Anyone ever done Ancestry DNA? Is it worth it for genealogy reasons?

[traces7]

I've been wanting to do the Ancestry DNA since it came out. It's on sale til Monday for $69. That's the lowest I've ever seen it. Has anyone ever done it? Were you happy with the results? Did you get much information as far as genealogy? Thanks so much!

 

[karen4546]

I bought the kit for my husband as a birthday gift. For$99 -it was worth it. He found out he does not have any Native American DNA that registered on the test. In other words, his family exaggerated their Native American heritage. He is mostly Europian- Irish/English

I think it is a good gift and at $99 - it is worth the price.

I bought my kit off Amazon - Ancestry sells off there also. But you may get a deal this time of year directly from their site.

 

[powellrj]

My brother bought one and it was really interesting. We found out there was more native Americans than we thought.

 

[Bilberry]

I've done both the Ancestry and 23andMe DNA test. The information provided was interesting but didn't lead to contacts with other distant relatives for me.

 

[SureAsLiz]

It's important to remember that the DNA test isn't 100%
Because of the way your genes sequence, you may not get all the genetic markers your parents have in the same proportions

For example:
Mom is 50% Italian, 50% Japanese
Dad is 50% Native America, 50% German

You would think that you would come up as 25% everything.
But you could get all of your mom's Italian, and half of dad's Native American and German, so your test would show no Japanese

And then you have a sibling who shares both parents. Their DNA would have sequenced differently and show could Japanese, but no German.


This is one of the few (if not the only) tests that can pull from both the paternal and maternal DNA - many only pull from paternal. So you are getting a more complete picture

 

[Vijoge]

My son bought the test. He's African-American and the expected African ancestry showed up at 57% from various regions in Africa. He was surprised, however, to find that he's 25% Irish. He was expecting to find some Hispanic genes but there weren't any. He thought it was worth the money at $99. He would have been happier had he got it at $69 lol

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I've wanted to do it and probably still will but my mom just recently visited a cousin she had not seen in years and he said he did it and it showed absolutely no Native American in him when he is 16% for sure.
That is a pretty big chunk of who my mom's side of the family is and yet it showed 0%? Seems odd to me.
I jokingly asked if it said he was Japanese because on several occasions my mom and I have been asked if we are Japanese but its because we are Blackfoot and Seneca Native American among a number of other things but out Native American side really shows in our face.

 

[Parker Clan]

My Mom's sister did it, so did her husband and my Dad did it. We were interested to learn that Greek and Italian DNA is so similar they can't tell it apart. So while we always told people we are 100% Greek, in fact we are 75% Greek/Italian.
I think it's very interesting. My Uncle was most surprised. He had traced his family history back many many years to England... Only to find out from ancestry DNA that his DNA is mostly from the Scandinavia / Norway region.,, a Viking lol

 

[tvguy]

I've wanted to do it and probably still will but my mom just recently visited a cousin she had not seen in years and he said he did it and it showed absolutely no Native American in him when he is 16% for sure.
That is a pretty big chunk of who my mom's side of the family is and yet it showed 0%? Seems odd to me.
I jokingly asked if it said he was Japanese because on several occasions my mom and I have been asked if we are Japanese but its because we are Blackfoot and Seneca Native American among a number of other things but out Native American side really shows in our face.

That is the danger with these DNA tests, it can scientifically disprove family folklore. DD has spent a lot of time to trace my dad's side of the family tree. My dad was older when I was born, his dad and mom were older when he was born, and they moved around the world to places where almost no records were kept, or were destroyed by mishaps or war. She did discover that my Grandmother's age got 10 years younger in the 8 days between when she left England on a ship, to the time she arrived at Ellis Island.

 

[Gary M]

I had my done: European West 29%, Ireland 27%, Scandinavia 22%, Great Britain 10%, Italy/Greece 6%, Iberian Peninsula 4% and North Africa 2%. A real Heinz 57.

 

[BadPinkTink]

sometimes I think people get confussed when the dna tests show different heritage to what the family actaully is , is because people dont understand the migratory patterns of Europe.

For example, a family who know their ancestors came from Ireland but the DNA test shows Scandinavia / Norway/ Sweden. This is not a mistake. Vikings from Norway and Sweden came to Ireland around 800, many stayed and founded cities and towns all over Ireland, having families with the native Irish.

The same with those who know their ancestors came from England but the DNA test shows up French. The Normans (people from Normandy France) in 10th and 11th centuries went to England and took over lands, founding cities and towns and having families with the native English.

The same with the Romans from Italy. Their empire stretched all over modern Europe. So you could know that your 8 times grandfather came from a region in England but your DNA test could show up French and Italian.

@Parker Clan your uncles family therefore is English who somewhere along the way had a baby with a Viking who who came to England.

@Vijoge that 25% Irish in a mainly Afrian American person would suggest to me that an Irish person who left Ireland sometime in the 1700's or 1800's had a baby with a slave

 

[Vijoge]

sometimes I think people get confussed when the dna tests show different heritage to what the family actaully is , is because people dont understand the migratory patterns of Europe.

For example, a family who know their ancestors came from Ireland but the DNA test shows Scandinavia / Norway/ Sweden. This is not a mistake. Vikings from Norway and Sweden came to Ireland around 800, many stayed and founded cities and towns all over Ireland, having families with the native Irish.

The same with those who know their ancestors came from England but the DNA test shows up French. The Normans (people from Normandy France) in 10th and 11th centuries went to England and took over lands, founding cities and towns and having families with the native English.

The same with the Romans from Italy. Their empire stretched all over modern Europe. So you could know that your 8 times grandfather came from a region in England but your DNA test could show up French and Italian.

@Parker Clan your uncles family therefore is English who somewhere along the way had a baby with a Viking who who came to England.

@Vijoge that 25% Irish in a mainly Afrian American person would suggest to me that an Irish person who left Ireland sometime in the 1700's or 1800's had a baby with a slave

Yes, I agree. I've been doing genealogical research for nearly 40 years and I have a pretty good understanding. We just laughed because the last thing he expected to find was Irish ancestry, but not a bit confused as to how it possibly happened.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DH is waiting for his 23 and Me results. It will be interesting because he was adopted at birth and has no idea what his heritage might be.

 

[lisaviolet]

I bought the kit for my husband as a birthday gift. For$99 -it was worth it. He found out he does not have any Native American DNA that registered on the test. In other words, his family exaggerated their Native American heritage. He is mostly Europian- Irish/English

I think it is a good gift and at $99 - it is worth the price.

There is a blog entry on this exact "I was told I was native" talk in families (including mine).

It's called NATIVE ANCESTRY, IT IS JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU.

I will try to find the link.

______________________________________

Not to complicate the matter, it is entirely possible to have a certain ancestry and for only one child, out of many, to pick it up.

And certain aboriginal tribes that are not picked up.

 

[nephthys43]

I've done both the Ancestry and 23andMe DNA test. The information provided was interesting but didn't lead to contacts with other distant relatives for me.

Which did you like better? I'm trying to decide which to get my bf for xmas.

 

[lisaviolet]

For example, a family who know their ancestors came from Ireland but the DNA test shows Scandinavia / Norway/ Sweden. This is not a mistake. Vikings from Norway and Sweden came to Ireland around 800, many stayed and founded cities and towns all over Ireland, having families with the native Irish.

Exactly.

This is what came up for my mother.

Both parents born and raised in Ireland, grandparents, great grandparents etc. etc. That is all she knew.

She came back 60% Irish, with Scandinavian and Ancestry's Europe West designation.

Your background is not the same as your specific DNA.

_______________________________________________

Also, I said this on the last thread. Families have secrets and traumas that affect what we think we know. Adoption, affairs, rape.

There was one man who openly complained that his findings were way off, and that Ancestry's testing was bull. He was very high Italian descent and knew nothing of it. He wrote to Ancestry. He even questioned his mother. She had no clue.

Later his elderly mother admitted to him that his father was a friend of the family, Italian.

Heck it is possible that a few people might find non-disclosed family secrets just from innocently taking this test. A parent/sibling could literally show up because you are connected with genetic links.

 

[DisneyOma]

I've wanted to do it and probably still will but my mom just recently visited a cousin she had not seen in years and he said he did it and it showed absolutely no Native American in him when he is 16% for sure.
That is a pretty big chunk of who my mom's side of the family is and yet it showed 0%? Seems odd to me.
I jokingly asked if it said he was Japanese because on several occasions my mom and I have been asked if we are Japanese but its because we are Blackfoot and Seneca Native American among a number of other things but out Native American side really shows in our face.

How did he come up with 16%?

sometimes I think people get confussed when the dna tests show different heritage to what the family actaully is , is because people dont understand the migratory patterns of Europe.

For example, a family who know their ancestors came from Ireland but the DNA test shows Scandinavia / Norway/ Sweden. This is not a mistake. Vikings from Norway and Sweden came to Ireland around 800, many stayed and founded cities and towns all over Ireland, having families with the native Irish.

The same with those who know their ancestors came from England but the DNA test shows up French. The Normans (people from Normandy France) in 10th and 11th centuries went to England and took over lands, founding cities and towns and having families with the native English.

The same with the Romans from Italy. Their empire stretched all over modern Europe. So you could know that your 8 times grandfather came from a region in England but your DNA test could show up French and Italian.

@Parker Clan your uncles family therefore is English who somewhere along the way had a baby with a Viking who who came to England.

@Vijoge that 25% Irish in a mainly Afrian American person would suggest to me that an Irish person who left Ireland sometime in the 1700's or 1800's had a baby with a slave

It would depend on what they are using as "Irish" DNA - there's the modern day, which is full of Norwegian markers, but they recently processed ancient Irish DNA. It was interesting that the ancient samples had very little to do with the more modern ones.

Same with the English - it depends on what DNA markers they are using. Over a thousand years in England would blend/mutate those so-called Norman markers quite a bit.

Older daughter is getting her doctorate in DNA mutation, we have some very interesting conversations.

 

[lisaviolet]

Which did you like better? I'm trying to decide which to get my bf for xmas.

Do you you think he would want to know some medical information, predisposition to certain diseases etc. I would not. 23andme includes it.

 

[lisaviolet]

Older daughter is getting her doctorate in DNA mutation, we have some very interesting conversations.

Lucky you. Beyond interesting.

 

[nephthys43]

Do you you think he would want to know some medical information, predisposition to certain diseases etc. I would not. 23andme includes it.

I'm not sure. His maternal grandfather is a mystery. Got his grandmother pregnant, promised to marry her and promptly disappeared. His mother only knew his name and very little else. He's very curious about his background.