DNA Why I urge caution

[Flattybasher9]

One thing that I find amusing about the whole gamut of DNA testing is, it takes a court order to get a DNA sample from an individual or a criminal suspect, but here in today's curious world, individuals are wavering their rights to privacy just for a bit of family history conjecture.

It's a funny old world. 

Malky

[BushInn1746]

Hello

I think this DNA testing is a load of buncombe!

In started a thread a few years ago (which was deleted!) entitled "DNA - Is It Bunkum?".
I stand by what I wrote back them, which was:
a) The science of DNA is sound,
b) The interpretation of results is more Marketing than Science

Hello KGarrad and All

Yes, DNA is a proven Science.

Unlike those who are only hoping for a sub-regional match of where their ancestors may have lived, I would want to find an unknown blood family relative who had a link to my male line about (or more than) 232 years ago, the current descendant of whom, has a DNA match to me.

It obviously can work, like the personal experience of my Niece who got a list of surnames from her DNA match, although it didn't give us any new descent ancestry backward. (Although it was interesting to compare our separate research backward and inform my Niece the origin of the female side of a more recent 1901 marriage, which I hope was forwarded).

But ...

But if the other DNA provider wants confidentiality, does not reply, or any match has gone to a competitor for a test, or NOT yet done a test (assuming an unknown family match descendant is still living), then a sub-regional break down is of little more value, than a gimmick?

Mark

Oh, and your Isle of Man is a beautiful place, the Manx are wonderful friendly people and we have enjoyed many holidays there.

[jc26red]

Unlike those who are only hoping for a sub-regional match of where their ancestors may have lived, I would want to find an unknown blood family relative who had a link to my male line about (or more than) 232 years ago, the current descendant of whom, has a DNA match to me

I belong to a small group that research a particular name and has a dna group on familytreedna. Years ago, one particular member who had researched his tree back to about 1730, the birth of the ancestor to somewhere in Limerick, Ireland who ended up in Canada, took a YDNA test which threw up a result which suggested his research might be flawed as the haplogroup suggested Native American Ancestry.  Now strangely, his research strongly matched mine, the right area of Limerick, right social background etc., and I had him down as the only likely family match to mine but we hadn’t done the dna test...Roll forward a couple of years, my husband (who is the descendant) was asked to take the test as there where some strange results coming back for this particular name all located within a five mile area. So he did, I mentioned to our administrator, that the only likely match would be the Canadian guy... “oh no” he said, “he must have a non-paternal match in there somewhere, implying the detailed paper trail was incorrect.”
Roll forward a few months... the only match was indeed the Canadian guy. Both our lines have rock solid research, mine going back to 1660. We have since worked out the connection, our 2 x great grandfather was a first cousin of the man who left for Canada in 1765.

This threw up the question of where my line started! After a few more tests, the haplogroup tree has actually been amended and split to acknowledge a European line separate to the Native American line. I guess that’s part of the evolution of knowledge.    4 years on, its evolved even further.

So it is possible, but you both need to do the research too.

Jenny

Ps. I get where Guy is coming from, urging caution and making sure your research is rock solid first and understanding what you want to gain from the results. Don’t take it just because...

[Finley 1]

Xin is totally dumbed down with you intelligent people ... and needs to give up on the DNA malarky

thing..

enuff

I will continue the old 'hard trodden' path of the paper trail and where it dries up... let it rest.. 5th - 8th moderate cousins with 1 marker ... what the heck is all that about...

xin

 BRITISH line since 1600's

[Progressive Thinker]

I guess I am living proof that DNA is not bunkum or malaky. I researched for 14 years built a family tree of 13,500 people, went to a number of family reunions traveled thousands of miles to attend. I knew my tree back to front, people contacted from all over the world. I was proud of my Irish Heritage, traces my English heritage back to 1700's. I did an Ancestry DNA test and had an immediate very close match with a woman from an Italian family. After 6 months of trying to find how she fitted into my family I realised that out of all the other DNA matches I had, there were no surnames that I was familiar with in my extensive tree. That woman didn't belong in my extensive family tree at all. I was adopted and she was my sister. I was not Irish at all but half Italian. Yes we shared a father. I went further I divided my DNA matches into Italian and Non-Italian Matches figuring my mothers side was not Italian. I looked amogst the closest Non-Italian matches I had who had provided a public tree and looked for a common Ancestral name. I settled on an Ancestor and built a tree downwards like an umbrella and as I did I found more marriages and new surnames which I also found in my DNA shared matches. I knew I was in the right tree and if I found my mothers name she would belong in it (really didn't take me long to build, a matter of hrs really). At the same time I sent for an adoption certificate (not knowing if one existed or not) which arrived some six weeks after my discovery. A google search of my mothers maiden name and the Ancestral surname I had settled on revealed a brother, who had blogged on a family tree blog the names of his mother (our mother), grandmother and great grandfather. Immediately returning to the tree I built I found the Great Granfather, as I added the names of grandmother and mother under, i got ancestry hints, I realised my brother also had an ancestry account. found I had 3 brothers and 2 sisters on mothers side. I sent the brother a message and was talking to him the next evening and my birth mother for first time. So yes DNA is great tool, which I used along with some sound skills of building family trees for so long. But no I would never have discovered my adoption and the lies that had hid it for nearly 6 decades. I would not have been reunited with my mother, brothers and sisters on both sides 8 in total and numerous cousins. Yes it was a tragic but exiting discovery and I have no regrets about doing my DNA. Unfortunately it is too late to meet my father.

[Eric Hatfield]

Hey, thanks for sharing that great story!

[brigidmac]

Thanks for sharing those stories

Yes I too searched matche's by locathon based on one ggfather tree We knew and one we didn't

Chose the smallest village Bugbrooke in Northamptonshire sure enough DNA matche people who had him on their tree 4th cousins but also 5th cousins came up
Didn't know connections til traced back to his grandfather. ..the descendants from women don't have the GARDENER
Surname but and descendants in USA don't always know ancestor that far back but a distant cousin who my mum founder via paper trail had already told her about a branch who went to Utah and set up Mormon community in 1600s

[brigidmac]

The other known ggfather and his parents were from Jacobstad  Russian Latvian . paper trail FELLMAN with help of rootser Justin   back 2 more generations

My  3rd &4th  cousin matches were in USA    no surprise  as only 1 of his 11 siblings stayed in GB .. (Scotland)

Again most people didn't know ggfather s birth name   
 or had followed paternal lines mostly


This time rootser   Sandra to srescue found me obituaries which clarified children's names etc
And residential list

The closeSt match from my mother's side didn't match either of these costs he was the legal son Lottie and  husband

[Finley 1]

Ooooo

Progressive thinker



what a heck of a discovery.


will have to read it all again later to comprehend.

xin