AncestrybyDNA or Ancestry.com DNA tests and are they useful/worth it

[DisneyPhans]

Has anyone tried this, thought about it, have an aversion to the idea of it?

EDIT: It's Ancestry by DNA which appears to be a more basic test than Ancestry.com DNA which is $99.
There is still a discount for the Ancestry.com DNA test (like $10). Either way, are these types of tests worth it? I don't even mind the $99 if people are stating the ancestry.com test was worthwhile for them.



I just got a kit in the mail. It arrived in a thin envelope. It's two cotton swabs, each for left and right inner cheek. Saw a really limited deal where these were available for $59. Can definitely let people know if I see another deal.

Ironically, the thing that actually surprised me is that a lot of my family members harbor a seemingly active ignorance or disinterest in this test: "I'm American." It's beyond mere lack of interest - I can tell they just DO NOT want to do it. Like I've touched a nerve or something.

Just wondering if people have tried it, have an interest, or have doubts/skepticism about it. Surely I can't be the only one here that thinks this is pretty cool?

What does this have to do with Disneyland? Well.. it could open up some family discussions or lead to discovery of other family members. You could then invite them to DLR! Hey - you never know.

EDIT: The AncestrybyDNA deal link directly on groupon: https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-dna-origins-test . It sometimes is active and sometimes isn't. It is currently active as of this edit.

The ancestry.com DNA test is $99 but you can get roughly $10 off.

 

[low-key]

I would love to do it, know one in my family really has a clue as to who we are, Im certain I got some African American in me and I want to see if Im right and how much, plus would love to see what else makes this jumbled mess I am

 

[Donnainnj]

My ancestry.com dna test included spit in a container not swabs. My results were mostly Irish(Catholic), European Jew. Have figured out the surprise of European Jew (30%)is probably from my dad's dad. I have matched genetically to ancestors of my paternal grandmother, and both my maternal grandparents that have names I have on my family tree. I wish my dad was still here to ask if he knew anything but I think he would have been surprised. At some point I will get back to researching to see if I can find the link to that branch.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We've tracked our ancestors back to the 1700's.

But if we hadn't, I would be all over this.

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

.

 

[Donnainnj]

We have one line to the 1600's in the US, two lines to the 1700's and one line my brother (and others that appear to be related) incorrectly followed to the 1600's. There where two people same name and state, but the slightly different birth year, and different residence during the World War 2 draft. The one I believe is right matched our relatives census address.

 

[indygirl99]

I would love to do it, know one in my family really has a clue as to who we are, Im certain I got some African American in me and I want to see if Im right and how much, plus would love to see what else makes this jumbled mess I am

My dad is African American my test showed Irish and Eastern European. 0% African anything.

In one college class we did chromosomal mapping and I did mom, dad, sister and myself so even if didn't look exactly like my dad I would know he was my dad.

So I'm not sure I put much stock in the test, at least for me.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I've done this, but mine was also the spit version and not the one with the swabs. It has connected me to a lot of online cousins on Ancestry, but unfortunately not all of them have family trees so it's hard to figure out how we might be related. It also confirmed a suspected second cousin as being a relation, but it hasn't helped me much with tracing my family tree.

But it's always fun to see what can happen!

 

[low-key]

My dad is African American my test showed Irish and Eastern European. 0% African anything.

In one college class we did chromosomal mapping and I did mom, dad, sister and myself so even if didn't look exactly like my dad I would know he was my dad.

So I'm not sure I put much stock in the test, at least for me.

really, lol, you know I didsnt put any stock in them finding a leaf of your family history but thought the DNA thing would be accurate, guess not, lol

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We have one line to the 1600's in the US, two lines to the 1700's and one line my brother (and others that appear to be related) incorrectly followed to the 1600's. There where two people same name and state, but the slightly different birth year, and different residence during the World War 2 draft. The one I believe is right matched our relatives census address.

I've spoken to a number of relatives that have followed the wrong people.

I've done it too. I call them rabbit holes. I once spent a week tracking what ended up being a rabbit hole. What a waste of time.

 

[DisneyPhans]

Guys can't tell you how glad I am.. I thought I was crazy.

THE DEAL IS BACK: https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-dna-origins-test
This is a groupon site. My suspicion is they open it up for VERY limited windows per day and hundreds of them sell.
This is not a referral so you can go straight there and get it.. THere is a redemption codeSAVE10 or something else for possible $10 off if you're new.

 

[powellrj]

My brother did it and what surprised me was how much American Indian we were. My Grandmother had always told us she was an Indian, but some of the other stories had been questionable, so I guess we should have believed her! The rest of it seemed right on to everything we already knew.

 

[DisneyPhans]

My dad is African American my test showed Irish and Eastern European. 0% African anything.

In one college class we did chromosomal mapping and I did mom, dad, sister and myself so even if didn't look exactly like my dad I would know he was my dad.

So I'm not sure I put much stock in the test, at least for me.

WOW. This has got to be a mix-up. Maybe someone else's spit?
I wonder if the switch from spit to swab had anything to do with more reliability? Is there, in fact, any Irish or Eastern European in your blood to your knowledge?
I should be like 100% Chinese by ancestry, but family members are telling me there's got to be more than that based on facial features. Nothing is known on my maternal line, and my mother states that my great grandmother had blue eyes. So that's just weird and I'm checking that out.

 

[Donnainnj]

My brother did it and what surprised me was how much American Indian we were. My Grandmother had always told us she was an Indian, but some of the other stories had been questionable, so I guess we should have believed her! The rest of it seemed right on to everything we already knew.

That's funny, we had the opposite, my grandmother was told that we were possibly part American Indian on my Grandfather's side, and that her great grandmother was an American Indian. I showed no American Indian in my DNA.

 

[tvguy]

It would be interesting to do, but not $59 worth of interesting. We have a bit of information on my mom's side. My dad's side is a mystery. He was older (47) when I was born, and his dad.....we think....was nearly that age when my dad was born. The lack of interest in our Ancestry prior to my daughter, the passage of time, and the absolute lack of records in the cities where we think they were born has been a roadblock. DD did discover that in the 8 days it took my Grandmother to get to Ellis from England on a ship....she got 10 years younger!

We did the test at work with our on air people, and one refused to check the "possible relatives" box because that person's dad was in the Navy and made no bones about having a lot of fun in every port. This anchor didn't even want to know about any half-siblings.

 

[indygirl99]

WOW. This has got to be a mix-up. Maybe someone else's spit?
I wonder if the switch from spit to swab had anything to do with more reliability? Is there, in fact, any Irish or Eastern European in your blood to your knowledge?
I should be like 100% Chinese by ancestry, but family members are telling me there's got to be more than that based on facial features. Nothing is known on my maternal line, and my mother states that my great grandmother had blue eyes. So that's just weird and I'm checking that out.

Yes My mom's family was Irish and Eastern European so that half was correct.

My sister did hers after I did because she wanted to prove that the test were not reliable. Hers was accurate.

My sister always teased I was adopted because most people mistake me for Caucasian since I am so pale but yeah no mistaking who my dad is.

 

[DisneyPhans]

There is 1 ADDITIONAL test that females can take, and 2 additional tests males can take. These trace paternal and maternal migratory patterns. These are also $195 retail each (LOL) but $49 each if you do the $59 deal.
You may right as far as the info not being worth $59, because they are doing a sale to see if people like that price.. maybe $99 is too high -- certainly $195 feels out of reach. People are buying it (I did) so maybe that's the right price for this test overall.

The lack of interest is something I'm running into as well -- but it's an active disinterest. They just do not want to find out any info indicating that they would in any way be un-American.. . I can kind of understand this as I did have some middle-eastern friends who always wanted to deflect any questions about being Arab, muslim, etc. Obviously this may have been for safety and privacy reasons and they did not want to convey that they were

I think the additional tests are good for native americans and hispanics.. the reason is that Native Americans came from Asia (basically like the Eskimos) and either filtered west into northern europe and eastward to north america across the Bering Strait. So that's why many Northern Europeans have some asiatic features, and native americans definitely have asiatic features. It's possible that ages ago, the hispanic native-indians were also traceable to China.

Even MORE interesting ... Caucasian mummies predating the Chinese race were found in the western province of China. All kinds of weird, crazy information coming out. It's amazing.

 

[BigAlsGal]

My dad is African American my test showed Irish and Eastern European. 0% African anything.

In one college class we did chromosomal mapping and I did mom, dad, sister and myself so even if didn't look exactly like my dad I would know he was my dad.

So I'm not sure I put much stock in the test, at least for me.

Wow! Umm. Are you sure he's your dad? Lol.

 

[lpereira]

It's genetic astrology. Specific tests like for paternity or another person to person comparison are valid on individuals but the tests companies like ancestry do are only valid on populations not individuals.
If you want to spend the money because it makes you happy go for it. But the results arent valid. Especially when you get results like Irish or Scottish or German or French. Those are nationalities-not genetic populations.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I find it interesting, but have other things I want to spend the money on right now. My aunt and uncle did it, though, and thought it was cool. It matched what we have through traditional genealogy research as well.