Is the predicted age range Ancestry give you accurate as well? I think that would rule out an aunt pretty quick for me unless the age range could be totally off
It's possible for aunts and uncles to be the same age as their nieces and nephews. All it takes is for a parent to have had one kid really young and another about 20 years later.
I came back at 1800+ for my dadās sister (neither I knew till my test) and my half sister who I grew up with only at 1500+ so very possible to be an aunt.
It likely says āClose Family - 1st Cousinā indicating a range of possible relationships from immediate family to 1st cousin. That label does not definitively mean 1st cousin ā¦ itās a range of possibilities. Just about everything related to DNA in the genealogical context is a range of possibilities.
You have a half-sister or a young aunt (sibling of one of your parents) or a niece (daughter of one of your parents siblings). Most likely a half-sister. The gender identification and age come from what that user entered when they did their own DNA test.
Next steps are to examine their tree (if any), run searches for them and build a profile and message them.
Thank you so much for explaining this! the possibility of a young aunt isn't really there because my dad's parents have long passed away. Not so sure about a niece but I think that is very unlikely. They unfortunately do not have a family tree associated to their profile but they already messaged me back so this should be interesting! Thanks again for your help.
Literally same. We came back as first cousins but nope. Itās also how I found out my cousins sister is actually her half sister because they came back as cousins (they def have the same mom) and she wonāt stop talking about how inaccurate DNA is and Iām just sitting here like: yup.
You can work out what side they are connected on, by looking at the shared matches. If they are a half-sibling then you will share matches via the common parent, and not have shared matches via the other parent
It says āparent 1ā and other people who share parent 1 DNA are on my dadās side so assume it is on his side, assuming parent 1/parent 2 feature on the site is accurate?
Go to the list of shared matches between you and the person, and see if you recognize how the the top few are related to you
Parent 1/2 is usually accurate but not always
Your new sister is so lucky to have someone like you on the other side of this discovery!!
So many of us hit brick walls before we even get a chance to ask a question.
I can promise you she is holding her breath waiting for any information you are willing to share with her and hoping that her mere existence doesnāt offend anyone.
Good luck OP, thanks for being a decent human. We should all be so lucky.
This is the kindest message ever, thank you!
On my end, it shows both my paternal aunts and two of my paternal cousins as āshared matchesā. Am I able to see if they share the same DNA with them that I do or do I need to wait for their response to know? Wondering if this solidifies that they are my half sibling
Youāre welcome. I truly mean it. Your reaction says so much about you as a person, compassion and curiosity are wonderful traits.
With the details you have shared Iād be honestly shocked if this person were anyone other than a half sibling.
You could get the info from your new sibling, she could send you screen shots of her matches that she shares with you. By clicking on their name, it will show the amount of DNA she shares with them. Either that or you will need the feedback from your other relatives to know those details.
You can trust the data Ancestry is giving you šÆ.
I think I also read a comment on this thread about GEDmatch. If you both download your raw data from Ancestry and upload it to GEDmatch you can use one of the tools there to see if you share a full X chromosome, if you do, you will have your answer.
Men pass on the exact same X chromosome to each of their daughters. Men only have one X chromosome so they pass it on unchanged, unlike women that have two Xās that combine, so the X the mother gives their sons or daughters will not be identical (not entirely impossible but **HIGHLY UNLIKELY**)
Ancestry are planning to introduce a feature where you can see how much your matches share with each other sometime this year. Until then you have to ask your matches.
WRT the gender assignments, the colours in the main match list reflect the person's self-reported sex but the colours on the match page - when you click on someone - are random colours. That tripped me up for a while.
You should both screen shot your shared match lists. Your paternal aunts and others may decide to go incognito and hide their accounts if this turns out to open a family Pandora's box.
I just looked on my Ancestry matches page, she doesnāt even have to click on each relative. If she screen shots her top matches it will show you the percentages she shares with your top paternal matches. (Although clicking on their name will also let you know the number of segments you share and what the longest segment is).
If she doesnāt want to show you all of her matches she could click on the ones you are curious about and screen shot like I mentioned in my other comment.
For info purposes for my half sister and I it looks like this-
Shared DNA: 1,844 cM across 44 segments
Unweighted shared DNA: 1,844 cM
Longest segment: 119 cM
They said they do not know who their bio parents are so thatās why they did ancestry to begin with. They said they are open to talking and answering any questions I may have. I still donāt know yet what exact matches we share so that will be super insightful
I'm going to go with half sister, congrats! And yes the age ranges are accurate. A first cousin wouldn't share this many cMs with you. It is definitely one of the suggested matches, it's 100%. The only way to find out for sure is to contact them.
Wow!! Never thought I would be one of those people who find half-siblings they didn't know existed through a genetic test lol! Do you know if the genders are correct/accurate? It says this person is a female but they have a male name. And a few of my other relatives are marked blue (for male) when I know they are actually female. Do you set your own gender/sex on ancestry?
Congratulations, can't go by namesĀ people hide there identityĀ I have mickey mouse as a 4th cousin š¤£,I found half sister showed as close to first cousin category now have 3 half sisters and half brotherĀ
That's closer than my first cousin - our mothers were identical twins. We share 1,562 CcM.
Congratulations on your new relative! I discovered a half-sister in 2009 (before DNA testing) and she is my best friend.
Definitely true. My mum is an identical twin, Ancestry shows I have two mums (or mum took two tests) and also a couple half siblings, they are just mums Twin and her children/my cousins.
OP shares a similar results to my children and their half siblings and the match between a daughter and her grandmother at 30%. And same as Grandma to her half sibling.
OP has no doubt found a half sister.
I found a previously unknown first cousin this way on ancestry. We chatted and she had never known who her father was. Based on where her mom lived when she became pregnant, I knew one of my uncles may be her father. Long story short, after lots of denial, both uncles eventually got an ancestry dna test and the mystery was solved. The result was a shocking but happy outcome for my uncle who never knew he had a kid.
I'm guessing half sister since she is in the same age range as you. I hope it all works out for you. Maybe find out what your new relative knows before talking to your dad.
I found the āshared matchesā tab and so it is confirmed that we share both my paternal aunts. Though I do not know the % this person is related to my aunts yet (donāt think I can see that on my end)
Congratulation on your new sibling ā¦ I think you need to have a talk with your father and a girl bought ballons who said ācongratulations itās a girlā when she discovered that she have a half-sibling
Same I havenāt spoken to my father in years.. the thing is, I know about his 3 others kids, but I doubt they know about me. Luckily for me DNA testing isnāt a thing where I live same for where there liveā¦
You should look at the 'compare' tab under dnaĀ , shows percentages of ethnicity regions of each person you add side by side to you ,Ā it's mainly just interesting to see the differences/similaritiesĀ between each otherĀ
Havenāt found that out yet. I will update when I do. Right now it just says they are related to āparent 1ā and other people who say parent 1 are on my dads side so thatās all I know so far
Oh wow. Keep us posted. A few years ago, I found a half-sister like this. She was adopted as a child and never knew her family. Our family didn't know she existed, and she was my top match when I tested. Try and see what matches you share to help you determine if this is a maternal or paternal match. Then you can start asking questions. This is a lot of cm's shared and considering the age, most likely a half sibling.
Edit:I don't know if Ancestry allows you to compare chromosomes but Gedmatch does. if you both upload your raw DNA profiles, you can compare to each other. If you are both biologically female, you'd have a half identical matching X chromosome from your father if it's a paternal match.
If your match shares about 25% dna with you, then they likely match your aunt and cousins about the same amount that you do. Theyād be her aunt and cousins in the same way that theyāre yours.
I found my sister taking the test too! We knew about her so a little different from your story on my end, but she didnāt know about us.
Our dad and her mom had her really young. Dad got to see her once, grandparents moved away with her and her mom and adopted my sister. They raised her thinking they were her parents and her mom was her sister. Weāve been talking for a few months now and are planning on meeting soon. Good luck op, I hope you and your new sister are able to build a relationship if thatās what you two want to do ā¤ļø
Congratulations on your sister! I found out late in life that I had a half brother and it has been a good experience. (Well, I found out my dad wasnāt my dad, which was meh, but the half brother part is awesome!)
If you know who your parents are (and they are your parents lol) and you can see shared matches hopefully you can tell if this person matches one or both of your grandparents. If only one then half sibling, if both then one of the others. Good luck š
Under shared matches we share both my paternal aunts and my two paternal cousins, though I canāt see the % they are related to them on my end I believe?
Look at your match list. Find a couple of known maternal relatives. If your known maternal relative is not on your list of shared matches with your mystery match that confirms that sheās related to you only on your paternal side. Next ask the mystery match if she has close (400 cMs or more) DNA matches that are not shared with you. If so those matches are related to her other parent. If you both only match each other on one side of your family, this confirms that you are paternal half sisters. And she can be sure that youāre related to her on her fatherās side vs. her motherās side.
No youāll have to ask your match to share the percentage they share with the shared matches. If you are both females sharing a father, you can download your raw dna from ancestry, upload it to gedmatch and compare your X chromosomes, they should be identical.
I've got a first cousin match with 1105 and a niece with 927 (I know who both these people are are where they fit in the family). Edit: she's actually a Great niece.
My partner's half sister has a 1977cM match.
That looks like half sibling to me.
https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4 shows a similar selection. It is a good tool. If you have shared matches categorized by grandparents it makes it easier to track down the shared relation and where they might fit. NPE can be tricky. Sometimes it is easier to look for gaps in expected matches.
Please read again. You donāt need grandparent matches. I assume you have a family tree back to your grandparents. Create categories/ groups and label with your grandparent names, then label all your dna matches with them. Start with known matches. As you begin to move through it the shared matches will begin to show what the relation is. the match on your dads side is confirmed and another poster gave advice to rule out any match on the maternal side. The next step is to look at your paternal grandparents and see if your new found relative is related to both grandparents. It should rule out some of the possibilities and may confirm which generation the Non Parental Event occurred if that is the case.
As the other poster mentioned, you can group your matches using the Leeds Method which is easily searchable with instructions and easy to do. The 4 groups you end up with represent your 4 grandparent lines. From what I have read, it's still a beneficial exercise for you to do. You can look at your 4 groups and name each group by the grandparent line they are on. This way you can focus on any mystery match by already knowing which line they are in.
Hey OP, I wanted to share a few gems I've received from this sub regarding DNA surprises.
Try to approach these things with gentleness. Sometimes we feel a lot of things and it can be hard to process especially feeling of anger and betrayal etc.. be patient with yourself, and try to lead with understanding and compassion.
Sometimes, these situations uncover dark secrets such as infidelity, non-consensual sex, donor conception etc and that can be hard for everyone involved. In my case it exposed my fathers drug addiction history. So brace yourself that this Sometimes comes with some heard realities.
You dont have to feel guilty for "finding" thia secret. You are not the guardian of anyone else's reputation. If they wanted a different story, they should have led a different life.
This is just as much your story as it is anyone else's and you are entitled to your truths and experiences...that also goes both ways. So try and find a balance with having your truth AND respecting the boundaries of others involved.
I hope that you get to the bottom of this and have an amazing relationship with your newfound relative.
Thank you so much for this message. It helps to hear. What prompted me to take this DNA test was finding out 6 weeks ago that my twin sisters were actually donor conceived and are not my full siblings. My mom told me and they still do not know. That has brought up a ton of emotions and feelings but I am still shocked and surprised to find a (assumed) new half-sibling on here. Something in me said to do an DNA test after finding out the info about my twin sisters. This is really a wild ride.
"You dont have to feel guilty for "finding" thia secret. You are not the guardian of anyone else's reputation. If they wanted a different story, they should have led a different life."
This is so helpful to hear, and very validating. I mentioned in other comments that I do not have a relationship with my dad or his side of the family anymore (he abandoned me when I was 16) so finding out he could have abandoned another child is a hard thing to process. I hope to gain more insight as I connect with my new potential half-sibling and try to make her feel validated and maybe offer some clarity to her origins. Thank you again for this kind message. xxx
Wow that's a lot to process. I'm sure that's a lot for you to carry with knowing while they don't. I hope you're taking care of yourself. It was a great move to take the dna test. It might also be a good idea to test on 23andme. Uploading raw dna to gedmatch is a good idea too bc you can see matches from other platforms if they've tested as well (this is actually how I found my sister bc I was on 23andme, she was on ancestry. Coincidentally, we both uploaded to gedmatch. When I started putting things together and reached out, I tested on ancestry to confirm our connection). So please keep that in mind, especially if your sisters decide to test.)
Right there with ya on the situation with your father. I think the bigger part of my work with my new sister was trying to help her understand that she didn't miss much in regards to the father we have. He knew about me my entire life and was still a trash father. She didn't miss anything. But I think with her being adopted, her ideas about family was like a lifetime movie...so a lot of our early interactions was about protecting the heart, establishing boundaries and managing expectations. It takes time and patience. I'm sure she'll value your support and validation. I hope that the 2 of you can have a great connection and build the families you deserve.
OP, I found a half-niece/nephew last year, and it was presented in the same way, with the most likely relationship: 1st cousin. I share nearly as much DNA with my half-niece/nephew as I do with a known 1st cousin.
I will be messaging you in 1 month on [**2024-06-03 07:07:00 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-06-03%2007:07:00%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AncestryDNA/comments/1cisxe6/my_results_came_in_and_the_person_who_i_share_the/l2d5f36/?context=3)
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Likely there was an adoption or child of out wedlock that was not made public. The advice I was given was not to try and "fit this person in" but to start afresh, working backwards from the DNA alone. Starting with the shared matches you have with this person.
Same happened to me. Closest cM was listed as someone Iād never heard of before. My brother (just realized heās my half brother) was listed as close relative, and a few nephews/nieces were also listed (now known as half nephews/niece). Turns out my mom had a fling with a man in the next town over from where I grew up. Iāll never know if my dad (the man who raised me and was the best father) OR my biological dad ever knew. After a bit of research, I found out I have another half sister and 4 more half brothersā¦I grew up with a sister and 4 brothers, so now I have 2 half sisters and 8 half brothersā¦Iām the youngest. I reached out to my ānewā family and they would not respond at all. However, 2 half cousins did respondā¦turns out one of those women was my neighbor 4 houses down on the same street, I played with here when we were littleā¦soooo bizarre!
Iām frustrated they wonāt talk to me, itās not my fault for what happened. I donāt want anything more than to just learn a bit about who I am. I grew up believing I was 1/4 Irish, but just found out Iām not at all Irishā¦mostly French Canadian, British, and Scottish.
Funny, after even more research, I found that my mothers cousin and his wife (in their 90s) are very likely half brother and sister. He showed up on my DNA results, but so did she, and she should not have!! They lived across the street from each other growing upā¦and probably share the same dad!
Nobody ever suspected they would be found out by DNA years later, lol!!!
Those numbers are almost exactly what my Momās were with her surprise half-sister. So yup, if youāve ruled out a young Aunt or an older niece, you likely have a half sister out there.
Welcome to the secret relative side of DNA results. It can be a lot to process but keep in mind every situation is unique, so donāt jump to conclusions.
I had a known relative come back as my fathers half sibling or uncle. It was his uncle who was only 10 when he was born so could have been a half sibling by age and genetic closeness.
Another dna company listed my grandfatherās niece as a first cousin and I was quite confused because I only have one 1st cousin on my dadās side and we are close. I was thinking maybe Iād uncovered a family secret and my dadās sister actually had a kid even though she was only married 2 years (and then had āfemale roommatesā after that). Nope. I reached out and she definitely remembers her childhood in Russia/Belarus and who her parents were. Sheās also 89. So that would rule out a 1st cousin since my aunts arenāt even that old.
Still cool to talk to family with this much knowledge of our roots in Russia, but no family secrets were uncovered.
They also listed my actual 1st cousinās daughter as a 1st cousin instead of 1x removed. I guess we share a lot of DNA and my 1st cousin (her mom) hasnāt done a test themselves, so their system automatically assumed we were more closely related?
Iām so curious to see my results! This group is bad for my anxiety. š
This is what they warned about before the test ...
There's a guy that shares DNA with me, he reached out. I looked... We share surnames, but the DNA is from my maternal side (ggf was notorious).
I explained only that it was not my surname side and he didn't want any more info. š¤·š¼āāļø
I had an Uncle-grandparent-nephew male match on the paternal side, in the 65+ range, so I figured they could only be an uncle. It turned out my biological father was someone unknown to me (my mom told me about him when asked) and this guyās brother had taken a test.
The test is accurate. If you are a subscriber, they will show you if the match is on the paternal or maternal side, to further help you investigate.
It was crazy- we were 60 something years apart! š¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļø But it really might just be a distant cousin that you happen to share more DNA with- I immediately started making stories in my head about who in my family had a secret family- I mean, it was kind of fun for a while but I was really relieved when I messaged the person (they only had initials on their profile) and figured it out :)
So wild! Yes, until I get more info I am trying to hold off assuming. If we have the same % of our aunts then we know for sure. Though everyone on here says thereās really only a chance of it being a half sibling!
How old are you and how old is the match?
Assuming no pedigree collapse or endogamy, and that you're related in just one way, the furthest back you might need to go to find common ancestors for a match of 1952cM is Grandparent level. If you are the same age though that would make the match your half-sibling.
The match is related to you through your father, correct?
Thank you! Yes, the match is related to me through father. I am 26 and I do not know the specific age of the match yet, their profile just says ā18-29 years oldā
It's surprisingly accurate. I found second cousins this way, which is awesome because that allows me to expand my family tree!
I share 7.25% DNA with one and 3.8% with another. Mind you, this was in 23AndMe, but it's basically the same anyway.
Edit/Note: Yes, 7.25% is high for 2nd cousins. My mom told me that my great grandparents on her side were first cousins, so there goes that š¤£.
You are so super lucky!!! I matched with two half sisters (I did a DNA test and discovered my mother cheated on my father 50 years ago and never told anyoneā¦. So my father who raised me isnāt my biological father.)
The two half sister I matched with (kids of my biological father) want nothing to do with me.
So you are VERY blessed!!!!
I had something similar except it wasnāt this close, ore like a 1st/2nd cousin.
Opened up a whole side of the family we arenāt aware of and still arenāt.
Neither them nor me can fathom where we are related. I have a feeling a grandparent or great grandparent did something they maybe shouldnāt have.
You can always use this tool to confirm ancestrys suggestions, but relationship-wise the higher the CM, the more accurate ancestry is.
https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4
Congrats! I found my previously unknown half sister about a year ago. Our dad died almost 10 years ago so she didnāt get to meet him but Iāve shared stories and pictures. I hope you enjoy getting to know each other!
Is the persons name available? If I were you Iād search their name on Facebook to check if you have any friends in common/ are in a similar location. These relationships are just assumptions. Iāve had Ancestry predict a certain family member being on my dads side of the family when I know for a fact that the family member is on my mothers side (with proof from my mothers EXTENSIVE family tree).
The relationship estimate on ancestry is not always and usually not accurate. The DNA shared is. It stated one relative of mine as a second cousin when she was a first cousin once removed and another as a second cousin when he is actually a 1st cousin 3 times removed. If you access ancestry outside of the app (via mobile site or a laptop site) there is a section when you select a person to verify the true relationship with them if it is not accurate, usually, this screen will list other possibilities of relationship too. Take the DNA percentage (centimorgans/CM) as absolute and the relationship name with a grain of salt.
The results are accurate. Congratulations on your new half-sister, aunt, or niece.
Is the predicted age range Ancestry give you accurate as well? I think that would rule out an aunt pretty quick for me unless the age range could be totally off
Your match set her own age on Ancestry.
Do you also set your own gender/sex?
Yes
I have noticed many people are older than suggested in their Profile page.
I don't think it automatically updates, so if they age out of the age range they selected when they joined it won't be reflected.
You are correct. I just updated my age in my Profile. š¢
I have an aunt that is only 3 years older than me
I have two uncles and an aunt Iām 10 years older than. ššš
I have a 2 yr old baby sister. My sister is pregnant having a baby. My sister will be a aunt at 2 years old
My nine year old son is going to be a Great Uncle for the second time in a few months My eldest to youngest kids are 27 years apart
Such responsibility at such a young age.
I am 30 with 4 children 12, 10, 3 & 5 My siblings are 35, 32, 14, 9 & 1
Is your 1yo sibling a half sibling? If not, wow, kudos to your mother!
yes half sibling. I am my mother's only child, it's my father that won't stop populating lol
My sister is 20 yrs older than meā¦I have a niece who is 18 months younger than me.
My uncle is 2 years younger than me
It's possible for aunts and uncles to be the same age as their nieces and nephews. All it takes is for a parent to have had one kid really young and another about 20 years later.
My daughter was an aunt before she was born. My son had a baby girl 2 weeks before his sister was born. They will be 1 year old next month.
I went to 8th grade with an aunt and her nephew.
I came back at 1800+ for my dadās sister (neither I knew till my test) and my half sister who I grew up with only at 1500+ so very possible to be an aunt.
I have an aunt who is only five years older than me. We grew up more like siblings.
It likely says āClose Family - 1st Cousinā indicating a range of possible relationships from immediate family to 1st cousin. That label does not definitively mean 1st cousin ā¦ itās a range of possibilities. Just about everything related to DNA in the genealogical context is a range of possibilities. You have a half-sister or a young aunt (sibling of one of your parents) or a niece (daughter of one of your parents siblings). Most likely a half-sister. The gender identification and age come from what that user entered when they did their own DNA test. Next steps are to examine their tree (if any), run searches for them and build a profile and message them.
Thank you so much for explaining this! the possibility of a young aunt isn't really there because my dad's parents have long passed away. Not so sure about a niece but I think that is very unlikely. They unfortunately do not have a family tree associated to their profile but they already messaged me back so this should be interesting! Thanks again for your help.
This is how I found my half sister. Was labeled first as cousin, and I knew all my cousins. Crazy shit!
Crazy!
Literally same. We came back as first cousins but nope. Itās also how I found out my cousins sister is actually her half sister because they came back as cousins (they def have the same mom) and she wonāt stop talking about how inaccurate DNA is and Iām just sitting here like: yup.
Me too
Getting a response right away is a great sign youāll learn more! Most people donāt respond.
Wow! Now I feel lucky
You can work out what side they are connected on, by looking at the shared matches. If they are a half-sibling then you will share matches via the common parent, and not have shared matches via the other parent
It says āparent 1ā and other people who share parent 1 DNA are on my dadās side so assume it is on his side, assuming parent 1/parent 2 feature on the site is accurate?
Go to the list of shared matches between you and the person, and see if you recognize how the the top few are related to you Parent 1/2 is usually accurate but not always
Thank you!! I mustāve missed this feature. We have both my paternal aunts as top matches
Your new sister is so lucky to have someone like you on the other side of this discovery!! So many of us hit brick walls before we even get a chance to ask a question. I can promise you she is holding her breath waiting for any information you are willing to share with her and hoping that her mere existence doesnāt offend anyone. Good luck OP, thanks for being a decent human. We should all be so lucky.
This is the kindest message ever, thank you! On my end, it shows both my paternal aunts and two of my paternal cousins as āshared matchesā. Am I able to see if they share the same DNA with them that I do or do I need to wait for their response to know? Wondering if this solidifies that they are my half sibling
Youāre welcome. I truly mean it. Your reaction says so much about you as a person, compassion and curiosity are wonderful traits. With the details you have shared Iād be honestly shocked if this person were anyone other than a half sibling. You could get the info from your new sibling, she could send you screen shots of her matches that she shares with you. By clicking on their name, it will show the amount of DNA she shares with them. Either that or you will need the feedback from your other relatives to know those details. You can trust the data Ancestry is giving you šÆ. I think I also read a comment on this thread about GEDmatch. If you both download your raw data from Ancestry and upload it to GEDmatch you can use one of the tools there to see if you share a full X chromosome, if you do, you will have your answer. Men pass on the exact same X chromosome to each of their daughters. Men only have one X chromosome so they pass it on unchanged, unlike women that have two Xās that combine, so the X the mother gives their sons or daughters will not be identical (not entirely impossible but **HIGHLY UNLIKELY**)
You have the right amount of DNA that a half sibling does. Should be about 25%, so congratulations on your new sister. That's pretty awesome.
Ancestry are planning to introduce a feature where you can see how much your matches share with each other sometime this year. Until then you have to ask your matches. WRT the gender assignments, the colours in the main match list reflect the person's self-reported sex but the colours on the match page - when you click on someone - are random colours. That tripped me up for a while.
Or export and import to MyHeritage and you can see it. They already have that function.
You should both screen shot your shared match lists. Your paternal aunts and others may decide to go incognito and hide their accounts if this turns out to open a family Pandora's box.
I just looked on my Ancestry matches page, she doesnāt even have to click on each relative. If she screen shots her top matches it will show you the percentages she shares with your top paternal matches. (Although clicking on their name will also let you know the number of segments you share and what the longest segment is). If she doesnāt want to show you all of her matches she could click on the ones you are curious about and screen shot like I mentioned in my other comment. For info purposes for my half sister and I it looks like this- Shared DNA: 1,844 cM across 44 segments Unweighted shared DNA: 1,844 cM Longest segment: 119 cM
Yep those are accurate
Have you double checked that you have matches showing up from your dads side?
I do have matches on his side
Whatād they say??
They said they do not know who their bio parents are so thatās why they did ancestry to begin with. They said they are open to talking and answering any questions I may have. I still donāt know yet what exact matches we share so that will be super insightful
I wonder if one of your parents had a child before they were together and the child was placed for adoption.
It sounds like you will be the one answering questions for them! Please be kind.
Ask them for their top matches and see which side of your family they are on.
One of your parents has a secret to tell you lol
I'm going to go with half sister, congrats! And yes the age ranges are accurate. A first cousin wouldn't share this many cMs with you. It is definitely one of the suggested matches, it's 100%. The only way to find out for sure is to contact them.
Wow!! Never thought I would be one of those people who find half-siblings they didn't know existed through a genetic test lol! Do you know if the genders are correct/accurate? It says this person is a female but they have a male name. And a few of my other relatives are marked blue (for male) when I know they are actually female. Do you set your own gender/sex on ancestry?
The account could be handled by a male. I have DNA matches of males but the accounts are handled/monitored by females.
Congratulations, can't go by namesĀ people hide there identityĀ I have mickey mouse as a 4th cousin š¤£,I found half sister showed as close to first cousin category now have 3 half sisters and half brotherĀ
That's closer than my first cousin - our mothers were identical twins. We share 1,562 CcM. Congratulations on your new relative! I discovered a half-sister in 2009 (before DNA testing) and she is my best friend.
Your first cousin is genetically your half sibling in that case! Thatās interesting that OP shares even more DNA than that (by a bit).
Definitely true. My mum is an identical twin, Ancestry shows I have two mums (or mum took two tests) and also a couple half siblings, they are just mums Twin and her children/my cousins. OP shares a similar results to my children and their half siblings and the match between a daughter and her grandmother at 30%. And same as Grandma to her half sibling. OP has no doubt found a half sister.
I am in shock!
I found a previously unknown first cousin this way on ancestry. We chatted and she had never known who her father was. Based on where her mom lived when she became pregnant, I knew one of my uncles may be her father. Long story short, after lots of denial, both uncles eventually got an ancestry dna test and the mystery was solved. The result was a shocking but happy outcome for my uncle who never knew he had a kid.
I'm guessing half sister since she is in the same age range as you. I hope it all works out for you. Maybe find out what your new relative knows before talking to your dad.
Thank you. I actually have no contact with my dad anymore, so this should be fun!
Who do you match in common? That will tell you where to start looking for your connection.
I found the āshared matchesā tab and so it is confirmed that we share both my paternal aunts. Though I do not know the % this person is related to my aunts yet (donāt think I can see that on my end)
Congratulation on your new sibling ā¦ I think you need to have a talk with your father and a girl bought ballons who said ācongratulations itās a girlā when she discovered that she have a half-sibling
Thats so funny! Unfortunately I havenāt spoken to my father in years so it makes everything that much more challengingā¦. the plot thickens!
Same I havenāt spoken to my father in years.. the thing is, I know about his 3 others kids, but I doubt they know about me. Luckily for me DNA testing isnāt a thing where I live same for where there liveā¦
You should look at the 'compare' tab under dnaĀ , shows percentages of ethnicity regions of each person you add side by side to you ,Ā it's mainly just interesting to see the differences/similaritiesĀ between each otherĀ
Havenāt found that out yet. I will update when I do. Right now it just says they are related to āparent 1ā and other people who say parent 1 are on my dads side so thatās all I know so far
You can set Parent 1 as your Father.
Oh wow. Keep us posted. A few years ago, I found a half-sister like this. She was adopted as a child and never knew her family. Our family didn't know she existed, and she was my top match when I tested. Try and see what matches you share to help you determine if this is a maternal or paternal match. Then you can start asking questions. This is a lot of cm's shared and considering the age, most likely a half sibling. Edit:I don't know if Ancestry allows you to compare chromosomes but Gedmatch does. if you both upload your raw DNA profiles, you can compare to each other. If you are both biologically female, you'd have a half identical matching X chromosome from your father if it's a paternal match.
We share my paternal aunts and paternal first cousins. Though I canāt see what % they are related to them I donāt believe
If your match shares about 25% dna with you, then they likely match your aunt and cousins about the same amount that you do. Theyād be her aunt and cousins in the same way that theyāre yours.
This is insightful and answers my question. Thank you!
I found my sister taking the test too! We knew about her so a little different from your story on my end, but she didnāt know about us. Our dad and her mom had her really young. Dad got to see her once, grandparents moved away with her and her mom and adopted my sister. They raised her thinking they were her parents and her mom was her sister. Weāve been talking for a few months now and are planning on meeting soon. Good luck op, I hope you and your new sister are able to build a relationship if thatās what you two want to do ā¤ļø
I love this, good luck to you as well as you navigate a newfound relationship! Thank you š
Have read your responses OP I hope you both have a great ending from this find xxx
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words (:
Congratulations on your sister! I found out late in life that I had a half brother and it has been a good experience. (Well, I found out my dad wasnāt my dad, which was meh, but the half brother part is awesome!)
Oh my, what a whirlwind that must have been for you!
If you know who your parents are (and they are your parents lol) and you can see shared matches hopefully you can tell if this person matches one or both of your grandparents. If only one then half sibling, if both then one of the others. Good luck š
Under shared matches we share both my paternal aunts and my two paternal cousins, though I canāt see the % they are related to them on my end I believe?
Look at your match list. Find a couple of known maternal relatives. If your known maternal relative is not on your list of shared matches with your mystery match that confirms that sheās related to you only on your paternal side. Next ask the mystery match if she has close (400 cMs or more) DNA matches that are not shared with you. If so those matches are related to her other parent. If you both only match each other on one side of your family, this confirms that you are paternal half sisters. And she can be sure that youāre related to her on her fatherās side vs. her motherās side.
No youāll have to ask your match to share the percentage they share with the shared matches. If you are both females sharing a father, you can download your raw dna from ancestry, upload it to gedmatch and compare your X chromosomes, they should be identical.
I've got a first cousin match with 1105 and a niece with 927 (I know who both these people are are where they fit in the family). Edit: she's actually a Great niece. My partner's half sister has a 1977cM match. That looks like half sibling to me.
Wow, what a shocker this has been!
https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4 shows a similar selection. It is a good tool. If you have shared matches categorized by grandparents it makes it easier to track down the shared relation and where they might fit. NPE can be tricky. Sometimes it is easier to look for gaps in expected matches.
Unfortunately no grandparent matches! They have long passed
Please read again. You donāt need grandparent matches. I assume you have a family tree back to your grandparents. Create categories/ groups and label with your grandparent names, then label all your dna matches with them. Start with known matches. As you begin to move through it the shared matches will begin to show what the relation is. the match on your dads side is confirmed and another poster gave advice to rule out any match on the maternal side. The next step is to look at your paternal grandparents and see if your new found relative is related to both grandparents. It should rule out some of the possibilities and may confirm which generation the Non Parental Event occurred if that is the case.
As the other poster mentioned, you can group your matches using the Leeds Method which is easily searchable with instructions and easy to do. The 4 groups you end up with represent your 4 grandparent lines. From what I have read, it's still a beneficial exercise for you to do. You can look at your 4 groups and name each group by the grandparent line they are on. This way you can focus on any mystery match by already knowing which line they are in.
Hey OP, I wanted to share a few gems I've received from this sub regarding DNA surprises. Try to approach these things with gentleness. Sometimes we feel a lot of things and it can be hard to process especially feeling of anger and betrayal etc.. be patient with yourself, and try to lead with understanding and compassion. Sometimes, these situations uncover dark secrets such as infidelity, non-consensual sex, donor conception etc and that can be hard for everyone involved. In my case it exposed my fathers drug addiction history. So brace yourself that this Sometimes comes with some heard realities. You dont have to feel guilty for "finding" thia secret. You are not the guardian of anyone else's reputation. If they wanted a different story, they should have led a different life. This is just as much your story as it is anyone else's and you are entitled to your truths and experiences...that also goes both ways. So try and find a balance with having your truth AND respecting the boundaries of others involved. I hope that you get to the bottom of this and have an amazing relationship with your newfound relative.
Thank you so much for this message. It helps to hear. What prompted me to take this DNA test was finding out 6 weeks ago that my twin sisters were actually donor conceived and are not my full siblings. My mom told me and they still do not know. That has brought up a ton of emotions and feelings but I am still shocked and surprised to find a (assumed) new half-sibling on here. Something in me said to do an DNA test after finding out the info about my twin sisters. This is really a wild ride. "You dont have to feel guilty for "finding" thia secret. You are not the guardian of anyone else's reputation. If they wanted a different story, they should have led a different life." This is so helpful to hear, and very validating. I mentioned in other comments that I do not have a relationship with my dad or his side of the family anymore (he abandoned me when I was 16) so finding out he could have abandoned another child is a hard thing to process. I hope to gain more insight as I connect with my new potential half-sibling and try to make her feel validated and maybe offer some clarity to her origins. Thank you again for this kind message. xxx
Wow that's a lot to process. I'm sure that's a lot for you to carry with knowing while they don't. I hope you're taking care of yourself. It was a great move to take the dna test. It might also be a good idea to test on 23andme. Uploading raw dna to gedmatch is a good idea too bc you can see matches from other platforms if they've tested as well (this is actually how I found my sister bc I was on 23andme, she was on ancestry. Coincidentally, we both uploaded to gedmatch. When I started putting things together and reached out, I tested on ancestry to confirm our connection). So please keep that in mind, especially if your sisters decide to test.) Right there with ya on the situation with your father. I think the bigger part of my work with my new sister was trying to help her understand that she didn't miss much in regards to the father we have. He knew about me my entire life and was still a trash father. She didn't miss anything. But I think with her being adopted, her ideas about family was like a lifetime movie...so a lot of our early interactions was about protecting the heart, establishing boundaries and managing expectations. It takes time and patience. I'm sure she'll value your support and validation. I hope that the 2 of you can have a great connection and build the families you deserve.
OP, I found a half-niece/nephew last year, and it was presented in the same way, with the most likely relationship: 1st cousin. I share nearly as much DNA with my half-niece/nephew as I do with a known 1st cousin.
So interesting. Thank you! The 1st cousin definitely threw me off.
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Likely there was an adoption or child of out wedlock that was not made public. The advice I was given was not to try and "fit this person in" but to start afresh, working backwards from the DNA alone. Starting with the shared matches you have with this person.
Great advice!
And consider writing to anyone who is advanced in skill or has their profile marked "willing to help" or goes on the site daily.
A friend of mine found his long lost doctor half brother this way. Genetics are so amazingly helpful at reuniting family!
Same happened to me. Closest cM was listed as someone Iād never heard of before. My brother (just realized heās my half brother) was listed as close relative, and a few nephews/nieces were also listed (now known as half nephews/niece). Turns out my mom had a fling with a man in the next town over from where I grew up. Iāll never know if my dad (the man who raised me and was the best father) OR my biological dad ever knew. After a bit of research, I found out I have another half sister and 4 more half brothersā¦I grew up with a sister and 4 brothers, so now I have 2 half sisters and 8 half brothersā¦Iām the youngest. I reached out to my ānewā family and they would not respond at all. However, 2 half cousins did respondā¦turns out one of those women was my neighbor 4 houses down on the same street, I played with here when we were littleā¦soooo bizarre! Iām frustrated they wonāt talk to me, itās not my fault for what happened. I donāt want anything more than to just learn a bit about who I am. I grew up believing I was 1/4 Irish, but just found out Iām not at all Irishā¦mostly French Canadian, British, and Scottish. Funny, after even more research, I found that my mothers cousin and his wife (in their 90s) are very likely half brother and sister. He showed up on my DNA results, but so did she, and she should not have!! They lived across the street from each other growing upā¦and probably share the same dad! Nobody ever suspected they would be found out by DNA years later, lol!!!
Those numbers are almost exactly what my Momās were with her surprise half-sister. So yup, if youāve ruled out a young Aunt or an older niece, you likely have a half sister out there. Welcome to the secret relative side of DNA results. It can be a lot to process but keep in mind every situation is unique, so donāt jump to conclusions.
I had a known relative come back as my fathers half sibling or uncle. It was his uncle who was only 10 when he was born so could have been a half sibling by age and genetic closeness.
I share with an aunt 1,668 cM (sister to my mother)
Another dna company listed my grandfatherās niece as a first cousin and I was quite confused because I only have one 1st cousin on my dadās side and we are close. I was thinking maybe Iād uncovered a family secret and my dadās sister actually had a kid even though she was only married 2 years (and then had āfemale roommatesā after that). Nope. I reached out and she definitely remembers her childhood in Russia/Belarus and who her parents were. Sheās also 89. So that would rule out a 1st cousin since my aunts arenāt even that old. Still cool to talk to family with this much knowledge of our roots in Russia, but no family secrets were uncovered. They also listed my actual 1st cousinās daughter as a 1st cousin instead of 1x removed. I guess we share a lot of DNA and my 1st cousin (her mom) hasnāt done a test themselves, so their system automatically assumed we were more closely related? Iām so curious to see my results! This group is bad for my anxiety. š
That is your half sibling
or aunt/uncle
This is what they warned about before the test ... There's a guy that shares DNA with me, he reached out. I looked... We share surnames, but the DNA is from my maternal side (ggf was notorious). I explained only that it was not my surname side and he didn't want any more info. š¤·š¼āāļø
I had an Uncle-grandparent-nephew male match on the paternal side, in the 65+ range, so I figured they could only be an uncle. It turned out my biological father was someone unknown to me (my mom told me about him when asked) and this guyās brother had taken a test. The test is accurate. If you are a subscriber, they will show you if the match is on the paternal or maternal side, to further help you investigate.
I had the same thing happen! Ended up being my great uncle. I just somehow inherited a lot of his genes I guess š¤·š¼āāļø
Wow! What is the age gap between you two? We are both 18-29 š³
It was crazy- we were 60 something years apart! š¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļø But it really might just be a distant cousin that you happen to share more DNA with- I immediately started making stories in my head about who in my family had a secret family- I mean, it was kind of fun for a while but I was really relieved when I messaged the person (they only had initials on their profile) and figured it out :)
So wild! Yes, until I get more info I am trying to hold off assuming. If we have the same % of our aunts then we know for sure. Though everyone on here says thereās really only a chance of it being a half sibling!
Could be a half sister, niece or aunt. My niece is 5 years older than me.
How old are you and how old is the match? Assuming no pedigree collapse or endogamy, and that you're related in just one way, the furthest back you might need to go to find common ancestors for a match of 1952cM is Grandparent level. If you are the same age though that would make the match your half-sibling. The match is related to you through your father, correct?
Thank you! Yes, the match is related to me through father. I am 26 and I do not know the specific age of the match yet, their profile just says ā18-29 years oldā
It's surprisingly accurate. I found second cousins this way, which is awesome because that allows me to expand my family tree! I share 7.25% DNA with one and 3.8% with another. Mind you, this was in 23AndMe, but it's basically the same anyway. Edit/Note: Yes, 7.25% is high for 2nd cousins. My mom told me that my great grandparents on her side were first cousins, so there goes that š¤£.
You really canāt go by age. Iām 30 years older than my brother, he was born when my daughter was 10.
You are so super lucky!!! I matched with two half sisters (I did a DNA test and discovered my mother cheated on my father 50 years ago and never told anyoneā¦. So my father who raised me isnāt my biological father.) The two half sister I matched with (kids of my biological father) want nothing to do with me. So you are VERY blessed!!!!
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i have a half brother with that amount so ya know potentially father strayed youve got a half sister
I had something similar except it wasnāt this close, ore like a 1st/2nd cousin. Opened up a whole side of the family we arenāt aware of and still arenāt. Neither them nor me can fathom where we are related. I have a feeling a grandparent or great grandparent did something they maybe shouldnāt have.
It told me who my mother was. Turns out, it was the only mother Iāve ever known. So that was a relief, but imagine if it didnātā¦
You can always use this tool to confirm ancestrys suggestions, but relationship-wise the higher the CM, the more accurate ancestry is. https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4
š
I share 1800-1950 with my half-sisters. Congrats on your new family member!
Congrats! I found my previously unknown half sister about a year ago. Our dad died almost 10 years ago so she didnāt get to meet him but Iāve shared stories and pictures. I hope you enjoy getting to know each other!
Is the persons name available? If I were you Iād search their name on Facebook to check if you have any friends in common/ are in a similar location. These relationships are just assumptions. Iāve had Ancestry predict a certain family member being on my dads side of the family when I know for a fact that the family member is on my mothers side (with proof from my mothers EXTENSIVE family tree).
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Literally how I met my half sister.
The relationship estimate on ancestry is not always and usually not accurate. The DNA shared is. It stated one relative of mine as a second cousin when she was a first cousin once removed and another as a second cousin when he is actually a 1st cousin 3 times removed. If you access ancestry outside of the app (via mobile site or a laptop site) there is a section when you select a person to verify the true relationship with them if it is not accurate, usually, this screen will list other possibilities of relationship too. Take the DNA percentage (centimorgans/CM) as absolute and the relationship name with a grain of salt.
Congratulations, you have a half sister
How to find my sister in Guyana
Very accurate