ENLISTING DNA ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY QUEST

Welcome to the DNA Workshop! In every issue DNA adviser Karen Evans will be unpacking a reader case study, helping you learn how to use your DNA research at home. It’s time to unlock the story of your genes…

Clicking on ‘groups’ will show you how many matches are from your maternal or paternal side. This only happens if you test a parent. However if you know which side a match comes from, Ancestry allows you to add it manually.

PAUL WRITES: I have taken a DNA test with Ancestry.co.uk and I have found three DNA matches who mutually match each other and also myself. These three matches descend from two sisters, Lucy Robbins who was baptised in 1813 at Beckington, Somersetshire and Prudence Robbins who was baptised in 1804 also at Beckington. These two sisters had a brother called James Robbins who was baptised at Beckington in 1796 I strongly suspect that this James Robbins is my 5x great-grandfather.

The problem

The problem I have is that the parents of Prudence, Lucy and James are recorded as James Robbins and Sarah. But there are baptisms recorded in 1801 and 1802 at Beckington for children also named James Robbins and the parents' names are also recorded as James and Sarah.

The most logical explanation The most logical explanation I can think of is that the parents are different. There was a James Robbins and his wife Ann also living at

Beckington in this time period. They were definitely confused with James and Sarah on at least one occasion in the parish register, there is a baptism for a Job Robbins for which the mother is recorded as Sarah, but when he is buried his mother is recorded as Ann.