How do I document an adoption / Illegitimate birth / Unknown father using DNA results in your tree?

Question

There will never be a marriage certificate for this abandonment/adoption/illegitimate birth. I have many DNA matches to prove the UNKNOWN father. The problem I see documenting this on your tree is as...as you reach the present (the persons taking a DNA test) privacy prevents you from knowing anything about them. So how do I document a bunch of privacy protected DNA testers that match me to prove (to wiki users) this is the correct UNKNOWN father??

Comments

You include a paragraph on the profile of Jack Elmo Lander along the lines of:

"That Jack Elmo's birth parents were Arthur Lander and .... is supported by the following:

* Jack North's DNA results [describe them]

* This DNA matches known children of Arthur Lander, including J. Lander, B. Lander and C. Lander [or whatever data you've got that demonstrates Jack's DNA matches Lander DNA]. [Add link to GEDMatch or other online DNA site that lists the matches.]

Note that I've used first initials to represent living people; I believe others may use initials also for last names as well for living people.

Perhaps someone else can link to example profiles that illustrate how best to write these arguments.

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It appears that I can only add a DNA test to my self and not my matches? Is that correct?

I think my real problem is my expectations don't match your technology.

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Yes, that is correct, if they are living. But you could link to their test results from a comment on their profile.

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That's a great idea. Thanks.

I feel I need to increase my wikitree skills. I am 30+ years deep into doing things the Ancestry.com way. I make my advances there, and then bring them here. So I am still a babe here.

I was just looking at 23andMe DNA tree. They have done well. The tree layout visually works great for a overall view of all your DNA matches and their position in your tree.

A similar DNA match tree view would really compliment what you are trying to achieve here. Documents can be wrong. DNA does not lie.

Thanks again.

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I'm not a 23 and me member, or familiar with it, can you provide a screenshot to show the tree view you are looking for?

Also, DNA matching can be complicated and misleading at times, especially if there are multiple ways that DNA matches can have arrived (multiple ancestor branches that overlap) and it is just another tool. Different companies test different locations, different levels or types of tests provide different results based on the technologies used, etc.

There are also some very untested and unproven ways in which tests are applied that may or may not be valid (triangulation, for example) that Edison Williams has discussed at length in G2G.

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How do I attach an image from my hard drive?

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Mark, I think it's best you post the question about "attach an image from hard drive" as a new question.

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I truly understand what your asking, my mom and her younger sister (they are both my grandmother's daughters) both were always told my mom's father's name was Leslie Morris I only have for information about him listed as  Morris abt birth date and he was enlisted in WW2. I keep getting a hit for the same man. Problem is everyone that is a dna match never heard of a Leslie, I did however find that my mom has a half sister. But when I went through every newspaper birth announcement in  the city my mom was born it only comes back with " to the wife is  O. C. Morris a girl". I haven't asked my aunt or mom about it yet, my grandmother is passed and my mom is literally the oldest of our living family. Her half sister I found she didn't until her father's death find out she was adopted and the parents that raised her never told her anything until her dad's passing and she received the knowledge letter right after telling her her birth name and that the stipulation was she would be named a the name her birth parent(s) gave with the adopted parents last name. She also found what her birth name was. So she and my mom neither know whom their birth father is. I've asked every dna match if anyone in their family knows or heard of Leslie not 1 so now I have to ask if they know of a O.C.                        There, like mentioned,  are so many people put as private that you can't find some family members. Which the way I see it is if someone has done a dna should let members of their family know so those of us looking for adopted, illegitimate (which my mother is as her father and my grandma never married), unknown can if nothing else fill in the lost/unknown gaps in their family genealogy.

Answer 1

You can also encourage your living relatives to join Wikitree and to get their Gedmatch numbers.