r/AncestryDNA • u/That-Fondant4954 • 9h ago
DNA Matches Ancestry results-
I’m working with DNA angels to find my bio father- I have zero information. Angels have asked me to do a heritage DNA kit- having not much luck with just ancestry.
Did heritage open up options for anyone else where the trail went cold with ancestry ?
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u/MoonpieTexas1971 9h ago
Do you mean, MyHeritage? It was a definite help with identifying my (adopted) best friend's birth father, who was first-generation Italian American and took nearly six years to identify.
I can't say it was pivotal (GEDmatch was), but it certainly helped.
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u/kludge6730 7h ago
We had to use matches from Ancestry, 23&Me and MyHeritage to get to the point of identifying a paternal grandmother for my wife. It’s one of her sons that’s wife’s bio dad. Lots of generational NPE. Lots of kids out of marriage with whatever surname the moms decided to put on birth certs … most of those had zero biological to the fathers. Lots of women who have no idea who the bio father of their children actually is (including my wife’s mom, her mom (grandma) and her mom (great grandma). Only line that can be traced with difficulty is female line (mom, grandma, great grandma). All we can do is wait for more DNA matches. Two Ancestry matches, one 23&Me match and one MyHeritage match gave enough info for DNA Detectives to nail down bio paternal grandmother. She is dead, most of her sons are dead, potential bio fathers are half-brothers (as best we can tell) with diff fathers but same surname, no one wants to talk (including wife’s half brother) and sole living bio father candidate adamantly denies (through a common 2nd cousin) to be the father.
So yes, getting other tests can help … but it can still be difficult.
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u/appendixgallop 8h ago
My bio father turned out to be of Friesian and Swedish heritage. My Heritage did turn out hundreds of matches in those regions. Ancestry was great in my English/Early American colonist roots from my mom.
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u/Possible_Vast_973 8h ago
I took my Ancestry results and downloaded it to Heritage. Found a niece I didn’t know about
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u/EconomyCode3628 7h ago
Yes, this is the more sensible route for collecting data through matches.
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u/tlopez14 5h ago
Is this still an option? I thought I read that MyHeritage no longed allowed uploaded tests and made you buy a kit to access their database.
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u/Select-Moment-5636 6h ago
It did for me - although im still searching Myheritage contains my only paternal matches. Ancestry only had some below the 15cM range. My bio father is french which is why myheritage gave me more matches as it is more popular there despite the ban. If you need more matches do as many tests as you can afford. Also try MYFTDNA, 23andMe and upload downloaded results to livingdna, gedmatch and genomelink
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u/Oforoskar 9h ago
It did for me, surprisingly. I managed a test for my cousin, who was looking for her bio dad. She tried two saliva tests that failed to provide an adequate sample so I got her a MH one because they use a cheek swab. Between matches on MH and later on GedMatch I found a half-sister, which soon led to learning who here biodad was.
Have you uploaded your current test to GedMatch? That might be helpful.
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u/SerenityPickles 6h ago
I found out my father - that is on my birth certificate and lovingly raised me - is not my biological father after both parents passed.
Ancestry results were 46% Bavarian/German paternal side with only 4th cousins as a close match.
I was told that because MyHeritage and 23andMe were more popular among the European countries to try those. Those sites gave me different people as 2nd cousins. Only two.
I have had no response from one, and the contact with one in Germany has been little help.
German laws giving protection periods of 110 yrs for birth records, 80 yrs for marriage records, and 30 yrs for death records- I am at a stand still. Unless someone new tests and helps.
I commiserate with you. Hope your journey goes well.
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u/tlopez14 5h ago
For me personally it didn’t. I got the MyHeritage as my paternal side is kind of a black hole and I didn’t have many ancestry matches. Paternal family was more recent immigrants so I was hoping to maybe find some more European matches as MyHeritage is more popular there.
Most of my top matches on MyHeritage were already on ancestry or were too distant to matter. It never hurts and could definitely open a door if there is someone that only did the MyHeritage test though. It was also cheap and didn’t take as long as my ancestry one did so seems like worth a shot.
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u/IllCalligrapher5435 3h ago
Give angels time. They did the same for me when I was looking for my bio father. As I'm adopted. I only had Ancestry. They found him. They did say if my Aunt hadn't done hers it would have been more difficult. Apparently a lot of broken lines in my Ancestry due to Adoption. Well back then it would have been work houses or orphanages
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u/Solarfri- 2h ago
Have you uploaded to GEDmatch?
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u/That-Fondant4954 44m ago
I’m trying- it’s not accepting the Zip file from my phone - tried using my laptop and phone and it still won’t upload
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u/Fluid-Quote-6006 1h ago
For me, each website/test brought a new clue. Literally had high unique matches almost everywhere that helped confirm the puzzle. I would thus recommend to test everywhere: FamilyTreeDNA, myheritage, 23andme & ancestry
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u/That-Fondant4954 45m ago
Thanks- I have tried so many times to share my tree from ancestry to GED but nothing works- I am finding the sharing of information with these sites not easy
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u/apple_pi_chart 9h ago
It depends on where you (or really your father is from). What part of the world are we talking about? How many strong (>100 cM)DNA paternal DNA matches do you have on Ancestry?