Why are my Y-DNA results not containing one match, out of 80 matches that contains my last name?

+8 votes
290 views
I can trace my last name back as far as my great grandfather, but not before that. Is it likely that he was adopted?
in Genealogy Help by Ernie Wilkins G2G Crew (490 points)
I have sent my DNA test in and am awaiting the answers.  I really hadn't thought too much about it, but my grandmother grew up in an orphanage.  She was reunited with her family at the end of her time at University.  A few years ago a mutual cousin got me in contact with the daugher of my grandmothers sister.

When I asked her about the kids being split up (when the marriage ended) and sent away to orphanages, she said my grandmother was the only child sent away.  She also said she heard our ggrandmother say she found my grandmother in a basket on the porch.

This is my mothers, mothers line...I can't wait to get my DNA back!  BTW, my Ggrandfather was a bigomist (according to my gmother).  My Grandmother bears a strong resemblence to her siblings...could she have been the child of one of my ggrandfathers other wives? My cousins on his side of the family didn't know about the other supposed family(ies).  Oh what a tangled web!
Thank you so much for responding. What an interesting story. I hope you get some great results from your DNA testing!

3 Answers

+1 vote
Its possible that he was or he chhanged his name backin those days thawasa very common problem.
by Matt Pryber G2G6 Mach 5 (52.3k points)
They changed spellings of their names also. People still do sometimes.  Or he moved.

 The surnames on results from 12 marker Y-DNA tests are almost useless, as they show a relationship within the past 25 generations.  If every 30 years is a generation, this literally means that the test shows a relationship at some point since the 1200s.  The modern usage of surnames in Europe only began a few hundred years ago.

Thank you.
+1 vote
There are other possibilities. In my family tree, I learned (prior to the test) that my 4th great grandmother had my 3rd great grandfather out of wedlock. Therefore my Y DNA 37 marker  test does not follow my surname beyond him.
by Doug Lockwood G2G Astronaut (2.6m points)
edited by Doug Lockwood
That is certainly a possiblility
+1 vote

Hi Ernie!  We are so glad you are here!

Just to clarify, Are you saying that there are 80 Wilkins tests that you know of, but your yDNA test does not match any of them?

 If so, this is not at all unusual.  In the SmithConnections.com DNA Project, we have 74 groups of men that match the other men in their own group, but they do not match any of the other 73 groups of Smiths.  They are genetically unrelated to all but those in their own group.  There are a couple hundred other tests that do not have matches at all yet (like your test).  There are a couple dozen immigrant Smith lines that have not even been tested yet.

Given a common name like Wilkins, I am not surprised that there are unmatched tests.   It only means that your genetic cousins haven't tested yet, whatever their surname, so  you have no matches.  At this point, you have to rely on traditional book and record research to find your earlier ancestors.  The easy way (plugging into a genetic cousin's family tree) is not going to work at this time.  It may happen that in the months and years ahead, you may get a couple of matches.  I hope so.  Encourage all the Wilkins men you meet to get a 37 marker yDNA test.  Good luck! angel

Would you like to join our DNA project?  http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:DNA  We would love to have you! smiley

by Kitty Smith G2G6 Pilot (638k points)
edited by Kitty Smith
Thank you, Kitty Smith. Of course it's possible that the other Wilkins haven't tested. And at 37 markers, I had 4 matches with genetic distance of 4. They are all Wilkins'. I had been looking at the matches at 12 markers, in which none of them were Wilkins'. Unfortunately, none of the 4 had posted their GEDCOM, and are also not responding to email, so it is not possible to get any more Wilkins information. I'll keep looking. Thanks again for your explanation!
Ernie - this has been my experience as well (I did a 67 marker Y-DNA test on Family Tree DNA).  I am lucky if 1 in 5 or 1 in 6 of my matches on FTDNA even bother to include a most distant ancestor (much less a full GEDCOM).

Beyond this - the surnames on the 12 marker results are almost useless, as they show a relationship within the past 25 generations.  If every 30 years is a generation, this literally means that the test shows a relationship at some point since the 1200s.  The modern usage of surnames in Europe only began a few hundred years ago.

As such, it would be ill-advised for anyone to try and draw a conclusion about whether an ancestor may or may not have been adopted or the product of a NPE ("non-paternal event"/illegitimate child) from surnames in 12 marker Y-DNA matches.

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