Has anyone done a Ancestry DNA test??

[loopylass13]

Has anyone done a Ancestry DNA test?? How did it go? Did you get any answers in terms of relatives? Whether close and distant etc. Please tell me your experiences.

I am debating whether to do a test myself. One question - wondering if females can only trace the mother line and if males can only trace the father line, or whether the test links to all family no matter the gender?

Thank you x

I know @DonutCone ! It's making me want to do it more. To be fair, I don't think it's because of some dark secret she has, but because she's very privacy minded, and against anyone holding any information on her, and as she's somewhat self centered, doesn't really hold the opinion that our DNA is ours (as much as hers is hers) to make decisions on.

You don't have to put your name, you can use a username.

Do it, do it!

Yeah do it! You’ll enjoy seeing how the dna results and the traditional genealogy work together - the official paper trail and the genes sometimes tell very different stories but they’re both a sort of legacy

*She'd had a son that she told us died. I have reason to believe that he didn't die but I don't even know his name.

Would something like this help?*

@Spotsbeforemyeyes only if he or a close relation have done the dna test.

Have you looked for a birth certificate to find a name? Do you have any idea of when or where he was born?
You can search by mother's maiden name here: www.freebmd.org.uk

@graphista

We have a donor conceived child (thus my previous membership of the fertility website I mentioned). I would definitely be on the ‘tell’ side of the fence even without any risk he might find out. But it’s an added consideration.

“The donor eggs/sperm thing, it's great that people struggling with infertility can get this help but I've always wondered how those involved can feel remotely confident that genetic sexual attraction issues can be avoided.“

Do you mean our donor conceived son might meet a genetic half sibling and fall in love? I can see that’s possible (although there’s a limit on how many families can be created) but surely much more likely in a small village that the milkman’s legitimate son will fall in love with the daughter from the same milkman's illicit liaison. Such risks have always been with us.

Does anyone know if this works well for those with south asian ancestry? I heard that it's not as well characterized as for europeans/caucasians.

@Loka123

I have the same question. I am Indian and would only do the test if it was worthwhile.

The ethnicity part is getting more sophisticated and reference populations re: Asia & elsewhere are now more nuanced. If both your parents were from a region of India & you didn’t know and were raised in a UK orphanage, as an example, the test would tell you about your genetic heritage & you’d be able to tell broadly where family were from.

Paintbysticker - yes I know the risk has always been there via extra marital affairs in small communities etc (it's why we know about genetic sexual attraction in the first place!) but I mean the higher number of children created from one donors material possibly increases the risk?

And yes I tend to think honesty the best policy, whether it be donor, adoption, dads freaked out & took off. Rape is far more difficult, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to know you're half rapist & possibly a constant reminder to your mother of such a traumatic event/experience.

As I said before, I think it's too easy for people to do this "for a bit of fun" without considering what they might discover.

On what we've been discussing - what if you were to discover your spouse is your half sibling?! I believe there was a case a while back where a couple who were married discovered they were full siblings

www.standard.co.uk/news/shock-for-the-married-couple-who-discovered-they-are-twins-separated-at-birth-6682411.html

Thought so. What a bloody shock that must have been!

I believe in certain USA states there used to be premarital blood tests for certain things which could possibly have revealed blood relations, perhaps this should be introduced?

It’s very unlikely a test would reveal your spouse was your half sibling but you’re right, you shouldn’t enter into this thinking it’s just a parlour game.

Personally, I would always want to know if I had a hitherto unknown half sibling or first cousin out there but everyone is different.

Those I knew of who were sperm donors decades ago were promised complete anonymity, medical students, sometimes cautious initially, were told this was like giving blood, an altruistic act, science has moved on & they are no longer anonymous. That’s particularly problematic for this earlier group of donors.

Ok, so if I share 21 DNA segments with someone and 562cM does anyone agree with my reasoning that they are likely to be my half first cousin, i.e. We share 1 Grandparent.

Google DNA Detectives Green chart for possibilities, it’s brilliant & a bible for deciphering exactly what cousinships the cm may represent.

@Donut possibilities:

Half first cousin
First cousin once removed
Half Great Aunt/Uncle/Niece/Nephew

Ok... I've looked at the range on DNA detectives and the range is within 1st cousin, so as I know that couldn't be possible I'm think half first cousin must be the most likely?!

I hate having this massive gap. Not knowing who made up 25% of who I am.

Not first cousin. 575-1330 - average 900. So too low. (Although v rarely outliers).

Group D - have you ruled out other possibilities inc half great Aunt /niece etc? Listed above. Depending if match male or female. Half 1st cousin definitely possible.

Are you in touch with them?

I would test my parents and see which side I was looking at and then do more detective work

I found it fascinating. Two separate people contacted me - both third cousins and each looking for info about their birth fathers. One was adopted and the other I'm not sure, she didn't give much info. I was able to help both of them, because my own family tree is quite well documented and I could immediately identify how we were related, i.e. through which grandparent of mine. They were really happy to finally answer some questions - the fathers in question were both dead but it meant a lot to them to know something of their origins and relatives, and it was lovely to be able to be of help. Having said that, it wasn't hard for me, as the connections were distant enough. I'd imagine it would be quite traumatic to have a half-sibling appear from nowhere and your entire family history to be rewritten, with difficult meetings and emotional upheaval. I set out happily, thinking "well I have no skeletons in my closet" but who really knows if they have? If you haven't already, read this incredible story.

www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/lifestyle/she-thought-she-was-irish-until-a-dna-test-opened-a-100-year-old-mystery/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4af3ee98de49

My Dad is on only child so I know it can't be from his side.

I think Great Aunt or Uncle would be too old to have taken the test as my Mother was born in the 1940's. And I don't have any nieces or nephews at all.

Shins, Jesus I wish you were related to me

Ok so I've found a name that matches date, mother's name and his name. Only month and year of birth.

How can I find anything beyond that?

There's a law in several European countries that allows mothers to give their babies up at birth anonymously with no way for the child to trace them, often used in cases of incest etc. before abortion was legalised. Those children may now trace their birth mothers. It's like finding a sperm donor, but potentially much more traumatic.

@Donutcone aw, I hope you meet people who will help you. Most people are well-meaning. I suppose with me it was handy as I'm also an amateur family history nerd as well

@Spots where did you find the name, was it on the search part of Ancestry?

The police in America have used test results from 23andme to catch murderers. So while you may be happy you haven't committed any crimes I guess there's the potential that if a relative of yours has then you may drop them in it. Of course that could still be seen as a positive if it means a murderer is caught but it must have been upsetting.

@ Donut - if a Half first cousin your paternal grandfather could have had an out of wedlock child?

Testing your father would rule his side out if not a mutual match. Or test your mother to see if match lies on her side. Then you will have a better read on it.

Nico - it’s only Gedmatch, a public site where you upload data independently that has been used to catch killers. Even then they use to narrow family groups & then go in to get a DNA sample directly from a suspect. They turn killer sample into raw data to use a comparison at Gedmatch, a public site. They don’t use ‘killer’ saliva & process at 23andme or Ancestry. This is not permitted. So if you upload to Gedmatch be aware.

If they think they have identified the right family Line & see someone that fits police profile. In that instance they will then have to get a direct test from the likely culprit to compare to sample they have stored - a different DNA test used & technology.

shins I knew his first name and guessed his surname although he has ( had) the same surname that I had and our sister, born in between us has a different surname.

It has to be him though as mother's maiden name is the same, place of birth etc all fit.

Donutcone - not a full 1st cousin. I'm not saying it has to be the exact same level of relationship, but it's very close to the same number of centimorgans (and shared DNA segments) as my DH has with one of his (new!) dad's first cousins on Ancestry.