Reached a dead end with family history after DNA results

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

has anyone had surprising results from the Ancestry DNA test? A couple of my second cousins who also did the test are related to each other but neither is related to me or my brother, according to the test. We suspect that my mom may have been adopted. We've reached a dead end as far as finding out. I've emailed several people on ancestry who are supposedly 1st and 2nd cousins but they have not replied. Any suggestions?

 

[aprilgail]

Do NOT give up- I was adopted and have been trying to find my birthfather for more than half my life (found my bio mom in 1995). On ancestry I came up with a 3rd cousin- my closest match on his side- the match was greek and my birth father was Greek so I knew it was not on my irish/Danish bio moms side. I messaged the match---nothing----messaged him again---nothing. TWO YEARS LATER (last week!!!!) I get a message from him saying "sorry, all my ancestry notices were going into my spam folder, I never knew I got them"--- in turn I now have pictures of my bio father, his death certificate and some stories about him that this match got from older family members for me.

If you are on facebook there is an awesome group called DNA Detectives- they will help you out if they can, they do not charge. There is also a group called Search Squad- they are awesome and also help you out no charge. Good luck.

 

[torene03]

has anyone had surprising results from the Ancestry DNA test? A couple of my second cousins who also did the test are related to each other but neither is related to me or my brother, according to the test. We suspect that my mom may have been adopted. We've reached a dead end as far as finding out. I've emailed several people on ancestry who are supposedly 1st and 2nd cousins but they have not replied. Any suggestions?

You can try the website gedmatch.com . People who have done a DNA test can upload their raw data and can compare on a chromosomal level. It also lists names and email addresses. This way you get more people...say someone who used 23andme and not ancestry. Oh and its mostly free though they ask for a donation for some of the more involved tools.

 

[rastahomie]

has anyone had surprising results from the Ancestry DNA test?

I haven't done the DNA test (yet), but since you asked broadly: yes! I'm going to post a YouTube video below of four guys who got the 23andMe DNA test done. One of them was Korean; he basically told the lady that there's no need to even explain his ancestry to him, because he knew for certain that he was all Korean Peninsula going back at least a thousand years. The look on his face when the lady tells him that he has some Japanese in him, probably going back not further than 80-100 years, is priceless!

 

[kimblebee]

I haven't done the DNA test (yet), but since you asked broadly: yes! I'm going to post a YouTube video below of four guys who got the 23andMe DNA test done. One of them was Korean; he basically told the lady that there's no need to even explain his ancestry to him, because he knew for certain that he was all Korean Peninsula going back at least a thousand years. The look on his face when the lady tells him that he has some Japanese in him, probably going back not further than 80-100 years, is priceless!

I LOVE The Try Guys. Eugene was totally shocked and I wonder what his mom said when he told her lol

 

[tvguy]

has anyone had surprising results from the Ancestry DNA test? A couple of my second cousins who also did the test are related to each other but neither is related to me or my brother, according to the test. We suspect that my mom may have been adopted. We've reached a dead end as far as finding out. I've emailed several people on ancestry who are supposedly 1st and 2nd cousins but they have not replied. Any suggestions?

DNA testing helps you sort "fact" from "family folklore". Things get passed down by word of mouth or get twisted around that aren't true. The DNA test kind of sorts that out. I know more than one person that felt a strong link to a certain ethnic group, only to find out they have no genetic link. I also have a co-worker who did the test, but refused to check the "find possible relatives" box because, as he put it, "dad was in the Navy and I don't want to uncover half siblings!"

 

[NotUrsula]

I haven't done the DNA test (yet), but since you asked broadly: yes! I'm going to post a YouTube video below of four guys who got the 23andMe DNA test done. One of them was Korean; he basically told the lady that there's no need to even explain his ancestry to him, because he knew for certain that he was all Korean Peninsula going back at least a thousand years. The look on his face when the lady tells him that he has some Japanese in him, probably going back not further than 80-100 years, is priceless!

And quite possibly tragic. The odds are strong that if his family has been denying that connection though it is that recent, it was almost surely related to a wartime rape or prostitution situation, even possibly more than one. Korea was occupied by Japanese troops during WW2, and by quite a number of Chinese troops during the Korean War.

I've been a librarian for nearly 30 years. I've seen a whole lot of sadness and family strife related to genealogy research. Most of the databases out there are rife with errors. My own family is quite close-knit and open about even our family shadows, and I can think of at least 20 errors in various databases that have been put out there by people who have decided that they are related to us. There is one lady I know of who is very stubbornly insisting that her grandfather was one of my great-uncles, which I happen to know is impossible because he died at age 3, and is buried next to my grandmother. What I'm saying is, please don't take this hobby too seriously.

 

[DopeyDame]

And quite possibly tragic. The odds are strong that if his family has been denying that connection though it is that recent, it was almost surely related to a wartime rape or prostitution situation, even possibly more than one. Korea was occupied by Japanese troops during WW2, and by quite a number of Chinese troops during the Korean War.

I've been a librarian for nearly 30 years. I've seen a whole lot of sadness and family strife related to genealogy research. Most of the databases out there are rife with errors. My own family is quite close-knit and open about even our family shadows, and I can think of at least 20 errors in various databases that have been put out there by people who have decided that they are related to us. There is one lady I know of who is very stubbornly insisting that her grandfather was one of my great-uncles, which I happen to know is impossible because he died at age 3, and is buried next to my grandmother. What I'm saying is, please don't take this hobby too seriously.

While that could be the case, most likely it's just that ansestry (and 23andme, etc) have really crappy databases for minorities. Remember that there is *nothing* magical about your DNA that says where you are from. Your DNA doesn't know that you ancestors were born in the Austrian or Hungarian part of the alps region or on one side or the other of the Chinese/Russian boarder. All it knows is that people with DNA similar to yours are usually born in XYZ part of the world. For people with European backgrounds, simply because of the larger numbers, they have more statistics to work with so smaller variations can be highlighted, giving more nuanced descriptions.
Because people with ancestors from Asian, Africa, and South America haven't done those sites in as large numbers (for any number of reasons), their results are less nuanced and less accurate. Everyone I've ever heard of who has Korean heritage has gotten Japanese (and often Chinese) listed in their mix. (And I know several because I'm part of a lot of groups of Korean adoptees, who predictably are among the most likely Asians to do that) Often times they also get more generic "south east asia" or something like that.

Here's a good article about the limitations of DNA testing for minority people.
http://www.biculturalmama.com/2017/05/limitations-dna-testing-asian-americans.html

 

[amberpi]

And quite possibly tragic. The odds are strong that if his family has been denying that connection though it is that recent, it was almost surely related to a wartime rape or prostitution situation, even possibly more than one. Korea was occupied by Japanese troops during WW2, and by quite a number of Chinese troops during the Korean War.

I've been a librarian for nearly 30 years. I've seen a whole lot of sadness and family strife related to genealogy research. Most of the databases out there are rife with errors. My own family is quite close-knit and open about even our family shadows, and I can think of at least 20 errors in various databases that have been put out there by people who have decided that they are related to us. There is one lady I know of who is very stubbornly insisting that her grandfather was one of my great-uncles, which I happen to know is impossible because he died at age 3, and is buried next to my grandmother. What I'm saying is, please don't take this hobby too seriously.

Fascinating stuff. Glad you shared this! I bet you have amazingly interesting stories.

My DNA test just confirmed what I found out after a long hospital stay - I'm incredibly, specifically boring. I actually always thought my heritage would be a bit more colorful because so many of my ancestors were bootleggers, horse thieves, etc.

 

[rastahomie]

And quite possibly tragic. The odds are strong that if his family has been denying that connection though it is that recent, it was almost surely related to a wartime rape or prostitution situation, even possibly more than one. Korea was occupied by Japanese troops during WW2, and by quite a number of Chinese troops during the Korean War.

I think that's almost certainly the case, and his family was sweeping it under the rug, or had willfully "forgotten" about it. If you watch the video I posted, it comes up that one of the guys (who is whiter than Andy Griffith) had some sub-Saharan African in him, dating to between 1710 and 1820. Well, if you've studied British or American history, you're well aware of what was going on in that time period with regard to Africa.

I think every human being has at least one skeleton in their closet, so to speak, when it comes to ancestry.

 

[rastahomie]

My DNA test just confirmed what I found out after a long hospital stay - I'm incredibly, specifically boring. I actually always thought my heritage would be a bit more colorful because so many of my ancestors were bootleggers, horse thieves, etc.

I'm probably going to buy the 23andMe kit for myself as a Christmas gift, even though I'm almost certain that my results are going to be entirely mundane. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm 30-40% Northern European (Germany and all that), 30-40% British Isles (England and Scotland and whatnot), and a mix of Southern European and Native American thrown in for good measure. And if I have any sub-Saharan African in me, I'll be sending an email to the UNCF about some retroactive scholarship money (just kidding). I am a human mutt, and proud of it!