My Heritage DNA

[tilly56]

Good morning all - and thank you for all the comments, links to articles and replies.

What my daughter's DNA test has shown for me - or more for my husband - is a possible Iberian/North African part of his heritage ........Ethnicity? I agree that this is maybe not the correct term - and I know they are estimates, but can still be interesting when they fit in with local history, as these results do.

Not far from us, is a town in Brittany called Port Louis - the citadelle was built by the Spanish in the 16th century. My husband (who is doing his genealogy and is VERY careful) has always said how his paternal grandmother was dark skinned (for a Breton). That side of the family has definite facial characteristics, especially the eyes, and that has always made him suspect some blood somewhere that is not Breton.

So did one of his upstanding Breton ancestors have a frolic with an Iberian/North African sailor? Who knows!! If she did, it would be further back than he has yet reached with his family tree..... and I imagine it would have been covered up. Maybe his DNA results will show something - or not!

One thing this DNA test has brought us is...... a new cousin! So not all bad.

Thank you all again

Tilly x

[Ruskie]

Aren’t DNA tests banned in France? Did you find a loophole? 

Sometimes there is some truth in family stories. You have some low percentages there though.

 It will be interesting to see if they change with any updates, though I don’t know how often that happens on My Heritage.

[Rena]

I'm now thinking of having a DNA test.

I have traced a few branches back to the 1700s, 1600s and 1500s, all ancestors were either Scottish (probably with a sprinkle of extremely early Irish in the Dunbartonshire branches), or English.  Archeology shows that humans first emerged in Africa, thus I am expecting any DNA result to show African heritage.

[tilly56]

Ruskie - my daughter is in Britain, so no problem for her test. I didn't even think of it being illegal in France..... I do know some French who have had a test and no-one seems to have had a problem.I had a quick look on Facebook to see if MyHeritage have a page in France, and they do, and loads of people have had tests....  Of course, in France, getting round a law is a national sport  

[medpat]

I have my DNA results on several sites and all but one are fairly similar. My Heritage gives me a huge amount of Iberian and Scandinavian whilst the others just give a small percentage for them. Pinch of salt here.

[Ruskie]

Ruskie - my daughter is in Britain, so no problem for her test. I didn't even think of it being illegal in France..... I do know some French who have had a test and no-one seems to have had a problem.I had a quick look on Facebook to see if MyHeritage have a page in France, and they do, and loads of people have had tests....  Of course, in France, getting round a law is a national sport

   

Where there’s a will there's a way. 

[Rosinish]

"Ethnicity Estimates" are based on DNA matches, nothing more.

However, between MH & A, I'd say A are much closer with their estimates if my paper trail is correct but I'm guessing it's down to the amount of people descended from my families who've taken an A DNA test & many haven't uploaded to MH.

I don't like MH site for several reasons & seldom check matches as I find the site difficult to use.

Above all, I cringe when I see e.g. Mary Smith (born Murray) as women should always show by their maiden names!

Annie

[Rosinish]

My 'MH' Ethnicity Estimate...   

Irish, Scottish, and Welsh 78.3%
English 14.5%
East European 3%
Iberian 2.8%
Baltic 1.4%

I have Scottish & Irish on both sides but know of no Welsh ancestry to date although I know of relatives on my paternal side born in Wales which may have been taken into account with my matches?

I believe my English 14.5% is my maternal side only but the rest is unknown & not enough to have me curious/seeking them out.


My 'A' Ethnicity Estimate (which is broken down further on their site for you/us)...

Scotland 78% - Scottish Highlands & Islands - The Outer Hebrides
Ireland 20% - Ulster, Ireland - Tyrone, Londonderry & Antrim
Sweden & Denmark 2%

For me 'A' is 100% correct with my Scottish & Irish ancestry according to my own paper trail.

I find 'A' so much easier to use, find matches, compare, check trees, message et al.

MH is a complex site in my own opinion although others may find it ok.


My brothers' 23andme Ethnicity Estimate...

European 100% - North West European 100%...

"Northwestern Europeans are represented by people from as far west as Ireland, as far north as Norway, as far east as Finland, and as far south as France."

British & Irish 100% - Glasgow City, United Kingdom & County Cork, Ireland

The above doesn't fit with my research i.e. I have no clue as to how Glasgow City & County Cork fit in?

From the 3 I've picked out, 'A' results are more accurate to my own research & matches, the others are a bit vague.

I'd recommend you go on research & matches too but you need to consider NPEs.


Annie

[Biggles50]

I think that the ads and marketing bumpf for the DNA testing companies (especially Ancestry) are aimed at “ethnicity”, whatever that is, because (they think) that is what people want to know.

Browsing through the consumer ratings for Ancestry a while back I noticed that numerous people complained about how inaccurate the ethnicity estimates were, and some were unhappy because they expected to be handed a completed family tree. 

Some Q&As which may help you a little Tilly:
https://familytreemagazine.com/dna/dna-qa-best-ethnicity-estimates/

If you enter some appropriate search terms into Google you will find many more.

Biggles, you could have uploaded your raw data from Ancestry to My Heritage rather than take a new test. There is now a fee to unlock the more useful features though.

Cheers for the info.

Uploading Raw DNA data does not always give the same results with another Company, there are differences in the data management processes.

As it happens there is a person on My Heritage who has taken their test and I want to see how we actually relate with cM values since I am expecting a 300+ cM match between us.

This is why I have taken a My Heritage test.