Anyone tried Ancestry DNA?

[QueenOfThorns]

Just what the title says, really! I was wondering what you actually got for your money. Was the information specific enough to be worthwhile? Did it tell you anything you didn't know before?

I think it sounds really interesting, but just wanted to know whether it lives up to the promise before I decide whether to take the plunge!

Hi, is this the DNA test that tells you where your background is originally from ie; Saxon, Roman etc?

Not really, it says that it shows where your ancestors came from in the last few hundred to a thousand years, looking at 26 different ethnicities/geographical regions.

What interests me more is that it can match you up with other people who've done the test who are likely to be your third/fourth cousins etc. I have an illegitimate ancestor a few generations back and I wonder whether this might throw up something interesting!

Do they say the test works with both men and women? I've heard before (in family history magazines etc) that it only works for the male line and the Y chromosome rather than on the female line X chromosomes.

Mind you, that was a few years ago, so techniques might have moved on since then!

Yes, this one is an autosomal DNA test, so looks at the whole genome not just sex chromosomes or mitochondria.

There is info here. It all sounds great, I just wonder if it lives up to the hype, or would the results be slightly disappointing.

There was a programme on Radio 4 yesterday about this. 11am with Adam Rutherford. Something about Charlemagne in the title. It said that these tests aren't that helpful or accurate. Was very interesting

I took it and it linked my tree to another ancestry tree. There were about 40 pages of links but I have only found 1 I am certain of. On the other hand I've still got lots to go through and more get added all the time.

You can also download the raw DNA data from ancestry and upload it to Gedmatch that gives you more information and other links. It does take a few days to process in Gedmatch.

Thanks both! I'll have a listen to that radio show if I can, it sounds very interesting.

Isn't everyone supposed to be related to Charlemagne?!

Exactly that taxi. The point was that many dna companies tell people that they are related to famous people in the past like Charlemagne, Richard III, Ghengis Khan etc. When in reality millions of us are. They also did a bit about GPS and geographical dna. The outcome being it isn't very accurate because they only follow one strand of dna and have to use an average geographical area based on databases.

Hi Taxi

Just to say that the X chromosome isn't restricted to the female line. If you are a woman, one of your X chromosomes has come from your father. Also there'll be cross over at the meiosis stage of gamete production in women - as they have two. Unlike with the Y chromosome this stays static over the generations, as the single Y doesn't have anything to recombine with.

This is why studies of the female line use mitochondria.

I've heard good things about 23andme's DNA testing - I'm planning to do an autosomal test at some point soon, have actually told OH I want one for my birthday!

Hi. I've just got my results from Family Tree DNA. It was a general test not just male or female line, Autosomal I think, and cost about $99.
I've got an analysis of my origins and a list of possible 2nd-4th cousins, with email details. I haven't actually contacted anyone yet as they are mainly in the USA as I think more people have taken the test there. I think they might be a bit of a long shot but I'll repost if I have any major success!

DH and I both did ours. It linked us up to people we know are related.
I am confused by people I appear to be related to but we have no sign of common ancestors at the right degree (and as they insist all their ancestors were born and grew up in the US and none of mine did, it's puzzling).
But do make sure you get it at a discount as they seem to occur pretty frequently.