Genetic test question

happycat · ‎09-18-2010

I don't want to hijack @Laura14's thread, but I'd like to ask something.

My grandfather didn't know how his dad was. His mother would never say.

If I were to do one of these tests, how much could I possibly find out?

TIA

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@happycat wrote:
I don't want to hijack @Laura14's thread, but I'd like to ask something.
My grandfather didn't know how his dad was. His mother would never say.
If I were to do one of these tests, how much could I possibly find out?
TIA

@happycat Hijack away! I think the results come back with matches if and only if the father or his relatives are also in the database and have opted in to have themselves "out there" to be matched.

happycat · ‎09-18-2010

Ok, Thank you @Laura14. Its very interesting. My grandfather has been dead for nearly 25 years, and I'm sure whoever his father was has too.

Say if my grandpa's dad has offspring who had done these tests, would that show up?

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@happycat I believe so. I am going off of a Dr Oz episode I just saw where a girl did not know she was a donor baby and when she got the results she said it came back with about 2000 distant matches but one half brother match.

Since she was an only child, she knew she had no brothers and her parents said no other children so when she investigated she found out she was not biologically related to her parents and she had multiple siblings who were all related because of the sperm donation. They all shared the same paternal line.

ALRATIBA · ‎07-15-2016

@happycat

It should show up.

My matches both go back to a great grandfather or great great grandfather level.

happycat · ‎09-18-2010

OK, thank you both, @Laura14 and @ALRATIBA, good to know. Now that I think about it I think I'm too chicken to proceed. Will have to think on this a bit.

Thanks again, ladies.

Drythe · ‎07-09-2011

@happycat wrote:
I don't want to hijack @Laura14's thread, but I'd like to ask something.
My grandfather didn't know how his dad was. His mother would never say.
If I were to do one of these tests, how much could I possibly find out?
TIA

@happycat

You might try getting a copy of his birthcertificate, or looking in the public birth records.

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@happycat Only do or not do what you're comfortable with.

Whatever comes up in my results, I don't care. I have two brothers I don't know that I know about. If there are more out there, it doesn't change me or my life in anyway. It goes on and without any relationship with them. I'm me no matter what any piece of paper says.

And I've always been fantastic with boundaries with strangers. Until you are comfortable with doing that, hang in there.

Dominosmom · ‎07-17-2010

DH did 23&Me and his results initially showed only the nation of origin in a pie chart. He thought he was Danish and a little bit Irish but he wasn't Danish at all but was definitely Irish, Italian and Portugese. The second and third country was a surprise. A few weeks later there was a match for a very distant cousin who he has never met. None oh his 4 siblings have used this service so their names did not pop up. Maybe later if they decide to submit a saliva sample.

All in all his experience with 23& Me was pretty disappointing.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

@happycat wrote:
Ok, Thank you @Laura14. Its very interesting. My grandfather has been dead for nearly 25 years, and I'm sure whoever his father was has too.
Say if my grandpa's dad has offspring who had done these tests, would that show up?

@happycat Laura14's answer was how it happened in our family. I posted our story on her thread - a relative had a child in her teens and kept the baby. Couple broke up before the baby was born and he had moved. This child (now in mid 40's) had always been told the truth about her birth and given the father's name but decades later had spelled it incorrectly. Fast forward to 2 months ago and this now grown daughter had sent in her DNA to Ancestry.com.

Came back with a match with a half-sibling and an uncle. They met, took another DNA test verifying that the results were indeed correct. Her father had died 9 years ago so that was sad but she connected with her found family bc prior to finding this out she was an only child.

I did this in 2016 and my matches included two of my cousins' children. Those we know are true too bc we all know each other.