My Ancestry DNA kit arrives tomorrow...

[Arlanymor]

... I was inspired to buy one because my late uncle was really interested in genealogy and did a lot to track back his family line - this was before DNA tests were commercially available. I have often thought how interesting it would be to pick up where he left off and a random conversation with a BT engineer (!) a couple of weeks ago convinced me to do it. Obviously - and egotistically! - the starting point is me and working out what my initial results tell me. I think something like 80% Welsh, 20% English - but with some Irish chucked in for good measure - just based on knowing where great and great-great grandparents came from. If you've done it, do you have any advice on next steps? I know our family are on Ancestry and I will now have my own log in. But I am very much a novice. If it turns out I am 99% Viking I may have to talk to my parents (!) but truly I am just interested in tracking a trail back through history. I used to work in archaeology, so I've always been very interested in this area.

Mine came back 100% Wales. My sibling the same.
It’s interesting though how brother and I differ, he has more dna shared with cousins on our maternal grandfather’s side than I do. We have each inherited slightly different things from our parents so favour one side more than another. Looks wise we are alike but I probably look more like the side where he has more dna. It’s fascinating how these things work out.
Getting your parents to test is a good idea if you can, as you will find more dna matches and fill in more gaps.

It's not a "random podcast" though. It's a very interesting Radio 4 series researched and presented by a journalist. Weird to be so uptight about a useful and informative suggestion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gd2dgb?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

My mum got hers done. She’s part French on her dad’s side going back to her great great grandfather, all researched and detailed records. The DNA test came back with none of that said mostly German which she is on her paternal grandmother’s side. The great grandparents there actually came from Liverpool, surname Brick and emigrated to Metz for some reason (they had a hotel). I’m presuming it was the great grandfather who came from England and married his wife in Metz when it was then Germany (or could’ve been France, can’t recall date).

NPEs are much more common than people realise too - noone in our family who it would matter to is alive now so we just look at it as something interesting. It must be devastating when a genealogy test reveals something to family members who had no previous idea,

@Arlanymor
If you work in medicine, are you this rude to patients?
Other PPs are only counselling you to be cautious and aware that you maybe uncover something difficult. There’s no need to get so angry and call people arseholes etc.

What makes you think I deal with patients? Medicine is a broad field.

People have been completely batshit on this thread. I simply matched their rudeness level, nothing more, nothing less.

Honestly all of this listen to 'The Gift' stuff wasn't polite caution, it was patronising and scaremongering nonsense.

Anyway, I spat in the tube and it's on its way to Ireland to be processed now. Obviously I will come back to this thread with my tail between my legs when it turns out that neither of my parents are my parents and that I am actually related to a serial killer... maybe I will make my own podcast at that point!

We have first hand experience of this going wrong. A close family member wanted to find out more about his Irish past. Turns out he had siblings he didn’t know about. Long hidden secrets started coming to light which destroyed his family. Mum and dad divorced as long ignore secrets resurfaced and they couldn’t cope. The ‘new siblings’ who contacted him were snubbed by the dad because of the pain caused so they were affected too. Friend lost all trust in dad. All because he wanted to find out about his past. So yer maybe talk to your family first

But you don't know what secrets might be revealed because they have been kept 'a secret'. There is/was a R4 prog how twins (same Mum, same birthday) had different Dads....a rare but possible event. Nobody knew whilst girls were growing up, but DNA totally fractured their relationship as suddenly one child had no 'blood' family.

Crikey what defensiveness and rudeness by the OP.

Most responses reasonably advise listening to The Gift.

OP doesn’t have to obviously and could have just thanked Posters but honestly OP became so aggressive one wonders what OP fears she will hear on The Gift which might impact on her.

I have spoken to my family - no skeletons here.

We're not that type of family. We just aren't. We tell each other everything. I mentioned it in passing on the phone yesterday to my parents - they weren't remotely phased. And even if something very random and weird came up, we're all adults and could discuss it sensibly. But it won't happen.

My only advice is to keep an open mind. I got my results back and found out that I'm apparently Balkan.

I also found out that I have a brother (7 years younger than me) who none of us knew about, from my Dad. I spoke to him a little, and it would have been lovely to get to know him, but unfortunately he's made it clear he's not interested and has moved on with his life.

I'm left behind with so many questions that will likely never be answered, and an ache in my chest for what could have been.

I did it , nothing exceptional happened .
I wasn’t surprised by the results either , really Celtic with French too .
I didn’t really trace very far back , I’d just wondered what my results might show as I already knew my dad’s side were very Irish but couldn’t trace mums side .

Thank people for repeatedly patronising me? I don't think so. I got cross because people kept on about it after I had said 'no thanks'. It's bloody irritating when people pile on and act superior as if I am somehow wrong for not wanting to listen to a podcast - even if I had considered the idea, all of the doom-mongering has really put me off ever listening to it at all. Sounds like it makes people loopy.

How ironic that you think I am 'scared' to listen to the podcast because of what I might hear, but on the other hand I have no issue with sending off a DNA kit which will give me far more information than any podcast ever could. Those two things don't align do they? If you're going to criticise me at least use logic to do so.

I'm sorry for your situation - I am confident I will have no such surprises, I think my results will be very mundane. Open-mindedness is always the right way to go.

Thank you normal sane person! I reckon I will be mainly Welsh, bits of Irish, English and now you mention it, probably also French (my surname came over with the Norman conquest)... based on what I know about my family tree. I think it will be very ordinary, but also interesting just to have things confirmed really.

I did this and the results were interesting, my Dd did it at the same time and we both expected to be mostly irish but in fact turned out to be strongly norwegian with a percentage of irish and scots

Googling the gift led me to some obscure Turkish horror film on Netflix.

That aside, OP has been defensive, no need for that.

I did mine a few years ago. Quite sad to find out there were zero skeletons in my closet. Not even a small one.

Just 6 or 7 generations of Durham based miners that never strayed beyond their county, except for one renegade great great uncle that moved to Devon 🤷

Not the Jerry Springer experience I was hoping for.

"Open-mindedness is always the right way to go."

🤐

But you are talking like it happens to pretty much everybody that does it but it'll be a small minority and I can bet most of them had an inkling.

Of course it’s a small minority - I think someone posted 5-10% below. But worth being aware of the possibility. Remember you’ll be linked to people you’re not even aware of - 3rd or 4th cousins several times removed for example.

The Gift is also a really interesting podcast for anyone who purports to be interested in this stuff.

A very small minority will find out anything drastic! I think most people would have an inkling if something wasn't right in the family, you can't tell me that you or the person you speak about have total trust in your family if you feel that fearful of doing a DNA test! You need to have doubts already to be so dramatic about taking one!

Wow! Are you always this aggressive?? 😂 Your certainty that you won’t uncover any tricky secrets is wild - how do any of us really know?! 😳

Anyway, have fun - and cool your own jets 😂

Has anyone reported this op to the platform, she seems unhinged? Why is she being so obnoxious to everyone? Op, are you ND? If so, really good advice I received is to wait before posting an emotionally disregulated knee-jerk over-reaction. Looking at a typed out response the next day or after a few hours usually results in it being deleted instead of posted. The advice people have tried to offer is very wise. A lot of boring, normal families have been fractured by these DNA projects.