DNA Test

Mealymoo

Mealymoo

A Busy Lizzy
I'm interested to know if any member of Top Dog has had a DNA test, and if so did you find it useful for genealogical purposes? I have to say I'm sceptical regarding DNA testing and it's accuracy. I am though curious to learn my ethnicity.
 
I did have my DNA done a few years ago. It was a Christmas present from my daughters. It was the maternal line. I didn't find out much and was disappointed for the girls. Having said this things have enormously advanced recently and a lot more information can be gleaned. I might consider it again but will probably wait a while, as they say more technology is on the way.
 
Thank you, Amle. Sorry you didn't learn much from your DNA test, did you learn anything about your ethnicity? I am more interested in learning my ethnicity than hoping to find ancestral cousins, being one of life's sceptics I'm unsure how accurate the test would be. My mother was one of seven sisters, four of them had jet black hair and dark brown eyes, one I only remember with grey hair, another was fairish with blue eyes and my mother had chestnut hair and green eyes, all except two had a southern European look. My grandfather, widowed, married again and had two sons both were fair with blue eyes, I therefore deduce the 'foreign look' came from my grandmother's side. A family story suggests my grandmother was the child of my great gran who was 'taken advantage of' by her employer, however great gran was married, so I don't know what to believe, but would like to get to the bottom of it.
 
A friend of mine who volunteers at the FHS has had two different ones done and he is quite pleased with them. He is from the same area of Scotland as my ancestor is (around Dumfries) and I keep telling him we are related....he scoffs. :D

However, much to his surprise, he found he not only had a streak of Spanish, but it was from Galicia, the same as my husband's ancestors. And these two could be brothers, they are so much alike.

I would like to get hubby's done because some of his cousins with mixed Jamaican ancestry are curious about the location of the African ancestors. They all pass for white so for some of them, I suppose it would be a surprise, but not a shock. West Indians don't get uptight about that sort of thing.

There is a saying in Jamaica (and all the Islands I suppose).....if your family has been on the Island for 2 or 3 generations, then you can rest assured you are what is called "Jamaica White"......not white. Just a tidge of colour will creep in via marriage.
 
It's a mystery that is for sure. I had reddish hair and the obligatory freckles. So if we all allegedly descend from one black African woman, do we 'morph' due to the type of climate we travel to? Must be. But there is so much inter-mixing nowadays that in 50 years will any of it matter?? Just rambling here, b/c it is late. I will ponder this tomorrow.
 
We have something in the States called the "Native American Princess." Possible in both sides of my family. I do want to do the mtDNA to find out if my mother's mother's, mother's, mother from Rhode Island was Narragansett. I'm waiting for the price to come down a little more... or one of my sister's daughters to decide to do it. ;)

Dad's family was from north Georgia, so the "legend" has to do with Cherokee. I haven't found any evidence of it, though. My sister thinks this has more to do with getting paid for being on the Dawes Rolls than ancestral pride.
 
I just had my Autosomal DNA tested at Ancestry and it gives an ethnic breakdown. I was most surprised at mine, All European, but from six seperate areas. They also give you matches to your DNA. My nearest were 4th to 6th cousins. You can then upload the DNA results to the Family Tree DNA database and find your matches, for a fee. I was pleased with the results I got as I was looking not for near relatives, but where I came from.
 
So far Ancestry only does it for US citizens and sometimes has sales on. If I think of it, I will ask Frank the names of the 2 Places he had his done. Assume they were here in Canada.
 
Ancestry also does it for the UK and Ireland. They have a sale for Mother's Day at the moment. Also FamilyTreeDNA does Autosomal, YDNA and MtDNA testing. Their website is
https://www.
familytreedna.com/

They charge in US Dollars and Ancestry in Sterling.

(Website address edited as they are commercial. Jan)
 
I agree it would be quite interesting to learn about ones ethnicity. I would not be too bothered about finding something like 23rd cousins 50 times removed [well I guess that is a bit of an exaggeration]! Most of my family have dark hair and pale skin - but there are exceptions.:)
 
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