WHAT WE DO
In addition to traditional genealogy, we use your genetics to fill in unknown parent/grandparent with as much accuracy as possible. While we may not be able to say “[Name] is your father!”, in most of cases it can be narrowed down to full siblings as a potential parent/grandparent. There are circumstances that do not allow such precision, such as pedigree collapse, foreign-born or recently immigrated parents, multi-generational adoptions, and endogamy. Typically with a quick glance at your DNA results we will be able to discern how much we can help. In the vast majority of our cases, we have been able to successfully identify the missing ancestor down to full siblings (which we can then use location and age clues to possibly narrow down your parent specifically), and outliers are uncommon.
Keep in mind, you may have been told a name or general description of your missing parent/grandparent, and your genetics tell a different story. This is very common, and it’s entirely possible the information you’ve been told doesn’t line up for a multitude of reasons. Lies are told to protect people, or for some sort of gain, or it's entirely possible they just don't know. In the genealogical field, a good word of advice is to take what you’ve been told about your unknown ancestor, and place it on a back burner. Occasionally that information can be used as clues, but the DNA presents the facts, and the word of mouth might not align.
By making use of whatever helpful information we can find in your DNA, hypotheses can be made as to where you fit in your family tree. From there, we will be able to tell you who your potential ancestor is from most probable to least. Depending on the information found or the lack thereof, you may actually end up with the certainty of a specific person. If that is not the case, and the specific unknown ancestor cannot be found off your genetic information alone, hope is not all lost. We can guide you in your next steps- whether that be asking another descendant of your potential ancestor to test, or the potential ancestor themselves (provided they are still living and willing).
Feel free to send an email with any questions you may have.
The answers are closer than you think!