in Family history

Remaining Mysteries

I have thirty eight pages of DNA matches on FtDNA.  Thirty five years of research in my tree and branches which take me back ten generations or more in most directions. A desire to uncover the truth and seek sources for all details so hopefully a tree without much guesswork.  A family tree database containing 16,546 connected individuals.

But just three confirmed matches, one of which still requires further validation.

Is this what everyone has?  Or is there something I don’t know about my family?

I used PAF to create a new family tree for myself, adding in only the lines confirmed by DNA.  I have one on my paternal side and two on my maternal side.  It looks as if my parents are both my parents.  That’s a good beginning.

Going back on the paternal side, my father’s father is also secure in his position. I have nothing identified on my father’s mother’s side.   I cannot add that branch to my DNA Confirmed tree yet.

Looking at my paternal grandfather, I have a confirmed match on his mother’s side so she can pop in.  Her surname was Bone.  The rest of that branch – the Dillons – will have to wait.  For the Bone family – my great grandmother’s mother was Elizabeth Lockley so I’ll add her.  Her father’s branch is in limbo.  Elizabeth Lockley’s parents are my MRCA with my paternal match so I’ll pop them both in, although I don’t know which one gave me the DNA and the other one remains uncertain.  That side of my tree is done.

On my mother’s side, I can add each of her parents.  Her father’s father – Herbert Dunstall – can also be added, but not the mother.  Herbert was the son of Annie McLeod so I have added her.  Herbert’s father remains unconfirmed so he is not in there.

I have added Kenneth McLeod and Flora McIsaac as MRCA for that match, but as with the other one, the DNA possibly only came from one of them.  However, I match the PEI group on a different chromosome to my 3rd cousin.  He also matches the PEI group in a different way.  We may be working towards DNA received from each parent.

Back down to my maternal grandmother, I am able to add her father, Burleton Peard but no more Peards.  His mother, Mary Ann Burleton, is in, but not her mother so no Wookeys.  Her father Francis Burleton – yes, and directly up the Burleton line to John Burleton and Elizabeth probably-Lush.   It’s a beginning. Time to go figure out why the rest of my matches cannot be found.

I have three remaining brick wall ancestors in the closer generations.  27 matches are with the DNA Project involving Prince Edward Island and Scotland so they are accounted for.  I have just that one match on the Burleton segment and he has no ‘In Common Withs’.   Sarah on the maternal side tested with a different company so is not here.  I have two matches for the same segment on the same chromosome but unless they upload to gedmatch I can’t determine if they are paternal or maternal matches.

28 matches = 3 pages.  Could the 35 remaining pages of matches all connect to those three brick wall ancestors?  Just how much of a brick wall were they really?

I took a closer look.

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  1. Don’t know if this is any help to you but I am also following up on Sarah Jane Peard. possibly an Irish orphan, who married George Wright. They settled on the Tamar, Tasmania.