Ancestry DNA

[Longdistance]

I had my ancestry traced. I know my parents are Eastern European, but, my grandmothers maiden name was British. Anyway, dh bought me an Ancestry DNA kit and it works out approximately that I’m 84% Eastern European/Germanic and the rest is 16% England, Scotland, Wales, Norwegian (Viking, ha!)
Has anyone followed their genealogy and followed it through?
I’d love to only on my grandmothers side. I have a photograph of my Great grandfather so know what he looks like. He remarried another lady when he became widowed. I have a funny feeling I’m back where I belong 😂

It's lovely to have photographs that old. I have pictures of great grandparents from two sections of my tree and it's extraordinary to spot family resemblances in people who in so many other respects have lives that share nothing in common with yours. When I traced forward to try and find distant cousins who are still living, I found many of the same traits too. For instance, almost all of the living people descended from my paternal grandmother's line have a snaggly tooth, where a baby incisor is still in place and is smaller than all the adult teeth around it. It's ridiculous but it gave me so much pleasure to think of all these people out there being recognisably 'family'.

I've traced most of my family back to the 1600s or so but it was easy for me because most of my ancestors stayed put, pretty much. I don't know if East European records are accessible or not. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along to advise soon.

My DH was adopted. We know through DNA matches and info that he is of Eastern European descent, in what is now Ukraine. I haven’t been able to find out anything from the time his great great grandparents left abject poverty to emigrate to the new world. There is very little online, In English anyway.

Eastern European records are difficult. Lots didn't survive the 20th century conflicts, and the changes of territory complicate matters further - Ukraine has been Russian, then Ottoman (I think), then part of the Soviet Union, then independent, then invaded by Russia again. All in 100 years.

And of course, most records from Ukraine are going to be written in Russian script.

DO you know where your DH;s parents went after leaving Ukraine? Many Eastern Europeans emigrated to America/Canada through ports in the UK, especially Liverpool and Glasgow. Passenger lists are online but you'll have to search creatively as the spellings of surnames are often quite bizarre. And there will be corresponding entry logs for arriving in Canada/USA.

Sorry, not parents. Great grandparents.

You should be able to trace your British side quite easily on ancestry or find my past. They offer different subscriptions.

You can apply for copies of birth and marriage and death certs. Local registry offices also hold information as do libraries and the National archives

I traced my tree to various stages on different branches. Ranging from 1800-1500

Out of interest, when you did the ancestry kit, do you have to submit ID so they know your details are correct? I've always wondered how many people use fake names?

I started trying to explore my ancestry on my father side, to discover that a very distant cousin had already traced it all back to the 1600's! My mother also traced her side back to the 1700's.

You need to give an email address. Some of my matches are just identified as initials. Or have a kit managed by someone rise, like a spouse.

Yes you could use a fake name but as most people are trying to connect with family, why would you set up a fake profile?

@TheGenealogist

You need to give an email address. Some of my matches are just identified as initials. Or have a kit managed by someone rise, like a spouse.

Yes you could use a fake name but as most people are trying to connect with family, why would you set up a fake profile?

Thanks for the info. I watched a programme (admittedly from the USA) where criminals had been caught when their relatives had ancestry tests done. I guess people are concerned about who will be able to access such data- if not now, but in the future?

One thing that annoys me (or rather my dh as he is the one searching with my assistance) about Ancestry , and it's not the company's fault, is that when you message someone so many don't bother to reply.
It's so disappointing for dh as he is trying to get some links to his now deceased supposed Dad whom he never met.

@Longdistance

I had my ancestry traced. I know my parents are Eastern European, but, my grandmothers maiden name was British. Anyway, dh bought me an Ancestry DNA kit and it works out approximately that I’m 84% Eastern European/Germanic and the rest is 16% England, Scotland, Wales, Norwegian (Viking, ha!) Has anyone followed their genealogy and followed it through? I’d love to only on my grandmothers side. I have a photograph of my Great grandfather so know what he looks like. He remarried another lady when he became widowed. I have a funny feeling I’m back where I belong 😂

Can I suggest that you forget about trying to do your research using Ancestry DNA for the time being?

How much does your mum know about her mother? Where was she born? Do you know your grandmother's year of birth? If she had a British surname she could well have been born in the UK rather than overseas. You could try searching for a birth record on freebmd, or one of the paying sites.

If you know your great-grandfather's full name and approximately when he was likely to have remarried you could look for that too. You might also find him on one or more census records.

The best way to do family history research is to work from the known backwards to the unknown, and by using official records such as birth, marriage and death certificates, church records and censuses. Lots of information on Ancestry etc has been uploaded by people researching their own trees, and many are stuffed full of mistakes.

Good luck