The Times wants your views: DNA ethnicity results

[trystan]

"Niall of the Nine Sausages" might have been more interesting.

At least there would be a family link (link of sausages? Get it?)

Trystan

[patrexjax]

Being a female, I'm not sure that DNA testing wold necessarily help with my family tree roots.  Recent developments in DNA testing leave me confused, also.  Here in the USA a company had been advertising about their DNA testing but was told to change their advertising AND how they presented test results.  All very confusing.  I think for our tree, my Nephew testing his DNA might be more fruitful.  patrexjax

[3sillydogs]

I have a passing interest in the subject but don't think it would do much to further my research.

The cost is also a factor for something that may or may not be totally accurate.

[grandarog]

If national governments world wide established compulsory DNA testing at birth and on all existing folk to compile an international data base, terrorism and crime could gradually be eradicated and the DNA would then be available, if wanted, for Genealogical research.

[shellyesq]

Being a female, I'm not sure that DNA testing wold necessarily help with my family tree roots. 

Autosomal DNA testing works for males and females equally. 

I'm in the US, so I don't fit the parameters of this discussion, but I'm an adoptee and I found my biological father's family through Ancestry.com's autosomal DNA testing. 

The ethnicity results seem to match what I have on paper, but some of the descriptors that Ancestry uses for areas really cover a wider portion of land than you would think.  For example, I got sizeable portions of Scandinavia and Italy/Greece despite having neither of those exact countries in my paper trail.  Looking closer at Ancestry's map, their Scandinavia DNA is also found in Great Britain and Germany where I do have known ancestors.  The Italy/Greece area also covers Switzerland, which fits what I know.  I also had my husband test his DNA, and this pattern fit with his results too.

[jaybelnz]

Brilliant idea grandarog!  Connect it to Interpol - if that still exists!

[sillgen]

I have never considered DNA testing.     I do have, according to family folk lore, a supposed Danish ancestor.     Indeed, I have a portrait of "The Great Dane" hanging on the wall behind me.  As yet I have only been able to trace a possible man born in Germany.    If DNA would help with that conundrum then it might be something for the future.

[hlbradd]

It's something I'm interested in - but cost is a big issue at the moment.  If I could afford it, should I just have it done myself, or persuade my father (80) to have it done as well (as a way of filtering out my maternal side)?  How accurate/useful are the results likely to be?   I have, as far as I know, Irish, Huguenot, East Anglian, London ancestry mainly. 

Also, can I be sure that the company that does the testing won't decide that they can use my results for their own purposes even if that's against my wishes/best interests? 

There are one or two brickwalls in the early 1800s that would be nice to get through, and DNA testing might just provide enough of a clue in the right direction.

It's not an easy decision.


hlbradd

[oldhippyone]

my DNA results from ancestry are 62% europe west , 32% irish , 2% finland / west russia , 1% scandinavia , 1% GR BRITAIN , < 1% iberian peninsula , < 1% europe east , i havent found this any help in my research and only found one cousin all the other which ancestry say are possably my 4 or 5th cousins i dont recognise there names or place of births [ not english ], i have 12621 people in my tree and on parts went back to 15th century , all of my reatives are basicaly from north east england apart from a very small handful from ireland and a even smaller handfull from scotland , there were a few who emigrated to USA and canada BUT NOT A LOT AND THAT WAS IN MID 18HUNDREDS so im disapointed with my DNA i also gor my raw DNA and put it on gedmatch but still no relatives ,