RootsChat.Com
General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: kugate on Wednesday 06 February 08 08:38 GMT (UK)
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Were you happy with it?
Have you managed to obtain any matches/near matches from their database?
John
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John, you've asked the very question that I've been meaning to ask for a while. The only thing I've seen about about this testing is on the web-site by a chap named Alan Hardisty who is compiling a data-base of all the Hardisty's around the world and he said on his web-site that he had one done. I haven't gone back to visit the thread he started for a while, but he was asking for reports from all those who had the DNA testing done and what the outcome had been. If you want to have a look his URL is
http://www.hardistyfamilytree.com
Alan will be happy to discuss any queries you have, I found him very helpful
kind regards,
Jill
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Hi Jill, Sorry I didn't reply earlier. Thank you very much for the info, I will pop off and have a look at the link.
John
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Hi, I Have not done the Ancestry DNA test,My son bought me the Genographic Project kit for christmas, still waiting for the results. I will let you know when I recieve them, knowing my luck, it will say I became extinct 5 million years ago. Best wishes Clive
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I have not heard of this.
Do you mean Ancestry as in ancestry.com or is this a different thing?
I would be very interested in giving it a try, provided their database is large enough to make a good result likely (and if it's not too expensive!).
- Belinda.
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Hi Belinda,
Yes it is advertised on Ancestry.com. As mentioned in my previous post there is an Alan Hardisty who is tracking the results for his Hardisty line on his web-site. His test was inconclusive and he had bought a test for someone else purporting to be from a Hardisty ancestor from the 1500s.
It is expensive enough, that I would want to be sure about the validity of the results, but it sounds very interesting, just maybe needs more people in the data-base than there is at the moment.
You can check out Alan's initiative at the web-site I listed above, to track their test results as they come in.
Cheer,
Jill
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Thanks Jill,
I will check it out.
- Belinda.
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I had the Ancestry.Com DNA test about a year ago. Had a few matches, like 4th cousins etc, but nothing close. I took a AU$50 deal for a month at a higher search level, but not that great, got a few immigration records, checked a few census stuff etc, but they want you to keep upgrading higher. my one month trial finishes next week, won't pay for another one. I am in Australia and only have siblings here, plus the usual kids and grandkids, born here. Few Aunts in England and a half sister, not much to trace really, but have traced my family line back to 1750 on mother and father's side, both deceased. But when you you come from Carter and Butcher lines, there are zillions of them, lol. Take care all.
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Yes, I recommend beginning with ancestry dna test. They have the largest database of tested individuals. You can then download your dna file and upload it to My Heritage and FTDNA for free and expand your potential matches further. Ancestry has over 15 million tests.
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This thread is about 13 years old NSWP, so replies may not be relevant as things have changed over the years. John may already have taken the test some time in the past decade.
If so, it will be interesting to see how he got on. :)
Just to add to JohnDoe’s reply - uploading raw data to FTDNA and My Heritage is free, but there is a cost involved to access certain features.
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Thank you, I did not realise it was such an old thread.
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John was logged in recently, so he should get notification of your reply. It’s always good to find out how people got on after posting their original questions. :)
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Yes, I have had an Ancestry dna test and am very dubious about the results. Their initial assertion was that my dna was 96% English, 2% Irish and 2% Scandinavian. although the Scandinavian bit surprised me slightly I reasoned thar it was so small as to probably date back into the mists of time. The Iriash component seems to have come from my father's maternal grandfather
Over time Ancestry's estimates changed. I lost my 2% Viking and a couple of percent English in favour of 4% northern European, which I considered reasonable as their database grew and became potentially more accurate.
Then, recently, my belief in Ancestry dna tests was blown right out of the water. I had my Scandinavian dna back, this time ascribed at 3% to Sweden but my English component had plummeted to 70% along with a Scottish estimate of 25% and 2% undefined.
I have been researching for about 20 years and have identified all of my ancestors as having come from Warwickshire and Leicestershire right back to 1640. I have over 12,000 names on my tree, not one of whom, so far as I have been able to determine, has ever set foot in Scotland, let alone been born there. Furthermore, a figure of 25% would appear to suggest a fairly recent Scottish ancestor and I can be absolutely certain of the English origins of all of my grandparents, great grandparents and several earlier layers of ancestry.
Just to make matters more interesting, the original information provided ny Ancestry even got my eye colour wrong.
All of this said, the test has proven worthwhile as it has connected me with a wide variety of hitherto unknown relatives, many of whom have been able to further widen my knowledge.
Keith
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Try this film.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9hbE4Vihf4g
I have a similar problem. I have no knowledge of the origin of 10% of a certain ethnicity, but a similar DNA match (13.5cM, largest segment 7.3cM) informed that his ancestors arrived into the town where my maternal grandparents were born, and I am finding it hard to accept, but it seems that one of my grandparents was fathered out of wedlock by one of his ancestors. There MIGHT be another connection, another common ancestor, but the time and location seem incontrovertible. I also have the same match with my match's mother. I do accept incredible coincidences do happen.
Study the documents, but DNA doesn't lie, it just has various interpretations. You only need one illicit relationship to ruin a vast amount of research.
Zaph, older but wiser.
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Ethnic percentages are a guide only. You are probably wasting your time trying to find that ancestor who gave you your 2% X Ethnicity, especially as they may disappear at the next update.
There is a lot on the internet about the accuracy, or not, of these percentages. Just one example:
https://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-help-and-how-to/understanding-dna-results/
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Ruskie, Yes I've read that and I totally agree. However my surprising 10% (not 2%) matches the 10% from my DNA match who is 3 or four Generations down from what was probably 100%. Combined with the fact that his grandfather or great-grandfather started a business, thousands of miles away, in the street next to where my grandparents were born, in the same year, is very hard to ignore. Yes, it could be coincidence, and I've had some surprising coincidences in my life, but if I am not making the right assumption then something even more bizarre will be the the true assessment.
I will admit to not being QUITE sure of this to spring it on my older family members. I'm not even going to give them the evidence, and let them make their own interpretation of the facts.
Zaph
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My example of 2% was not aimed at you specifically Zaphod. Questions about ethnicity percentages are a recurring topic on rootschat, with many people looking to find which ancestor they got their tiny X% ethnicity from.
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I'm not at all concerned about 2%. As Ruskie says, it may well disappear at the next update. What does concern me is the downright ridiculous suggestion that I have 25% Scottish dna. My English lineage is so well documented as to completely preclude any possibility of such a high percentage being accurate.
Keith
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That 25% "Scottish" could be due to how the company groups various ethnicities, it could have come from elsewhere (such as a European country) and be grouped in with "Scottish", you could have inherited more DNA from an earlier ancestor (unrecorded/unknown/before written records) than expected. Populations are interconnected and don't conform to geographical borders ....
Of course, despite having a well researched "English" lineage, you may also have to consider an NPE somewhere along the line. :)
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Righto,
This may be an old post...however, we are reading and keeping it going now.
Yes, I have done a DNA test with Ancestry, and as a person who has traced my tree fairly extensively prior to doing so, was happily surprised to find that my research was correct. (There's always a bit of being unsure when there are language barriers etc.)
But that's what Rootschatters are very good at...helping out!!!
My countries were spot on.
The test did bring up some 2nd cousins who I met through Ancestry but I have been disappointed with 3rd and 4th cousins who have trees and do not reply to my messages.
I wonder why they undertake a dna test and don't want to follow through.
Cheers
Chris
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I occasionally have to explain to others on other genealogy forums or FB groups what an NPE is. "Not parent expected" or "Non paternal event". If an ancestor had a dalliance with the milkman while hubby was a master mariner out at sea much of the time. :o
But no I have not done an Ancestry DNA test, not for just ethnicity estimates, as they seem a total waste of time. But have considered doing a common DNA test to find cousins. Autosomal DNA tends to run out after about 6 generations so I heard.
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To Keith -
If you are referring to Ancestry's 2020 ethnicity update then you are not the only one with "extra Scottish" this time around...
A couple of articles:
https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/why-your-latest-results-could-include-more-scotland-in-your-ethnicity-estimates/
https://dna-explained.com/2020/09/20/ancestry-releases-updated-ethnicity-estimates-hope-you-still-have-your-kilt/
C
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Thanks Carmella, those were very interesting but I remain unconvinced. I can see that I may have inherited Scottish dna from an ancestor or ancestors so distant and remote as to be untraceable but that would not produce a 25% response. When I compare it to my 2% Irish dna, which comes from a paternal 4th gt grandfather born in 1749 I can't help but wonder how much nearer to the modern day a potential Scottish ancestor must have lived to provide such a high reading. As I said in an earlier post, I have the documentation (BMD certs and PRs) to prove my lineage back to the mid 17th century and Scotland doesn't even appear, so how close a relative would I need to have in order to show such a high reading?
Keith
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DNA is passed down randomly. Carmella’s links explain how the ethnic percentages are calculated and why they vary, or may not be as you expect.
Have you uploaded your raw data to other companies such as My Heritage and FTDNA to see what percentages they give you? As an example of differences, FTDNA says I am 2% Scandinavian - My Heritage says I am 29.4% Scandinavian. ;) I haven’t tested with Ancestry.
Also, documentation is well and good, but fibs could have been told as to parentage which in some cases could skew percentages. :)
The general advice is not to take the percentages as gospel.
It is interesting to see the numbers in the reference panels for various regions and how they are determined. For some areas there are quite low numbers. There are numerous articles about this. One example here:
https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/2019/6/6/dna-ethnicity-estimation-reference-panels
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Yes I've done one. English, Scots, Irish and Scandinavian. Had great records prior to test on paternal side - Scots and Irish. Not so much on maternal side, but primarily English East Midlands and Somerset. Her maiden name unusual and relatively hard to find connections. However, test did help a distant cousin find me (from maternal side) and we've been collaborating ever since. As to Scandinavian, the Vikings were certainly active in England, Ireland and Scotland and probably have a lot to answer for !
Anne McNeill
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I would ask anyone mentioning ethnicity what they mean by ethnicity!
The countries of the UK have been subject to immigration for centuries, they have never been isolated communities and therefore contain DNA from not only Europe but from practically all over the world.
Added to that we do not inherit all our mother's DNA or all our father's DNA but a mixture of each and siblings each inherit a different proportion of that mixture.
In practice this means that virtually any person in the UK may show traces of DNA attributed to any region of the world.
The ethnicity estimate proportions tell you almost as much about the testing company and their dataset as it does about your DNA specimen.
Cheers
Guy
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I have uploaded my dna onto FTDNA, LivingDNA, MyHeritage and AncestryDNA. AncestryDNA appears to be the most accurate, I am 63% Irish and 37% Scottish, that summarises my paper trail well.
I don't believe that my Scottish percentages are exaggerated, I think a lot of Americans classify Ulster Scots dna as 'Irish'. I have noticed also that there is a high tendency for Northern English to score large percentages of Scottish on this update. I would think this would be due to the shared links between Northern England and Scotland.
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It is indeed annoying when finding other Ancestry users with common ancestry, who don't bother answering their messages. Why did they take a test or create even a partial tree, if not to pursue their interests.
I initially took a test to try and find out more about an illegitimate great-grandfather. And having a distinct olive complexion and slight oriental look to my eyes when smiling, found no "exotic" connections and of course hit a brickwall re illegitimacy.
Really don't care about ethnicity per se, just an amateur genealogist seeking ancestors and their history.
Current research interests are:
Killingley and Raven families, Nottinghamshire
Godfrey family, Somerset
Cheers
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There is no such thing as "Jewish DNA" or "English DNA". They are certain DNA types that are found among people from certain areas of the country/world etc. I am sure if you went back far enough every British person with all traceable British ancestors will find very distant ancestors from outside Europe, such as the Middle East and Asian and then Africa. It is said we all originate from Africa anyway if we go back far enough and I agree totally.
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I would always recommend to test with Ancestry first, because you can then upload to many other Sites from there.
I originally tested with Ancestry and then uploaded to Gedmatch, FTDNA and My Heritage. I then also tested with Living DNA and 23andme.
However, I’m still stuck with my quest to find my paternal grandfather, and so this is still ongoing for me.
Romilly.
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The ethnicity estimate proportions tell you almost as much about the testing company and their dataset as it does about your DNA specimen.
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I couldn't agree more Guy and until I find some direct evidence, however slight, of Scottish ancestry I shall continue to view Ancestry tests and estimates with extreme suspicion.
Keith
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I bit the bullet (i.e. payed a load of money) for a test. It came back much quicker than I'd expected, but didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from my own research.It gave some very precice and impressive percentages such as, "46% England and Northwestern Europe", but what did that really tell me about where my ancestors came from when I already knew they came from Normandy?To sum up: clever but useless IMHO.
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I’m not sure what you expected to learn about “where your ancestors came from”, but if you do a bit of research you will find out that the ethnicity is a rough guide only, as discussed in this and many other threads, and a multitude of online articles on the subject.
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I bit the bullet (i.e. payed a load of money) for a test. It came back much quicker than I'd expected, but didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from my own research.It gave some very precice and impressive percentages such as, "46% England and Northwestern Europe", but what did that really tell me about where my ancestors came from when I already knew they came from Normandy?To sum up: clever but useless IMHO.
As Ruskie mentioned, ethnicity is a rough guide, but you possibly might learn interesting things in the future. While we really couldn’t afford the tests (several family members took them), I am very happy that we did.
Some of the DNA matches confirmed the research I had already done on my own. (Sadly, I’m the type that wants 110% guarantee that I’ve found the correct ancestors.)
My initial results didn’t have any Scottish but years after taking the test, they’ve changed their algorithms(?) enough that I have an estimate of 32% which is good to see as I was told by a clan member that my Stuart ancestor at one point lived in Scotland (my brickwall ancestor was born in Sligo, Ireland). [Note: I do realize that the Scotland result includes more than just Scotland but it’s still nice to see.]. ;D
Perhaps in the future your estimates might be more defined. There’s always a chance that you could find a lead by communicating with a DNA match. You most likely will find unknown distant relatives and you could find some skeletons in the closet. Taking the test might also at least satisfy your curiosity, but of course, your estimates might eventually change a bit.
Since your test didn’t tell you anything new, I hope in the future you are satisfied or even pleased that you did try. All the best with your research, Lisa
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Knowing all my ancestors came from Central and Eastern Europe for generations, I was shocked that Ancestry threw in a very small % of Scots and Welsh on each side of my DNA test analysis.
Then I read it is a fact of history that thousands of Scots emigrated to Poland in the 16 century....
So perhaps it does make sense?
https://flemish.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2015/11/13/migration-from-scotland-before-1700/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20important%20destinations%20for%20Scottish,opportunities%20offered%20there%20by%20the%20existing%20social%20system.
"One of the most important destinations for Scottish emigrants in the early modern period was Poland, which by the middle of the seventeenth century was the home of around 30,000 Scots. Some had arrived as Catholic refugees, many others as economic migrants attracted by opportunities offered there by the existing social system."
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Re coombs comment
& To prove how ethnicity can be useful
This is my mother's DNA breakdown compared to her second cousin
My mother's grandfather was Latvian Jewish
Her other grandparents had Welsh and English origins with one Scottish great great grandmother
All of her second cousins grandparents were from Latvia or Russia all Jewish
If my mother has any new matches I can always tell if they connect thru this grandfather !
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It's fascinating to see the questions asked at the start of this thread in 2008
Thanks for reviving the thread
Since then not only has my mother tested but I tested then my late paternal aunt
Followecd by 2 maternal cousins and a nephew so I can make comparisons across 3 generations.
My aunts DNA has helped other people identify their Scottish ancestor
Here's an interesting comparison from a distant match
haven't yet found the common ancestor .
But a similar one in Canada linked to my Scottish gold prospecting relative . If a match only has 1 Scottish ancestor from shared matches I can tell them which of my aunt's grandparents they connect to