Sometimes it helps to look at your family tree in a new way. When looking at different aspects of DNA through a DNA Study Group session the other day, we were introduced to X-DNA inheritance. According to the information given, the X chromosome is handed down in a different way than the other chromosomes and this also varies depending on whether the recipient is male or female. There are different charts for male and female inheritance available on the internet.
I'm still working on a particular DNA match and haven't gotten much further but she is an X DNA match to me. That inheritance should narrow the field of potential common matches. So I printed off a blank female inheritance chart and started filling in the names from my family tree.
I knew that there was one female line I wouldn't get far back on. I still haven't found the parents of my 3 x great grandmother, Mary Maidment. Once I filled out the tree it was surprising how many of the lines didn't go far back. There were only a couple of lines that reached the outer row of the chart at the 6 x great grandparent level. I thought my tree was more extensive than that but then again, most of the names on the chart are female. Females are notoriously hard to research changing their names as they do in marriage.
Having filled out a lot of the boxes on the chart, I can see where I need to concentrate my efforts to extend some of the lines. This will help me with the particular DNA match problem I'm working on. It also shows the gaps where I should concentrate my efforts to learn more about the female members in my family tree and makes me wonder if I've been guilty of concentrating on those easier to find male lines for too long.
Sources:
X-DNA inheritance chart - https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2008/12/21/unlocking-the-genealogical-secrets-of-the-x-chromosome/
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