Genealogy Chat

Hi Tom, there was a programme on the telly last year where they took 6 people who all considered themselves "100% British" and basically they were all made up of lots of different ethnic groups. The person who was convinced they were as British as they come was actually the most ethnically diverse. It may be that we are all so intermingled after thousands of years of invasion and conquest that it wouldn't tell you very much at all. Only you know whether you want to spend the money! Helen

Thanks for the help. I still cant decide whether to take one of these tests id be really interested to find out where my ancient ancestors came from.
Ive heard rumours while investigating my mothers side that i have moor ancestry from several lines, which would be interesting to try and prove.

Tom

Hi Tom, it really depends on why you want the test - Y DNA is passed from father to son to son etc. - mtdna is passed from mother to child, mother to child. The test will tell you which Haplogroup you sit in and this in turn gives you an idea where your ancestors came from, but you have to think in terms of thousands of yrs!

My brother did the Y dna test for me as part of a Surname Project which has been useful - I believe the tests are pretty accurate.

hope this helps, Linda

Hi Tom,

Well I order a DNA test from Ancestry. I did think the cost was quite high, so was at the stage of shoud I or shouldn't I. When I got an email from them offering a great deal. I got the FTM 2009 version, 6 mths standard Ancestry membership, 50% deducation off FT magazine and a DNA test all for I think it was £89. A great deal when you consider the cost of the DNA test alone. I mention this because it might be worth your while waiting for a deal.

With regards to the test. it was so much easier than I had thought. It only took about 4 weeks, from start to finish. I received a map of 3 possible locations where my ancestors could have come from. I also got a description of why and how they may have moved to or from each location and what occupation (s) they may have held. It was very interesting. I did think it would tell me that they came from 'here' or 'there'. But it didn't. I suppose on the face of it, it would depend on your actual result., and I do think mine was a bit more complicated.

The test results itself wasn't written as I had expected. I expected them to come with locations such as Scotland, Spain, India etc. but they don't. They come with marker's and locations, eg. location 139 marker rdj & location 5 marker 129. It was very daunting at the time, but I understand it more now, well hubby does.

It has confirmed for me where my ancestors did originate from, and tha'ts what I wanted. I traded in the Ancestry std 6mths for an upgrade, which initself was great too. So for me it was well worth it.

Hope that has helped you Tom.

Good Luck, Lou

I think Ancestry.com only used to offer the basic tests. I seriously considered one of the Euro DNA tests from "Ancestry by DNA" last year but thought about it for too long. At the time the $ -£ rate was 2 to 1 so would have cost about £230 and it seemed reasonable to see if my fathers family originated in the mediteranean of Moor descent.

However, I've now found that part of my mothers side could originate in Sicily which has muddied the waters. If the test came back saying 5% north Africa/Med how would I know which side it was from.

The good thing is that all the time the tests get more sophisticated.

Perhaps the exchange rate may become more favourable as well!

They probably originated from North Africa, like most of us.

Seriously though, unless you are going to test against a specific ancestor, you are most likely wasting your money.

I just would be interested to see where my ancestors originated from beyond census.
Thanks for the help.

Tom

Tom! What on earth do you want a DNA test for?

Hi i was wondering if anyone could tell me how reliable the DNA tests on ancestry.com are, as i dont want to order a kit and find its all made up or something.

Tom