Genealogy Chat

Stu Well, that seems an excellent way to go about things and its a pity all the other clans dont do it too. *Rushes off to find any Pikes in tree...* OC

OC- I agree with your point. For the record, I can't speak for all surname groups but the PIKE DNA test which can be found with a guick google, pays 75% of the test for a well established English line. That means a PIKE can have the test done for about $25. The only reason they charge something is they want the person to have some skin in the game. That money doesn't come out of thin air, it comes from average donors like myself and other PIKE members interested in pushing our roots back into time. A side note: anyone who has problems with the money, can have the test done for free at at least one service I know of.

Stu You have proved my point! Actually, I don't have a problem with what you are doing - the problem comes for me when you want ME to pay for a DNA test, so that YOU can hook onto MY tree! My brother has recently been in exactly this position, was going to pay about £160 for a DNA test, so that a Canadian man could prove that he was part of our tree. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but you wouldn't expect someone else to pay for your certificates would you, so why expect someone else to pay for a DNA test that will benefit you and not them? OC

>Most of these tests seem to be taken up by >Americans/Australians etc who are anxious to prove an >English lineage and are hoping thereby to link into >someone else's carefully researched tree. LOL..I plead guilty to that. I've had my DNA done along with 44 other PIKEs and we are trying to find our common links back across the pond. But it does WORK. We've discovered 16 different PIKE clans and I found an unknown (lost?) relative through an identical match.

How friendly are we now with Buenos Aires? Just thinking about the Falklands and all, are the South Americans open to blanket coverage in their newspapers? Have they forgiven Margaret Thatcher - and us come to that for the war? I know, me being daft again, but it's just a thought!

Hi Paul, I have a similar situation......My 4xgr grandfather is a bit of a mystery....He has a very unusual surname and his birth which would be about 1782 has not been found...There was no other people of his surname in england at all at that time??? There is a family trait in my family and other descendents of his to have dark olive skin, dark eyes and hair........I have been lucky enough to find a chapter in a local history book about him which suggests he was a mixed race ( Mulatto) man from the West Indies!!!! I think the only way to prove a link with the West Indies would be a DNA test but I think I will explore every other possible avenue before going down that route.... Deb

Paul I glumly suppose you are talking about Rebekah's idea and not mine, then (sob sob). Um - not telling you what to do, but maybe discretion would be called for in the story? Buenos Aires is a Catholic country (yes?) and Minette's 'sin' might still be strongly disapproved of/not known to her descendants. You seem a sensible and sensitive lad though, so I shall trust you to do it right! OC

That's not such a daft idea. I've done that sort of thing in Canada and Australia.... the Australian magazine were so impressed they invited me to submit what turned out to be a 6pp article about my ancestor. I'll get on the case right now.

Wacky, I know, but could you write to/email the main newspapers of Buenos Aires attaching the pic, which you would have scanned? Americans love the English, so the editor may agree to put it in the paper.

Ah, Paul, I did say 'except in unusual circumstance' and this seems to be one! But of course, you would need a candidate to DNA test and presumably you don't have one. Now, this is right off the top of my head, and may well prove to be one of my barmiest ideas ever, so do humour an old dear, won't you? What about writing to the University (or whatever) of Buenos Aires and asking if they are doing any DNA research? You might be able to hook into this, and you never know..... OK, the nurse is here to take me for an airing..... OC

Thanks, Crone, and no, you're never boring. My father's background is a closed book to me. Only after he died did I discover that he had been adopted and his birth mother was South American - probably from Buenos Aires. With nothing more than a picture of her and a first name - Minette - I fear I will never be able to explore that line. So the DNA question is a sort of last desperate attempt to shake something out of the tree.

Oooh, Paul, you shouldn't have asked me, I can bore for England on this subject! Right - what do you HOPE to find out from DNA testing? It can, fairly efficiently, place you in a 'tribe', with other people who must share an ancestor with you. Problem is, it cannot tell you that ancestor's name, nor when or where he lived, so prettty useless info really, from a Family History point of view. Most of these tests seem to be taken up by Americans/Australians etc who are anxious to prove an English lineage and are hoping thereby to link into someone else's carefully researched tree. I personally think these tests are a waste of money except in unusual circumstances - nothing can beat a carefully researched tree. OC

There are a number of companies now (Oxford Ancestors, Family Tree DNA, etc) who will offer you the results of DNA tests for researching your ancestry. They all seem terribly expensive and I wonder if the results have any real value to people like us. Have you experience of this? What do you think?