Diana In reading over your table, you state the useful limit of FF is five generations. I think FTDNA uses the term 5th cousins rather than generations. I personally feel that's a conservative statement to be on the safe side of marketing "truth". I wouldn't discount matches that turn out to be more distant on paper. I have several 4th cousins who have taken FF, but don't match me. In fact, despite many successful paper trails with FF matches, I have no confirmations on my BARTLETT line (and a few others). Because there are 9 of us with matching Y-DNA (and E1b at that) from descendants of 4 different sons of our Patriarch 8 generations ago, I know the blood line is true. That's why I keep asking about some atDNA that tends to stay in segments - because I'm coming to believe (in my impatient way) that some DNA may get chopped up more, finer, smaller (pick your term), until, for some lines it doesn't pass the FTDNA atDNA filter. As some have pointed out, the DNA of some ancestors just doesn't make it all the way to me (although I think it should at just 8 generations). In the case of the cousins from my surname, they report matching each other, and wonder where I am:>( Jim - Sent from my iPhone - FaceTime! On Feb 16, 2012, at 1:46 AM, "Diana Gale Matthiesen" <[email protected]> wrote: > Some years ago, I compiled a table of the number of individuals in > each generation of your ancestry: > http://dgmweb.net/Ancillary/OnE/NumberAncestors.html > > That was when I set my genealogical goal at getting all my lines back > ten generations. It's almost ridiculous to be proud of an ancestor 20 > or 30 generations back. At best, they've contributed a miniscule > amount to your genetic endowment - possibly even none. > > Nothing's impossible, but I'm going to be very surprised to find my > parents related within the reach of the FamilyFinder test. If these > mutual matches I'm getting from both sides of my family are IBS, > that's solves that problem, but then that raises the question as to > whether I should have accepted the DAVIS in this table as our cousin: > http://dgmweb.net/DNA/aDNA/FF-Descendants_Isaac_DAVIS.html#table > > Diana

> From: Jim Bartlett > Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 8:09 AM > > Diana > > In reading over your table, you state the useful limit of FF is five > generations. I think FTDNA uses the term 5th cousins rather than > generations. Actually, they do say 5 generations: http://www.familytreedna.com/family-finder-compare.aspx > I personally feel that's a conservative statement to be > on the safe side of marketing "truth". I wouldn't discount matches > that turn out to be more distant on paper. I don't discount matches when I can find a paper connection. But I'm going in the reverse direction here. These are people I *know* I'm related to. > I have several 4th cousins who have taken FF, but don't match me. In > fact, despite many successful paper trails with FF matches, I have > no confirmations on my BARTLETT line (and a few others). Because > there are 9 of us with matching Y-DNA (and E1b at that) from > descendants of 4 different sons of our Patriarch 8 generations ago, > I know the blood line is true. That's the information I'm looking for. IOW, it isn't unusual to, by chance, not match someone who actually is related to you at the level of 4th cousin (6th generation). > That's why I keep asking about some atDNA that tends to stay in > segments - because I'm coming to believe (in my impatient way) that > some DNA may get chopped up more, finer, smaller (pick your term), > until, for some lines it doesn't pass the FTDNA atDNA filter. As > some have pointed out, the DNA of some ancestors just doesn't make > it all the way to me (although I think it should at just 8 > generations). In the case of the cousins from my surname, they > report matching each other, and wonder where I am:>( At eight generations, I'm not so certain size is as much a factor as mere probability. What are the odds, not that you both would have *some* DNA from that ancestor, but that you would have the *same* bits of DNA from that ancestor? Pretty slim. If my cousins are any example, it's dropping off rapidly right where FTDNA says it will, at 4th cousins. Diana