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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: carol80 on Saturday 24 August 24 22:28 BST (UK)
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Hi, I know nothing about DNA.
1. I am thinking about taking a DNA test. But who with? Ancestry has so many wrong trees so am I wasting my money testing with them. Mind you other sites are just as bad so is it worth a go.
2. My late husband was adopted is it worth my son taking a DNA test to see if we can trace my son's grandfather.
Basic questions but as I said I know nothing about DNA.
Any help would be much appreciated
Carol (NZ)
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Without doubt an Ancestry DNA test is the one to go for, simply because they have vastly more test takers than all the others added together (more or less).
Who ever you go with you will find tree errors, user names that offer no clues, no trees at all etc.
Yes it is worth your Son taking an Ancestry DNA test as well and one of your Cousins from each side of your family.
Only buy them when on offer which can be £59.99 plus postage, return postage is free. The sample if first posted to Ireland where they are collected then sent to the Labs in the USA, this part can take up to three weeks. For an extra £10 you can get Priority Processing and for the lest test I sent it took 4 weeks from putting the sample in the post to receiving the results.
Sign up to this free DNA Genealogy course.
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy
If you read this thread it should help.
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863488.0
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Also
Buy this book
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I use Ancestry but with only one test I obviously can't compare with other sites so can't be much help there. You are right that there are so many trees that are utterly atrocious but I have managed to DNA connect quite a lot of my family paperwork, which is nice. I also managed to prove I had the right suspect family for a fatherless illegitimacy and have big suspicions about a different illegitimacy on a different branch. It also brings confusion and mystery though, since I have a number of people in DNA clumps where I can't work out how they are supposed to be related.
When it comes to your son, it will of course depend on who else has tested for him to match against, but at least if you and he test on the same site he will be able to determine which of his matches are maternal and which must be paternal. He may get close relatives or he may get cousins (of various degrees of separation) on his paternal side and begin to cobble together a tree based on common ancestors with them.
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Just had a quick read but will read later to absorb what you have said.
No Cousins I'm afraid.
Husband only child. (that we know of)
On my side, Mother and Father are both only children.
I am in New Zealand and both Ancestry and MY Heritage have specials till 1st September which is Father's Day here.
Thank you for replying.
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I have just tested with Ancestry, it took around 2 weeks for the test kit to arrive and nearly 6 weeks from posting the test to them. I would wait and see what results and matches you get before spending more money on books, I bought the book and have not found it useful so far. There is plenty of good advice on here.
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Ancestry is best as you can download your results and upload them to My Heritage for free. I have very different matches on both sites so it’s been really useful.
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My reply doesn’t answer your question, but perhaps some of it may be helpful. In no particular order…
As you may have read previously, are you prepared for any unexpected results. Personally, I would rather know the truth but I helped a family friend with his tree (just his tree, not DNA testing) and he was devastated when he found out his ancestors were from a different country than what he was told his whole life.
When you take the test, make sure you closely follow the instructions. Hubby, our younger son and I took the test at the same time, it took three tests before hubby received results. (Thankfully, we only had to pay for his first test.)
I am quite interested in looking through others’ trees when I’m bored. When I see an error I just move on to the next tree. I never copy their trees but do keep in mind their findings and do my own research.
A friend had his DNA tested. We found out his maternal grandfather was not his biological grandfather but apparently was someone who married his grandmother late into her pregnancy. Due to numerous extended family members having their DNA tested prior to my friend’s test, we found his biological grandfather’s family rather quickly (we have not yet narrowed down which brother was the bio grandfather, though). Also, we found several photographs in the Ancestry trees - friend’s mother looked very similar to her half-sister, friend also looked like his “cousin”.
Perhaps you’ll be just as fortunate with your outcomes.
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Keep in mind that with an Ancestry DNA test, you will need to keep up your subscription to get full benefits from your results. They are gradually reducing the number of basic features which you can see without a sub, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are further reductions in the pipeline on what you can view for free. They are also adding features which require an additional subscription.
I took an Ancestry DNA test about 18 months ago and since then some features that used to be included, have now been removed, I find it to be of limited use.
My bad luck, but most matches I have contacted have not replied. I suspect a lot of people are only seeking ethncity (the ads have worked) and are not interested in family tree research.
A lot of people have better experiences with Ancestry than I have, and yes, definitely upload your raw data to other companies.
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Ancestry is best as you can download your results and upload them to My Heritage for free. I have very different matches on both sites so it’s been really useful.
Rebecca’s advice is the way to go.
Test with Ancestry.
Download a copy of the DNA test results and upload the file to My Heritage, Family Tree DNA and My Heritage.
Depending upon where the mystery parents were from a DNA test with 23&Me may yield results (they are the second biggest) but you cannot upload to them you have to buy one of their tests.
Your Husband received half his DNA from each of his biological parents. From his Father he would receive his Father’s yDNA and from his Mother, her mtDNA. He would pass on the yDNA to your Son but not his copy of his Mother’s mtDNA. You passed on your mtDNA to your Son but he in turn will only pass on his Father’s yDNA. Hence at some point in the future your Son could also take a yDNA test, this only looks at DNA that is passed Male to Male to Male to Male etc. & it could give a lead as to the Biological Paternal line of you Son.
For now reading the book and reading up on using DNA will be quite a task in itself.
Once the test is analysed you will be presented with a list of DNA Matches, that is people who you share family DNA with and a value will be given such as 449 cM, the cM means centimorgan which is the unit of measurement.
The higher the cM value the closer the relationship.
I chose 449 cM as an example as that is the value you will be looking at for DNA matches with your Son’s DNA test. If either of your Husband’s biological parents had any other children they would be a Half Aunt or Uncle and the children of these would be a Half First Cousin to your Son and the 449 cM value is an average of the shared DNA between Half 1C’s.
With either your test or your Son’s then to get unknown close matches linked into your tree can require a waiting game so do be patient and stick at it, results will come.
Good luck in your quest.
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There is great advice in a DNA masterclass and newsletters on the Lost Cousins website. You can sign up free to the website and newsletter. Or a very low annual subscription.
https://www.lostcousins.com/
The newsletter is produced about twice a month and is full of fascinating tips plus links to previous newsletters.
Enjoy.
And...
You can also upload your Ancestry DNA file to Gedmatch in order to compare with people's tests from other sites.
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Has to be an Ancestry test in my book, the sheer numbers of results in their database dwarfs every other company by a very large margin and it's the most portable of all so can be added to multiple other sites.
I'm adopted but know who my bioparents are (both long deceased), and have 20 years of traditional research under my belt. Both my mother and paternal grandmother have certs claiming their parents to be married, through DNA that I know the paper trail is wrong but without the DNA result I'd still be adding the wrong family to a flawed tree, buying worthless certificates and chasing down items on ebay connected to an unusual surname. The amount I've spent on ebay alone could buy a dozen Ancestry tests but alas they won't take land indentures, codd and stoneware bottles or a collection of ovr 15 postcard portaits by one photographer as payment.
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Anyone not finding Blaine's book absolutely essential and useful has probably got it upside down.
Mrs Zaph
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Anyone not finding Blaine's book absolutely essential and useful has probably got it upside down.
Mrs Zaph
Surely that would depend on the results people get from their DNA tests. If they find that what they have already researched is correct or the information that is forthcoming from the results of the test is really helpful and gets them the information they were after then purchase of the book would not be necessary.
People do tests for different reasons, some get really involved with further research once their results come others can't be bothered. All I was saying was .....
I would wait and see what results and matches you get before spending more money on books, I bought the book and have not found it useful so far. There is plenty of good advice on here.
To some the price of the test itself was an expense that was a luxury and to spend a further £10 plus on a book when they first do the test that they may not need is to my mind not necessary. Wait and see what the results bring and see if your queries can be answered on here, after all there must be enough of you with the book to help others with their queries. I have passed my book on for the time being to someone who is more interested than I am. ;D
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"calm down dear" as my distant cousin Michael Winner used to say in that advert. I wasn't addressing anyone in particular I was just commending the book.
Mrs Zaph
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Not sure why you felt I need to calm down, like you I was just posting a comment ::)
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For me, the tests are a big outlay.
I do not belong to any sites as they are outside my budget.
If I do not have an Ancestry sub will I still be able to see matches?
I have the biological mother's side. Had help from his cousin through Ancestry when I had a sub.
Father's side is unknown. The only information is New Zealand Soldier.
I am based in New Zealand, but I have to pay for everything in Australian dollars which incurs extra charges.
Carol
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You can view certain aspects of your DNA results without a subscription, read this article from Ancestry for the detail.
https://support.ancestry.co.uk/s/article/AncestryDNA-and-Memberships
There are ways around it if you are sharing research with another person and they have an Ancestry subscription, you take the test and assign them as the test manager. My Cousin and Sister have done this and I manage their test results, I can see the matches, compare etc. I then share the results with them.
Alternately, you could sign up on a monthly subscription bases, blitz everything and cancel the auto renewal. The downside is that you need an understanding of DNA to be effective in using the results in the limited time period you have everything available.
Being in NZ may complicate things slightly with the terms and conditions of using Ancestry possibly being different plus offers may be different to what we have here in the UK. As a guide we can get years subscription to Ancestry Worldwide for £89.99, and to get this we can do this online or via contacting ancestry Support by telephone.
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There is also a cheaper sub just for DNA tools.
Or wait for a special offer sub for a month or so, and make a note to cancel before the higher rate kicks in.
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Carol, as an example, Ancestry used to show maternal and paternal matches without a subscription, which can be quite useful. Now you need a subscription to view that feature.
You used to be able to view all common matches ie matches to yourself and a n other match. Now that has been reduced to only showing three common matches without a subscription. This is very restricting and renders the test results not necessarily useless, but verging on useless in my opinion.
I hope I’ve got that right. :)
There are probably other features that have been removed which I haven’t noticed as I don’t use it much any more as I no longer have a sub.
I agree with the others when they recommend Ancestry but only because you can upload your raw data to My Heritage, FTDNA etc. Ancestry do not return the favour, so will not accept raw data from other testing companies.
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Thank you all for your advice.
My son is not that interested and would not buy a sub. I would have to manage his DNA results.
I am prepared for anything as I have many illegitimate children on my side of the tree.
I am hoping I can get him interested when/if we get results on his father's side.
Once again thank you.
Carol
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I have just bought 2 Tests and I have a sub until 28 October. So we will see how it all goes.
My Son will test in December when I see him.
Carol
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Good luck Carol.
I’m sure you will find it worthwhile. Your son may not be interested enough to buy a subscription and do the work to connect the dots, but I’m sure he will be interested in what you discover.
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Good luck Carol.
Not sure how things work over there but here in the UK we mail our tests to Ireland where they are re-packaged and then sent to the Laboratory in the USA.
I manage a relatives DNA following a test that they took in July and it took two weeks just for its status to change to Received. I paid an extra £10 for Priority Processing and from the post being collected in England to receiving the results took only 3 weeks where typically it can be from 6-12 weeks.
One more thing you could do once you receive the DNA results is to sign up for Ancestry’s Pro Tools.
Sorry it is another expense but a month subscription is worth it IMO just to be able to see how much cM not only what you share with a DNA Match but you also see what the cM the Shared Matches between you share with the DNA match in question, this in turn can help narrow down relationship probabilities or at the very least give clues as to who in amongst the DNA matches you should prioritise for your research.
Again sorry for the length of that statement but with DNA Matches it is not necessarily the high ones that offer the best route to problem solving.
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I think I will be back here asking questions. But I'll give it a go.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.
To all those who have contributed many thanks.
Carol
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Pro Tools features work with any dna test you manage, not just your own, which can be quite handy at times.
I do know that Ancestry are trialling extended pro tools subs at a discount to American subscribers but nothing mentioned for UK subs at present. Once all the excitement dies down and people realise that on a month by month basis they aren't seeing the quantity and quality of matches to justify continuous monthly renewals the longer term cheaper deals might be a better option.
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Carol, you might want to consider adding your objective clearly in your profile on Anc. In practice it is sometimes easier for your matches to identify a common line than it is for you to do so, especially if you are just starting out with DNA match lists. Adding that to your profile hopefully will make it more likely for matches to contact you if they do see a common line.
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The way DNA testers present their details can be terrible.
Who is user “joe12345” ?
Especially if he has no Family Tree.
The user has a Female name like “Carol80”, who is she and without her birth name there is not a lot to go on.
So do include a basic family tree in Ancestry, yourself, parents and grandparents and include locations.
Being able to be identified will encourage DNA matches to Message you and or build you into their tree. People in your Ancestry Tree who are still alive will show up to others as Private.
Do watch the Ancestry tutorials that are available.
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My tree is the Miller family, and I have used my maiden name.
I have noticed another Miller tree with the same people as me.
My father changed his name in the 1950s so I need to find out which one of my relatives it is. My brother-in-law also has a tree for his family.
None have done DNA that I know of.
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Were your Miller’s from the Dorset Somerset area?
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The other miller tree could be someone building for an in law or a friend have they got a home person? Is their information about your relatives correct
I always suggest naming trees after 4 grandparents & add DNA to title if the tree is linked to a test
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I have just seen this thread. The thing I noticed was in post 4 where you mentioned having no cousins. I am exactly the same it that respect. My father had only one brother, who never married, and none of my mother's sisters had any children either, so I have no first cousins whatsoever.
When I got my Ancestry DNA results, I had some 26 000 matches, of which a little over 500 were classed as close matches. That has since risen during the past 4 years or so to 37 000, of which over 850 are considered as close matches.
I am slowly attempting to work through as many of the close matches as I can- it can be frustrating (my closest match of all has no trees at all, for example) but it has helped add a generation or two to some branches and confirm some "educated guesses."
I personally find the Thrulines option very useful, but it is important to keep in mind that, exactly as Ancestry actually say themselves, Thrulines are just a specialised form of hint, so treat them with the same caution as you would any other hint.
One piece of advice I would give is whenever possible, make a tree on Ancestry as wide as possible - the wider it is, the more chance of finding the link with 4th, 5th etc cousins. Note that tree does not need to be the one linked to the DNA results, nor does it have to be public (though it does need to be a searchable tree I think). A while back I came across a marriage on Ancestry, checked it on Scotland's People, and subsequently added the husband and four daughters to my private, research tree (ie not my public DNA linked one). Two days later, a DNA match appeared on Thrulines through one of the daughters, and I was able to confirm the connection via Scotland's People and by messaging my match. (The fact that everyone on both lines was born, married and died in Scotland helped of course.)
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I am a bit the same. Both parents are only children. (My father had a brother who died age 12 )
My Grandfather on Mum's side had a brother who produced 1 Child (still living)and a sister who never married.
My Grandfather on my dad's side was an only child.
I have got both trees back to families that are reproducing a lot of children.
I will investigate the other Miller tree as they have some of the same relatives as me but I need to find out how they enter my tree.
The hardest tree will be my son as I have nothing on his grandfather but I do have a large tree on his grandmother's side.
The test has been sent. So I will begin a new journey through my family history.
My Tree is Miller Tree and I am Carol Biddiss. Feel free to have a look.
Thanks for all your help and encouragement.
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Sometimes you find that Captain Kirk and Mr Scott look to have time travelled with the starship Enterprise and beamed a relation down into existence in an earlier time.
I have a couple of later 19C births where the person concerned have no UK records at all until as if by magic, they appear when they get married.
Good luck in your quest.
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Changed my tree to Stonehouse Tree.
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The tests went off a couple of weeks ago on their way to Ireland.
My tree is Stonehouse tree (Carol Biddiss)
My son's tree is Biddiss/Thornhill (David Biddiss)
David is now in contact with one of his dad's cousins. There are about 16 of them.
I need to find out how to manage his account.
Carol
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The tests went off a couple of weeks ago on their way to Ireland.
My tree is Stonehouse tree (Carol Biddiss)
My son's tree is Biddiss/Thornhill (David Biddiss)
David is now in contact with one of his dad's cousins. There are about 16 of them.
I need to find out how to manage his account.
Carol
It is an easy task if it his tree you want to manage, but it is one your Son needs to do to give you full access to his tree.
In Ancestry > Create and Manage Trees
Select the tree.
Tree Settings > Invitations
+ Invite People
From the Invite Link
From ROLE use Drop Down to select EDITOR.
Then select Copy Link.
The link is copied to the Clipboard and it needs pasting into an email.
Conversely if you both have an Ancestry account and want to consolidate into a single account then the easy way is to create a GEDCOM for each of the trees in the unwanted account and import each into the wanted Ancestry account.
If this is what you want to do, to keep say your account then your Son can still access your account using either your log in detail or by you following the process listed to invite him to view and Edit his tree.
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We need two separate accounts.
My husband was adopted so my account has my husband as Doug (his adopted name) My son's account has his father as Ron (his birth name). We know his bio mum and this is on my son's account.
We have done DNA tests. I am trying to knock down a few walls hopefully. My son is looking for his bio grandfather.
My son is not interested in family history but wants to know about his dad's family.
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Just thought I would update you.
We found my son's grandfather.
One third cousin had a big tree, so I made different trees on my computer and managed to link in cousins who only had nine people in their tree. Death notices came in handy, as they gave me more names.
Now on to my tree to see if I can break down some of my brick walls.
Carol
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Great result, thanks for the the update.