DNA Results Surprise!

[happily single]

After years of dragging my feet I finally did my DNA testing through Ancestry. There is a long story, but the short story is I've never met my birth father. I suspected that I have a sister out there and I'd like to connect with her. That's a fun, long story.

Anywho, I got the results back and it appears my aunt isn't my full aunt!! Her information will be in all CAPS below
Is anyone good at the DNA results using cM numbers? I belong to a group on Facebook, but its way too advanced for me to wrap my head around.

The results list the following:

Mom: 3,460 cM (50% shared dna)
Close family: Half-brother 1,626 cM (23% shared DNA). This would be my bio dad's child
Close family : Half-sister 1,627 M (23% shared DNA). This would be my bio dad child (but not the sister I was looking for)
Close Family: HALF-AUNT, 947 cM (14% shared DNA). THIS IS MY MOTHER'S SISTER.

 

[kdonnel]

I read an article a while ago that said 50% of people who take a DNA test find one new genetic relative and a significant amount find unknown half-siblings.

My mother-in-law was contacted by a half sister who took a DNA test and was connected to her half sisters and mother because one of the other sisters had taken a DNA test.

There is a lot of cheating that goes on.

 

[Meriweather]

I just took one and it came back with over 12,000 matches. Most children of 2nd and 3nd cousins
My grandfather had 13 siblings, so could be. I will not be reaching out.
I did find out I was 25 percent Italian. Not sure where that came from.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

If you know for sure that the match is your aunt then it is a half aunt with that amount of cM’s. It’s safe to assume she has a different father.
Although with your mother on there, how are the cM’s listed for their relationship? She would be a half sibling match to her sister also.

 

[tvguy]

My mom is one of 4 siblings, and children from all those siblings including myself have done DNA tests on the same service. A name we did not know turned up on all our tests. Best we can figure, he is the grandchild of a love child of one of our parents Uncles based on where he has lived all his life. My mom and her siblings had a half sibling, born nearly a decade before their oldest sibling. We have no idea who her father was. We know where she was born, but every document has the father's name blank.

 

[Karin1984]

You have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom A DNA
Your half siblings have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom B DNA.

But rarily among siblings you have exactly the same 50% Dad DNA. That's how with half siblings you share about a quarter (the 23%) DNA.

So, not the half siblings you were looking for, but what will you do with this information?

I did find out I was 25 percent Italian. Not sure where that came from.

25% Italian would mean that there would be a at least one 100% Italian somewhere in your direct ancestor line. In recent generations (or several Italians with lesser percentages). It never came up at Family dinners about a grandparent coming to the US from Italy or Southern Europe? DNA Tests cannot always distinguish Italy from other Southern Europaen countries, like Spain, Portugal and Greece.

I have about 10% Scandanivian DNA, but one test says Finland, the other Sweden, a third said Norway.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Some of my DNA is constantly changing. At one point it said 15% Baltic but that changed to Sardinian and my Norway changed to Sweden and other things change. And my full blooded sisters and I each have different nationalities and percentages listed. I saw a news story once where they had identical twins send in dna and they got different results from each other and different companies also gave different results.

 

[happily single]

If you know for sure that the match is your aunt then it is a half aunt with that amount of cM’s. It’s safe to assume she has a different father.
Although with your mother on there, how are the cM’s listed for their relationship? She would be a half sibling match to her sister also.

I know for sure that the match is my aunt. It has her name and photo. How can I see the cM's between her and my mother. My mother has zero contact with anyone in the family, so reaching out to her is not an option.

 

[happily single]

Some of my DNA is constantly changing. At one point it said 15% Baltic but that changed to Sardinian and my Norway changed to Sweden and other things change. And my full blooded sisters and I each have different nationalities and percentages listed. I saw a news story once where they had identical twins send in dna and they got different results from each other and different companies also gave different results.

I beleive it. Recently there has been a lot of posts in the FB group about how Ancestry recently changed things and it resulted in people's nationalities changing substantially. My results came in after they made the changes.

 

[happily single]

You have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom A DNA
Your half siblings have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom B DNA.

But rarily among siblings you have exactly the same 50% Dad DNA. That's how with half siblings you share about a quarter (the 23%) DNA.

So, not the half siblings you were looking for, but what will you do with this information?


25% Italian would mean that there would be a at least one 100% Italian somewhere in your direct ancestor line. In recent generations (or several Italians with lesser percentages). It never came up at Family dinners about a grandparent coming to the US from Italy or Southern Europe? DNA Tests cannot always distinguish Italy from other Southern Europaen countries, like Spain, Portugal and Greece.

I have about 10% Scandanivian DNA, but one test says Finland, the other Sweden, a third said Norway.

Right now I'm thinking I'm just going to carry on with my life. I have no idea if the half-siblings know I exist. If I saw a photo of the sister I'm looking for I would finally reach out. My bio dad knows I exist, but his DNA is not appearing on Ancestry. BUT...using the names of my half siblings I think I found him, and he's FB friends with a high school friend of mine. Small world.

 

[_19disnA]

Unless I don't understand how this DNA matching works, doesn't your 'long lost relative' had to have also used this same service to find such matches? There are several companies who sell those DNA testing kits. I would assume each has their own database of information.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

I know for sure that the match is my aunt. It has her name and photo. How can I see the cM's between her and my mother. My mother has zero contact with anyone in the family, so reaching out to her is not an option.

Unfortunately the only way to see their numbers is to log into their account. Which isn’t possible for you I’m assuming. You can reach out to your aunt if you’d like. She has the low cM’s with her sister and she probably has unknown matches that don’t correspond with who she thought was her father (unless she’s always known?)

 

[Meriweather]

You have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom A DNA
Your half siblings have 50% Dad A DNA and 50% Mom B DNA.

But rarily among siblings you have exactly the same 50% Dad DNA. That's how with half siblings you share about a quarter (the 23%) DNA.

So, not the half siblings you were looking for, but what will you do with this information?


25% Italian would mean that there would be a at least one 100% Italian somewhere in your direct ancestor line. In recent generations (or several Italians with lesser percentages). It never came up at Family dinners about a grandparent coming to the US from Italy or Southern Europe? DNA Tests cannot always distinguish Italy from other Southern Europaen countries, like Spain, Portugal and Greece.

I have about 10% Scandanivian DNA, but one test says Finland, the other Sweden, a third said Norway.

Nope.....never a mention of it, but I only know my father's side to his father. It would have to be from there but my father never mentioned it. Not did his older sisters who I knew well.
Just remain a mystery for me. My DD showed at 8 percent Italian

 

[disneychrista]

Unless I don't understand how this DNA matching works, doesn't your 'long lost relative' had to have also used this same service to find such matches? There are several companies who sell those DNA testing kits. I would assume each has their own database of information.

This would be correct. I did a 23+Me genetic test because I was mostly interested in pre-disposition to health related issues than the actual genealogy. It showed a TON of "relatives" but none that greater than a few % match. It did not show me matched with my daughter, my parents or any other relatives that have used Ancestry.com for their DNA tests.

 

[piglet1979]

significant amount find unknown half-siblings.

This is one of the reason why I have not done one. I just always had a feeling that I had a sibling from my dad that we didn't know about.

One of my step-dad's friends had an 18 year old show up on his doorstep saying she has his daughter (the did testing and she was). I was about the same age as the daughter at the time so I think this is where my fear comes from.

 

[Marrila]

I steer clear of those tests. I figured at some point the info will be sold off to the highest bidder.
And I believe that's a current risk for 23 and Me customers. Will be interesting to see how it eventually turns out.

 

[kdonnel]

This is one of the reason why I have not done one. I just always had a feeling that I had a sibling from my dad that we didn't know about.

One of my step-dad's friends had an 18 year old show up on his doorstep saying she has his daughter (the did testing and she was). I was about the same age as the daughter at the time so I think this is where my fear comes from.

I assume I am an uncle, several times over, because of similar doorstep encounters.

My brother was estranged from my parents and moved out rarely to be heard from at about 18. On more than one occasion a young woman showed up at my parents door looking for him carrying a baby. She had heard he was in town and wanted him to meet his son/daughter. My parents had no idea my brother was in town and could not help. I guess they were not interested in being grandparents at the time.

 

[_19disnA]

I steer clear of those tests. I figured at some point the info will be sold off to the highest bidder.
And I believe that's a current risk for 23 and Me customers. Will be interesting to see how it eventually turns out.

I agree, this has also come up for discussion elsewhere online. I would treat your DNA as I would your Social Security # and NEVER give it away to some company regardless of any assurances they might provide. I believe they are intending to sell this info to the highest bidder and you have NO idea how it might be used in some inappropriate manner.

Searching out your ancestry or some long-lost relative seems harmless enough, but clearly having your DNA on file can be used for any other number of reasons that aren't so innocent.

 

[Genie+]

This not great DNA results surprise happened in my extended family:

This person fortunately was raised by their mother’s parents because their mother was unstable. The mother later went on to create a new family of 2 more children with a mobster. These 3 siblings grew up aware of each other and spent time together over the years.

Eventually a relative sends DNA and finds there’s a 3rd child from (for lack of better term) the same mobster family parents. At one point the family entered witness protection. Another child was born during that time and adopted. The other 2 full-siblings had no idea even though they lived with mom when it happened. Before DNA revealed this, the parents and grandparents had already passed on. The horrible ending started when the mobster father left oldest sibling significant real estate which funded drug use (other sibling died young). Shortly after the youngest sibling was found through DNA, those 2 bonded and started using together. Tragically the adopted youngest sibling OD’d. Found and lost in under 2 years.

It feels odd having this capability to shine light on a period that did not. At least now people are aware. It wasn’t long ago decisions had to be made without this capability, and without knowing accurate answers were right around the corner.

We’re all shedding DNA though. Think of how much gets left in public. And we share large parts of it with other people. Really it’s already there for the taking. Honeatly I’m surprised we don’t hear more about people framing others for crimes.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

I agree, this has also come up for discussion elsewhere online. I would treat your DNA as I would your Social Security # and NEVER give it away to some company regardless of any assurances they might provide. I believe they are intending to sell this info to the highest bidder and you have NO idea how it might be used in some inappropriate manner.

Searching out your ancestry or some long-lost relative seems harmless enough, but clearly having your DNA on file can be used for any other number of reasons that aren't so innocent.

Doesn't matter. If blood kin ever gets arrested and their DNA goes on file like in most felony cases it does,, then all kins DNA are linked whether they ever gave a sample or not.