I check my DNA matches at MyHeritage almost every week, but rarely find a match that I recognize. This week I found a DNA match there who has Rathfelder ancestry. The match’s name is Alans. Here is how we match genealogically:
This is a view of Alan’s genealogy on MyHeritage. The person listed as Private is Alan’s paternal grandmother. The couple in the box are our common ancestors.
My Rathfelder DNA Testing Chart
I have a genealogical chart for those Rathfelder descendants who have had their DNA tested. This is part of it:
Alans descends from Nina Rathfelder who is a sister to Vera. Here is a photo of Nina:
It seems like Alans’ genealogy matches up with mine, so I won’t check what he has. Here I have added Alans to my chart:
Alans is my second cousin twice removed.
Alans’ DNA
Here is where I match Alans by DNA:
The matches are on Chromosomes 3, 5, 7 and 11. I can ‘paint’ those using DNAPainter. These are my maternal matches so far:
My mother was a Rathfelder, so that is why I am looking on the maternal side. My maternal side is 47% painted and I am 53% painted overall. Alans will add more orange Rathfelder DNA to my profile.
Here is Chromosome 3 where Alans has the biggest match:
The orange matches are on my mother’s father’s Rathfelder side. The gree and purple are on my mother’s mother’s side. Otis matches on the Gangnus side. As Alans match align’s with Otis’ match, it appears that the DNA is coming from Schweccheimer and Gangnus. Here is how I match Otis by genealogy:
Assuming I have the genealogy right, this DNA goes back to the late 1700’s. Because the match I have with Alans on Chromosome 7 is just below 7.0 cM, DNAPainter did not use the match. The default cutoff at DNAPainter is 7.0 cM and I match Alans at 6.5 cM on Chromosome 7
Painting Alans’ Match to My Mom
Alans has a slightly larger match to my mom than to me. Alans matches my mom at 68.8 cM. Here is my mother’s paternal side Chromosome 3:
My intention was to use a lighter color for the more recent matches. That is why I used pale yellow for my mom’s first cousins. My mom is painted at 37% overall and 44% on her paternal side, so a little less than me. Here is my mom’s current paternal side:
I changed the colors of my mom’s profile as the yellow did not show up well:
I highlighted Chromosome 3 above where Alans has the largest match.
Summary and Conclusions
- Alans adds another piece to the genetic genealogical puzzle
- Alans is the first DNA match relative who descends from Nina Rathfelder, daugther of Leo Rathfelder.
- Alans does not add a lot of new DNA to my mother’s or my profile, but fills in areas on the chromosome map.