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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: paulsue38 on Sunday 25 February 18 12:05 GMT (UK)

Title: DNA results are back!
Post by: paulsue38 on Sunday 25 February 18 12:05 GMT (UK)
Apparently I have  96% British Isles ancestry. Only 2% Western Europe and 1% Scandinavian. This seems surprisingly high?
Best wishes
Paul
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Sunday 25 February 18 12:08 GMT (UK)

Hi Paul,

Was that an Ancestry (Autosomal) DNA Test?

Romilly.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: davidft on Sunday 25 February 18 12:41 GMT (UK)
Apparently I have  96% British Isles ancestry. Only 2% Western Europe and 1% Scandinavian. This seems surprisingly high?
Best wishes
Paul

That is astonishingly high! Still I guess that makes you a good guinea pig if they want to do tests on what 'real' British people are  ;)  ;D
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Flattybasher9 on Sunday 25 February 18 12:51 GMT (UK)
Relly' of Cheddar man ??

Malky
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: paulsue38 on Sunday 25 February 18 13:01 GMT (UK)
It was through Ancestry. The 1% Scandinavian was a shock because my surname is Grisdale which is from Mungrisdale, Matterdale and this is Viking for pig valley!
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: bullocks on Sunday 25 February 18 18:10 GMT (UK)
Maybe you should try Living DNA, its good for people with mostly British ancestry (or results).  Will help break it down.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Sunday 25 February 18 18:12 GMT (UK)

Who does Living DNA tests? Is it a UK company?

Romilly.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: bullocks on Sunday 25 February 18 18:14 GMT (UK)

Who does Living DNA tests? Is it a UK company?

Romilly.

Yes, I've never used them myself but heard good things.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Sunday 25 February 18 18:46 GMT (UK)
Paul,

Can I ask when you sent yours in? to give me an idea of how much longer I might have to wait for my results.

Do Ancestry not narrow down British Isles into Scots, Irish etc?

I suppose that's you busy for the foreseeable, working out all your new rellies?  ;D

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: mgeneas on Sunday 25 February 18 18:54 GMT (UK)
This is the ancestry breakdown for a recently received test
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: hepburn on Sunday 25 February 18 18:54 GMT (UK)
What's the other 1% ? :)
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: mgeneas on Sunday 25 February 18 18:56 GMT (UK)
Africa north - couldn't get it in the screenshot
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Sunday 25 February 18 19:03 GMT (UK)
Assuming they mean English when they put British? These Americans..... :-X

I'm expecting mine to come back as something like

Mars  10%
Venus 5%

to account for all those ancestors who can't come from anywhere else!  8)

Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Sunday 25 February 18 19:55 GMT (UK)

Hoping to get an angle on our mutual (elusive) Grandfather, I asked my male 1st cousin on my Father's side to do one. Our Father's were brothers, their parents from Swansea and Manchester respectively. My cousin's mother was Scottish. His results were:

 Europe West:  57%
 Ireland/Scotland/Wales:  32%
 Scotland /Great Britain: 8%
 Wales & the West Midlands /Low Confidence Regions/ Iberian Peninsula 3%

He took an Ancestry, (Autosomal) one, and so both parent's DNA looked at, but even so, - it's clear as mud to me!

Romilly.

Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Gwenn02 on Monday 26 February 18 02:24 GMT (UK)
It was through Ancestry. The 1% Scandinavian was a shock because my surname is Grisdale which is from Mungrisdale, Matterdale and this is Viking for pig valley!

I was wondering about these Ancestry test .. If it was serious etc ... Is it expensive
I am keen to maybe do it
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Monday 26 February 18 07:52 GMT (UK)
It was through Ancestry. The 1% Scandinavian was a shock because my surname is Grisdale which is from Mungrisdale, Matterdale and this is Viking for pig valley!

Not necessarily from Mungrisdale, there are at least two other Grizedales and Grisedales in the Lake District.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Monday 26 February 18 12:05 GMT (UK)
Romilly,

Can I ask the title and artist of the picture of lady with cat in your profile?

From what I've read, the ethnicity 'results' these companies come up with are in no way accurate - just tenuous predictions.

Paul (original poster), if you're still with us - please could you answer my question as to when you sent your test in? I'm getting restless and would like to give myself an ETA for my results!!

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Monday 26 February 18 12:17 GMT (UK)
Can I ask the title and artist of the picture of lady with cat in your profile?

Gwen John, Young Woman holding a Black Cat.

It's a beautiful image, and one of a series of very similar paintings that she did.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Monday 26 February 18 12:39 GMT (UK)
Thanks, Mike.

I've actually heard of Gwen John. Lovely painting - I might see if its available anywhere as a print.

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Monday 26 February 18 12:53 GMT (UK)
Thanks, Mike.

I've actually heard of Gwen John. Lovely painting - I might see if its available anywhere as a print.

Jill

Nowhere near as famous as her brother but (I think), just as good an artist.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Monday 26 February 18 13:50 GMT (UK)
Hi Jill,

Mike beat me to it! I love Gwen John's paintings, - (one of my favourites is in Tate Britain). During her lifetime her work was largely ignored, while her brother Augustus was lionised.
Now the opposite is the case, and Augustus is thought to have been very overrated.I love their gentle muted colours. Another lovely one is titled, 'The Convalescent'. (I might change my avatar to that one next:-)

Romilly :)
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Monday 26 February 18 14:14 GMT (UK)
Hi Jill,

Mike beat me to it! I love Gwen John's paintings, - (one of my favourites is in Tate Britain). During her lifetime her work was largely ignored, while her brother Augustus was lionised.
Now the opposite is the case, and Augustus is thought to have been very overrated.I love their gentle muted colours. Another lovely one is titled, 'The Convalescent'. (I might change my avatar to that one next:-)

Romilly :)

Sorry for jumping in with the answer but I couldn't help myself. I agree  about Gwen's muted colours, and also like her very "flat" treatment. Augustus's works are more colourful and 3D, and I admire them very much, but do prefer Gwen's work.  (Sorry also to Paul for diverting the thread).

Edit: For anyone who is confused, and looking for the black cat, Romilly has changed her avatar!)
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Monday 26 February 18 22:53 GMT (UK)

Black cat re-instated :-)

Can anyone who understands DNA Testing, - please explain my cousin's result? (We can't make any sense of it...).

Romilly.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: davidft on Monday 26 February 18 22:58 GMT (UK)

Black cat re-instated :-)

Can anyone who understands DNA Testing, - please explain my cousin's result? (We can't make any sense of it...).

Romilly.

You might want to repost (in this thread) the results again and explain what answer you are looking for. I did see the earlier post and didn't really see where you wanted to go with it. (of couse that may just be me, but maybe not ... )
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Monday 26 February 18 23:08 GMT (UK)

Thanks Davidft,

Ok, - I was hoping that someone might be able to explain this DNA test result to me:

 Europe West:  57%
 Ireland/Scotland/Wales:  32%
 Scotland /Great Britain: 8%
 Wales & the West Midlands /Low Confidence Regions/ Iberian Peninsula 3%

This (Autosomal) DNA result is from someone with a Scottish Mother, and a Father whose parents were from Swansea and Manchester. I would have expected the result to be 100% Great Britain?

Romilly.

Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: davidft on Tuesday 27 February 18 11:38 GMT (UK)
@ Romilly

I did not reply immediately as I thought it best to let others comment if they wished. I will now comment and what I say is my personal opinion and reflects what I have said in several threads on here.

Autosomal DNA does have its uses and they are primarily for helping you trace near kin and this is soundly scientifically based. Unfortunately some DNA companies market the test primarily on finding your ‘ethnic identity’ and are thereby duping the public. These tests do not have sufficient scientific input to make the predictions that they do. These tests use pseudo-science based on assumptions and in some cases very small comparison population samples to make predictions. This is all they are predictions, they are not scientific fact and to hammer the point home the companies do from time to time reclassify their assumptions and you suddenly find you have gone from being say one third Scandinavian to a mere 5 per cent Scandinavian – that would not happen if the tests were scientifically based and robust. Another problem is that different company’s use different sample populations and so testing with different companies can give you different ‘ethnic identities’.

Turning to the rests recently received. They are as good as any other as they are only guesses or predictions. They know nothing of the donors ancestry and have made comparisons with the sample populations they have, but who is to say they are accurate? Even on a well-researched tree few people go back before 1700 which in genealogical terms is very recent and there could be significant events that happened before that which still have an impact on your results. Also trying to break down your identity into Scottish, English, Irish etc. is not as easy as some people say as we are a very mixed up and inter bred nation with a lot of people not really knowing much more about their ancestry than a generation or two back. Ok they learn more by researching it but what about all those brick walls that stop research and errors we all make at some time, they all affect our ability to say what our ethnic ancestry is i.e. we may say it’s one thing but the (imperfect) autosomal test may indicate something else – who is right? When Ancestry started doing the autosomal tests there were a fair few posting on here saying the tests were overestimating Scandinavian inheritance and under estimating Irish inheritance. Ancestry did take notice of this and refigured their tests to play down Scandinavian influence and increase Irish influence. OK that might have been a shrewd move as their market is largely in America (with its large and influential  Irish immigrant population) but it is not scientifically based so really what use are their test results if they can be so easily manipulated?

I myself tested with ftDNA. Last year they recalculated their ethnic identity algorithms and my results then showed a marked difference to my father’s which they had not done before so to say the least I was less than impressed. However when I use the analysis tools on Gedmatch mine and my father’s results are much more in sync, should this difference between two companies using the same data really occur if they were scientifically and robustly based? (Oh and my father is definitely my father!)

In conclusion what I would say is remember the results are only guesses and should be treated as a bit of fun. If you want to do further analyses on the results you have received upload them to Gedmatch and use the different analysis tools they have to get several more analyses. However, at the end of the day the companies do reclassify their results and the ethnic identities from time to time so what you are today will not necessarily be what these same companies using the same data say you are in the future.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Romilly on Tuesday 27 February 18 14:58 GMT (UK)

Many thanks David for your very informative reply.

It's along the lines of my thoughts on DNA testing, and hopefully Paul will find it of interest too.

Romilly.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: alphonsus123 on Wednesday 28 February 18 19:33 GMT (UK)
I also have my DNA results back, and rather surprising results they are. They read as follows. 97.9% Irish, Scottish and Welsh. 1.2% North African and 0.9% Nigerian. I myself was born in Greenore co Louth Ireland. Both my mother and father were born in Ireland as were my Grandparents, so where has the Nigerian connection and the North African connection come from? How accurate are these DNA results? Alphonsus123 Matthews.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: shellyesq on Thursday 01 March 18 17:13 GMT (UK)
Considering that you got the vast majority as Irish, it seems pretty darned accurate in your case.

I don't know where you tested, but this article on Ancestry addresses how they handle such small percentages.  https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Low-Confidence-Regions
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: hurworth on Thursday 01 March 18 18:44 GMT (UK)
I also have my DNA results back, and rather surprising results they are. They read as follows. 97.9% Irish, Scottish and Welsh. 1.2% North African and 0.9% Nigerian. I myself was born in Greenore co Louth Ireland. Both my mother and father were born in Ireland as were my Grandparents, so where has the Nigerian connection and the North African connection come from? How accurate are these DNA results? Alphonsus123 Matthews.

These look like MyHeritage results.  I've noticed that quite a few Irish matches at MyHeritage have similar amounts of North African and Nigerian.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Bearnan on Thursday 01 March 18 19:11 GMT (UK)
I have my DNA result back from My Heritage.
English 68.2%
Irish,Scottish,Welsh 22.2%
Scandinavian 4.4%
Ashkenazi Jewish 3.8%
North Africa 1.4%

My result is quite different to my sister's.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: teddygreen1 on Thursday 01 March 18 19:26 GMT (UK)
I'm bearn an sister and my result was
Scandinavian 47.9
Irish , Scottish and Welsh 30,2
English 2.4
Iberian 18.2
Ashkenazi Jewish 1.4

We share 38% DNA
Kath
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: youngtug on Thursday 01 March 18 20:37 GMT (UK)
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/debunking/understanding-testing
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 01 March 18 20:48 GMT (UK)
Jill

still nothing here either...

Xin

lets hope that means we get a response tomorrow..

maybe it has been held up by the snow :)

Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Thursday 01 March 18 21:48 GMT (UK)
I'm bearn an sister and my result was
Scandinavian 47.9
Irish , Scottish and Welsh 30,2
English 2.4
Iberian 18.2
Ashkenazi Jewish 1.4

We share 38% DNA
Kath

Interesting that your results are so wildly different from your brother's.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: youngtug on Thursday 01 March 18 21:53 GMT (UK)
From my earlier link;
Quote
As a result of the random inheritance of DNA, close relatives can often be assigned markedly different ethnicity percentages.  This may be correct.  For example if you have three grandparents from Africa and one from Asia, you and your brother/sister may receive very different proportions of Asian DNA even though you share the same parents.  However such differences may also reflect inadequacies in the databases used, or the methods of inference applied.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Friday 02 March 18 17:07 GMT (UK)
Jill

still nothing here either...

Xin

lets hope that means we get a response tomorrow..

maybe it has been held up by the snow :)

I received mine today, Xinia. No email to say they were there - just found them on the website more or less by accident, so it might be worth you checking.

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Friday 02 March 18 18:28 GMT (UK)
eek -- now dare I do that :) 

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Friday 02 March 18 18:29 GMT (UK)
Nope  :(   not yet

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Friday 02 March 18 18:58 GMT (UK)
Oh well, Xin, perhaps tomorrow? I'm pretty sure we sent ours in at more or less the same time.

Can anyone else tell me - if and when any new test results come along that are a match to mine, do I get notified or do I just have to keep checking the website?

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Saturday 03 March 18 21:40 GMT (UK)
Ok

results are in

what a !?!?!?!?!?!?!


OK my nephew is my nephew  so that is good.

I am more Scandinavian than British!!!!!!!! interesting

the rest is

4th cousin matches  (useless)

and an Ancestor that was born in SCOTLAND they have down as Nova Scotia.

I will leave it for my daughter to sort..

:( 

xin  :-[ :P ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

not sure what I was expecting but not this shambles...


Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: familydar on Saturday 03 March 18 21:57 GMT (UK)
Ancestry has a definite US bias.  If you have a UK placename and you've not given it in a format they understand, it will likely get "mapped" to somewhere with a similar name across the Atlantic.  I uploaded a ged but had to go through all my places changing them to read place, county, england.  I suspect a lot of people don't notice this, which makes the dna matches by location less useful than it might be.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Saturday 03 March 18 22:23 GMT (UK)
Yes  definitely....

and the absolutely awful 'in my mind - sorry - American phrase - ......... 'My Bad'  has to be used here, because I added Birthplaces to suit me.. I know its in UK and that is all that mattered at the time.. !!! so SC was fine for scotland.. not now though.. So  I am sure I changed them mostly, but must have missed Mary..

So will have to be GOOD and sort that -  then see what they make of it.. 

Xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: familydar on Saturday 03 March 18 22:31 GMT (UK)
I think we all do that xin - sct, aus, can etc - we know what we mean!
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Saturday 03 March 18 22:54 GMT (UK)
Yep :)  silly but there you go..

its all good fun.. and I am a Viking so there  --- ( are they from Scandinavia ??? :) :) :)  ) 
some people only know how to moan...... self reference :)

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Sunday 04 March 18 11:41 GMT (UK)
OK

So I have gone through the results.. and now I KNOW that the whole thing is a big CON  -- guesswork and a bit of spit  do not tell me anymore than where I was previously.


They are telling me that my Sarah Argyle for some reason was born somewhere in America!  no explanation as she is entered up on my tree as being born in HINCKLEY UK  oh.. silly me there is a HINCKLEY in USA 

The only good thing is the match with my Nephew that proves that the 'spit' does count for something..

But as for the rest of it.. its rubbish.. MY ethnicity is mostly guess work on their part.. as they have done no more than collate the info from MY hard work over many years  --  and then they get it wrong.

Angry no .. well yes a little.. too trusting thats me... hoped for more from a reputable company... but they are just selling their wares and encouraging people like me 'laymen' - dabblers - to fall for their tricks.. what a fool .. I am.. 

they have given me plenty of pages to view and I can pm people with details  if they want. but its useless 10th cousins that have 1 segment..  and then when I click on the tree to see the matching names.. Yes they have a Sutherland or a Green but - not linked to mine  born in timbuctoo .. so I am excited to find that somewhere along the line a Green took himself off to gnw and left a marker to prove he had been there.  NOOOOO.. rubbish - ask me and I can give more details pm.

here is a pic of one breakdown--- and this lead to their family member named GREEN (such an unusual name  :( )  being born in Missouri........fgs...

why did I bother.. what made me think .. it would help.. its just a toy, and I do not want it anymore than the latest 'APP' for telling me where the kettle is and how to switch it on. 

I was born in a time when there was NOT even a BIRO  so ..  it is so much hard work attempting to keep ahead of these  ..... online wise birds... 
I am sorry
forgive me
but as you
can see
I am not a happy old bird...

take me back to the records offices and micro-fiche

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Sunday 04 March 18 12:13 GMT (UK)
Xin.

Sorry you are so disappointed with your results.  When you have had a few days to think about things, go back and look again.

They do not confirm which family you are connected to, but if you share a reasonable amount of DNA with someone else, the connection is there somewhere. The names it gives are shared surnames from each tree, not meant to be proof that you share those surnames. Could just as easily be a surname that is in neither of your trees. Ancestry don't make any guesswork about matches, it is up to you to do that.

You say 4th cousins are no good to you, not sure what you mean by that. I have broken down one long standing brick wall with use of DNA results, and made positive connections to 8th cousins.

It is not intended to replace the paper trail, without a decent paper trail it is impossible to find connections through DNA matching.

If there is a con, it is with the ethnicity results, which are at present untrustworthy, but even that will improve as more people get tested. They have not taken any information from your tree to give estimates of ethnicity, they are relying on their database.

As for placename, Ancestry is quite confused about them if they have anything else written before the town name or don't include a country. Something you have to bear with, I'm afraid.

In short, it is up to you how much you get out of DNA testing - read up about it, don't set your expectations too high, but now you have done the test and got your results, you might as well work with it rather than against it.

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Sunday 04 March 18 12:56 GMT (UK)
You sound like a strong sensible lady Margaret and I appreciate your input..

I shouldn't looooose my cool as quickly as I do.. but I do.  To be told at 70 that I am European  is a bit scary for me on a personal basis.  for no other reason than having been brought up as a STRONG BRIT.. there you go. 

I get they get the place names wrong.. and therefore put my Gran in Hinckley Maine instead of Hinckley Leics.. I get that... (it still makes me angry :( )  and one or two of the matches are correct.

Will a possible fourth cousin of my Frederick Raven Patrick (no definate father !!!! ) help me find his dad...   I have been trying since the year dot.

Sorry I will calm down and go back to it.. eventually. 

So you are assured that the spit is what they worked on to find my results?  I do hope so..
But this doesn't help with my argument (just now with my OH) that it says I am European.  !!! and only 2% British.. How did they discover that.

I better leave this alone and get on with my day...

I will find Freds' Dad when I actually meet him - no doubt.

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Sunday 04 March 18 13:42 GMT (UK)
Hi Xin,

I got my results yesterday and I must admit that I panicked a bit but please don't let that cloud your judgement. Margaret (and, yes, you're right , she does sound like a very sensible lady) is right saying that we've done the test so may as well try and make sense of the results AND, don't forget, its also about future matches as this DNA thing becomes more and more popular and more and more people take advantage. Hopefully, we will be getting 'new' matches every few days.

I also think you have to use Ancestry's placename dropdown lists when adding to your tree - if they don't conform, they're not going to match! having said that, I have typed in a lot of 'my' placenames in the search facility and most of them come up with no matches at all!

All I got was a plethora of 4th-8th cousins plus one 2nd cousin (who I have managed to trace using FreeBMD and intend to contact: his grandmother was my grandmother's sister!) The other none 4-8th cousin is someone I'm pretty sure I've been in touch with previously via another website (probably Rootschat!!).

Oh, and those 4th cousins are worth checking on. I went down the list feeling more and more like you do that I was wasting my time and then I got to a 4th cousin with only a 'good confidence' rating rather than 'high' - and have found someone on a 2nd marriage line of my 2x gt grandmother who might just be able to help me with some outstanding questions - if she answers my email!

I get the point about North Americans being more into this DNA thing: I have numerous matches to people related to the siblings of another of my 2x gt grandmothers who emigrated to Ontario in the early to mid 1800s.

Have you read the Lost Cousins Masterclass on searching? It helped me a lot. So, as Margaret says,nil desperandum! Take a breather and then go back and sock it to them!!

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Sunday 04 March 18 13:59 GMT (UK)
Yes Jill

I am taking a sabbatical for at least 1 day to enable my head to clear

this old 'western european' me...

:(

xin

7 gens British is the truths known..
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Sunday 04 March 18 18:12 GMT (UK)
Xin, My origins are British for as far back as I can go, nearly all from London and Home Counties, with one exception, my 4G grandfather born in Ireland. If you think about it, this accounts for 1/64 of my tree, 4/128 (1/32) if his parents and grandparents etc were all from Ireland.  So, about 3% of my ancestry.

My ethnicity at Ancestry shows 48% Western European, 33% Great Britain, 12% Ireland/Scotland/Wales, 3% Iberian Peninsula, 1% Scandinavian, plus a few minorities.

This may reflect ancestry from the way distant past, as GB was colonised by many different countries, but does not reflect my ethnicity for the past 200 - 300 years.

At other sites my ethnicity shows differently, but I am only vaguely interested in my roots from thousands or even millions of years ago.

As has been said on this thread and others, the ethnicity reports are next to useless, but it it is considered one of the main selling points.  My next door neighbour has had it done for this reason alone, not interested in family history at all. She is in for a big disappointment, I think.

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: youngtug on Sunday 04 March 18 18:24 GMT (UK)
The average Briton is, it seems, 60% European. The other percentage is also from somewhere else being that we are all descendants of immigrants.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Jill Eaton on Sunday 04 March 18 18:52 GMT (UK)
Not sure if this is going to help but I've been in contact with one of my husband's 4th cousin connections only to find out she lives just 15 miles away and we are going to meet up sometime this month to compare trees an discuss gt grandfathers.

It can work but you do have to be patient and not expect miracles. it's a tool in the way certificates and census returns are a tool.


Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: BushInn1746 on Sunday 04 March 18 19:58 GMT (UK)
Hi xin and All

xin, you've probably guessed I'm a documents fan.

But when you don't get, an unknown near match, isn't it now a question of waiting until someone in the future takes a test, which turns out to be a nearer match?

Since I've been stuck over 200 years ago, I've sent for £100s of alternative documents, they do make my known solid tree, rock solid, but it hasn't revealed one new Hood, or ancestor, only told me more about them.

Try not to be too disappointed

Mark
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Sunday 04 March 18 20:22 GMT (UK)
thanks all.

I am over it now.. and realise it is just a game... I will carry on with my tree my way.. and leave it to see if anyone does want to connect that really is a connection..

Not the husband of the father of my second cousins husband.. etc.. :) 

Tomorrow is another day.. lets hope it will be a good one..

:)

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: hurworth on Sunday 04 March 18 20:43 GMT (UK)
It just takes a bit of getting used to.

A bit like learning to drive.  I remember my father taking me for my first lesson.  Put the car in first gear, stalled it several times and then finally got going.  Next thing I'm doing 25 mph in first gear, the revs are high and Dad's telling me to change to second gear.  I got very cranky at him because I'd been told nothing about changing gear and how to do it.  I pulled over, got out of the car and stomped off.   

Getting your DNA results is like being throw in the drivers seat without any driving lessons.  It will make sense eventually.

 
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Sunday 04 March 18 20:56 GMT (UK)
Now that is me to a 'T'  thank you for that Hurworth...

 its made me end the day smiling. xx

take care

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Monday 05 March 18 11:43 GMT (UK)
Quick hint for Xin and anyone else with problems with locations at Ancestry DNA.

Find a match, any match to someone with a public tree.
Pedigree and surnames, Shared matches, Map and Locations
Click on Map and Locations

You will be presented with a world map, your places in blue, their places in brown, joint places in both trees in green.

Click on any blue one shown incorrectly, e.g. in USA when should be in UK.

It will show you the name of your ancestor and Ancestry's interpretation of the place name. Then go to that ancestor and change the address to one accepted by Ancestry, including country if not already added.

You will only have to do this for direct ancestors.  I found some in USA when I entered street name and number, eg born 12, North Street, Anytown, Sussex, England.

Take out 12, North Street, add it to the description so the info isn't lost.

Hope this helps
Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Monday 05 March 18 12:33 GMT (UK)
Thanks for that :)

I decided to actually go through all 6,000 odd and type england united kingdom in capital letters, with commas and full stops and NO abbreviations.. then the error will not be down to my laziness.. but what a boring job... still who has better things to do... !!!!! I wish.  :) :) :)

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Monday 05 March 18 13:36 GMT (UK)
I very much agree that the 'standard' route of genealogy should always be via documentation first and foremost. I wouldn't have it any other way - and anyone trying to research their ancestry solely through DNA is whistling in the wind.

However, I already think DNA tests have their place. Without going into detail which might bore you to death, I have a very longstanding brickwall in William Horwood (see my note at the foot of this post). I have a theory about his parentage and ancestry but, without a baptism, I couldn't prove it. Now, I've checked one of my 4th-6th cousin matches and it seems to bear out my theory.

I still won't rest until I find the baptism/birth though!

I'm only a couple of days into this DNA thing but already have one major gripe - why are the vast majority of my matches either minus a tree; with a tree of 2 or 3 people all tagged as private, or with a totally private tree! What was the point in you doing this, folks?  >:(
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Monday 05 March 18 13:46 GMT (UK)
yes agree with the gripe :)

But what with all the ... hoo haa.... I have had over the last couple of days.  Being stupidly upset over being European and NOT BRITISH ( ha ha ha   :) ) 
Today I have some wonderful news

I am ME  :)  so that is good. absolutely great.. I was beginning to doubt it.. But No the DNA matches have proved it.. :) 

xin


Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Monday 05 March 18 14:10 GMT (UK)
I very much agree that the 'standard' route of genealogy should always be via documentation first and foremost. I wouldn't have it any other way - and anyone trying to research their ancestry solely through DNA is whistling in the wind.

However, I already think DNA tests have their place. Without going into detail which might bore you to death, I have a very longstanding brickwall in William Horwood (see my note at the foot of this post). I have a theory about his parentage and ancestry but, without a baptism, I couldn't prove it. Now, I've checked one of my 4th-6th cousin matches and it seems to bear out my theory.

I still won't rest until I find the baptism/birth though!

I'm only a couple of days into this DNA thing but already have one major gripe - why are the vast majority of my matches either minus a tree; with a tree of 2 or 3 people all tagged as private, or with a totally private tree! What was the point in you doing this, folks?  >:(

It's results like this that make it all worthwhile. I had a theory about my 5G grandfather, Stephen Leversuch, who married in 1745, given as 'Of Wallop' (Wiltshire, England).

There was a Stephen Leversidge baptised in Chitterne, Wiltshire in 1723, but was it correct?

Found burial of his father as Stephen Leverstrech alias Leversuch, several children baptised as Leversidge/Leverstretch/Leversuch or similar, including Mary Leversidge 1730, so a possibility, but nothing proven.

A surname check at ancestryDNA for Leversuch came up with several results from fairly recent generations, plus one for a Mary Leversuch, married 1755 in Thruxton, Hampshire.

Other Laversuch DNA matches also matched with this person, and I am confident enough to say that this has taken me back at least one generation further back to Stephen and Mary's parents, our mutual 6G grandparents.

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Janelle on Tuesday 06 March 18 10:53 GMT (UK)
Me too, me too.

We sent in 2 tests in one bag, bought together must be returned together. Posted 9 Jan, received 15 Jan,
Then our cousin got her results back in a miraculous 4 weeks. Oh no where were mine!
How unfair!
We reckoned they must have rolled off the bench and stayed there on the floor for a week until the cleaner swept up and put it back on the bench.  ;)
Then the postie brought in the Black Friday sale tests and they were all dumped on top o mine.
Hehe  ;D
We got my results last Tuesday! Phew yay

So many 4th cousins with no trees, as everyone has said already.

It’s early days but...
What has got up my nose is that nobody else in the list of 250 odd has contacted us for our shared matches.
they have had my lovingly duplicated public tree available to entice them, with the DNA tests dutifully attached.

Well that silence speaks very loudly.

We have now attached the DNA’s to our private tree and got rid of the duplicate public trees.
We shall work through the matches and message those folks that pique our interest.

Downloading the raw data and uploading to the free sites like GEDmatch is working better for us.

I want to breach the brick wall of Robert Warren, but that will require AncestryDNA from a few other Warrens NOT just peeps who are descended from him, to prove my theory.

The American Civil War can’t have killed them all, please.

Salute,
Janelle
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Rena on Tuesday 06 March 18 11:55 GMT (UK)
Thanks for that :)

I decided to actually go through all 6,000 odd and type england united kingdom in capital letters, with commas and full stops and NO abbreviations.. then the error will not be down to my laziness.. but what a boring job... still who has better things to do... !!!!! I wish.  :) :) :)

xin

Fingers crossed your amendments are not interpretted as NEW ENGLAND, USA   ::)
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Tuesday 06 March 18 12:58 GMT (UK)
oh my goodness...

wells its something for me to occupy my time with.

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Tuesday 06 March 18 13:08 GMT (UK)
Janelle,

I haven't had any contact re shared matches either, other than one lady replying to my message to let me see her private tree. She said she would, but hasn't as yet.

I did the same as you when I took the test and put my tree on Ancestry for all to see, despite my reservations. I thought it was the best way to take advantage of the test results. Now I'm also starting to think I may not have done myself any favours - people are inherently selfish, and it has crossed my mind that they may just look at my public tree for a connection and not bother to contact me unless they need to know something to their own advantage.

I'm giving it a few more days, then I may well end up making my tree private.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: davidft on Tuesday 06 March 18 13:22 GMT (UK)
I've come to the conclusion now having read this thread and others that it is probably best not to make your tree public as then people just see it and don't bother to contact you. I think this is where I have gone wrong. On ftDNA I have a tree that is available for anyone who has a confirmed match to me, it also probably has too much information on it regards names, dates and locations. Oh well we live and learn ..........
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Tuesday 06 March 18 13:33 GMT (UK)
I opened mine to public for 10 mins and decided to risky 
So its private again.

ANYONE with a serious chance of being related I will allow to see it. 

But not a single Tree collector.

xin

here is one of the matches they gave me. 
Moore is a possible I thought .  but NOPE
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Wednesday 07 March 18 12:24 GMT (UK)
I've always found Ancestry impossible to navigate, so please can someone help?

On the ethnicity map which divides itself up into 1800, 1825 etc and the little yellow numbers which pop up e.g. over Scotland. Are these the number of people you have in your tree from that area? If so, what has that to do with an ethnicity estimate? If I was totally mistaken about a line and wrongly attributed it to - say - Outer Mongolia, would this little map really show me I had an ancestor in Ulan Bator?

 In 1825, my map has dotted white lines running from GB around the globe to the USA and Australia; in 1850 said dotted lines are going to 3 places in the USA but none to Australia etc. these can't be from my Ancestry tree because I haven't entered any of the people who emigrated as they were siblings of my direct ancestors.

The one that has really piqued my interest is one for 1875 which has a few yellow dots in and around Salt Lake City. How do I get to the significance of this? One theory that other Bishop connections have for what happened to my 2x gt grandfather George Bishop who was reported in the local newspaper in 1853 for leaving his wife and children destitute in Yorkshire and high-tailing it off to the US with another man's woman is that he became 'something big in the Mormon Church! I've never found any proof for this - until now? I wonder.

What on earth am I supposed to glean from these maps?
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Wednesday 07 March 18 13:03 GMT (UK)
I believe the ethnicity results, which are deeply flawed, to be of your distant ancestors, hence European, Scandinavian etc for UK testers with no known connections to these places.Some thousands of years ago, or even further.

The details given for 1800, 1825 etc are lifted from your tree, to show where you think your ancestors have spread to at different times.  Click on the red circles for a given year, it purports to show the names of ancestors who have emigrated to say, USA.

The only problem with this is the way Ancestry deals with places not in their correct format. For 1800 it seems broach correct, in later years it makes a mess of things.  I have someone supposed to have gone to USA, when they stayed in England throughout.

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Wednesday 07 March 18 15:13 GMT (UK)
Thanks, Margaret.

Any idea roughly how often Ancestry update the matches and - presumably - let us know?
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: diplodicus on Wednesday 07 March 18 17:20 GMT (UK)
The matches database seems to be updated every working day and these appear in your browser as "new" (with the little blue dot beside them). Ancestry do NOT inform you of any new shared matches but they are there if you can be bothered to trawl back through every match.

Oh how I wish they would!

Malcolm
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Gardenshed on Wednesday 07 March 18 17:24 GMT (UK)
Just picking up on those replies which put forward the theory that if they open their tree to DNA matches, no one will bother contacting them. I have given up contacting people with locked trees as the few I have tried contacting either don't reply or show no inclination to help work out where the connection is.

I am steadily working my way through contacting matches which give enough of a tree to help me work out sideways and where possible backwards to see if there is a possible connection. I am also contacting closer matches without trees in case they have done enough research to help work out how we match. Some reply and some don't but they are generally more forthcoming than those with locked trees.

You don't have to put a full tree on with your precious photos etc. You can also just have a tree visible to DNA matches. I only have a rudimentary tree on Ancestry but it should be enough for people to see names. We are all entitled to our different approaches and I respect that but I don't think curling up like a poked hedgehog gives you the best value for money from your DNA test.

Oh, and you may wish to check your settings to make sure they allow you to receive messages from contacts. Mine were set to not receive messages and it took me a few days to realise this.

Very interesting thread though and great to read different perspectives.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Gardenshed on Wednesday 07 March 18 17:47 GMT (UK)
Re query about wishing Ancestry would notify us about the new matches, if you select the "new" button near the top of the screen on the page showing matches then the new matches will show up at the top of the page.

Your Ancestry DNA home page gives you the total number of fourth cousin or closer matches and so you can see at a glance if any new ones have arrived, then go to your matches page and then select the 'new' option.

Hope this helps.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: diplodicus on Wednesday 07 March 18 18:22 GMT (UK)
but do remember that once you have clicked on a match, Ancestry's software will "empty" the blue button when you leave that match. So, if you wish to keep the match as "new" for further consideration later, you need to click the blue button and turn it grey and then click it again to turn it back to blue.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Gardenshed on Wednesday 07 March 18 18:57 GMT (UK)
You can also highlight a match for further consideration by selecting the star beside the match. Mind you, you have to then remember why you put a star there.

There is a notes section when you open a match - I haven't tried this yet but it may be a good way of noting whether you have contacted the match or any bright thoughts you may have had.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: familydar on Wednesday 07 March 18 19:02 GMT (UK)
It's a great shame ancestry don't have a semi-private setting for trees.  I have no problems with dna matches seeing my tree but don't want to have it available for every name collector under the sun.

Jane :-)
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Wednesday 07 March 18 19:38 GMT (UK)
here is a typical match

 :-X :-\


so many have NO TREES
or a PRIVATE tree.. and then they have either 4 people in it or 24,000... so it is a little bit silly - basically its an elaborate way of looking at the HINTS we are given on the search pages..

I am plodding on and changing addresses  so they read the ACTUAL AREA but this is not being altered as yet by Ancestry on the Map page.

I KNOW NOW  it was a good waste of money....
The system will not bring me anything- new until there are a lot more people taking the test and or adding trees ....

I already have worked my tree so darned hard as to find as many 2nd 3rd and 4th cousins as I can, without possibles...  7 generations on nearly all sides... and so much certificated or proven in some way.   I have stretched all lines to the limit.. I own Scotlands people for Certs and stuff..
I didn't need this ... DNA showing what it has -  it just seems to be a. n. other way of searching.  With NOT enough positives.
Why did I do the test? 
Well because I am a Niave fool, that didnt read all the wonderful topics that said it was not what I was looking for.
I had hoped it would PROVE more for me..  and maybe find the couple or so Missing DADS   that are an important part of my tree.
But NOPE  - cos it depends on somebody else tracing that exact same line  or a very close line...

I wont give up.. and will check back  -  and finish altering the addresses.

And when I suddenly find Freds Dad .. will let you all know.. :)

xin

Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: diplodicus on Wednesday 07 March 18 22:20 GMT (UK)
Xinia,

it doesn't claim it to be a match with "your" Sarah. It is simply saying that this is a person in your match's tree that shares the same name as someone in your tree. I agree that most of these are useless, but then so much of what we do, searches, visits to record offices and disappointing certificates from the GRO, turn out to be just as useless. It is what it is. It's certainly not the GRO's fault.

I have found half a dozen people through Ancestry's DNA matches that I would never have found conventionally. I have great hopes for the future.

Two more 4th to 6th cousins were added to my match list overnight. I know both of the branches of my tree where our progenitors are located. I haven't identified an individual; they may be before any surviving paper record or perhaps a record is there but is yet to be digitised.

I try to contact lots of people and I reckon about 33% of them respond of whom about half show much enthusiasm for a dialogue. I'll take that. 16% is enough of a workload with which to be working.

Keep digging. There is a nugget in there.

Malcolm
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Wednesday 07 March 18 23:04 GMT (UK)
I will dig  for more and yes

it says HINTS not MATCHES

so

will proceed.

inanely / insanely :)

xin


my example pic.. the names and places did not match! were similar but did not match
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Wednesday 07 March 18 23:35 GMT (UK)
I am going ... honestly


:)

I have just ..... deleted one of the proferred matches.. eeek...

Well it was a difficult decision.. she had ..................... 3 people in her tree
and it was so hard to make my mind up that it was not worthy of any further time..


it does say I can change my mind later.

xin   I may not sleep now worrying.

 :-X :-X :-X ::) :-\ :o

sorry   its time for the naughty corner again... havent been there for a while..
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: hurworth on Thursday 08 March 18 01:12 GMT (UK)
I'm thinking it might be a good idea transferring to one or two other sites. 

I've found Ancestry to give me the most matches for one branch of my family (although the two closest matches from that branch have either no tree or a large 8,000+ locked tree, and don't reply to messages - fortunately I know who they are and how they're related so don't need their input and besides their trees are probably still incorrect ... the DNA match confirms that their gtgt-aunt hadn't died childless afterall). 

For another branch FamilyTreeDNA has the most matches from a couple of lines. 

For another branch (the patrilineal one...I was just starting to get a bit worried that there had been NO matches AT ALL up this line) MyHeritage had a 1C1R, 2C and 2C1R.

My preference is FamilyTreeDNA but you may not be able to upload today because the site is undergoing an upgrade and rather slow.  You'll also need to adapt your DNA file slightly (I can explain how if you're interested).

MyHeritage I find easy to navigate and quite a few people have trees.

There's is no charge to upload to them, but if you want to use the chromosome browser at FamilyTreeDNA there is a one-off fee.  But you can add that later.

You just never know where your known cousins have tested, and these known cousins are usually what you need to confirm things and knock down brick walls.

For me what works best is having fingers in lots of pies.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 08 March 18 14:08 GMT (UK)
I need a new brain to be able to tackle anymore of this....

:(

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: jillruss on Thursday 08 March 18 14:44 GMT (UK)
Just picking up on those replies which put forward the theory that if they open their tree to DNA matches, no one will bother contacting them. I have given up contacting people with locked trees as the few I have tried contacting either don't reply or show no inclination to help work out where the connection is.

I am steadily working my way through contacting matches which give enough of a tree to help me work out sideways and where possible backwards to see if there is a possible connection. I am also contacting closer matches without trees in case they have done enough research to help work out how we match. Some reply and some don't but they are generally more forthcoming than those with locked trees.

You don't have to put a full tree on with your precious photos etc. You can also just have a tree visible to DNA matches. I only have a rudimentary tree on Ancestry but it should be enough for people to see names. We are all entitled to our different approaches and I respect that but I don't think curling up like a poked hedgehog gives you the best value for money from your DNA test.

Oh, and you may wish to check your settings to make sure they allow you to receive messages from contacts. Mine were set to not receive messages and it took me a few days to realise this.

Very interesting thread though and great to read different perspectives.

I am one of your poked hedgehogs! I take your points - but it seemed to me that I was getting zilch answers to my messages and that its highly likely that anyone notified of a connection with me could easily view my tree when public, glean what they wanted and not bother to reply. (I have a poor opinion of humankind, it has to be admitted). Equally, I can see it from the opposite aspect and admit that I'm ignoring people with no trees or private trees, because what's the point?

You say: You can also just have a tree visible to DNA matches. . I'm new to Ancestry - how do I do that? I've been onto my Settings page but can't see anything to click to achieve this.

You also say: Oh, and you may wish to check your settings to make sure they allow you to receive messages from contacts. Mine were set to not receive messages and it took me a few days to realise this.  Ditto - how do I make sure of that?

All of my 'Distant Cousins' that I've looked at so far are no use at all. Would you bother delving deeper than 4th-6th cousins, good to high confidence?

Jill
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 08 March 18 14:51 GMT (UK)
I am spending time - deleting 5th - 8ths with no tree or less than 10


xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: diplodicus on Thursday 08 March 18 15:44 GMT (UK)
xinia,

My advice to you is to sloooow down. Diving into the gene pool increases the possible number of cross-matches, connections, etc by a factor of about 200. Bearing in mind the amount of work you are probably doing simply to stay on top of your tree constructed "the old fashioned way" it would be a shame to lose control of all that because of the gene-match possibilities. Remember, your genes are with you forever so there's no rush.

I would suggest the following:

1. Load your test results to both gedmatch.com and ftdna.com. This is free of charge and each site has clear instructions on how to do it. I reckon that it will take you about two hours work spread over a couple of days. Then I would forget all about them for the time being. Your results are there for others to view and if they're interested, they can contact you. The reason I suggest not doing anything with these additional results is that they will inundate you with 'stuff' and to use them well will require you to increase your understanding of SNPs, centimorgans, pileups and all the other aspects of gene matching.

2. With your Ancestry matches, I would recommend following a few of your closest matches and sweating them as hard as you can to see where that gets you. Use the gold star icon and the blue "new" buttons to help you filter matches that you might wish to find without wading through pages of other names.

2.Use the "Add note" function. I record all my shared matches' names and the latest date I looked. This way you can click on the note icon to read what it says without having to click on "View Match". I believe there is an extension for the Chrome browser that enables you to view all your notes? I also record the "Amount of Shared DNA" result which you can find for each match by clicking on the little "I" icon next to the Confidence Level (e.g. Confidence: High  i  ).

3. I use Excel to record shared matches. This becomes very time-consuming but it reveals all sorts of matches that the Ancestry software doesn't.

I match to A and we share a match with X
I match to B and we share a match with Y
I match to C and we share a match to X and Y.

Therefore I deduce that X and Y are related and A is also related to Y and B to X and C is connected to A and B as well!(dodgy I know but it works for me). The reason I do this is because Ancestry only reports shares with 4th cousins or closer. So when you've finished processing your 4th to 6th cousins, you will suddenly find 5th to 8th cousins connecting two of your connections hitherto unconnected in Ancestry. I have one progenitor who is an ancestor of 28 (and counting) matches of whom over half don't show him as a shared match!

Although you will find some shared matches in the "moderate" confidence matches, always keep your 4th to 6th up-to-date before venturing further into the depths.

Ancestry inserts new results into your pages in five days out of seven (presumably new tests?). These may result in new shared matches appearing in those individuals you have already examined but they are not highlighted in any way. I can see no alternative to trawling back through all your results to see if any new shared matches have emerged.

Forget all about Scandinavia, Western Europe and Ireland. It is rarely of any use (well, speaking as someone with English Irish, Scots and Welsh great-great-grandfathers).

Alternatively, you could open a bottle, of wine, light the fire and .....



Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 08 March 18 16:20 GMT (UK)
Thanks for that intense response :)


I am too dim to understand -- the lights gone out  :( 

other things pulling my brain to pieces at the moment.

BUT I do appreciate and will reflect on your wonderful comments.. if and when I gather myself.


xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 08 March 18 18:42 GMT (UK)
This doggy cannot put the bone down....


please can someone explain the percentage on this??

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Thursday 08 March 18 19:30 GMT (UK)
Xin, You are correct, you cannot put the bone down!!

Don't concentrate too much on ethnicity results, they appear unreliable. However, I will try to explain them as much as I can.

Your ethnicity shows 70% Western European, 26% Scottish and Irish, 0lus small amounts of others, as you can see.

This is not within your paper trail limits, but supposedly refers to your roots from thousands of years ago.  Whether you take any notice of this is up to you, I personally haven't taken much notice of mine. They are not generally considered to be reliable, though ancestry peddle their tests as being accurate for ethnicity - who can prove them wrong?

Your clip shows ancestors from your tree, concentrated in SE England, a few from SW England. The dotted lines could indicate emigration, or perhaps a mistake on Ancestry's part in interpreting your locations!

Hope this helps a bit. The best advice is, as diplodicus says, slow down. Experiment a bit, make a few contacts, make a few notes.

And don't panic!!

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Finley 1 on Thursday 08 March 18 19:57 GMT (UK)
Thank you all.

yes  time to leave it for a while..  ??? ::) ;D

and get 'a life'   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

xin
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Sinann on Friday 16 March 18 16:42 GMT (UK)
Got my results today.
No surprises in the ethnicity result although you would be scratching you head in an amused way at being 76% Ireland, Scotland and Wales and 19% Great Britain. Scotland and Wales are part of Great Britain last I looked so I wonder how much overlap there is there.

As someone who doesn't have a tree on Ancestry the matches were interesting.
Most don't have trees.
The top two I found interesting purely from how matching works point of view.
My mother's sister moved to England, married and had a family there, so her children are my first cousins, her grand children my second cousins.
Lets say she had 3 children A 1st, B 1st, and C 1st, and their children A 2nd, B 2nd and C 2nd.
My result with these six people is
A 1st match, has no tree, A 2nd nothing
B 1st nothing, B 2nd nothing has a tree on Ancestry.
C 1st nothing, C 2nd match has a tree on Ancestry.

It will be interesting to see if I put a tree on if that result will change any.
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: sugarfizzle on Friday 16 March 18 17:06 GMT (UK)
You've lost me there, Sinann, but your results won't change if you put a tree up. 

The testing is done in the lab and the matching is done between different people in the database, without paying any regard to your tree.  Ancestry and other testing companies will only look at your respective trees after those first steps have been carried out.

Regards Margaret
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Janelle on Sunday 18 March 18 11:56 GMT (UK)
xinia,

.....
My advice to you is to sloooow down. Diving into the gene pool ...

I would suggest the following:

1. Load your test results to both gedmatch.com and ftdna.com. ...

2. With your Ancestry matches, I would recommend following a few of your closest matches and sweating them as hard as you can to see where that gets you. Use the gold star icon and the blue "new" buttons to help you filter matches ....

2.Use the "Add note" function. I record all my shared matches' names and the latest date I looked. This way you can click on the note icon to read what it says ....

3. I use Excel to record shared matches. This becomes very time-consuming but it reveals all sorts of matches that the Ancestry software doesn't.

I match to A and we share a match with X
I match to B and we share a match with Y
I match to C and we share a match to X and Y.

Therefore I deduce that X and Y are related and A is also related to Y and B to X and C is connected to A and B as well! ....
... when you've finished processing your 4th to 6th cousins, you will suddenly find 5th to 8th cousins connecting two of your connections hitherto unconnected ....

...

Ancestry inserts new results into your pages ....  These may result in new shared matches appearing in those individuals you have already examined ..... I can see no alternative to trawling back through all your results
....

Alternatively, you could open a bottle, of wine, light the fire and .....

Thankyou diplodocus,

Very sound advice !!

I was doing the spreadsheet messily before, but have got it sorted now.

We’re in Australia,
half Scots Irish,
quarter Catholic south Irish, quarter Devon Somerset.

Mass exodus of our families of Scots Irish and Somerset folks to America during late 1700’s to 1890’s so 95% of the matches are in USA.

Our 1st cousin on mum’s side has also done AncestryDNA. Brilliant benchmark for the Scots Irish half, yay.
If the match shares with that cousin it gets the star.

We didn’t realise that some matches are disguised from matching with this first cousin.
Only by using the spreadsheet and methodically flipping through the matches did we catch John Smith matching her and so drawing the 13 others he matched over to the starry side.

my Warrens and the rest of our cousindom remains unlit.

Do wish there was a brtter way than trawling the listing to find folks.

Control F? ;D ;D

The search function at the top is not useful - very few matches use a surname, I can’t make it find cryptic usernames or initials.

l have put the shared matches in strict order as they appeared in Ancestry, down the workbook and across the columns.

Colour coding for clusters within a family, is one way to clarify relationships, and to rationalise all the similar initials.

Salute,
Janelle
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: diplodicus on Sunday 18 March 18 13:11 GMT (UK)
All that sounds very familiar Janelle,

I too colour-code but for likely ethnicity (red for Welsh, green for Irish, etc.) and have given each separate set of connections a letter. I've worked through the alphabet once and have now reached "ag"! By using letters, I can then use the Excel 'Filter' function to display just one set of connections. Doing this reveals all sorts of connections not made obvious by Ancestry.

I record the names of each shared match in the notes section to help me check whether or not any newly-arrived test results are also a match.

Also, in the notes section,  I record the letter  (A, B, etc.) for each match to speed up finding a specific set of "cousins".

It has been very useful for me to have a both a paternal and a maternal first cousin who have tested. It helps me place someone firmly in the right half of my tree.

It is still a little frustrating that I have to regularly visit every 4-6th cousin since Ancestry doesn't reset them to "new" (blue dot against the match) when a new arrival matches to them.

If all this sounds time-consuming, it is!!!
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Janelle on Sunday 18 March 18 23:43 GMT (UK)
Yup, diplodocus,

I only have to work thru potentially half of our 266 matches.
And with 3 pairs of kissing cousins at 3rd or 4th great grandparents my pedigree is concentrated to a limited number of interconnected surnames, so I have a column for the known surname of the cluster, and can filter in a similar way. Yay ;D

Early days, work in progress,

Janelle
Title: Re: DNA results are back!
Post by: Aldon Grisdale on Sunday 24 January 21 20:29 GMT (UK)
It was through Ancestry. The 1% Scandinavian was a shock because my surname is Grisdale which is from Mungrisdale, Matterdale and this is Viking for pig valley!

Hi paulsue38

Tested BigY with FTDNA and whole genome with Dante, upload Yfull. No other Grisdales on FTDNA and not tested Ancestry. Be interested to know who you match with on ancestry. My confirmed haplogroup is I-BY34708, which is of Scandinavian origin.