AncestryDNA 2021 & 2022 October 2022 Follow Up Meeting - Case Study

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Below is a case study for participants in the Society of Australian Genealogists AncestryDNA 2021 and 2022 Follow Up meetings in October 2022. Please contact me at chrisw9953[at]gmail[dot]com for other uses. 

How is Hilary related to three siblings?

Please be prepared to discuss this case study-
  • What are the possible relationships between Hilary and the three siblings?
  • Do we have enough evidence to support these possible relationships "beyond reasonable doubt"?
  • What actions would you recommend to Hilary and the three siblings to gather more evidence?

What do we know?

  • Hilary was born in 1959 in London, England. She was adopted in the same year. 
  • Hilary has tested at AncestryDNA to find her biological father.
  • Hilary has DNA matches with three siblings - Sibling 1 - 237cM, Sibling 2 - 181cM, Sibling 3 - 102cM.
  • From her AncestryDNA matches, Hilary knows she's related to the three siblings on her paternal line. 
  • From their AncestryDNA matches, the siblings know they're related to Hilary on their maternal line.
  • The siblings have three shared matches with Hilary - Nick and brothers, Bruce and James. 
  • The siblings most recent common ancestors with Nick, James and Bruce are their great-great-grandparents, William Collins (1839 to 1889) and his wife, Emma Hughes (1841 to 1891).
  • While the three siblings have other shared matches with Hilary, the siblings share less than 40cM of DNA with them. There's not sufficient information available to trace any of these shared matches back to common ancestors.
Here's a summary of the DNA that the three siblings share with Hilary, James, Brice and Nick at AncestryDNA.
Here's a WATO tracking the relationships. You can access this WATO HERE.

Key to colour coding-
  • Mauve - born in England
  • Green - born in Australia
  • Red - born in USA
  • Yellow - 3 siblings showing DNA shared with Hilary
  • Orange - Hilary's shared matches with 3 siblings
  • The three siblings' mother is Silvia North. 
  • She and her three children were born in Sydney NSW.
  • Silvia's father, Henry North, was born in 1891 in London. 
  • Henry North's parents are Tom North and Ann Collins.
  • Henry North appeared on the 1911 Census in England and was living in London. We can't find when he came to Australia but, in 1913, he enlisted in the RAN in Sydney. In 1922, he married Silvia's mother in Sydney. 
Here's a WATO showing the "known" descendants of William and Emma Collins. You can access this WATO HERE.

  • Apart from Henry North, the only descendants of William and Emma Collins who left England, were their son, Harry Collins (1873 to 1962), and daughter, Maude Collins (1879 to 1921). 
  • In 1901, Harry Collins married Catherine in London. 
  • In 1912, Harry and Catherine Collins left for the United States with Maude Collins. They did not return to England.
  • In 1916, Maude married Thomas Smith in Chicago, USA. Maude was 37. Her only daughter, Mary Smith (1917 to 1999), was born the following year. 
Here's the AncestryDNA relationship predictions for Hilary and the three siblings.

Please use the contact form for clarification. 

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