Complications

 

AncestryDNA Thrulines.

A challenge in uncovering the parents of my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget (shown above as my Dad's 2nd-great-grandmother from his AncestryDNA Thrulines results), is the lack of direct DNA matches in my line connecting to her. Bridget had three sons with first husband Patrick Dooner. Two of those sons died of cholera between July and August 1849. Her third son Michael Dooner died in 1918 without having children.

Bridget and John O'Brien had four children: Anna Maria, Agnes, John J. (my 2nd-great-grandfather) and Isabella. Only John had children. Among his seven children, only his son Harry O'Brien had children: Blanche (my grandmother), Harry Jr, and Lowell. Harry Jr and Lowell had children and I know a few of their descendants appear as DNA matches to my Dad, who was an only child of Blanche and my Gumpy.

As I try to find best common matches or best mystery matches among my Dad's AncestryDNA results, the facts above will come into play in the search for potential connections.