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

[DawnM]

Huh, I had to send in a boatload of spit into a little cup thing. They must have changed it.

My results were pretty much 1/3 Irish, 1/3 British Isles, and 1/3 Northern European. Not sure why the Irish is diff. than British Isles, but whatever.

I had 1% African. Must have come from all my years living in Africa (I did grow up in Africa BTW). I had hoped for more.

And I think I had .02% Asian or some such something.

I was adopted at birth so this test was really interesting to me. I was told I was Irish, but nothing more. I have red hair and freckles and pale skin, so I just thought I was Irish since I looked the part.

 

[Bilberry]

I did ancestry DNA testing through 23andMe and Ancestry. Several of my relatives did the same.

I never really did find relatives that way. The only DNA ancestor match that was of interest that I can recall had to do with my grandfather's YDNA. He matched with a group with the same surname, and lived in an area where the family resided over 150 years ago. With available records though we never were able to figure out how we were related.

Dad's MtDNA is the most common European MtDNA found. A few times a week I'm notified of "a new distant cousin". The match is always so distant it isn't worth digging into.

My mom's MtDNA ironically is one of the rarest MtDNA found. We've yet to find a distant cousin with it.

My father's YDNA is rare but somewhat common. He's largely British in ancestry, but with records the earliest we can trace an ancestor to is to Ireland. We were hoping to potentially find a DNA match in Ireland or British islands but no luck. I suspect the two irish famines, 1812 and abouts, and 1840s might have ended the line. The ancestor that immigrated to America was born in 1800 and reportedly was an orphan according to an old newspaper clipping.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I"n not interested, mostly because I already know--my mom's family is pure French-Canadian, my dad was born in Italy. So, I feel like such a test is a waste of time and money for me.

OTOH, DH's family history is much more convoluted, and he's into genealogy. So, he had it done last year. The only surprise was, he thought he had some American Indian blood, but apparently not. I know he's traced many family lines back to the 17th and 18th centuries, so he's a good mix of European DNA.

One thing that perplexes us is, we have kids with "different" musical specialties. DS19 is a bagpiper, DD13 is a cellist, and DS10 is a violinist. I can put the youngest down to listening to his sister, but DH and I have absolutely zero family association with either bagpipes or strings, up until this group. So, we're scratching our heads on that--especially the bagpipes, because I don't "get" how someone just wakes up one day and says, "I need to play bagpipes." DH does have some Scottish/Irish DNA, but I'm wondering if it comes through the French-Canadian connection, i.e., Cape Breton Island. I always heard that my mom's family was from Quebec. But, who knows?

 

[RedHatDisney]

If you're female (Indygirl) you WON't get the male ancestry, because your mitochondrial dna is what can be tested....think x and y chromosomes. google for more info. I did this, twice, but not through ancestry.
To get my dad's info, I need my brother to do this, but he won't .....he's afraid of the government. (wth?)

I love history, and and was fascinated with what I found out. There are definite medical benefits to doing this......due to recent research.

 

[Kimberlyann11]

I"n not interested, mostly because I already know--my mom's family is pure French-Canadian, my dad was born in Italy. So, I feel like such a test is a waste of time and money for me.

OTOH, DH's family history is much more convoluted, and he's into genealogy. So, he had it done last year. The only surprise was, he thought he had some American Indian blood, but apparently not. I know he's traced many family lines back to the 17th and 18th centuries, so he's a good mix of European DNA.

One thing that perplexes us is, we have kids with "different" musical specialties. DS19 is a bagpiper, DD13 is a cellist, and DS10 is a violinist. I can put the youngest down to listening to his sister, but DH and I have absolutely zero family association with either bagpipes or strings, up until this group. So, we're scratching our heads on that--especially the bagpipes, because I don't "get" how someone just wakes up one day and says, "I need to play bagpipes." DH does have some Scottish/Irish DNA, but I'm wondering if it comes through the French-Canadian connection, i.e., Cape Breton Island. I always heard that my mom's family was from Quebec. But, who knows?

The preference in musical instrument is not hereditary. Maybe he just thinks it sounds cool.

 

[Govols1997]

We have documentation that we are Native American. My brother did it and got zero Native American.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm more interested in who people are than what they are.

I have lots of other places I'd rather spend $59.

 

[DawnM]

If you're female (Indygirl) you WON't get the male ancestry, because your mitochondrial dna is what can be tested....think x and y chromosomes. google for more info. I did this, twice, but not through ancestry.
To get my dad's info, I need my brother to do this, but he won't .....he's afraid of the government. (wth?)

I love history, and and was fascinated with what I found out. There are definite medical benefits to doing this......due to recent research.

I still don't quite get this, so forgive my ignorance on this topic.

So, you are saying that the entire test only shows my mother's side? (if I am female and no father or brother takes the test?) So when it says I am 2/3 British Isles and 1/3 Northern European that is just my mother's side of the family?

And as for DNA matches, if no male in my immediate family takes the test, only my mother's side of the family will show up as DNA matches?

If so, that would explain some things.

 

[Clio]

I'm not interested. Mostly because I can trace my family back to the early 17's on both sides.

 

[MariMama]

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.

Muslim isn't a race and is nothing that can be determined by a DNA test.

 

[daughtersrus]

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

How do you know that your ancestors weren't Irish Lutherans?

 

[YoYoAurora]

Has anyone tried this, thought about it, have an aversion to the idea of it?
View attachment 181939

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: Here is the 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.

OP and others, this kit is from Ancestry by DNA, NOT Ancestry the genealogy website.

If you're interested, the International Society of Genetic Genealogists has a wonderful wiki on DNA testing. It might answer some of your questions on testing, who can take which test, what the tests can tell you about your ancestry and what they can't tell you, and how you can find relatives using test results.

I took the Ancestry DNA test, as did several of my cousins on both sides of my family. And we've discovered new cousins via the test.

I do warn anyone who is interested in researching their family to keep an open mind and an open heart. Our ancestors were human and made both good and poor decisions. They lived in times and places that had different rules and laws than we do. Things that we find acceptable now may not have been acceptable in that place and time and vice versa. I found a surprise cousin via my DNA test. No one in our family knew about her line of the family. She's my cousin, and I'm so thankful I found her. I found orphans who were sent to orphanages when there were family members with the financial capabilities to care for them, and that hurts my heart.

 

[CPanther95]

I'm not interested. Mostly because I can trace my family back to the early 17's on both sides.

I traced mine back also, I only have a couple gaps where I wasn't able to take the line back to at least as far back as when they came over to America - but I took the DNA test anyway. Mostly just out of curiosity, but also to get some scientific confirmation of my research.

One word of caution though - you can thoroughly research your tree, but you can't know about undocumented pregnancies. About 6 months after my DNA test was done and added to the database, I was contacted by a woman who was shown to be a likely 2nd cousin of mine - but was not in my tree. She had been given up for adoption in a state that releases absolutely no parental info except for age of parents when she was put up for adoption, and she had been searching for over 30 years. She contacted a likely candidate on one side of my family who denied she was the mother and agreed to do a DNA test. She was no match at all, so this adopted woman knew her parent was from the other side of my family. There was only one possible candidate, and when contacted she was extremely upset that "the ordeal" was brought up over 50 years later (she's now in her '70s). So she found her mother, but there was no happy reunion.

Bottom line: Prepare for all possibilities before you add your DNA to the database.

 

[CPanther95]

OP and others, this kit is from Ancestry by DNA, NOT Ancestry the genealogy website.

If you're interested, the International Society of Genetic Genealogists has a wonderful wiki on DNA testing. It might answer some of your questions on testing, who can take which test, what the tests can tell you about your ancestry and what they can't tell you, and how you can find relatives using test results.

I took the Ancestry DNA test, as did several of my cousins on both sides of my family. And we've discovered new cousins via the test.

I do warn anyone who is interested in researching their family to keep an open mind and an open heart. Our ancestors were human and made both good and poor decisions. They lived in times and places that had different rules and laws than we do. Things that we find acceptable now may not have been acceptable in that place and time and vice versa. I found a surprise cousin via my DNA test. No one in our family knew about her line of the family. She's my cousin, and I'm so thankful I found her. I found orphans who were sent to orphanages when there were family members with the financial capabilities to care for them, and that hurts my heart.

Wow, we posted similar experiences at exactly the same time.

Thanks for noting the different test. I thought it looked different (plus I spit in a vial - no swabs) but I had assumed Ancestry.com just changed their testing packet.

 

[Hrhpd]

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.

That is not the Ancestry.com test, it is Ancestry by DNA. It only gives results from 4 population groups whereas Ancestry.com gives 26 ethnic regions. They are trying to make it look like the Ancestry.com test. But also, that is why the test is different.

Here is the Groupon one:
http://www.ancestrybydna.com/dna-origins/

Here is Ancestry.com's test
www.ancestry.com/dna

Ancestry.com's test is only $99, so I wouldn't spend $69 for a substandard test that gives way less regions.

 

[YoYoAurora]

I still don't quite get this, so forgive my ignorance on this topic.

So, you are saying that the entire test only shows my mother's side? (if I am female and no father or brother takes the test?) So when it says I am 2/3 British Isles and 1/3 Northern European that is just my mother's side of the family?

And as for DNA matches, if no male in my immediate family takes the test, only my mother's side of the family will show up as DNA matches?

If so, that would explain some things.

DawnM, it depends on which DNA test you took. If you took an autosomal DNA test, then you will have results from your maternal and paternal lines. If you take a mitochondrial DNA test, it's a bit more complicated. The International Society of Genetic Genealogist's website has a wonderful wiki that explains this much better than I ever can, or you can google mitochondrial DNA testing. Most of the advice on DNA testing for women that I've read says to do the autosomal DNA test. That's what I took.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I just sent in my kit. I'm looking forward to the results. I'm 66 and I was adopted. I had no real interest in my real family history until now. It should be interesting.

 

[DisneyPhans]

Thanks for the clarification on ancestry.com vs ancestrybyDNA. Okay so $20-$30 more for the ancestry.com, then (there's a $10 coupon still).. But some are saying it's still not worth it? Either way -- I'm interested in these types of tests and what people thought of ancestry.com. The $59 is a more preliminary intro test, perhaps. Same basic idea IMO. If I am interested in the result, maybe I'll get the full Ancestry.com DNA test if I think it's going to add anything.

Sure I'm also interested in who people are, but there is both a scientific and social component. There are many people in my family who have no idea where they came from. I'm trying to reconstruct my own and their genealogical tree. I have French family members going back to France (can speak French myself). When I asked if they had any information about their own trees, they said most documentation/photos were lost during the war. Also, recent attacks in France going back last year have also been sensitive for me (socially there is a heavy French cultural influence in my own family).

I can't test other people other than myself and perhaps these will give me some clues for research. I also like the social/history component. You can possibly see where people of your heritiage moved around the world and that raises more questions - why did they move? Were they persecuted? Was this for economic/social/political reasons?

And yes I 'm aware muslim isn't a race . I sometimes still shop at various Arab markets for spices & supplies.. I encounter different muslims of different races - Indonesian, Pakistani, Persian, Arabs of various types. I noticed my entire paragraph was incomplete. I was trying to indicate that some people don't want people to know anything about their ethnicity and race because in some parts of the world it can cost you your life, or it may make you feel as though you don't fit in. I'm only speculating here because some people don't like these types of tests.

I can see that there are a few who say these tests are not reliable, not useful, etc. ALL of that info is what I'm interested in... Finding your basic DNA profile is just a starting point that can give more leads.

 

[DawnM]

DawnM, it depends on which DNA test you took. If you took an autosomal DNA test, then you will have results from your maternal and paternal lines. If you take a mitochondrial DNA test, it's a bit more complicated. The International Society of Genetic Genealogist's website has a wonderful wiki that explains this much better than I ever can, or you can google mitochondrial DNA testing. Most of the advice on DNA testing for women that I've read says to do the autosomal DNA test. That's what I took.

I looked up the two tests I took, Ancestry.com and 23andMe.com and they both say it is an autosomal test.

 

[lsyorke]

OP and others, this kit is from Ancestry by DNA, NOT Ancestry the genealogy website.

OP, you should edit the title to remove any confusion about what test you are talking about.