DNA Testing (to find your history, etc.)

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Did you do it? Were you happy with the results?

23 & Me? Ancestry? My Heritage? Someone else?

[Irish_Dem]

1. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. To answer your questions. :)

[MontanaMama]

4. What would you do differently?

Or, did you prefer one company's service over another and why?

[Irish_Dem]

6. I wouldn't do anything differently. But right now, Ancestry has the biggest DNA match Data Base.

So I would go with Ancestry if I were you. And not bother with the others, unless of course you want to do more than autosomal testing and want to do YDNA or MtDNA testing, then you will need to go to FTDNA.

But you can test at Ancestry and then transfer to FTDNA for only $19 which is a bargain. This is for autosomal. YDNA and MtDNA are extra cost.

That said, it depends upon what you want to do and what you are hoping to find.

[MontanaMama]

9. That is great information.

I've always been concerned with privacy and who gets to keep my info and for what. Maybe I need to get over that.

Thank you Irish_Dem!

[Irish_Dem]

14. Right now the major DNA companies are running great sales.

The prices won't be this low again until Mother's Day, and even then they might not be as low as the current sale prices.

So if you are going to test, I would suggest you do it right away before the sales go away.

I would test at Ancestry, then transfer to FTDNA if you want to get more matches.
You can also upload your DNA results to GEDMATCH for free and hope to capture some of the results from 23me. Gedmatch is a free site and people from all of the DNA testing sites upload there.

I tested at the three major DNA sites years ago and have had no issues about privacy. All of the sites allow you to share or not share with matches, etc. I am not familiar with Heritage, so cannot speak to that site.

My brother has very rare YDNA and the FTDNA project managers begged me to send his DNA to Russia who are the experts in phylogenetic trees of the various male haplogroups. I did send it, I figured if the Russians want to clone my brother's DNA, they are welcome to try.

[brush]

30. Which one is connected to the Mormon church?

[Irish_Dem]

45. None of the 3 major DNA sites are owned by LDS.

23andMe is owned by Anne Wojcicki, the ex-wife of Brin, one of the founders of Google. He helped bankroll the company. There was trouble at 23me a couple of years ago, they ran afoul of the FDA, but that is all sorted out now.

Family Tree (FTDNA) is owned by Bennett Greenspan, his bio states he is Jewish.

Ancestry.com is owned by Paul Allen who is Mormon. But the church does not own the site, the owner happens to be Mormon. The rumor has been that this site is owned by the church, but does not appear to be correct.

The Mormons do own a genealogy search site, Family Search, which contains excellent research material and sources. But they do not do DNA testing at that site.

[JonLP24]

69. The Mormon site helped me trace a line all the way to Finland 1600s

From the early 1900s late 1800s relatives but it was incomplete outside of the Finnish family.

[Irish_Dem]

70. That is excellent, the Finnish must keep impeccable records like the French do.

To be able to go back that far.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. I did Ancestry.

The results were very interesting. Had no idea that I am 11 percent Italian and 8 percent Spanish/Portuguese. And that 5 percent British would have my father spinning in his grave -- especially because he was apparently 10 percent British!

Best of all I've met two cousins I didn't know and learned the names of some of my 2nd great grandparents. Now I wish that I could go back even more generations.

[SeattleVet]

3. Take the results with a large grain of salt...

many sets of identical twins, triplets, and even a set of quads wound up getting different results - sometimes vastly so - when they should have had exactly the same DNA.

Lots of articles and videos out there showing the results.

[safeinOhio]

5. 23 & Me

Lots of fun and they add to the report every month. My brother and I share 51.6 of our genes. Third cousins are the closest found. I highly recomened it.

[LeftInTX]

7. Yes

I used Family Tree DNA because more Armenians test with them.

I then uploaded the raw DNA to GedMatch.

I'm half Armenian and half Anglo, so my gene pools are separated by a continent.

I found playing with all of the admixture calculaters on GedMatch gave me insight as to who I was ethnic wise.

I also found some distant relatives on the Anglo side.
I have matches on the Armenian side, but we have no idea how we are related because all records were destroyed

[PassingFair]

8. I'm as white bread as I suspected...

But we found out my husband is 5% Jewish!

Some diversity!

Also found out that my mother had a first cousin that no one knew about....

[matt819]

34. DNA tests for religion? (Nt)

[whathehell]

52. Ethnicity.

Some religions intermarry heavily.

[matt819]

58. I know

Just wanted to be a pain.

I've been tempted to have my DNA tested. I can track my ancestry (eastern European) back to the mid-1800s. Not as far back as many others can, but I'm about 100% certain that I won't find Native American or African American or northern European lines in there. So part of my interest is to see if any weird stuff turns up.

Then I read some posts about privacy and began to second-guess myself.

[whathehell]

59. I had my DNA test from Ancestry.com done recently..

I'm also of Eastern European ancestry (33%) and 51% Irish and a couple of interesting smaller amounts -- 5% Scandinavian and even smaller "traces", which means anything under 5%>

I'm not sure what the concerns about privacy are -- It's done in a confidential way.

[Motley13]

10. I did Ancestry, I am exactly what I had been told

I was hoping for some Native American, but no

Just some from the Caucasus' that I didn't know about, those Vikings got around.

Do it, it is fun & you could connect with some relatives

[Glorfindel]

11. I sent the sample in to Ancestry. Waiting for the results.

We have well-documented family trees on both my parents' families going back many generations, so I'm not expecting many surprises. I will be delighted if the family legend that we have Cherokee blood turns out to be true.

[handmade34]

12. yes

used MyHeritage... not sure if it is the best source?? I did it because I finally got hold of a picture of my Grandfather (he drowned when my father was a baby) and he looks as if he could be Anthony Scaramucci's brother

I thought all the family was either from Denmark or Germany... turns out primarily Denmark but some Middle Eastern in the genes





<a href="https://imgur.com/ndZRPiW"><img src="?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

[MLAA]

53. What a handsome fella ☺️

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

13. To pick a testing company...

Consider what questions you want answered. It helps to know some family history first, and what the various tests and companies offer.

If you want to track the male line back, then you will need a Y-DNA test to be done. If you are female, this means you need a male near-relative to agree to take the test. I got my brother to do this so we could see where our branch slotted into a particular surname. And I persuaded a male cousin of another surname to be tested, because our 3-greats-grandfather was said to have run away from home in the early 1800s and I had no idea what family to link him to; turns out his Y-DNA sure did not match the surname he used, but did match up with a different surname. Possibly a case of illegitimacy, maybe the reason he left home. Think we used Ancestry for both of these tests.

The mt-DNA, which is passed on from mother to child, can also be tested. I tried this one to check out the rumor of a Native American ancestress in my mother's line. Nope. Turns of the story was wrong. My uncle would have been terribly disappointed at this -- he was SO sure!

Autosomal DNA tests look for particular markers in your DNA. These can help you find cousins or tell you about various inherited conditions. The various testing companies probably look for different markers. Compare what they offer to tell you in the way of results. If you care about how much Neanderthal DNA you have the National Genographic Project will tell you, but I don't think Ancestry does.

[Irish_Dem]

15. The NA DNA seems to wash out fairly quickly so your maternal oral history

could be accurate, but just too far back to show up now.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

17. Yes, maybe, for the various markers in autosomal DNA

But the mt-DNA is normally passed unchanged, and hers traced right back to northern Europe.

[Irish_Dem]

18. Oh I see, the oral history stated it was direct maternal line.

Then that is right, you are looking at MtDNA, not autosomal.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

38. I'd be more interested in the maternal line, but both lines would be fun to know.

[Bayard]

16. I don't like the idea

Don't think I want my DNA on file anywhere, especially with the current administration.

Although I'd be very interested to see what they came up with.

[awesomerwb1]

19. I was going to say exactly that....

If there was a way to do it anonymously then I would definitely do it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

33. I don't like that they can sell my DNA to any buyer

If someone develops a vaccine from my DNA and makes a bazillion dollars off of it, I should be fairly compensated.

[Still Blue in PDX]

20. I did it with Ancestry and my cousins "found" me.

I was very happy with the results. Found out a lot about my family and discovered a history more interesting than I had ever dreamed of. I was the rare kid who never once thought I was adopted, and it turns out I was. Who knew? Apparently no one.

[left-of-center2012]

51. I don;t want my cousins to find me

Some have never had a job and scam off relatives and friends.

[Phentex]

57. My siblings used to tell me Jimmy Carter was my father...

I wish!

And I look too much like my mother to be adopted.

What a wild experience you must have had. Were you happy to meet your cousins?

[Still Blue in PDX]

66. Ha ha ha ha! I'm in Oregon and they are in Arkansas, so we haven't met . . .

but we're friends on Facebook and I've talked with my half-brother. He didn't know I existed. The members of the family who have contacted me have all been very nice and welcoming. My biological father was one of 14 children, so I have lots of cousins. The cousin who did the sleuthing and figured out which of the brothers was the father (confirmed by my half-brother also doing a DNA test) told me that he loved children and had he known about me would have acknowledged me.

Interesting thing, I wasn't actually adopted. And the brother I grew up with also had a half-sister whom I found via birth records on Ancestry. I call her my sister-adjacent, and we are also friends on Facebook.

Funny thing is, I had a brother Kenny and now I have another brother Kenny. Heh.

Wild indeed! There are so many twists and turns to the story.

[left-of-center2012]

21. I want the one that is said to tell you ...

If you have any Neanderthal dna.
Seriously

[Codeine]

23. I think most of them do.

My wife and her dad did 23andMe and it had that information included.

[lunasun]

55. I know the Ntl Geographic one does

[sarge43]

22. National Genographic

Haplogroup V. Fairly rare. Showed up o/a 17,000 years ago, probably in the western Middle East, Asia Minor. Moved out along both shores of the Med. Shows among the Basque, Berbers, some Irish and mainly among the Sami.

Being female, can only track my mother's DNA. I have no near male relatives left, so don't know what my father's ancestors were up to - no good most likely.

2.5% Neanderthal and Denisovan each.

[IrishEyes]

24. My brother did it.

He fought out that we are very Irish with a little bit of English and Scottish. I don't remember anything else. I think it was 23 and me.

[Fla Dem]

25. Did both Ancestry an 23 & Me. Thought Ancestry gave more detailed

Ancestry info, but they both agreed. 23 & Me follows up with other hereditary info.

[elleng]

26. My daughter did it, through Ancestry,

to find her father's history; he was adopted.

She's met his family, VERY happy reunion, and I'll entertain everyone at my home in Spring.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. Yes, used Ancestry.

It was pretty interesting. Although my mother was 3/4 Norwegian and 1/4 German and my father was mostly Scottish, the DNA test said I was more than 50% Norwegian and only about 20% Scottish/Irish. I guess the Vikings got around.

[Kath2]

28. Is it legitimate?

Are the results accurate?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

37. It depends on what you are looking for, I reckon.

That's why I'm asking.

[Sneederbunk]

29. Wonder if you would get same results from two different tests.

[Mrs. Overall]

31. Ancestry--it's been helpful as far as genealogy, BUT

you have to be prepared for surprises.

My cousin wanted to take the test so I bought a test for her and administered it on my account. Her father is the brother of my mother. When the test came back, it indicated that she wasn't my cousin. I talked to my mom and, indeed, my cousin's mother had an affair. My cousin, who is middle-aged, was absolutely devastated to learn that my uncle was not really her father (both of her parents are deceased, so she really feels like she has no closure).

So, beware that there can be surprises.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

36. I've actually learned that just from doing research on Ancestry

...and I learned people can get pretty upset with you over stuff that happened over 100 years ago. My great grandfather had a whol family we didn't know about.

I say you have to take what comes. Throw the closet doors open and light up the skeletons.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

40. Yeah, a friend of mine found out her sister is really her half sister.

Not really a huge surprise as the father has been out of this picture since they were very young.

They haven't confronted the mom and probably won't.

This story at this link is really wild:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/science/ct-dna-test-mystery-family-tree-20170729-story.html

She thought she was Irish — until a DNA test opened a 100-year-old mystery

[Callalily]

44. Wow! That's an incredible story.

[Irish_Dem]

46. Yes if you are going to DNA test, there may be surprises.

Good or bad.

[Throck]

32. I sent in a sample of my dogs DNA, he's related to Trump

Poor dog.

[njhoneybadger]

35. I've heard that tRump is 75% orangutan

[Throck]

42. He has no clue.

Possibly a minky?

[orleans]

39. great thread

i bought some tests from ancestry for family and friends

i'm emailing myself the link to this thread so i can read it again after xmas when we start the tests

thanks!

[Cicada]

41. I had an Elizabeth Warren experience

My mother told me about her grandfather, a full blooded Choctaw who had jet black hair into his eighties. But my ancestry dna showed zero evidence of that. My parents had died years before so I don’t know why this happened.

[Throck]

43. My mom's side were refugees from Poland in the 30s.

They burried their Jewish ancestry in the records at Ellis Island with a name change. The DNA test provided the leads to unearth the family secrets. Dark hair in my family came from Jewish roots, quite literally.

[frogmarch]

47. Unreliable

A waste of money, I think.

As described in this article, identical triplets' tests gave them each different results.

http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/21784-how-reliable-are-home-dna-ancestry-tests-investigation-uses-triplets-to-find-out

[ashling]

48. I forget which one has a commercial with a lady who says

"I'm from all nations"

use the other one


I hate that commercial !

[moriah]

49. Not for history, but to run the raw data through Promethase.

With my mother, sister, and I each doing a kit (we have separate fathers) we should also be able to see if there are things we need to tell our other haff-siblings to test for.

The Promethase report links allelles to research done on them and while it's no substitute for true genetic counseling if you know you or your partner is a carrier of something potentially fatal, or there are diseases common in your ethnic group you'd rather rule out being a carrier of prior to making babies, it's very interesting information.

[wishstar]

63. I ran my Ancestry DNA through Promethease, but don't recommend it for for hypochondriacs!

I think many people would worry if they had results like I had showing highly magnified risks of all kind of cancers, dementia, schizophrenia, diabetes, bi-polar, autoimmune disorders, heart disease etc.

I am older, but on no meds and not yet developed any serious physical or mental problems despite being overweight (Promothease found I carry some genes linked with fat storage and obesity) so I guess the good genes balance out the bad, and lifestyle and environmental factors have kept my bad genetics from triggering problems. However my parents and other family members have developed and died from some of the diseases for which I have genetic predisposition.

The results indicated I might have bad side effects if I take statins for cholesterol or warfarin for blood thinning and provided some other warnings regarding effectiveness of medications that could potentially be helpful to know.

[moriah]

64. Yeah, part of the reason we're doing this is a real genetic test.

I'm a carrier for the Z mutation for Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and have a borderline blood level of the protein. I'm also under 40 with emphysema, so there might be others that made me more susceptible, but obviously I don't need to smoke.

But if we find out only I have it, vs my mother, then we know it came from my Dad and my lil sibs need to be tested. If it's only in Mom's but not my sister's, then she doesn't need to have partners tested before having kids, but if it's in hers as well, they already told me it's best if I have a mate undergo genetic testing because the the ZZ genotype can be fatal to infants.

[Sancho]

50. Along with several family members we used Genebase

https://www.genebase.com

A little more complex reports than some other companies, because you can order multiple tests for different markers, but fascinating. Some family history was expected, but we also found some surprises.

I suppose at holidays we can imagine that great, great, great maternal ancestor from Belgium who married someone from Scotland and settled in Georgia, but has a bunch Greek DNA in one child's line? Who was she fooling around with in the 1800s?

One relative spent years tracing her family with old records and graveyards. The DNA confirmed much of the research, but we also found a branch of lost relatives (split off during the Civil War), and the DNA was very informative finding "matches".

I've learned a lot about DNA exploring the results, and you can dig into the genetics as much as you want. When you discuss haplogroups over dinner you've arrived (but that's still better than arguing with the crazy uncle who voted for tRump).

We are very happy with the results. Along with some genealogy efforts, our family is more informed - and it gives us an entirely new view of our history.

[CountAllVotes]

54. Yes

It confirmed what my personal research had told me.

I found my cousin and wrote to him. He wasn't sure what to think so he paid for the test via ancestry.com. I showed up as his only match!

My mother was adopted in the 1920s and we never knew WHO she was.

My research led me to her real identity and it was spot on.

I also found her real father which is what most of the matches were from. A 2nd cousin shows up. I wrote to him and he is in major denial.

My mother was illegitimate and it seems her granduncle was ... the governor of a state!!

[HockeyMom]

56. Confirmed a Family Tradition

I've been doing family genealogy for decades. Paper trails before online sites. My younger daughter did her's through Family Tree. It all pretty much confirmed my research, and confirmed another.

My Maternal Grandma always said her family originally came from Spain before migrating to Italy. From my side daughter got 31% Italian, 13% Irish. and 4% Iberia. She was surprised to get 29% Scandinavian, but her Paternal Great-Grandma came to the US from Sweden in 1910 as a girl.

My older daughter and I have sent our in to 23 and me. Holiday Special. My daughter should get similar results as her sister. I probably will just get higher percentages of Italian, Irish, and Spanish (?) from my own parents.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

60. Did AncestryDNA. Pretty much confirmed the oral family history. It also prompted me to

research my ancestry. So far I’ve traced my father’s maternal side back to 1825.

[HockeyMom]

61. Good for you!

While these DNA will show your ethnic heritage, they will never show who your ancestors were and what lives they led.

Example? My Grandfather had a half brother who he was friends with. In researching, I found out that as a young boy Uncle Fred was in Orphans Home for Boys in England in 1800's until he came of age. Do not know who or what happened to his birth mother, but he was a passenger on the ship with his Dad and his new Wife and their sons and daughters. Fred apparently sought out and reunited with his Dad when he became an adult. I know for a fact from my research that I have cousins from Fred's family somewhere today.

Do you own research. DNA tests will never give you this kind of information.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

62. Very cool! 👍🏻

[MountCleaners]

65. I just got my results from Ancestry

52% Irish, 25% Italian, 11% Iberian Peninsula, the rest Mexican / American Indian (Southwest).

[Awsi Dooger]

67. I am awaiting the results from Ancestry

After taking advantage of the Black Friday sale a few weeks ago.

Other family members have already done it. My sister was very pleased. It more or less confirmed what we already knew -- half Irish with heavy Eastern European influence from my mother's side, who immigrated from Poland.

My aunt, on the other hand, was not pleased at all. I've mentioned in General Discussion that she is newly turned Republican. Nice lady but not very bright. She assumed all her life she was largely Native American from her father's side, and that she was much more like her father than mother overall. She has insisted for years that someone looked up her bloodlines online and confirmed the Native American heritage.

Well, Ancestry did not show that at all. Not only did it place her at 0% Native American but the results leaned heavily toward her mother's side of the family, not the father's.

Only after my aunt's reaction did I realize there was some danger in this. She doesn't like the subject to be mentioned at all. I had viewed it as more or less a lark.

The system did work because as soon as my aunt's DNA was in the system she received a huge alert of a close relative.

It linked her to my sister, with extremely high confidence level.

I got a laugh out of that.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

68. Question I hope folks can answer

Both of my parents are Han Chinese, and I know for sure my mother’s parents are Han. I’m a bit more sketchy on my father’s extended ancestry.

Both me and my brother inherited a rare blood disorder from him, one that’s more common in Southeast Asians than East Asians. If I want to locate about when and where this possible SEA ancestor happened, what genetic test service would be best for that?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

72. I found this. I don't endorse it, but I present it for information

https://dna-explained.com/2017/04/24/which-dna-test-is-best/

Some people do want to know if they have genetic predispositions to medical conditions, and some do not. Some want to know if they have certain traits that aren’t genealogically relevant, but might be interesting – such as whether they carry the Warrior gene or if they have an alcohol flush reaction.

23andMe was the first company to dip their toes into the water of Direct to Consumer medical information, although they called it “health,” not medicine, at that time. Regardless of the terminology, information regarding Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, for example, were provided for customers. 23andMe attempted to take the raw data and provide the consumer with something approaching a middle of the road analysis, because sometimes the actual studies provide conflicting information that might not be readily understood by consumers.

The FDA took issue with 23andMe back in November of 2013 when they ordered 23andMe to discontinue the “health” aspect of their testing after 23andMe ignored several deadlines. In October 2015, 23andMe obtained permission to provide customers with some information, such as carrier status, for 36 genetic disorders.

Since that time, 23andMe has divided their product into two separate tests, with two separate prices. The genealogy only test called Ancestry Service can be purchased separately for $99, or the combined Health + Ancestry Service for $199.

[MountCleaners]

71. gedmatch is COOL

Apparently, I have a lot of "early neolithic farmer" in me. Ancient me was spending a lot of time in Iran and Pakistan.

[tammywammy]

73. My mom did AncestryDNA

I bought a kit during Black Friday and so did my dad. My dad never knew his biological father (was adopted by his mothers husband). He's looking for more information about him. And....my dad told me I probably have an older half brother....