure of the connection? Don’t reveal too much as they may not want to reply!


You can ask as many questions here.

Then move on to the next 5 matches, remember the smaller the cM number the more distantly related they are!

[AngelaF67]

You are welcome Angela.

If you have not read the thread linked below please do so, I did quite a write up on practical usage of a DNA test.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863488.0

That was a great read, thank you. It might take a bit to sink in but it’s helped me to understand just that little bit more, I’ve definitely got a lot to learn about DNA and how to make the best of the matches. I think having in excess of  25000 matches has really overwhelmed me.

I’ve made a start on the common ancestors and will concentrate on them for mums maternal side. As for her biological father there are no common ancestors as I know nothing about him yet. I have a few matches come up with good cM levels so I’ll start there and I’ll check out the shared matches.

Thank you Angela x

[AngelaF67]

Also, does your mum have any half siblings… same mum but father being the man she was married to.? If one of them also takes an Ancestry DNA test, it’s easier to compare and sort out, check and make a list of them. Anything else that doesn’t match with her sibling(s) are potentially your mums paternal relatives.

In Ancestry, look at the top 5 matches that have trees… see if you recognise the names. If you do, you can add a note or colour code them as a maternal match.  Ones you don’t recognise, also make a note as possible paternal match. Check how many cM they match.
You can also search the results for surname matches and open their trees and search for the home person. Sadly there are many trees which have minimal or only living people in them so you can’t see any names. If it’s a very close match, try messaging them, say you match but not sure of the connection? Don’t reveal too much as they may not want to reply!


You can ask as many questions here.

Then move on to the next 5 matches, remember the smaller the cM number the more distantly related they are!

Sadly mum is the last of her generation, her half brother died last year and her half sister back in the 50’s.

I did a surname search on mums matches and Haynes is super common among them, only 1 or 2 Heys/Hayes’s so I’m leaning towards his surname was Haynes. It’s a starting point and will hopefully work out.

Thank you for your help.

Angela x

[AngelaF67]

Just a quick question, if I have a 4th cousin 1x removed will he be mums 4th cousin?

The reason I’m asking is mums profile on Ancestry it is saying 4th cousin 1x removed too.

I’m getting confused , not that difficult where dna relationships go, so I’d better go to sleep.

Thank you in advance have a great night

Angela x

[brigidmac]

Yes her 4th cousin is once removed from you

 Where does " it  say" you are both 4th cousin 1R ?

Is there a mistake on trees or on what relationship is on the DNA match profile ?

[CaroleW]

Going back to reply 17 - as you know we can’t give specific info from the 1939 register

Using the name & birthdate of the daughter to get her mmn shows the parents married in 1928 & wife died 1937.   Using freebmd - they also had 3 sons - the one born 1930 also died in 1937 but the other 2 were born 1932 & 1936 & had “fairly” distinctive christian names. I wondered if there was any possibility your mum could remember the name of the son she met?

If it matched one of the 2 names - it could help you to move forward - or eliminate this particular “Joe”

[AngelaF67]

Going back to reply 17 - as you know we can’t give specific info from the 1939 register

Using the name & birthdate of the daughter to get her mmn shows the parents married in 1928 & wife died 1937.   Using freebmd - they also had 3 sons - the one born 1930 also died in 1937 but the other 2 were born 1932 & 1936 & had “fairly” distinctive christian names. I wondered if there was any possibility your mum could remember the name of the son she met?

If it matched one of the 2 names - it could help you to move forward - or eliminate this particular “Joe”

I’m struggling to find this person that you've mentioned in the 1939 census ☹️ I’ve looked at loads of records but I can’t find anything….