Common Ancestor

[Blue70]

I have great grandparents from the Isle Of Man who had the same surname but were not related. They were from Rushen and Arbory in the south of the island. They married in Liverpool in 1898. We didn't know if they were related certainly not going back a few generations but there was a possibility of it further back. I think I've now found a link between the two lines after seeing some information on someone's genealogy site. It appears that both lines share the same Great X 8 Grandfather who was born in 1626. One line from the first wife and the other from the second wife. Has anyone found a common ancestor before?

Blue

[dickiesam]

Hi,
While I haven't been able to put a name and place to a common ancestor I apparently have one with a young chap from New Zealand and someone in Wales.

This 'story' could be interpreted as a word of warning about DNA testing for genealogy purposes. Together with 3 other bearers of the same surname, all of whom had immediate ancestors in Ireland, we recently took a paternal DNA test. The surprise result was that two of us had no common paternal ancestor to the rest within the last 5,000 years at least and one had a nearish link to me within around 1,500 years.

However, there were two men in the testing company's database with an exact DNA match to me over all 15 of the 'markers' that are used in this sort of test. One had a contact email address so I rushed off an email of introduction. A friendly mail came back telling me he was born and bred in New Zealand and that his mother, the 'keeper' of the family history would be in touch. She duly made contact and it transpires that her husband's line in NZ starts with an immigrant, Henry, who arrived from Essex about 1875. Henry doesn't have my surname by the way. I have managed to track Henry's father and g.father back to about 1750, still in Essex. My paternal line was in County Clare, Ireland, at that time and as far as I can determine, had been there for many years prior.

So where did our common ancestor live and procreate? I am told an exact DNA match can give a common ancestor from about 25 to about 100 generations back. But Essex and Ireland? Impossible to work out where the twain did meet!

I would advise that if anyone is considering a DNA test for genealogy purposes to be sure of what they are going to receive rather than what they expect to find out. It might be better spending the money on BMD certs instead!

Cheers,
Dickiesam

[Tina]

Thanks D.S very informative

Tina

[MaryA]

I've wondered in the past if it would confirm two people with the same surname and supposedly originating in the same area, were actually related - somewhere. Unfortunately I've not been in a position where somebody else would do this as a test, possibly because of the cost, and like you I feel it would be a lot of money to just get an inconclusive result with an unknown person whose connection is a thousand or more years back.

Thanks for letting us know your experiences.

[Hilary]

I'm no expert on this but I think the more markers there are the better so maybe 15 aren't enough to get a completely accurate picture.

Found this

The number of markers examined varies from test to test and company to company, but most ancestry DNA tests are typically in the 12-40 marker range. The DNA test results provide you with the number of repetitions at each of the specific markers tested. The more locations that match, the more likely it is that the two individuals are related.

It would seem that 15 markers are at the low end of what they can test.

Is anyone doing a study on your name? Maybe that'd help.

Hilary
Ed Officer

[dickiesam]

Hello Hilary,
Strange you should ask about a surname study. Myself and an erstwhile cousin from about 5,000 years ago have this site and it's sub-sites:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... sarsfield/

Dickiesam