DNA, Blood Groups and other Traits

As family history becomes more popular, so does having a dna test, to see if we can link up with unknown relatives. Whilst in geneaology, it is really just a bit of fun, it can also be very useful.

Like Father, like son – deciding on the next course of action.

Although I took a DNA test in early 2019, it has given me a list of several hundred others who share DNA with me, but it hasn’t particularly flagged up any dramatic discovery.

One interesting piece of inheritance, is that my mother has Blood Group ‘B’, which is quite unusual. None of the rest of us have this blood group. It would be interesting to know, which part of her ancestry, she has inherited this from.

We three children, have also inherited, slightly darker skin from her (not particularly noticeable generally), but we do not burn like Dad who has fair skin. We have also inherited her thicker hair.

Left handedness seems to be rather prevalent in this family. With MDS (my father), being left handed, as was ‘Joe’ Jeffrey Weatherill (my father in law). All three of my sons are left handed, but daughter is right handed.

Using DNA ‘matches’ on ‘Ancestry.

It appears that perhaps I have made my first useful find by using the DNA matches listed on ancestry.co.uk My mother has two individuals with the same surname marrying: ie JamesTranter and Eleanor Tranter. On their Marriage certificate, James’ father is given as Thomas, and Eleanor’s as Richard. They both came from the same village ( Stokenchurch Oxfordshire), so with a less common surname, it would appear they would likely be related in some way.

There are a number of other researchers looking into this family, but as the written evidence of James and Eleanors lives and descent, was not listed on ancestry, I was unable to identify for definite, their fathers.

However recently, a dna ‘match’ has taken a link back beyond the couple, enabling me to identify Thomas, living in a village close by with his family.

A question to a family history forum, advised that familysearch, held parish registers for Stokenchurch, and I have now managed to work backwards along both their lines, to find their common ancestors, Edward Tranter, and Mary Austen. This has also reduced, the number of ancestors in each generation backwards beyond this.

To be continued….