Anyone used one of those dna ancestry tests?

[snigger]

Considering this as a gift for DH, but wanted to know if they tell you anything interesting, or is it just : "You are in Scotland, you used to be in Africa along with everyone else on the planet, that'll be £200 please" ?

My friend had one, it was brilliant. You should buy a copy of a bnook called (I think) 'The SEven Daughters of Eve' to go with it, it's fantastic.

Cheers, I ordered it today, and now happily await confirmation that he's human.

I have had email contact with someone who has had a DNA test done. Now this person and I know that we share the same great great grandfather - we both know that the christian names in the family sound particularly Scotish.

Anyoway the DNA prooves that the chap is indeed related to another chap who is scotish.

We now just need to try to find the link on paper - once we have the link we can claim another 4-5 generations further back...

i have heard that realyl DNA is something only men are really goignt o beinifit from as it helps prooves the name conection and as woman change the name every generation is it not very helpful.

From where did you order, Snigger?

yes, from where did you order?
i had my mitochondrial DNA (the one that is passed from mother to daughter) sequenced by the genographic project as a gift from dh. have found the whole experience very interesting and exciting, as I turned out to have european hunter gatherer variant (whereas i expected asian roots, as my mum was born there, and generations before her).
too bad i have got 2 ds-s so havent got any daughters to pass it on to (yet !)

is your dh getting his Y chromosome sequenced as a gift?

I ordered the Y-DNA 44 Marker + mtDNA HVR-1 Test through Genebase, although I swithered over the National Geographic Genographic Project kit, as I tend to be swung by 'reputable' names.

However, the genebase kit won out because of the shiny website, and having read some reviews (some pretty negative, but often with positive follow-ups)I felt they seemed ok.

It's very much deep ancestry details you garner, apparently, but DH'll be thrilled, he loves anything like that.

My brother is doing it for me. I ordered it to go to his house and the results will come to me. I am really looking forward to seeing the results.

My (2nd once removed) cousin's wife had it done -- she got her adult son tested so that she'd get both Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA for the price of one.

Anyway, she found a very close match on the mitochondrial to someone else who'd been tested and done the research and basically they managed to find their common maternal ancestor, born 1700s and not previously known to cousin's wife, if I recall correctly. So was quite rewarding!

Am impressed at any one's DH who cares; DH views Family History as a bunch of dead people whom he never met & don't matter.