DNA shocker

[NooshieW]

We are back to NATURE or NURTURE, again. 

If you had not done the test, nothing would have changed. And in truth, nothing has changed - each and all of you are still the same person you were before. 

The ultimate example must be the loving couple celebrating their 60+ years of marriage. There might children, but between themselves there is no DNA link. 

Regards 


Chas

If only that were true. I have already had one brusque, rather dismissive email wishing me ‘luck in the future’ as though all ties are cut now. I feel really sad about it and not knowing who my great great grandfather is , is really upsetting.

[Familysearch]

I am tempted to try a DNA test.  Does anyone have any preferences or recommendations as to which lot I choose?
Can I stay anonymous if I wish to?  Not that I have anything to hide (I don't think!) but don't want to be inundated with spam.

FS

[IgorStrav]

I think Ancestry is still recommended as the best site to test DNA as it has the broadest reach.

I don't quite know what you mean by 'bombarded by spam'?

People seem to do DNA tests for several reasons:

- they are given them as presents, don't understand the reasoning, are slightly entertained by discovering they're 26% Scottish (for example) which is only as accurate as the database of the research ie not very
- they've done it possibly as above, but don't want to use it so don't have a tree, only joined Ancestry for this purpose, don't log in and don't reply if you message them
- people who are interested in Family History research and would like to use DNA as a tool to either find relatives, or possibly break down brick walls. 
These are the people who will review you and shared matches you both have, and may write to you to ask FH questions (much like people do on here). 

You have the option not to reply.  Many people - very frustratingly - seem to choose not to reply.

If you're not going to use the DNA matches and data you get from a test, then it's probably not worth the bother just for the not-particularly-useful location of your ancestry suggestions.


And the other thing I would say is that I expected to be able to recognise where my DNA matches fitted into my tree, as I've done quite a bit of FH history research.  And I can't, for very very many of them. 

[coombs]

Read Guy Etchells replies on this thread, he brings up some valid points and says that people can read too much into DNA testing and jump to conclusions.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=807125.0

[guest189040]

Find the colour coding of matches very useful.

I only allocate a Star when I have created a proven link from the match to me, a Star stands out in the DNA matches and I know that the Match is in a branch of my tree by the Star.

If I have a high cM match such as Sue123 with 120 cM then with her selected I create a colour coded Group titled “Sue123 & Me” and everyone in that Group is a Shared Match with us both and hence each is allocated the chosen coloured dot.

I have created such Colour Coded Groups for all those with over a 75 cM match.

Additionally I have one Colour Coded Group where each included match has a viewable tree of 200+ people.  Thus I can filter using this group and only see matches where there is a possible chance of creating a branch to them.

Creating the coding system allows for filtering out the No Tree low cM match where realistically you have little hope if finding a route for a branch

[brigidmac]

Nooshie are your "cousins" people youve connected with since starting genealogy

I  agree with kiltpin
.
Often we are close to aunts and uncles and stepgrandparents  who are not blood related

Hopefully you will find some new family connections .

My mother traced her mums birth mother visited grave places she and her ancestors had lived
Only to discover ten years later that she had the wrong woman with the same name
She became fonder of this new grandmother who was younger and whose mother had died when she was a child also she discovered a great grandfather with an interesting name from Bugbrook...her new found very distant relatives took her on a tour of churchyard there .

I was really scared of telling her she.d got the wrong grandmother but it turned out well in end .and we found a real live half cousin for her ..tho they havent met .

[ansteynomad]

It throws you, doesn’t it OP?

I have five relatively close matches and can find no obvious connection with four of them, who all go back to the same marriage in 19th century Lincolnshire that means absolutely nothing to me.

We are all baffled.

[brigidmac]

Maybe the husband had lots of affairs with married women
Anstey
Or the woman had baby pre marriage who you all relate to

[Annie65115]

To some biology means everything and to be honest I would be gutted if I did a DNA test and found that a beloved 3xgreat grandfather wasn't a blood ancestor.

I have to say that none of my 3xgreat grandparents are "beloved" by me as they were all long, long dead before I was so much a twinkle in anyone's eye!

I have several "cousins", and was always brought up to consider us all equal as cousins, but in fact not one of them is a full cousin as my father was the only child of his parent's marriage before his father was killed and his mother went on to remarry. All my cousins are really 2nd cousins, I suppose, as we share only 2 grandparent, not two. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. I would however be very upset if suddenly, based on a DNA test, I was disowned, and I can well understand that OPs distress over this.

I do wonder about one of my grandparent lines and whether it's not all it seems to have been and if all my research has actually been in vain, as I have not a single DNA match arising from it. If it were ever to turn out that there was marital infidelity, and I've been barking up the wrong family tree, I shall feel a bit frustrated about my wasted efforts------ but OTOH they weren't really wasted; it was all practice in using genealogical resources and since one of the things I enjoy about FH is learning about social history, I still learnt from doing that line.