Doris's Genealogy and DNA

A reader reports... Until a few years ago, I had a full and bushy ancestral tree, well documented and a source of great pride. Many lines were fully supported with DNA testing. Then uneasiness began to creep in upon me as, first, a DNA mismatch with a second cousin occurred, then, slowly, as I began to realize I had no solid matches to anyone in my paternal line. I had chalked it up to the fact that all were German and “those pesky Germans were too secretive to engage in DNA testing.” Then finally I was hit on the head with the finding that two more cousins were not related. It was time to accept that I had a problem with my dad’s thoroughly documented tree. It was easy to jump to the conclusion that he was adopted because I always knew my grandmother had been married almost ten years when he was born, an only child. Armed with a single DNA match that was almost certainly on my paternal side and who was a sympathetic tester with an excellent tree, I proceeded to research every