Using DNA to Identify an Adoptee’s Parents

Kathleen ReedOLLIFebruary 14, 2020

Imagine My Surprise . . .

She has a tree!

nephew

unknown

I already knew the first two on my list:The first entry was my nephew (note: they predicted 1st cousin).

The second was a known 2nd

cousin.

The third was completely unknown to me, but predicted to be a 2nd or 3rd cousin.

I know these people! Charles is my gg-Grandfather.

Using Ancestry.com’s Message Service, contact my potential cousin, give her my phone number, and ask her to call.

. . . and she was

adopted!

The first thing she told me was that she had no experience with genealogy or DNA. A friend had suggested that she send in a sample so she could share ethnicity estimates with her children.

She had only received the results herself the day before.

After describing my background in genealogy and more recently in DNA and its application to genealogy, she decided to share with me what she knew.

She knew a fair amount.

What she knew . . .• She was born in a home for unwed mothers in a

suburb of Cincinnati.• She had a copy of her adoption record.• She had contacted her biological mother who was

not interested in a relationship. She moved out-of-state shortly after her daughter had been born.

• She knew the neighborhood where her mother had lived.

• She has four half-siblings who know nothing about her.

• She had a copy of her original birth certificate. The biological father was not listed.

• Her mother did not want to disclose the name of the father.• Her father was in the Navy at the time of these events, but

despite being informed of the pregnancy, he chose not to contact the mother (at the encouragement of his parents).

• She was raised by wonderful parents.• She grew up in the same neighborhood I did, attended my

neighborhood high school, and worked for a high-profile Cincinnati Company. Following her marriage, she moved to a new state.

Ancestry DNA does not have a “chromosome browser” making it impossible to compare what segments we may have shared.

My next job was to explain to my “cousin” that she would need to upload her DNA to Gedmatch so we could verify our relationship. Thankfully, this DNA “newbie” was willing to take the plunge, despite my warnings that she would be giving up some privacy.

My cousin matched my aunt, uncle, me, sister, nephew and two people unknown to me.

The key to these matches is the number of total cMshared by each match as well as the largest cM.

The results can be sorted by the total amount of DNA you have in common with others, measured in units called centimorgans or cM, by the longest segment you share, by the number of generations you’re likely distant from your matches and more.

Credit: Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist

So What Does This Tell Us About the Closest Relationships to My Cousin?

Total cM Largest cM Predicted Relationship

1094.3 97.7 First Cousin (1C), Half Aunt/Uncle/Niece/NephewG-Grandparent/G-Grandchild/G. Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

566.3 118.6 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R), ½ First Cousin (1/2 1C)Half Great-Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

552.6 76 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R), ½ First Cousin (1/2 1C)Half Great-Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

214.5 35.8 Second Cousin (2C), First Cousin Twice Removed (1C2R)Half First Cousin Once Removed (1/2 1C1R)

137.8 57.1 Second Cousin Once Removed (2C1R), Half Second Cousin (1/2 2C), First Cousin 3X Removed (1C3R), Half First CousinTwice Removed (1/2 1C2R)

129.6 35.5 Second Cousin Once Removed (2C1R), Half Second Cousin (1/2 2C), First Cousin 3X Removed (1C3R), Half First CousinTwice Removed (1/2 1C2R)

82.9 32.2 Third Cousin (3C), Second Cousin Twice Removed (2C1R)

Matches in Order Predicted Generations Relationship

Closest 1.9 (Unknown – also adopted with no knowledge of his family).

2.3 First Cousin Once Removed

2.3 First Cousin Once Removed

3.0 Second Cousin

3.4 Second Cousin (unproven)

3.4 Second Cousin

Furthest 3.7 Third Cousin

What I Know about These Matches

A word of caution . . .endogamy

Endogamy: The practice of marryingwithin the same ethnic, cultural, social, religious or tribal group.

Individuals with endogamous ancestral origins will often appear to be more closely related to each other than they are in reality. For this reason, it is important to be aware of the “ethnicity” of the individuals being matched. e.g. Ashkenazi Jews, American Colonials

Jeff and I are predicted to be second cousins. We are not. We both have roots in Oldenburg, Germany. Our families have intermarried throughout the past couple of hundred years. A review of recent surnames in our family trees indicates that we share at least five surnames. This is an example of an endogamous population.

Matching Segments on Chromosome 9

Matching Segments on Chromosome 12

Matching Segments on Chromosome 20

The science supported the conclusion! We are second cousins … but through whom?

Photo Credit: 123RF

My biggest clue was from an ancestry tree that showed my new cousin was related to my gg-grandfather.

Next Steps: 1. My gg-Grandfather had 8 children.2. Only 4 of them survived to

adulthood- three boys and a girl.3. I needed to complete my tree so I

could determine if any of Charles’ descendants were in Cincinnati around 1946-47.

My strongest lead did not pan out.The descendants of Charles, Joseph and Raymond relocated to Chicago early on, never to return to this area.

A second son also relocated to Chicago.

His third son moved to Illinois.

That left his only daughter, my great-grandmother, AnnaCatherine. I knew that family well.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that her grandson was my cousin’s potential father!

There were several boxes that had to be checked for this to be true.

1. Lived in this area. Actually lived in the same neighborhood and on the same street as the biological mother.

2. His predicted DNA needed to fit within the parameters with all other relationships.

3. He had to have served in the Navy.

4. Per the birth mother, we knew they were close in age.

5. Full second cousins share a gg-grandparent. We share Anna Catherine as a g-grandmother.

So as my cousin asked, “What do we have to do to prove the relationship?

The biological father died two years ago. He has three children. If any one of the three took a DNA test, we could positively confirm the relationship.

But . . .

Ethics . . . There are no easy answers. Consider:• Does the right of the adoptee to confirm her

father supersede the rights of her half-siblings to not be contacted?

• What impact will the disclosure have on living relatives?

• Should the adoptee present the evidence and ask a potential half-sibling to take a DNA test?

• What is the potential for harm for the biological mother who has specifically requested that there be no contact, especially with her other four children (half-siblings)?

• What is your responsibility as a family historian when it comes to identification of non-paternity events or other “secrets?”

I have been a facebook friend with someone who wouldbe a first cousin to my “new” second cousin. I called her on the phone to discuss my suspicions. She helped us decide which one of the three potential half-siblings would be best to contact. She suggested the half-sister.

My new cousin, Pat, sent a letter to her potentialhalf-sister. After four days, we had not received aresponse. (As it ended up, the email address she used was off by one letter, and it was never received).

Unaware of this glitch, I wrote a lengthy letter explaininghow I arrived at the conclusion I did using much of the information described earlier in this presentation.

This time we got an immediate response requesting that we send copies of the potential father’s Navy records and Pat’sbirthday. When everything lined up, Pat’s new half-sister notified her two half-brothers.

Much to our surprise, Pat was immediately welcomed to the family. After looking at Pat’s facebook page, all agreed that she and her children had undeniable family resemblances to the rest of their family. They all agreed that theydidn’t need a DNA test to verify their relationship.

Family members began sending pictures of them-selves, their father (and Pat’s bio Dad), and others. They pointed out family similarities and one by one, called her on the phone. All of them are now facebook fans and learning about each other. For all of our fear, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

. . . And Pat’s Mom certainly was correct. Her biological father was handsome.

Pat and her paternal grandmother.

Just when I thought we were finished, things took a turn! Check out Part II for the rest of the story.

Let’s Review – In Part I we discussed my newly-discovered 2nd cousin, Pat. We alsooutlined the procedures used to identify her biological father. Within six weeks of this discovery, Pat had three new half-siblings, an aunt and uncle, several nieces and nephews and numerous new cousins. Happily, everyone was very welcoming.

For twenty years, Pat had known who herbiological mother was. She had a copy of heradoption record and knew she had four half-siblings. Her biological mother, after writing several letters and sending family pictures, decided to cut off contact and requested that Pat not contact her half-siblings. Pat honored her request. But then something happened . . .

A New DNA Match on Ancestry

DNA Detectives Autosomal Statistics Chart

Although Sarah was a predicted first cousin, there were other possibilities.

Mother

Pat

Sarah

We knew that Sarah was the daughter of one of Pat’s half-sisters.

With Pat’s permission, I looked Sarah up on Google and called her.

I told her of her relationship to Pat, and she wasn’t altogether surprised. Apparently, her grandfather had alluded to an adoption during a family function.

Sarah suggested that I contact her uncle, (Pat’s half-brother) because he had an interest in genealogy. In fact, she contacted him for us.

Two days later, Pat, her brother and I had a conference call. He, too, was very welcoming and we discussed how best to inform the rest of the family. Recall that Pat’s mother had notwished for her to contact her siblings, nor did she want contact. He suggested that we verify the DNA match before any more contacts would take place.

“A” was, in fact, interested in genealogy and had created a tree on My Heritage. He had also taken a DNA test.

We told “A” about Gedmatch and encouraged him to transfer his DNA results to this site. He was completely open to this suggestion. We used the “One-to-One Comparison” Tool.

The tool confirmed their relationship.

“A” wanted us to explain how we went about using DNA to prove Pat’s relationship to her sibling and niece. We again discussed how we used Gedmatch to narrow down potential relationships. Perhaps you remember this slide from Part I.

My cousin matched my aunt, uncle, me, sister, nephew and two people unknown to me.

So What Does This Tell Us About the Closest Relationships to My Cousin?

Total cM Largest cM Predicted Relationship

1094.3 97.7 First Cousin (1C), Half Aunt/Uncle/Niece/NephewG-Grandparent/G-Grandchild/G. Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

566.3 118.6 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R), ½ First Cousin (1/2 1C)Half Great-Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

552.6 76 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R), ½ First Cousin (1/2 1C)Half Great-Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

214.5 35.8 Second Cousin (2C), First Cousin Twice Removed (1C2R)Half First Cousin Once Removed (1/2 1C1R)

137.8 57.1 Second Cousin Once Removed (2C1R), Half Second Cousin (1/2 2C), First Cousin 3X Removed (1C3R), Half First CousinTwice Removed (1/2 1C2R)

129.6 35.5 Second Cousin Once Removed (2C1R), Half Second Cousin (1/2 2C), First Cousin 3X Removed (1C3R), Half First CousinTwice Removed (1/2 1C2R)

82.9 32.2 Third Cousin (3C), Second Cousin Twice Removed (2C1R)

Matches in Order Predicted Generations Relationship

Closest 1.9 (Unknown – also adopted with no knowledge of his family).

2.3 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R)

2.3 First Cousin Once Removed (1C1R)

3.0 Second Cousin

3.4 Second Cousin (unproven)

3.4 Second Cousin

Furthest 3.7 Third Cousin

What I Know about These Matches

I told “A” that I had constructed a “mirror tree” and that I had figured out who the second cousin was. Since the alleged “first cousin” also was a match to the alleged “second cousin,” I knew that he was on Pat’s maternal side. I built out the tree and was able to figure out the identity of the second cousin, but had not yet figured out the identity of the “first cousin.” Pat and I had contacted him and he told us he had no idea who his parents were. He knew he was born in Austin, TX in 1971. That was all of the information he had.

Wait for it . . .

At this point, “A” jokingly said that he or his brother could be the father of the “first cousin.” He and his brother were living in Texas in 1971, and he said he was a “long-haired” college student at that time.

Notice anything?

He was “M’s” father!!!!

Within 90 minutes, “A” was talking to the half-sister he knew nothing about, and now discoveredthat he had a son! His son was a “half-nephew” to my cousin, Pat – not a first cousin as Ancestry predicted. However, according to the DNA Detectives table, everything was fitting together.

And so things have moved on:1) “A” wrote to his newly-identified son.2) “A” contacted his mother, who “friended” her biological daughter

on facebook.3) Pat’s sister and niece have also “friended” Pat on facebook.4) “A’s” son has become facebook friends with his newly-identified

biological family.5) I’ve helped a couple of families connect and I’m optimistic about their future relationships. Don’t ever let anyone convince you that DNA is not an essential tool in genealogy.

Finally, make sure that those who submit their DNA consider the possible outcomes.

In this scenario, ONLY “M” HAD TAKEN A DNA TEST IN THE HOPE OF UNCOVERING FAMILY.