Hi! I am currently working on my family tree and I have hit a dead end. My 3rd great grandfather is from Ireland born in 1823and arrived in the U.S. in 1846. He died in New Orleans in 1900. His name was Patrick O'Dowd. Any O'Dowds on here or know where I could start to find more information? I am on Ancestry.com and all other family trees I have found are also stuck on Patrick O'Dowd as well. Thanks!
Heather
Heather:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
Can you locate a death record, obituary or other source which may show the parents names?
Consider adding Patrick's story to our XO Chronicles site and possibly someone will see a possible connection https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/ancestor-dat…
Have you considered DNA testing?
Roger McDonnell
Yes, I have done the DNA testing through Ancestry.com
Is there a more common DNA testing site that is used in Ireland?
I am in the process of requesting a death certificate but will take a while to receive, if I do at all.
Thanks for the quick reply! :)
Heather
Heather:
People in Ireland use the same DNA companies e.g Ancestry, 23 and Me, My Heritage, Family Tree DNA etc. There is no site that you can go to that just has the DNA data for people who live in Ireland.
Can I suggest that you look into Gedmatch www.gedmatch.com Gedmatch is a volunteer run site where you can upload your raw Ancestry DNA data and see matches with people who tested with other companies (and also loaded their data to Gedmatch). It allows you to expand your matching pool.
Roger
Thank you! I have heard of this and am going to look into it for sure!
Heather
We are finding that the O'Dowds whom we think descend from the dynasty of the Hy Fiachrach are falling under SNP FGC46310. We have tested one O'Dowd ourselves (originally from Sligo, now in England) and 4 others on FTDNA. Ancestry, 23 and Me, My Heritage, Gedmatch etc DNA is only dependable back 4 or maybe 5 generations. Y DNA is your best option for confirming a genetic relationship. The DNA company YSEQ in Germany is only $18 to test for this SNP. https://www.yseq.net/product_info.php?products_id=40437
The tester must be a male from an unbroken line of O'Dowd males