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My 1st cousin 1xR and my Aunt and I have all taken Ancestry DNA tests. For clarity sake I will refer to the parties as "Z", "N" and "R"

"R" is related (by document) to "N" as nephew and Aunt "Z" is related (by document) To "N" as grand-nephew and grandaunt

"R" and "N" share 2067 centimorgans over 65 segments.

"Z" and "N" share 1097 centimorgans over 44 segments.

But Ancestry DNA reports that there is no shared DNA between "R" and "Z".

Is there any way that makes sense?

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    I think this question would be much clearer if the relationships were indicated on a diagram, referencing the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of R, N, and Z.
    – Jan Murphy
    Nov 6, 2018 at 2:51
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    You say in your question that your 1C1R is R, your Aunt is Z and you are N. But your diagram shows you as R, your Aunt as N, and your 1C1R as Z. Please clarify.
    – lkessler
    Nov 6, 2018 at 6:02
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    @lkessler Sorry if somehow I mislead you. I am "R" . My Aunt is "N" and "Z" is the grandchild of GC and her husband JA. "N" and GC are full sisters
    – BobE
    Nov 6, 2018 at 17:10
  • Thank you. I've updated your first line of your question to correctly list your abbreviations. Please check that I've done it correctly. And I've updated my answer as well.
    – lkessler
    Nov 6, 2018 at 18:56

2 Answers 2

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Whoa, that chart popped up in the middle of my answering this. I was getting nowhere fast because the numbers weren't adding up. Now I see it's because your explanations of relationship were not clear enough. Z isn't anybody's aunt, she's a younger generation. That was throwing me.

Okay, I'll start over.

So R and N are uncle/nephew and should share 1349-2175 cM. They share 2067, which is in that range.
(If R and N were half uncle/nephew, they would share 500-1446 cM, so we can rule that one out.)

Z and N are granduncle/niece and should share 251-2108 cM. They share 1097, and we're good.
(If Z and N are half granduncle/niece, they would share 125-765 cM, so we can rule that one out.)

R and Z are (on paper) first cousins once removed. They should share 141-851 cM. They actually share zero.

The most obvious explanation is there is a half-sibling relationship going on here. A NPE (non parental event or “not parent expected”) from the sound of it, or you wouldn’t be asking.

But it still doesn’t fit. The half uncle/nephew and half granduncle/niece possibilities don’t come out even close with the numbers.

The only thing I can come up with is that GC has one parent different from N and RH (who are full siblings).
AND that Z is GC’s child, not grandchild.

That would make N and Z half uncle/niece with an expected range of 500-1446 cM, perfect for the actual amount of 1097.

Z and R would be half first cousins and that doesn’t work because the range is 137-856.

I’m at a loss.

Perhaps there was an error when you compared R and Z. I’d put everyone in Gedmatch and check it again.

Note: My cM ranges come from Blaine Bettinger. http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Relationship_Chart_FINAL_August_2017.jpg

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  • don't know why my comment doesn't appear, so pardon my repeating: I manage the DNA raw files for "R" and "N" , I do NOT have access to the raw data for "Z" , so can not submit to Gedmatch.
    – BobE
    Nov 6, 2018 at 17:21
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    Something is off in what you're describing. Since I doubt you'd make a mistake in the paper trail for such close relatives, and since obvious explanations like a NPE don't have workable numbers, the next step is to take a better look at the match segments. Talk to Z and get her/his raw data or urge Z to put it on Gedmatch (no one will see the raw data, just the matches). AncestryDNA does not have a chromosome browser.
    – Cyn
    Nov 6, 2018 at 19:50
  • Talked with Ancestry, they can not figure it out either. More to the point, Ancestry DNA database reports that "Z" and "N" and "R" have DNA in common, they can not figure out why "Z" and "R" have no shared DNA.
    – BobE
    Nov 7, 2018 at 16:46
  • Honestly, an error on AncestryDNA's end is the only explanation that makes any sense. Please update when you find out what's going on. I'd really like to know.
    – Cyn
    Nov 7, 2018 at 19:30
  • Ancestry's call center referred to their "mentors" for an answer. The "mentors" have no explanation, but insisted that they (mentors) would respond by email if they can figure it out. From Ancestry's side their DNA data shows that "Z" shares DNA with "R" and "N" , however ... "Z"'s profile says that he is NOT a DNA match to "R".
    – BobE
    Nov 8, 2018 at 14:34
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The range for a full aunt is 1349 to 2175 cM. A half aunt is 500 to 1446 cM. So 2064 definitely indicates a full aunt.

Your 1C1R would be a great-niece/nephew to your aunt. The range for a great-niece/nephew is 251 to 2108 cM. Your value of 1097 cM fits in there. If that's the situation, then something is amiss. You should share DNA with your 1C1R as well as any and all close relatives (<= 2nd cousins) to your aunt. It wouldn't matter whether they are half relatives to your aunt or not because both your aunt's parents are your grandparents.

I'd definitely recommend looking at the In-Common-With (ICW) list of people between your aunt and your suspected 1C1R. You have already said that you will not be listed as one of the in common people. Compare that to your ICW list between you and your aunt.

If the two lists have few people in common between them, then maybe you need to form a new hypothesis about how this person is related to your aunt.

If the two lists have a lot of people in common, but you are not in it, then something else is going on. It is rare that a DNA company would make this sort of error for matches that are this close. But if in fact your full aunt's great niece/nephew does not match you, then you should contact Ancestry DNA to see what's going on.

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    for completeness sake: I have contacted Ancestry and for the time being they have no explanation. Please see my last comments to Cyn above.
    – BobE
    Nov 8, 2018 at 14:36
  • This has big implications as to the correctness of Ancestry's match reporting. There may be millions of unreported matches like yours due to some glitch. Hopefully Ancestry sees the importance of fixing this problem and makes it a priority to do so, even if they do it quietly and don't tell anyone. So keep checking back occasionally, and one day the match may appear.
    – lkessler
    Nov 8, 2018 at 14:48

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