Confusing DNA results

[BarbW]

My sister has taken a DNA test and as I already thought it might the main results came back as British Isles, Irish, German with a smattering of Scandinavian, Italian it says it traces 5 generations for this report.

However on the Ancestral Timeline it says we/she have a 4th generation ancestor in c 1900 who was Peruvian.  As our family names are very English or Welsh ie Evans, Brown, Williams, Porter, Pritchard etc.  My mother's maiden name is not common being Povall but I just don't understand this Peruvian link.  It says many generations back Chinese and Indian DNA which I've found really interesting but the man or lady from Peru is an anomaly.

[Ruskie]

Which company did you test with?

Peruvian might be lumped in with another ethnicity which is why you got this suggestion. What percentage Peruvian do they assign you sister? As far as I am aware, most companies will give an ethnic estimate percentage rather than suggestion a generation and time line.

The DNA might come from an earlier generation which you haven’t researched.

There might be an NPE which you are unaware of.

Ethnicity suggestions are nothing more than a rough idea, and these will probably change over time.

Perhaps you could consider taking a dna test as well to see if you have similar results.

[BarbW]

It's from a USA company called Crigenics which I've never heard of.   I'm not sure of it as it gives lots of vague stuff of whether you prefer salty or sweet food, any allergies you are likely to have, your alleged body type, what eye colour you are more likely to have etc.  All seems a bit vague and woo woo to me.

The thing is this Peruvian 4th generation ancestral thing doesn't appear in the main results as I said so have no idea where it popped up from.  Not to mention the 1% of Punjabi and Chinese results.  I have been looking into more accurate DNA kits as the one my sister took doesn't seem to differentiate between Wales and England and our grandfather was Welsh.  I see some tests can even pinpoint to North Yorkshire or wherever which would be much more accurate or is this all just a con and a sales gimmick?  I mean without being too cynical they could just say anything for their 100 bucks and we'd never know if it's true.

[BarbW]

This is the post

[Ruskie]

Hi Barb,

I suspected the test must have been from a smaller company. I haven’t heard those sorts of estimates/predictions before. Others may know more about the company.

I can’t recommend it because I have not tested with them, but most tend to test with Ancestry. I believe they are reasonably accurate with their regions these days, so you might get your Welsh percentages. Percentages as low as 1% can be just “noise”, so probably not worth pursuing. The Peruvianis is a close estimate though possibly a mix up of some sort, if mix ups can happen, unless it is an NPE. If you decide to take a test, it will be interesting to see what your results suggest. 

Living DNA is a Brit company who I believe narrow down to regions, however they are small player so won’t have the numbers that Ancestry do, so you may get  fewer matches.

Wait to see what advice others can offer, and good luck. The Peruvian is curious, so please let us know how you get on.

[BarbW]

Thank you for your reply.  I'm a bit reluctant to take a DNA test myself but might have to reconsider after these strange results.  I will update on here if I do go ahead.

[Ruskie]

Perhaps your sister would be willing to take another test with a different company?

[BarbW]

So here I am all this time later having done a DNA test myself.  With Ancestry.

Wales 31%
Scotland 26%
England 22%
Ireland 17%
Sweden and Denmark 2%
Norway 2%

Not a smidgen of Peruvian or anything else exotic.

[Biggles50]

I hope these results leave you less confused.

You did right testing with Ancestry but even still please do not take these Admixtures (Ethnicities) as 100% accurate. 

You will find that over time they will change as a result of Ancestry having more DNA testers and they change their data management processes.

As an example my own DNA test dates back to 2017 and the results today look like they are for a totally different person.

For the vast majority of Genealogists the whole purpose of taking a DNA test is for it to provide matches who share DNA with you which in turn can help validate ones research and for the DNA results to help break down the brick walls.