DNA connections in 18th century Hendersons

Question

I have ten years experience in genealogy but have only recently gotten into DNA.  I have culled matches to my DNA in Ancestry, FTDNA, GEDMatch and MyHeritage, and I've gotten some odd results.  I need help in interpreting them.

My grandfather is a Henderson, descended pretty positively from Nathaniel Handerson (1788-) and Mary Ann Saxon (1801-), married in Indiana.  Above them I have nothing positive; below, James Bloomfield was their son. I have the following DNA matches:

3 separate matches, common ancestors James Bloomfield Henderson and Mary Jane Trout through two different daughters. 30, 31.1, 156.78 cMs respectively.

1 match, common ancestors Nathan Henderson and Mary Ann Saxon (through Ancestry), 20cM

1 match, common ancestors Nathaniel Henderson Sr. and Elizabeth Carroll (GEDMatch and 23 AndMe), 7.1 cM

1 match, common ancestors Joseph Elias Carroll and Jane Swansey (GEDMatch, FTDNA) 7.6 cM

So far, so good - it even lines up with WikiTree.  But then,

1 match, common ancestors Richard Holyfield Henderson and Elizabeth Branson (GEDMatch, FTDNA, Jinny Butter-Fields donor!) 9.8 cM

1 match, common ancestors John Henderson and Rachel Thornton (Ancestry) 24 cM

1 match, common ancestors Thomas Thornton and Martha Boykin (Ancestry), 9 cM.

I have specific DNA specs for all but the Ancestry matches.  The two different lines (Nathaniels vs Richard/John) as I see them are claiming ancestry in the same time period, through the 1700s.  

I'm not really seeking a genealogical solution as much as I am looking for methods and insight into DNA genealogy that will help me understand this.

Lyle McElhaney

Answer 1

I am the match you cited as Jinny Butter-Fields. It should be Ginny Butter Fields (I think that is correct) on GedMatch. Feel free to private message me and we can work on this. I am not an expert but have done some DNA matching on the Hendersons. In fact, DNA helped me to confirm a missing link in that line. Thanks for your post!

Answer 2

If a person has their Ancestry tree wrong but matches your DNA, then their tree, will match you also even though there are errors in it.