We have many matches to people with Lajes do Pico and vicinity ancestry and I know all my ancestors and know all their ancestors going back for 8, 9 or more generations, yet there is no common ancestor.
I have already written to many or most of these matches and told them basically this. We have so many surnames in common that there is no question we are related, but these connections are coming from before the records exist these days. I mean that for Lajes do Pico, with records only to the early 1700s, it's at least one or two generations too recent for us to know the link.
But thanks to Gedmatch.com and the great tools they offer, we can more accurately predict the generations, plus it allows people who tested elsewhere (like 23andMe and at Ancestry.com) to compare to the others. Since most people do this test to find connections to others, it only seems natural that they might also want to use Gedmatch to find more people and get more accurate ethnic information.
One of the things I don't like about how FTDNA works is that they have chosen 7cM as the minimum amount of common DNA before someone shows as a match. With Gedmatch, I can compare another person's DNA down to a 1cM match. Of course, that might represent a common ancestor of maybe 1000 years ago (just a wild guess on my part), but the fact remains that we both got that DNA from an ancestor we both share, no matter how remote.
Just for fun I compared my Gedmatch kit to my wife who has Slovak ancestry. Since I also have Slovak ancestry on my maternal side, I thought there is some chance of a very remote connection. After all, Slovakia is a very small country. But even when I lowered the threshold to only 1cM, there was zero common DNA. So you can't say that when someone finds such a tiny fragment that is only 1cM it has no meaning. It got there from a common ancestor. Yea, it's well beyond our ability to find the precise link, but it's still there.
So when you find someone with a match from the same island and you know both you and the other person have roots to the founders and settlers of these islands from 500 years ago, there is a great chance that the tiny fragments of 1, 2 or 3cM you might share are coming from these remote links.
Maybe you fall just under the threshold of FTDNA has set at 7cM and maybe if your late father or mother could be tested you just know they would have a little bit more and maybe have enough to pass that threshold and show up as a match.
So one of the values of Gedmatch is to be able to identify the smaller, more remote matches so you know you really do match someone, just not enough to be an "official" match according to FTDNA.
After testing so many of my relatives, I have been able to analyze many matches and come to these conclusions.
Too bad the subject of this message was fairly meaningless as to these comments. So I have decided to change it.
And if you never heard about my own personal project to discover more about the DNA of my ancestors, you might find this interesting:
The latest issue of O Progresso, the newsletter of the Portuguese Historical and Cultural Society of Sacramento, has just been printed and will be arriving in mail boxes this coming week. Inside is my latest article about DNA which I wrote because I have so often had to repeat myself every time I meet a new person and try to help them with DNA questions. This particular article will help people decide who should be tested to learn specific things about their ancestors. Hope those who subscribe enjoy it.
Sincerely,
---------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Achada Connections Sebastiao Machado and
Isabel Resendes and DNA
From: Pam Santos <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, September 11, 2014 3:20 pm
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Yeah I have connections in the year 1640 for my son who is only 20. so I think sometimes it is more than 200 yearsOn Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 3:14 PM, Richard Francis Pimentel <[email protected]> wrote:I have generally said 200 yearsis about the range. If you really think about it this could represent 10 generations or it could represent 6 or 7 generations. It is not so much as the number of years but the number of generations. The further back you go the smaller the segments of DNA match. When they get below 20 CM of shared DNA the accuracy of the match diminishes.RickRichard Francis PimentelEpping, NHFrom: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 5:59 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Achada Connections Sebastiao Machado and Isabel Resendes and DNAYou should use Gedmatch to further clarify the match.6th cousins often show up for my Family Finder matches. The 200 year rule isn't worth much.Doug da Rocha Holmes
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618
www.dholmes.com-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Achada Connections Sebastiao Machado and
Isabel Resendes and DNA
From: "Richard Francis Pimentel" <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, September 11, 2014 11:55 am
To: <[email protected]>Hi Denise,Yes they are my people also. They are my 6th Great Grand Parents That would be a bit too distant to show up on a Family Finder.We also share a match with George Mello Jr. along with my dad’s double 1st Cousin Robert Lee Carvalho. I also match Altino Demelo He is a 6th cousin, we have identified a common ancestor of Alexander de Mederios and Luzia Cabral.Beside Joseph Dennis de Freitas, your dad are there any other tests in the mix? The Family finders I have are Francis Richard Pimentel (my Dad), Robert Lee Carvalho (Dad’s double first cousin), Shirley Watson (Dad’s first cousin), Nina Kewley (my sister) and myself.Not all of us have the same matches because of the way our DNA is distributed. A good example is myself and my dad’s double first cousin both match George Mello but my dad and my sister do not. This is because the connection could be on the border line of being identified in the Family Finder.RickRichard Francis PimentelEpping, NHFrom: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 11:22 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Family Tree DNA's new family trees (Gedcom) is upHi Rick,I believe we connected through Sebastiao Machado and Isabel Resendes that were married in Achada in 1699. I don't have access to my entire tree at this moment, you do have this couple correct?Denise D'Antona
Sent from my iPhone
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