This week’s #52 Ancestors blog prompt is ‘Fortune’. At first, I didn’t think I would be writing on this topic since I was looking at the term as a monetary term and my family has no fortune.
Then I encountered the blog post Double Cousins and DNA on The DNA Geek site and realized that I am fortunate to have numerous 1st thru 3rd cousin DNA matches. Thus, my ‘fortune’ is all of these cousin matches.
The DNA Geek is starting a project to study DNA results when double cousins are involved. To begin the study they are seeking data for a specific set of cousin matches. Below is a diagram showing the desired matches in the yellow-orange.
Well, I do have double cousins. My great-grandfather, Charles Mentzer married Nettie Wells. Charles’ brother, John Frederick Mentzer married Anna Wells, the sister of Nettie. When I first studied the above diagram, I was pretty sure I could come up with the double cousin match, but didn’t think I had the 1st cousin match.
Knowing that I had quite a few MENTZER matches, I had to diagram it out. So I started drawing out my MENTZER/WELLS line and added my DNA matches. I am the yellow square in the diagram below.
When I compared my diagram to the one from the blog, I realized that I am not in the generation they wanted for this initial study. Since I manage my mother’s DNA, I drew out the family and added her matches. Studying that diagram, I realized that I do have data for the desired cousin matches!
Curious about what the diagram would be like for my brothers, I also drew out their matches.
Even though my data is for second cousins and not 1st cousins, I’m ready with lots of data when they are ready to receive it.
I find double cousins in my great-grandmother’s generation, but nothing recent. I think it’s less common now. Are they just looking to determine the level of matching in the DNA?
I think they are collecting data to create something similar to the shared cM project.
centiMorgans – that’s the word I was trying to come up with!
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