23 and me test

[UnrealizedPotential]

So I got my ancestry DNA results back. It was interesting but nothing actionable. Would I do it again? Yes, because I was curious. Would I recommend it to someone else? I don't know. I would say if you are really curious like me, or don't know much about your ancestry, then yes.

There were a few surprises. I have West Europe, Great Britain,my two largest percentages. I think the biggest surprise I was only 2% Ireland/Scotland/Wales. Huh? I knew I didn't have much but would never of guessed it was that low. Trace amounts for Finland/Russia[very surprised], and south Europe[very surprised].No paper trail even remotely indicating I had DNA from either of those areas. No Scandinavian, but then I didn't think there was any, and trace amounts for Iberian Peninsula.

So all in all it was worthwhile. But for those who are sitting on the fence , I would say it depends. Some people have found some very interesting things on these tests. I thought after taking one of these tests I would have a clear opinion. The bottom line IMO is that one of these tests could be interesting , but might not be. Anyways, that's my report.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Can't recall how, but I got on an Ancestry e-mailing list, so get the occasional e-mail. Not too many so not enough yet to be annoying and prompt me to block them.

Anyhow, this weeks e-mail from them has a price drop to $59. I believe it expires on cyber Mon, if anyone is interested, I assume you just have to go to their website. personally not curious enough to try it....may change my mind, but probably not.

 

[ABQ2015]

You can't get specific countries because some regions weren't even countries until relatively recently in world history. For example, a genetic test probably cannot distinguish between Swedish and Norwegian because with the exception of isolated groups like the Saami, there's really only one population there, so your test results will just say Scandinavian.

Looking at some example results from the tests, mainland or continental Europe seems to be divided into broad categories such as Western Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, etc. So Germany and France will be in the same category. One test had a category called Nonspecific Northern European. An explanation was that there was too much migration and intermingling in those regions to differentiate.

 

[Katsmeow]

So I got my ancestry DNA results back. It was interesting but nothing actionable. Would I do it again? Yes, because I was curious. Would I recommend it to someone else? I don't know. I would say if you are really curious like me, or don't know much about your ancestry, then yes.

It is important to understand that for many, many people the primary reason to do the Ancestry test is not for ethnicity/heritage reasons. Of course, that is interesting particularly if you don't know anything.

But there are two other groups that find the information valuable.

First are people doing genetic genealogy -- That is using DNA to find "cousins" to help them work on their family tree. Genetic genealogy can often help to get past brick walls and complete trees that seemed impossible to complete. Many of these people already know a lot about their ethnicity but do the testing simply to help with genealogy. In fact, at this point, just doing traditional genealogy is sort of like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. You can do it, but it sure is hard and is not likely to be that effective. I am not saying that traditional genealogy has no place. It has a huge, huge place. But, genetic genealogy can help find ancestors and connections you would not otherwise have found.

Second group are people who are seeking information about more recent relatives. I am an adoptee and started searching for my birthparents over 40 years ago. I spent a lot of time on it. I found my birthmother through traditional search means about 20 years ago. But, I had no luck with my birthfather. After having a DNA test, I identified him within a few days (unfortunately he was deceased).

I am currently helping a predicted 2nd cousin whose mother (deceased) was born over 100 years ago and adopted. You might think that to be an impossible search. But, through DNA I've been able to identify the sibling groups that the adoptee's birthparents come from. That kind of search is impossible without DNA.

Other people aren't adoptees but still want to find out information about unknown parents or unknown grandparents. This can often be done through DNA. And, yes, some people test for ethnicity reasons and suddenly realize that one of their parents is not their biological parents. That doesn't happen very often but it does happen.

 

[target2019]

Of note, FTDNA sale is $49. Test is called Family Finder. Sale ends 11-27-2017.
There is a lot of "noise" in the results with these tests. Some have a great deal of "luck", for others it results in more mystery.

As mentioned, the results can be downloaded and then transferred to another site if necessary.

 

[Teacher Terry]

WE just ordered the 23 and me test because it was 59 each if you bought 2 for 1 day.

 

[Katsmeow]

Of note, FTDNA sale is $49. Test is called Family Finder. Sale ends 11-27-2017.
There is a lot of "noise" in the results with these tests. Some have a great deal of "luck", for others it results in more mystery.

As mentioned, the results can be downloaded and then transferred to another site if necessary.

This weekend is a great time to order as everyone has sales. Ancestry is $59 for the weekend until Monday. For people interested in genealogy and searching I always recommend starting with Ancestry as it currently has tested about 6 million people which is way, way more than anyone else.

A recommended path is often to test at Ancestry and upload results to FTDNA. You can also do a Y test (if male) or an mtdna test (DH and I have both done that).

I also tested at 23andme since it doesn't take uploads from Ancestry (or anyone else). At 23andme you can do health and ancestry (what I did) or do one and not the other.

I also uploaded my ancestry and 23andme results to both Gedmatch and to MyHeritage.

For those looking for genealogical purposes purely (that is, far away ancestors) Ancestry is definitely the best to test at. If you are looking for closer relatives (such as an adoptee looking for a parent or looking for a grandparent) it is best to fish in all ponds. That leads to testing both at Ancestry and 23andme and then uploading everywhere.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

This weekend is a great time to order as everyone has sales. Ancestry is $59 for the weekend until Monday. For people interested in genealogy and searching I always recommend starting with Ancestry as it currently has tested about 6 million people which is way, way more than anyone else.

A recommended path is often to test at Ancestry and upload results to FTDNA. You can also do a Y test (if male) or an mtdna test (DH and I have both done that).

I also tested at 23andme since it doesn't take uploads from Ancestry (or anyone else). At 23andme you can do health and ancestry (what I did) or do one and not the other.

I also uploaded my ancestry and 23andme results to both Gedmatch and to MyHeritage.

For those looking for genealogical purposes purely (that is, far away ancestors) Ancestry is definitely the best to test at. If you are looking for closer relatives (such as an adoptee looking for a parent or looking for a grandparent) it is best to fish in all ponds. That leads to testing both at Ancestry and 23andme and then uploading everywhere.

So you say you uploaded results to Ged match and My Heritage. What does that do? What can you find out? How does it work? Or maybe it's too complicated to put in a post? Just trying to see if it's worthwhile for me to take the extra step.

 

[Katsmeow]

So you say you uploaded results to Ged match and My Heritage. What does that do? What can you find out? How does it work? Or maybe it's too complicated to put in a post? Just trying to see if it's worthwhile for me to take the extra step.

Good questions.

My Heritage is an alternative site to Ancestry. It has genealogy information and it offers its own DNA test. It is an Israeli company and tends to have a bit more of a European emphasis so you can get some matches there you don't get other places. I wouldn't pay for their test but it was free to upload my results there.

Gedmatch - It allows uploads from all the major DNA places so you can get matches there you don't get elsewhere. For example, I have someone I have a fairly strong match to on 23andme. Her father is an adoptee. He is probably about a 1st cousin to me. There is a 2nd cousin match I have on Ancestry whose mother was adopted. With each of these people testing at different companies I don't know if they match each other. But, I asked them to upload to Gedmatch and was able to see that they are matches to each other and not just me. Due to the strength of the match I can see better where their respective parents might fit into my tree and who might be their parent on my side.

Also Gedmatch has a chromosome browser which Ancestry does not. With a chromosome browser you can see where exactly you match with someone. If 3 of us match -- like me and the 2 people above-- you can't tell just from that, whether we descends from a common ancestor. It is possible that we could all match but not descend from a common ancestor. However, if we all have a long enough identical segment on the same chromosome then it is highly likely that we do descend from a common ancestor. In this case, the chromosome browser on Gedmatch confirmed this.

Also Gedmatch does a lot of detailed stuff on ethnicity that you don't get from other companies.

 

[Marita40]

As an avid tree maker at ancestry.com (740 relatives now, going back 6 generations) I decided this weekend to spring for the DNA test. Can't wait!

 

[Katsmeow]

As an avid tree maker at ancestry.com (740 relatives now, going back 6 generations) I decided this weekend to spring for the DNA test. Can't wait!

Marita - Once you get your results back if you need any help on how to use it for genealogy, send me a PM here and I'll try to help.