Using mother's DNA matches to confirm relationships

Question

My mother took a DNA test from Ancestry. Is there a way to use her 4th cousins to confirm relation ships for me?

Answer 1

For relationships more distant than 3rd cousins, you'd need to use multiple matches and chromsome triangulation. See:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:DNA_Confirmation

Comments

Please also note that Ancestry matches cannot be used for triangulation. See these instructions for the explanation: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Triangulation#AncestryDNA_Triangulation

Answer 2

All of what the others have said is true, but they left something out.  You can still use an Ancestry DNA Match for Triangulation IF you download the raw DNA files in question and upload them to GEDmatch. Once uploaded to GEDmatch, they can be "Triangulated" with others who have also uploaded to GEDmatch. I see that your DNA is already there, so it's just a matter of running some of the tools to see if you can match anyone. Since your mother is private, you will need to check this yourself. 

As was stated by Matthew, you do not need triangulation for 3rd cousin or closer relationships so Ancestry will work in those situations.

Comments

Uploading the files to MyHeritage as well as Gedmatch will give you access to a triangulation tool and a large pool of other test results, I understand that there's a modest unlock fee if you have free basic level membership.