How to Find DNA Test-Takers with Descendancy Research

One of the challenging parts of using DNA evidence in genealogical research is that it involves discovering information about living people. These living people are the sources for the DNA information we would like to use as evidence. They take a DNA test, then we analyze the match information and use it as evidence to answer a genealogical research question.

As we go about finding DNA evidence for our research questions, there are at least two scenarios that require us to determine the identity of living individuals. First, we often need to figure out the identity of a person in our DNA match list. Perhaps they haven’t linked a family tree, or have no identifying information in their profile, or don’t respond to messages. Second, we may lack enough DNA evidence, so we need to find living people to ask them to take a DNA test. I have doing this in my Dyer project. Additional Y-DNA test-takers could help with my hypothesis that John Robert Dyer, b. 1813, was related to James Dyer b. 1804 and resided with Bedey Dyer in Grainger County in 1850.¹ There are a significant number of autosomal DNA matches between the descendants of the two men. Now I’d like to see if their descendants have matching Y-DNA.

There are three ways to go about finding the identity of living people – descendancy research (tracing a person’s descendants), ascendancy research (building a person’s tree), or a combination of both. In this post, I will share the steps I regularly use for the first option  – descendancy research. In my case, I needed to find descendants of James Dyer.

Identify the Starting Ancestor

The first step in descendancy research is to fully identify the starting ancestor, including their biographical details, residences, and relationships. Once you know who your ancestor was, and have separated him from other people of the same name, you are ready to trace their children forward in time. Don’t skip this important step. If you do, you may end up tracing the wrong children.

In a previous research project, I documented the life of James Dyer. In 1850, James and Bedey resided in the 8th civil district. Their household included the following children:²

1. John Dyer b. 1829 TN
2. Jane Dyer b. 1831 TN
3. Nancy Dyer b. 1833 TN
4. Hubbard Dyer b. 1835 TN
5. Warren Dyer b. 1837 TN
6. Sarah Dyer b. 1839 TN
7. Mary Dyer b. 1841 TN
8. Corbin Dyer b. 1843 TN
9. Emeline Dyer b. 1845 TN
10. Eliza Dyer b. 1848 TN

 

A near neighbor to James Dyer on the 1850 census was William L. Dyer, age 25, born in Tennessee. He was probably a son of James Dyer as well.³

With many men named James Dyer living in Grainger County, Tennessee at the same time, I had to separate a merged identity. A memorial at Findagrave included children of James and Bedey Dyer that matched the 1850 and 1860 census enumerations, but with the wife and headstone of another James Dyer.

In my research log, I noted the inconsistencies I found in the memorial:

This headstone could be for a different James Dyer. It looks old and could have been placed in 1888, but the memorial has a spouse attached that I don’t recognize: “Lucinda Martin Clevenger (1844-1908) m. 1888.” Lucinda’s memorial also includes a headstone photo from a cemetery in the same town, Luttrell,  Union County, Tennessee. It’s possible she was a second wife after Bedey died, but if they were married in 1888 and he died 20 May 1888, there’s a potential conflict if the marriage record was after May 20. The children listed match up with the 1850 and 1860 census households of James and Bedey Dyer, except Eliza and John are not included on the memorial; and William Lee Dyer is included on the memorial. William was 25 by 1850 so he was probably already heading his own household. That means there were at least 11 children (list from 1850 census with William added):

1. William Lee Dyer b. 1825 (not on 1850 census), d. 1899
2. John Dyer 21 b. TN
3. Jane Dyer 19 b. TN – Martha Jane Carey 1830-1918
4. Nancy Dyer 17 b. TN – Nancy Ann Carey 1832-1871
5. Hubbard Dyer 15 b. TN – d. 1864
6. Warren Dyer 13 b. TN – Benjamin warren Dyer 1836-1884
7. Sarah Dyer 11 b. TN Sarah A. Haskins 1836-1919
8. Mary Dyer 9 b. TN Mary C. Jones 1842-1935
9. Corbin [Calvin] Dyer 7 b. TN – Calvin Lafayette Dyer 1840-1922
10. Emeline Dyer 5 b. TN Susan Emeline Roach 1842-1919
11. Eliza Dyer 2 b. TN

 

Although the child list seems to belong to James and Bedey Dyer, the headstone seems to belong to a different James Dyer; one who lived in Union County, Tennessee and married Lucinda Martin Clevenger. The memorial also doesn’t mention James’ second wife, Mary Shaver, or his children with her. Also, I would expect to see at least one of these purported children buried in the Dyer cemetery but I did not see any; just different Dyers. Also, there’s no evidence James Dyer b. 1804 and resided in Grainger County ever lived in Union County. So they identities of two separate James Dyers may have been merged. Lucinda Clevenger’s memorial shows her being connected as a spouse to two different James Dyers – the other one is James M. Dyer b. 1825. The memorial for James M. Dyer says he died before 1900 in Union County, Tennessee. This sounds like the correct spouse for Lucinda. There should be three separate James Dyer memorials: one for James Dyer Sr. 1806-1888, one for James Dyer who resided with Bedey in Grainger County, and one for James M. Dyer.

No marriage record was found for James Dyer of Grainger County to Bedey in Tennessee or North Carolina. I found that he resided in the 8th Civil District of Grainger County during the 1850 census and was taxed there in 1851 in John A. McKinney’s district. Another Dyer in the district was John Dyer, potentially James’ older son who resided in his household in 1850.⁴ James Dyer and John Dyer were taxed in the 8th district again in 1852.⁵

In 1853, neither was taxed in the 8th district. The only Dyer in the district was Neri Dyer. ⁶

James also resided in district 8 in 1860. Because James Dyer and Bedey were residing in District 8 in 1860, it’s likely that James aged out of the tax by 1853, and that’s why he was not listed in the district 8 tax list. If he was age fifty in 1853, he was born about 1803-1804. This corresponds with his 1850 census age of 46 (b. 1804) and 1860 census age of 57 (b. 1803).⁷

Bedey likely died after 1860 and James appears to have remarried Mary Shaver in 1866.⁸ In 1870, James and Mary resided in District 10 of Grainger County with inferred daughter Jane Dyer, two probable step-children, Elizabeth and Robert (listed with surname Dyer but later identified with surname Shaver), and two younger children, Harriet and James Dyer.⁹ In 1880, James lived in District 1 of Grainger County with wife Mary and children Harriet, James N., and Samuel Dyer.¹⁰

After 1880, no records remain for James Dyer of Grainger County. Now that he has been fully identified with relevant census, tax, marriage, and other records, we are ready to begin descendancy research.

Trace the Children Forward

Next, you’ll choose a child and begin building their family tree downward. It might seem natural to start with the oldest child. However, you may choose to prioritize the descendancy research differently. Consider two factors: strength of evidence linking the child to the parents and younger children with later birth years. When looking for DNA testing candidates, it’s often helpful to start with the youngest child of the research subject, to facilitate finding people born in recent times.

In this case, I focused on sons, since I was looking for Y-DNA testing candidates. The evidence linking the oldest child, William L. Dyer, to his father, was not as strong as other sons, since he didn’t live in James’ household. Birth years also played a role. The oldest son of James Dyer and Bedey was William L. Dyer, born in 1825, and their youngest son was Calvin Dyer, born in 1842. Seventeen years can make a big difference in finding a living test-taker versus finding a potential test-taker who passed away with no children ten years ago. James’ youngest sons were his children by his second wife, born in 1869 and 1872, but so far no autosomal DNA matches were found to these men, so I focused on children of James and Bedey at first, choosing Calvin to start with.

After selecting which child of the research subject to start with, consider building quick trees in Ancestry. This allows you to utilize the powerful Ancestry hint database that uses AI to find records that probably match your research subject. Tracing Calvin forward in time, I attached the 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 910, and 1920 censuses to his profile at Ancestry. This gave a pretty good idea of his children’s names. I then correlated those with obituaries, vital records like birth, marriage, and death certificates, and Findagrave memorials. Next, I picked one of the sons and started tracing them down in time.

With each generation, locating the Findagrave memorials is a crucial step. It allows you to quickly see if child memorials are linked and see if an obituary is included. Often, obituaries list living children who have survived their parent along with a residence.

Another important part of tracing the children forward is to pay attention to where recently deceased or living family members live. Sometimes they will end up in the same area or region. This will help you locate them with the people finder websites in the next section. I use the Ancestry public records databases. For people who lived after 1994, see U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019. For people living before 1993, see the following:

• U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
• U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2

These databases usually give the person’s name, birth year or birth date, and a list of places they have lived, including addresses. The information in the U.S. Public Records Index was compiled from a variety of public records. The various types of records used to create this index include:

Telephone Directories
Marketing Lists
Postal Change-of-Address Forms
Public Record Filings
Directory Assistance Records
Property and Land Records

Here’s an example of what you might see from the public records index at Ancestry (a record likely belonging to my great-grandfather):

 

Finding Living People

Once you’ve traced a family forward in time to the present day, the final step is to locate current contact information for them using people finder websites. Finally, you can try reaching out via social media like Facebook or LinkedIn. If these methods don’t work for getting a response, you can write a letter and mail it. This often works better for older folks. It might be a challenge to know which address to use to contact people, that’s why it can be helpful to correlate the public records database with various addresses with people finder sites and social media. Often Facebook profiles will state a person’s hometown in addition to where they currently reside.

People Finder websites include White Pages, Been Verified, and Spokeo, and so forth. One of my favorites is TruePeopleSearch: https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/. It’s free, lightweight, doesn’t make you click through tons of screens, and allows you to search for someone’s email address. This can be helpful when looking for matches who have shared their email address, like they do at GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA. Here’s what TruePeopleSearch found about my grandfather, who passed away in 2015:

Useful sections include also seen as, current address, phone numbers, email addresses, previous addresses, possible relatives, and possible associates. About 85% of the information on the page for my grandfather is accurate. Some things are wrong or mixed up. He never went by Charles M. Elder, for example. Also, the two email addresses listed were not correct. However, most of the relatives were correct and the last address and death information were accurate.

In the Dyer case, I traced all of Calvin’s male lines forward, yet only one descendancy line had living male descendants. I moved to another child of James and found one more living descendant. I am now working to contact them and see if they are willing to take Y-DNA tests. I will continue to trace the other lines forward as I work on this project.

Conclusion

Descendancy research is a powerful tool in genetic genealogy, allowing us to bridge the gap between our historical research subjects and potential living DNA test-takers. By following the steps outlined in this post – identifying the starting ancestor, tracing children forward in time, and finding living descendants – we can find DNA test-takers to collaborate with.

This process requires patience, attention to detail, and ethical considerations. As we navigate through generations of records and into the realm of living individuals, we can approach the research with care and respect for privacy. The combination of traditional genealogical research methods with tools like public records, social media, and people finder websites makes it possible to connect with potential DNA test-takers. Whether you’re searching for Y-DNA test candidates like in the Dyer project, or looking to expand your understanding of autosomal DNA matches, the skills of descendancy research will prove invaluable.

Recommended Record Types for Descendancy Research

1. Census Records – Used to trace families over time and identify children
2. Vital Records
   • Birth certificates
   • Death certificates
   • Marriage certificates
3. Obituaries – Often list surviving family members and their locations
4. Findagrave Memorials – Can provide death dates, family connections, and sometimes obituaries
5. Public Records Databases at Ancestry
   • U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019
   • U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
   • U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
6. People Finder Websites
   • White Pages
   • Been Verified
   • Spokeo
   • TruePeopleSearch
7. Social Media Profiles
   • Facebook
   • LinkedIn

1. 1850 U.S. census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 8, p. 122, dwelling 869, family 902, James Dyer household; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6150599:8054 : accessed 7 May 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 880.
2. 1850 U.S. census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 8, p. 122, dwelling 869, family 902, James Dyer household; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6150599:8054 : accessed 7 May 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 880.
3. 1850 U.S. census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 8, p. 119, dwelling 853, family 886, Wm L Dyer household; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4206038_00125 : accessed 9 May 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 880.
4. Grainger Co., Tennessee, Tax Duplicates, 1852, 8th Civil District, John A. McKinney Esqr. Rev. Commissioner, first page, lines 30-31, James Dyer and John Dyer; image online, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-63C8-PSNH : accessed 29 Oct 2023).
5. Grainger Co., Tennessee, Tax Duplicates, 1852, 8th Civil District, John A. McKinney Esqr. Rev. Commissioner, first page, lines 30-31, James Dyer and John Dyer; image online, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-63C8-PSNH : accessed 29 Oct 2023).
6. Grainger Co., Tennessee, Tax Duplicates, 1853, 8th Civil District, John Nance Esqr. Rev. Commissioner, first page, line 30, Neri Dyer; image online, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-D3C8-PQN6 : accessed 30 Oct 2023).
7. 1860 U.S. census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 8, p. 116, dwelling/family 833, James Dyer; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/19142584:7667 : accessed 2 Oct 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1250.
8. “Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780-2002,” James Dyer – Mary Shaver, 21 Dec 1866, Grainger Co., database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1574623:1169 : accessed 9 May 2023).
9. 1870 U.S. Census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 10, p. 2, dwelling/household 16, James Syer [Dyer] household; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4276873_00222 : accessed 9 May 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication M 593, roll 1530.
10. 1880 U.S. census, Grainger County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 1, p. 10, dwelling/family 75, James Dyer household; image online, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4244587-00527 : accessed 9 May 2023); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1257.