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Original poster

Ancestry dna matches

18 replies

Kurzgesagt · 17/03/2020 19:13

So finally got my results from ancestry dna.
I know some will say it’s all a bit of baloney but it was pretty accurate regarding my ethnicity (with a unexpected surprise) and correctly pinpointed my family origins to a fairly specific area of the country.
It also flags up dna matches so you can identify close and not so close relatives. If you link them with your family tree you can even identify who those matches are related to in your tree so I’ve seen photos of great great grandparents’ siblings etc
I was quite excited by this and contacted several matches just to find out if they knew anything about our common relatives (not in a stalkerish way if anyone’s wondering Grin). Out of 10 probably 5 responded... I sent one contact at her request several photos of her grandfather who she had never met and got a very brief thanks off her son. Another asked me to send some of my findings to her so she could complete part of her tree and I’m still to hear .... maybe I’m over invested but I presumed people did family trees precisely because they were curious about their backgrounds ..... just wondered if others had had this kind of experience ? I’m not looking to create relationships with these people btw just to swap stories etc

OP posts:
Clawdy · 17/03/2020 19:48

Interesting, I'm wanting to do this test, but wondered if they are still doing them , with the coronavirus problem?

TartanTexan · 17/03/2020 20:33

Yes, all their tests are treated as if a bio hazard anyway.

EarlyMorningStart · 17/03/2020 21:11

I haven’t done a DNA test, but do have a tree on Ancestry.
I have found contact with other tree holders to be very hit and miss.

  • Lots of people seem to have spells of activity/enthusiasm then may not sign in for several months and consequently don’t see any questions asked of them.
  • Some people are thrilled to have contact with a distant relative and are happy to help and share info where they can.
  • Others I’ve found to be curt and uninterested.
Who knows why? But it is disheartening when you suspect someone could provide you with a great deal of info.

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Original poster
Kurzgesagt · 17/03/2020 23:15

Yes I’ve found that too. And the private trees which match what you’ve got but you can’t see the whole of them (which pretty much defeats the object !) I think family tree research ultimately isn’t that rewarding if all you can find are dry facts so people just end up losing interest Sad

OP posts:
cabbageking · 17/03/2020 23:36

Daughter did hers which threw up some strange ancestry which I and hubby blamed each other for.
We both did the rest and neither of us had this part at all.
I do wonder how accurate they are when I have traced my line back a very long way without any of the ancestry that I apparently have a very high percentage of?

SprogletsMum · 17/03/2020 23:38

My mum did hers and found her biological dad and siblings that she didn't know about.

ElectricMartha · 17/03/2020 23:40

Mine is incredibly accurate. I haven’t a membership though so can’t go far with fitting things together but I recognise a few surnames and it has thrown up a couple of 2nd cousins with names I am aware of from who my grandparents talked about. I’ve had one person contact me for any info I could give but didn’t even receive a thanks or an answer to the few questions I asked in return. Rather disappointing.

SwedishEdith · 17/03/2020 23:46

Ancestry can be pretty abrupt. I suspect lots had DNA tests bought for them so aren't overly bothered about knowing much more than the headline results.

SilverOtter · 17/03/2020 23:49

I did mine a few years back and have experienced this a lot. An awful lot of people just aren't interested in connecting.

I'd hoped to find out who my great great grandfather might be as it's a huge family mystery but have hit an absolute brick wall.

Original poster
Kurzgesagt · 18/03/2020 09:12

Sadly I think people are more interested in the ethnicity bit and want to find out how exotic (or not) they are Wink !
To be honest I've found american and candian matches to be more engaged (and polite Hmm) but I think that's more to do with their overall curiosity in their ethnic heritage anyway.

OP posts:
Horehound · 18/03/2020 09:16

U got myself, husband and my parents the 23 and me one.
It's so good.
I have only reached out to one person so far but no response as yet. As a pp suggests I think a lot of folk will have had these tests bought for them (like I have done) and maybe don't care about the ancestry side of things.
Tbh i got mine cause I wanted to know about the traits and health part.

CorianderLord · 18/03/2020 09:56

@cabbageking that's not how it works. You could have 20% Indian genes and the Indian person in your family line was 1,000 years ago. It's just which genes came through in you specifically... not your nationality makeup. So you could be 10% Irish and your child 40% Irish even if your husband was 0% Irish.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 18/03/2020 11:14

I’d be very interested in origins from an ethnicity POV, especially since a dd has different colouring from anyone else on either side - more Mediterranean than anything else.

I suspect a washed-up Armada sailor somewhere, esp. since separate sets of GGparents lived in different coastal areas, and they say that if your GGPs lived in a particular area, it’s likely that their own ancestors did, too.

I wouldn’t particularly want to contact anybody, or have them contact me, though. I have enough weird/barmy relatives anyway!

cabbageking · 19/03/2020 00:34

Daughter has a nationality\ ethnicity that neither of us has?

Pavlova31 · 19/03/2020 20:08

GettingLike ....We had a Maltese member of the family five generations ago.
His colouring still occurs randomly within the family.

eachtotheirownnow · 19/03/2020 20:31

Daughter has a nationality\ ethnicity that neither of us has?

There's an obvious answer to that one isn't there!

sonjadog · 19/03/2020 20:36

I used Ancestry to trace my family tree and an unknown relative got in touch in Canada. It started off nice, but then came long, rambling messages on Ancestry about family links that I did not know anything about. I answered the first few times politely and told her I had given all the information I had, but the mails and questions kept on coming. And then she wanted my private email and tried to add me on facebook, both of which I have ignored. The whole thing has made me cautious about starting up contact with distant relatives on Ancestry.

SwedishEdith · 19/03/2020 21:29

I've created an anonymous email address for Ancestry if people want to share docs. I wouldn't worry too much about contacting as most don't really get that involved or aren't overly helpful - but some are really helpful as well.

I really want to contact someone who's popped up via Ancestry but they don't have an account. It's quite easy to find online them because they have an unusual address but the fears of being thought stalkerish are putting me off Grin.

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