topic Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing? in Community Chat

Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

bonnielu — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 01:42:50 GMT

I am looking for suggestions for Ancestry testing. I see two companies that are of interest to me, both $99. I just don't want to get started and then find disappointment or false information. I want to start with my hubby first and then me.

I don't know how extensive it is. How accurate it is. And I wonder if it might link to other people.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Annabellethecat66 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 01:45:58 GMT

I'd like to know if they are legitimate. I wonder if it's just all generic. I'll be watching to see what other people say. Thanks for posting this.....

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

MyGirlsMom — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 01:55:19 GMT

@bonnielu

I had my DNA tested through ancestry.com and it is very accurate. Some hings I knew but there were a few surprises. Yes, it will link you to others on their website.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Biftu — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 02:14:42 GMT

I'd like to know what they do with the results after you are informed. Are they stored somewhere or destroyed?

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

x Hedge — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 02:30:57 GMT

I know exactly where I come from.

I had a genealogist in the family who traveled to Europe, searched government, church, and family records, interviewed everybody who could add anything, collected photos, and actually paid to have it made into book form. We all have our own copy.

I have genealogy records tracing both parent's family lines back for ages. The spelling of both my father's and mother's family's name was completely changed by a clerk at Ellis Island.

I hear that's not unusual.

My sister has a big interest in this, and the Internet has made it easier for her to keep connected with family and keep track of births, marriage, and deaths, we otherwise wouldn't know about. I think it's interesting, but I don't keep track of family at all.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

pattypeep — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 02:38:06 GMT

My daughter went through ancestrydna for $99 and was very happy with the process and the results. She must have gotten a special offer because she sent a link to me to get the dna test for $69. I sent the $ and got the kit but decided to wait until all the Christmas rush was over because I didn't want my package getting lost in all of the mail. Don't know why I would care at 71 years old, but call me curious.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

kathybnc2 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 02:50:53 GMT

I gave my son the Ancestry DNA last Christmas and I did it this summer. Mine was somewhat of a surprise to me.

May I asked how you went about obtaining a geneologist? And was it costly. I have found a fair amount of info on my dad's side, but hit a brick wall on my mom's side. They came from Eastern Europe--Austria or Ukraine (depending on the boarders). I'm sure it has to do with the spelling of the last name--which I have tried different variations but to no avail.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

JBKO — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 03:06:09 GMT

I am getting it for Christmas! Isn't it fascinating that we are able to do this?

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Pqfan — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 04:02:02 GMT

I think some of my ancestors were French.

I would like that because I speak fluent fries.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Karlakaye — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 03:18:10 GMT

i got the ancestry.com DNA test for Christmas from my DH last year and just loved doing it. Much to my surprise, I found out that I am 23 % Irish, the rest was spread out among Great Britain, Western Europe, Scandanavia and a couple others. I had a BALL planning a family St Patrick's Day corned beef dinner and party!! I highly recommend it.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

gottaloveme — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 04:11:12 GMT

I was was wondering the same thing.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Annabellethecat66 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 04:38:35 GMT

I just joined my oldest daughter to Ancestry.com (World) for 6 months for Christmas. She's already working on it. So funny...she called me the other day and said, "Mom! Did you know Grandma was married to your Dad's best friend 3 times?" I said, "Yes and she was married to my step sister's Dad 2 times and my Dad (the first) only once)" She was so excited it was funny.

She did my late husband's ancestry on her own down to the 1500's. It was easy because there's a whole town with his name (he was the last male descent of the blood line (we had girls)).

A lot harder with mine because country people and not much to go on.

Here's something a friend of mine told me. She's Mormon. She said when you are Mormon it is free to go to Ancestry.com. She said they are given free reign to research their ancestry. Interesting huh? I just paid $169 for 6 months!

Glad someone got something for free!

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

MoJoV — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 04:56:57 GMT

@MyGirlsMom I'm curious about how specific Ancestry DNA is. Do they just say Eastern Europe or a specific country. My father was Polish but I know Russian and Polish DNA are almost identical. My mother was Irish, would they just say British Isles? I'm curious if I have any other countries inbthe mix.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

TootyJane — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 05:01:11 GMT

It was an AncestryDNA special and my curiosity was piqued since I am adopted. It have always known that I was adopted. I have an adopted brother. Mom and Dad were just that, Mom and Dad. The only thing my Mom has said was she and my Dad were told I was of French ancestry. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to analyze and receive results. I sent my sample in before a vacation so I literally did not think about it until I got the email. Well, I WAS surprised!! French ancestry - NOT. I called my Mom and said the adoption agency lied! I have no "French" in me. We both had a good laugh and I gave her the results - 44% Great Britain; 34% Scandinavian; 10% Irish; and Trace Regions 11%. See? No French!

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

MyGirlsMom — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 05:35:12 GMT

@MoJoV

No, they aren't specific with regard to European countries. I know I have Scottish blood but it is referred to the British Isles. My Spanish blood is referred to as, Iberian peninsula and my Swedish ancestry as, Scandinavian.

The countries in Africa are named.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

software — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 10:45:27 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 The Mormon's keep meticulous family records in Utah. If you ever find a Mormon family member you can probably use their resources for further information.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

glb613 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 12:20:39 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
I just joined my oldest daughter to Ancestry.com (World) for 6 months for Christmas. She's already working on it. So funny...she called me the other day and said, "Mom! Did you know Grandma was married to your Dad's best friend 3 times?" I said, "Yes and she was married to my step sister's Dad 2 times and my Dad (the first) only once)" She was so excited it was funny.

She did my late husband's ancestry on her own down to the 1500's. It was easy because there's a whole town with his name (he was the last male descent of the blood line (we had girls)).

A lot harder with mine because country people and not much to go on.

Here's something a friend of mine told me. She's Mormon. She said when you are Mormon it is free to go to Ancestry.com. She said they are given free reign to research their ancestry. Interesting huh? I just paid $169 for 6 months!

Glad someone got something for free!

My mother did a lot of genealogy and published her "books". She did it before there was as much computer access and everythng was on paper. When she got sick and could't do it anymore, I gave the books to a cousin who is also into genealogy. She lives in Utah and when she was through with them, I asked her to donate them to the Morman Family History Library. The Morman Family History Library scanned all of the books (there had to be over a thousand pages) and they are now available online. I did access them and it was so cool to see my Mom's work on the computer screen.

The point of all of ths is, if you have done your family history and want to share, contact the Mormans and see if they are interested in your information. By being online, your relatives now and generations to come can access the information when looking for their roots.

I got the DNA kit for $69 on sale and I'm waiting for the results. My sister did hers through 23and me. We plan on comparing ours to see how similar or different we are. I'm positive I'll have a greater percentage of Eastern European since I really look like that side of the family. Time will tell.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

cosmic1 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 12:39:42 GMT

I had mine and my parents done a couple of years ago and my cousin did the same with her parents and another 2nd cousin had hers done and we are all related with the correct relationships. We all used Ancestry.com.

Genetic testing is based on probability and statistics, so if you share enough of the same mutations as someone else, you are considered to be related. Ancestry's methodology is that they took a pool of people in each area who could trace their roots to that area for 25 generations and they use them as the control group. If you match to them, you are considered to have that ancestry and they do percentages, etc.

Other methodolgies exist on other sites. Gedmatch.com is free and once you have your raw DNA file, you can load it there and they have several different methodolgies to test against.

DNA Land is also free and you use your raw DNA file to load there.

All mine were fairly consistent with the locations; the percentages varied slightly, but I was impressed with how closely they matched. My favorite report is the one on Gedmatch that compares you against ancient DNA. They have extracted DNA from ancient bones that have been found and use that to compare. It is pretty cool.

So, the nice thing is that once you have a dna file, you can use it on various sites for free.

Ancestry also shows you who you match in their database and I've met some great cousins through the site and they have been very generous in sharing information about the family.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

Stray — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 13:00:01 GMT

It is very accurate. I had some surprises but nothing remarkable. However, my friend found out she had a sister that she never knew existed. It seems her mother had a child very young and put her up for adoption. The news did create some problems but my friend and her sister are in contact which has been good for both of them. Their mother passed away in August but she didn't want to be involved with the daughter she put up for adoption which caused the lady a lot of sadness.

Re: Has anyone had Ancestry DNA Testing?

FrostyBabe1 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 13:01:59 GMT

I did the Ancestry DNA testing more out of curiosity than anything else. I've always been told that I'm Dutch, but I began to doubt it for a number of reasons. Turns out I'm 42% Scandinavian, 23% Western European, 15% British, 11% Irish and the rest was a smattering of other areas. Western Europe can certainly include the Netherlands, but also includes a number of other countries. I told my sister about the results and she said "well maybe you're not Dutch, but I am". Ummmmm. Alrighty then. And yes, we had the same parents.