I used 23andMe for my DNA research and that of my Son and his daughter. Aside from my son and granddaughter there are three other immediate family hits; a grandniece and her son, and a 1st cousin once removed. Everyone in the above mix are known relatives. The very next person of interest – i.e., based on strength of the match – is a 3rd to 4th cousin and not a very strong one at that. My ancestry is from the mid-west and north-east.
My son’s matches, aside from the matches on my DNA [above], include only one 2nd to 3rd cousin on his adopted mother’s side – this known since it doesn’t show on my DNA – is listed before the matches fall off to 2nd to 4th or higher.
The conclusion [right or wrong], from the above is that my DNA comes from more urban areas of Ohio and Pennsylvania while my son’s mother’s comes from a rural area of far northern Maine and nearby Canada.
In contrast to my family DNA, my wife’s DNA shows three 2nd cousins, seven 2nd to 3rd, and five 2nd to 4th cousins before dropping to the 4th cousin level. Her ancestors are primarily from Cannon and Warren counties in Tennessee.
Her son’s DNA shows weaker matches but still stronger than mine – five 2nd to 3rd cousins and two 2nd to 4th cousins before dropping to 3rd and deeper matches. There’s room of speculation that her son’s father’s ancestry is a mix of a later migration into Grundy county, TN and other people from other counties [Bedford, Coffee, and elsewhere].
When I find matches that seem too strong to fit I’m tempted to assume that the reason for the strength of the match is due to the endogenous relationships and not to nearness of the match [i.e., DNA coming from more than one ancestor tree].
Has anyone else come to this convoluted conclusion?