![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-15_46_54-LGDisplayExtensionWnd.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n- \n
- Orange is Lentz, but really Lentz\/NIcholson.<\/li>\n
- The next cluster is Nicholson\/Ellis<\/li>\n
- The third cluster is also NIcholson\/Ellis. So perhaps one cluster favors Nicholson and the other Ellis<\/li>\n
- For some reason there are no Rathfelder or Latvian clusters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A Custom Rathfelder Cluster<\/h2>\n
My mom has a good match here with Donna:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-15_54_42-LGDisplayExtensionWnd.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMaria was the wife of my mother’s grandfather who was Johann Heinrich Rathfelder. I’ll choose Donna as the match of interest for the custom Rathfelder Clusters.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-15_58_53-.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDonna is the fourth match down. The first cluster is along the Gangus Line:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-16_01_25-.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere is the second cluster:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-17_07_58-LGDisplayExtensionWnd.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere is the only hint I see from that Cluster:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-17_13_15-LGDisplayExtensionWnd.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHowever, I have never checked this out. One tree at Ancestry has this:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-20_59_58-Haiti-Update-November-2025.docx-Word.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThat means the Johann on the right above could be Johann Jacob. I suppose mine could be Cornelius Johannes. However, for now, I will leave it be.<\/p>\n
Clusters with Gladys and Catherine<\/h2>\n
Catherine has a slightly lower DNA match to my mom compared to Donna, but a closer relationship:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_05_23-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCatherine is a 2nd cousin once removed and Donna is a 2nd cousin twice removed to my mom.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_08_22-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt is interesting how different the two clusters look (between Gladys and Donna and Gladys and Catherine). Under this, there are two sub-clusters. Here is the first:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere are some more loose clusters. Here is match number 5:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_16_47-Save-As.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMatch number 4 has a similar connection and is probably a sister. This Hans Jerg Rathfelder married a Biedenbender.<\/p>\n
Here is how Valdis matches:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_21_55-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_21_55-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere is a guess as to what is happening:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_28_34-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere is some more support. Karin is related to Valdis. Here is J.S.:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_31_59-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBut how does Kirk fit in?<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_35_17-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis tells me that the second cluster is actually a Gangnus Cluster:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_34_16-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nValdis, Karin and JS were Schwechheimer\/Gangnus. But Kirk show that the match was really on the Gangnus side of that couple. This cluster also distinguishes from the Gangnus line on my Rathfelder grandfather’s maternal side.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_39_10-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe clusters are very specific.<\/p>\n
Matthew appears to be a new match:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_42_36-C__Users_jm_OneDrive_Documents_Blog_2025-10-29-21_11_48-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-C.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nChecking Out Matthew’s Line<\/h3>\n
I don’t see Matthew on my Gangnus DNA Tree:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-21_47_13-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI do see Maria Senta in the excellent genealogy on the Gangnus family by Gustav Gangnus. I can trace the line back to Johann Jacob Gagnus, but it gets confusing as this man had 19 children with two wives. Matthew descends from the first wife and Patrick, Kevin, Leva and my mom descend from the second wife.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-22_27_40-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere I have added in Matthew to my Gangnus DNA Tree:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-22_36_07-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis makes Matthew a half third cousin twice removed to Gladys. The shared DNA is all Gangnus.<\/p>\n
How Does Reinhold Fit In?<\/h3>\n
Here is what Ancestry shows:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-22_41_05-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHowever, Reinhold shows up in my Gangnus DNA Tree:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-22_43_00-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHe is also a fourth cousin once removed. On Matthew’s side of the tree, Reinhold is a 5th cousin once removed also:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.jmhartley.com\/HBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-29-22_45_21-Moms-Ancestry-Testing-Chart.xlsx-Excel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe left side of the tree represents the paternal Gangnus side and the right side of the tree above represents the maternal side of the Gangnus matches. Rienhold appears to be matching on the maternal Gagnus side if I understand the clusters correctly even though that is the more distant relationship.<\/p>\n
This is the part of the cluster that is easier to figure out due to common ancestors that have been confirmed by genealogy:<\/p>\n