Next Steps For Using DNA to Find Unknown Ancestors or Parents of Adoptees 

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My father was adopted and I successfully found his birth parents using DNA. Now I am working on an unknown 3X great grandfather.

Thank you so much for this excellent educational video! About a month ago, I was contacted by a 5-6th cousin (36 cM match). She didn't know who her mother's biological father had been. I used these methods and we narrowed it down to the one man who it could have been. (We were lucky enough to have enough DNA 2nd cousin matches to rule some potential fathers out.) It was an incredible journey. Since then, I've become a search angel and found two more biological fathers for different people. I find it absolutely thrilling. I just want to thank you for sharing information & know-how so that more people can find their family!

A year ago I had my 50+ yr. old child contact me after I placed her up for adoption. Please listen to what he says about being very careful approaching adoptive families. I never wanted to be contacted. The circumstances of her birth were awful, and I was filled with hatred not of her but of her father. It was a very hard thing to give her up, but it was worth it to have my privacy and that was the only thing I got out of the adoption process. 50 years ago, I thought my secret would be kept, these DNA tests have destroyed that. So, do think twice before creating a very shocking and disturbing situation. In the end I accepted her call and we are getting closer. I think for me it did work out, but it could have so easily gone the other way. You may never know what will happen, it like playing with fire.

Great video Andy

I’ve found WATO to be very helpful to try to determine where I might fit in.

My father was adopted. I saw an adoption paper many years ago with the name of Walker on it for sure and think the first name was Robert. It was taken out my hands by an attorney before I could read the rest. I have no idea where it ended up as it was in my Grandpa's lock box that we were viewing after his death. I did my DNA and the name Walker is coming up! I am in contact with the closest matches. They had their Mom do DNA back in May 2020 and are still waiting for results. I have been researching the names they gave me and forming a family tree from that. I believe this family will provide my Dad's parent on the Walker side. I have narrowed it down to three siblings out of the 8. Two men and one woman were in the location and of a possible age to be parents. I have been watching your videos and learning how to use the DNA and family trees to to do the pedigree triangulation and using the Leeds method should help too. Just want to thank you for this as I was at a road block on where to go.

Ancestry is about raise the cut-off for DNA matches it shows from 6cM to 8cM. (The matches you previous put in color groups or made notes in the notes function are not lost.)

Thank you Andy! :)

🧬Thanks Andy🧬

What is the best to find out my great grandparents and also the full list of ancestors on my dad side? I do have heavily Scandinavian ancestry apparently even ancestry has now changed to Danish and Swedish (20%

Thank you for this information. I’ve been searching for my biological father and have dna matches of 1106, 396, 665 and 233 cM. They’ve all been very helpful, but none of them know my father.I can’t wait to use this tool.

My father in laws grandfather was born in 1911 in New York and supposedly was adopted. I don’t have any dna from his side of the family, but is there a way to find out about the great grandparents?

I match with my 2nd cousin on my dads moms side which my dads mom is adopted.. What is the best way to figure out info on her biological parents?

Is there a chart for this. I figured it out but need to find a way to keep track?

What happens if there is only one name in common not two, how does it work from there please

My mystery person is four generations down from me. What cM range should I use? I've created one leeds chart and shot fairly low - I think between 39 - 14. Very few of these matches had any real information in their charts. I'm thinking I'm going to start researching what information they have to see if there are commonalities between the lines. It's been a five or more year battle so far.

I have done extensive research and found my biological mother and have narrowed my biological father down to 2 brothers. The only match I have found so far is a great-grandson of one of them matches 185.6 cm with me. What else can I do?

I have a unknown match at 19 CM, our closest match is at 34 CM. I know neither of these people. Match 1 says that she is adopted. when I look at my known first cousins matches this Same Match 1 is in her matches as well. Funny thing, neither me nor my known first cousin triangulate with the unknown cousin. This baffles me as to why this happens? Thanks for any help. EDIT: My brother and half sister do not show up as matches with Match 1.

I just found out my great grandfather was adopted and I am waiting impatiently on my DNA ancestry results. I hope it helps to solve it.

I m been contacted by several DNA relatives that were adopted.I ve been able to corral possibilities but not point to the exact parent of the adoptee.This might help.

Very useful hints ... I have been searching for my mother´s great grandfather. I know up to my mother´s grandmother who I believe was an illegitimate daughter; hence, I only know who her mother is, but not her dad. I noticed a cluster of "unidentified" matches and I decided to add my great grandmother´s dad to the family tree in Ancestry as "N" Wilson (not the real surname), based in the cluster and potential matches. Ancestry has suggested me who may be the potential parents of "N" Wilson (as common ancestors). How accurate would this be? Because the doubt that I have is that I may be misleading Ancestry while arbitrarily choosing the "Wilson" line instead of other DNA line.

I am trying to find out if my (deceased) mother was adopted. In my DNA matches, they all start with people that are listed as 2nd to 4th cousins, and no names match any in the family tree that my brother has been researching for about 50 years. What could be the reason for this? I contacted the 1st on the list, as she had the same name as a friend of my sister. Only asked if she was from the same city as my sister's friend. Should I contact more people? What do I say?

How do l fit in with a 2nd to third cousin match?

Yes I have been told that my GGF on my mom’s side of the family was adopted but I am unable to find any records for him and unfortunately he passed in 1981 and I don’t have any DNA on him is there another way to possibly find his adoption records Thanks

I have been trying to find out who my partner’s grandma’s biological parents are using DNA matches on Ancestry. She was adopted and there were always rumors that her birth mother was a famous actress so it was exciting to try to confirm this tale. I managed to find her biological father but I can’t find any trace of her biological mother’s side of the family anywhere. I wondered if 1. Her mother’s side is not American and so they are not in the Ancestry database or 2. Her parents were related so they share the same line. I’ve been trying to find a way to determine if the biological parents were related but so far I’ve been unsuccessful because I’m not sure how to do that.

Curious about what you think about Ancestry eliminating matches below 8cM? From their white paper, one of their reasons is to reduce their database requirements... Personally, I feel like I am going to lose a lot of data. From the white paper: "The cutoff of 8 cM was chosen after considering several factors. The first factor is data storage. Since the number of matching segments grows exponentially with decreasing length, we dramatically reduce the storage requirements of our matching database by increasing the cutoff. A second, and more critical, factor is that the accuracy of IBD detection drops rapidly with decreasing IBD length-that is, the shorter the length of the detected IBD segment (expressed in genetic distance), the less likely it is that the detected chromosome segment is truly inherited from a common ancestor."

I'm going (not so slowly) around the bend, trying to find my darling Gram's maternal grandfather & great grandfather, using cMs and matches 'trees. [One generation back beyond this, I've 0 doubts as to the identity of both sets of parents - the descendants of siblings, aunts, uncles & ancestors are well represented in my matches. One tree is particularly challenging- 60cM cut from 78- I know: too much! - but loaded with endogamy and pedigree collapse- both sides of my identified " couple". I think I need to find my proposed targets individually-( the woman would have been "his" youngest sister-in -law- ) -in trees without e'y or p.c., and try to get an idea of our "normal " range of cM - highest, lowest, most common, average- at same generation distance ...& subtract..... ( My closest cousins are 3rd, & none of us has found a trace of an ancestor bearing the name of our closest supposed common ancestor- general conclusion:he's a stray cat- name bears no relationship to his DNA. ) I'm not sure any of them has attacked my way, & is approaching the same conclusions... I hope I'm not totally off base....?

I'm adopted. I'm not sure who my birth father is/was (and I'm not sure my birth mother knew either). I belong to Ancestry, 23andme, Gedmatch, CRI Genetics. I have isolated a number of biological families that intermarried with cousins - some first cousins, others not - that I'm genetically related to thru my birth father. On Ancestry, I seem to have lots of HALF first cousin matches (400-500 cM). Most of these close matches don't have trees - and when I messaged them, I never hear back from them. Sometimes I've mentioned I'm adopted - other times I did not. I feel I've ruined any connection or opening I could have with my paternal family members because there were lots of multiple marriages, lots of half-siblings, divorces, etc. LOTS of drama - and very messy. Do you think I have blown any chance of meeting my paternal family by mentioning my adoption?

I was successful finding my husband’s paternal great grandfather using this method . My husband’s maternal grandmother was adopted in California. She was born in 1903. California did not start recording births until 1905. I really need help!

Someone in my ancestry for sure had some kind of adoption/mix up/something.

What about siblings searching for siblings My brother was adopted I was raised in biological family .Its steps are rarely covered and I am struggling for steps to do so without actual birthday or year.

My grandfather on my mother's side never knew who his mother's parents were. His mother was born in Ohio before they required birth certificates (abt 1866). there are no records of her until she marries my ggpa when she was around 21. We have me, two siblings, my aunt and a 1st cousin, and a few 2nd cousins DNA who all carry my ggma's dna. My mother's side of the family all have massive lines (my aunt had 90k matches on ancestry) because many of our ancestors have been here since the 1600's. how do you triangulate someone who was born back in the 1860's?

I have been trying to locate my 3 times great grandfather,and I have no clue how to find him..I have lots of family lore telling me that he was brought over from Ireland during or right after the potato famine by his mothers brother..He was then adopted by a family with the surname of King that lived in the NYC metro area..According to family lore his surname was Montgomery and he took on King after the adoption..I have no clue if this was even a legal adoption just what my grandfather had mentioned while he was alive..The lore has him leaving NYC at 17 and re-locating to Rogersville Tennessee where he married a Cherokee lady ( have no clue what her name was) I can pick up my 2 times grandparent's through census,marriage and death records in Speers Ferry VA just across the Tennessee state line..So as you can see I have no clue where to start because we have searched, and searched trying to find him on paper but he doesn't exist ..I need help and I am at the point of wondering if DNA might help us finally solve if in fact my 3 times great grandfather was in fact Albert Montgomery-King from Ireland..Any pointers would be so appreciated thanks for this video..

I'm adoptee.. found both sides.. mother is alive.. fatherside not: On father side I'm 100% half-sister or aunt.. 1775cM, 54 segments, father could be or one of 6 sons all 6 sons & father passed.. can you help me out ??

I met my first family in about 1980, before all this was available. So they feel like family now, but I am missing a little of the history, because there were no family stories. I didn't know triangulation could help build a tree. Thanks.

I'm look for my biological mother I have no idea who she is I was adopted I dont know what agency can u help please

It’s frustrating for me bc my dads mom NEVER told him who his real father was. She only gave a few facts and bc how psychotic she was we don’t know that it is true. Not to mention my dads mom was a war baby, her mom got pregnant with her by another man, who wasn’t her husband who happened to be overseas fighting in a war. So my grandmothers mom would be the only person on her birth certificate and Chicago Illinois is giving me the run around for getting her birth certificate. But I’m allowed access to it because both my dad and his mom are deceased and I’m the last living biological ancestor from my dad of her. But it also dampens the search because it is possible we won’t find my great grandfather let alone my actual grandfather

My grandfather was adopted, i never got to meet him.. I haven't been able to find out about his father, he wasn't on the birth certificate

I have never been able to figure out triangulation...However, I do want to warn people to please, please, check the original census record. I ran across one of my matches who had my grandfather listed as his grandmother's son, rather than his mother's son. In one of the censuses they show he was a grandson, not a son to this grandmother and step grandfather.

How would this work for finding out the biological parents of the great-grandmother of a grandfather, especially involving someone who was adopted from another country (Germany)? My grandfather's great-grandmother, Sophia Genz (b. 1831, adopted 1833), claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of "a noble or royal of Mecklenburg-Schwerin" who was adopted out of a convent in Malchow, Germany. [Sophia was] adopted by Arietfelo Helmuth Genz at the age of 2 1/4 years, in 1833 at Striedfeld, according to the Convent records signed by Father Podesta, District Waren. The family story goes as thus: "Sophia Magdalena Genz Lippert was born on 17 February 1831 and died 26 December 1908. This information comes directly off of her death certificate, volume 9 page 543, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. In addition, I have a copy of her traveling papers from her pastor in Germany, which clearly give the birth date as 17 February 1831, along with her baptismal and confirmation information. Sophia was born in Strietfeld, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, according to this paperwork. I also have a copy of paperwork showing she was adopted by Arietfelo Helmuth and Maria Ernestine Catherine (Schwarz) Genz on 4 March, 1833. Family stories that have been passed down relate that she was known to tell people that she was the daughter of royalty, and even had a basket of food packed for her by the castle (?) when she left for America. I have not been able to [neither] prove nor disprove this. However, the guardianship/adoption papers do allow for some inkling that she may have been the by-blow of some royalty. She was adopted out of a German convent at Malchow (Malchow Abbey?)." Sophia Genz later married Johann Joachim David Lippert, a farmer / workman, in Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, on August 28, 1853, when she was 22 years old. On 19 October 1853, barely two months later, she and her new husband arrived in New York City on the ship "North America". They settled in in Liberty, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

Difficult to do when both your bio mother and father and had 8 to 10 siblings each.

All my children are adopted. Neither I nor they have any interest in finding out who spawned them.

Someone didn't watch Game of Thrones :-)

You lost me at Arr Arr Martin.