Cousins, Cousins Everywhere
Who are these cousins? I have 49,356 DNA matches on Ancestry and 14,721 DNA matches on MyHeritage. None of my siblings, nieces or nephews, 1st cousins, parents, or grandparents have submitted their DNA to either of these companies. My closest match is a half-uncle who tested with MyHeritage. I have some 2nd cousins but most of my matches are 3rd to 5th cousins.
Each person receives 50% of their DNA from their mother and 50% from their father. While the same is true for your siblings, they do not receive the same 50% from each parent that you do. DNA is definitely random and over time it is inevitable that some DNA simply gets deleted and is no longer passed on. So while you may know through family lore and, more importantly, verified research that your family descended from a particular region or ethnicity, that information may not be found in your DNA. Also, it is important to remember that just because a person was born in a particular country does not mean that they have that ethnicity. People move; borders change. However, your DNA does not change though it may not tell the whole story of your heritage. Your DNA matches are real. Keep in mind that DNA and ethnicity are related but are not the same. Also, each company that you test with contains different reference samples and continually update their ethnicity estimates. “Accuracy depends on (1) the size of the reference panel, (2) how many regions of the world are represented, (3) the number of samples from each region, and (4) how genetically distinct each population is (Harrison).”
Here are the results of my ethnicity estimates from the three companies that have analyzed my DNA:
| Ancestry | MyHeritage | Healthy Nevada |
| England & Northwestern Europe 47% | English 68.5% | Northwestern European 58.6% |
| Scotland 20% | Irish, Scottish, Welsh 24.9% | Northeastern European 19.7% |
| Germanic Europe 16% | Ashkenazi Jewish 4.8% | Southeastern European 16.9% |
| Wales 10% | Finnish 1.8% | Southwestern European 3.5% |
| Ireland 5% | Ashkenazi Jewish 1.2% | |
| Sweden & Denmark 2% |
Ancestry also includes a DNA estimates map. This is mine:
Now, back to those unknown cousins. It is really helpful when those cousins have a public tree that goes back several generations. (Alas, most of my cousins either do not have a public tree or it only contains a few people. I have a few though that I have bookmarked and have appreciated when the tree points to additional names and relationships for me to research. It’s important to remember though that absolutely everything you find must be verified; so much information out there is wrong.) When you find shared DNA matches you are able to confirm your research and often find new information. For many people this enables them to break through “brick walls” and answer questions about their family and ancestors.
Recently, I discovered Kathy, a 2nd cousin once removed. My great grandfather, John Calvin Watkins, is her 2nd great grandfather. Kathy’s grandfather, Robert Lee Watkins, was the son of Frank Willets Watkins (her great grandfather) who was my grandfather’s brother. I found it interesting that Grand Uncle Frank’s middle name was Willets as this is definitely a family name.
Micajah Willets and Elisabeth Parker had a daughter, Sarah Willets. Sarah was my 5th great grandmother. She married Timothy Smith. The Willets and Smiths were Quakers.
Timothy was one of my Revolutionary War ancestors and I wrote about him in my blog post on June 3, 2022 https://journeyingwithjacque.com/conflict-month-6-of-12-ancestors-in-12-months/. Timothy’s story was unique enough that it was included in the DAR Digital Magazine Archive and his story was recorded on the DAR: Our Patriots Podcast.
Timothy Smith and Sarah Willets had a son, Micajah Willets Smith, who was my 4th great grandfather.
I don’t know if there are anymore Willets in the family besides Frank Willets Watkins. One way to learn more about your ancestors is to “work sideways” and add siblings and their descendants to your research. After all, most of our DNA matches will be the descendants of other children of our common ancestors. The common ancestors that Kathy and I share are John Calvin Watkins and his wife, Florence Lavina Clark. Donald, my grandfather, and Frank, her great grandfather, were brothers. The Willets family name goes through the mother of John Calvin Watkins, Susanna Osborne. Her maternal grandfather was Micajah Willets Smith.
Enjoy exploring some of your cousins and learn more about your shared ancestors. You may find this cousin chart helpful:
Sources
Cowan, Crista. “Ancestrydna | What to Do with All Those Matches | Ancestry.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Jan. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv3_JCWUF-s.
Harrison, John. “Ancestrydna Updates Their Ethnicity Estimates.” The DNA Geek, 20 Aug. 2022, https://thednageek.com/ancestrydna-updates-their-ethnicity-estimates/.