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FamilyHistoryGal

FamilyHistoryGal

LostCousins Member
I have now sent off my DNA sample. I've never really been bothered about doing a DNA test before. However, it is a last ditch attempt to see if I can discover my maternal grandfather's father. He was born out of wedlock so we have no idea who fathered him.

I'm wondering how a match would occur though. If I got a match from someone not already on my tree would that be a clue? My grandfather was originally from Somerset and as my great grandmother never went very far in her early life I presume I would be looking for someone with Dorset/Somerset roots?

Perhaps I need further info on how it all works - haven't got a clue really!
 
FamilyHistoryGal said:
I have now sent off my DNA sample. I've never really been bothered about doing a DNA test before. However, it is a last ditch attempt to see if I can discover my maternal grandfather's father. He was born out of wedlock so we have no idea who fathered him.

I'm wondering how a match would occur though. If I got a match from someone not already on my tree would that be a clue? My grandfather was originally from Somerset and as my great grandmother never went very far in her early life I presume I would be looking for someone with Dorset/Somerset roots?

Perhaps I need further info on how it all works - haven't got a clue really!
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It would be helpful to know which tests you are having done and with which company.
 
I hesitated to say which company because I didn't know whether it was classed as advertising. I've just taken the Ancestry DNA and they didn't give me a choice of test. It only cost £49.
 
Ancestry only offer autosomal DNA tests, but never buy any test without knowing what you're getting - even if it is the only one on offer.

What you will get when you test is between 1000 and 2000 matches, and they'll be from every part of your tree (so perhaps 100 or more from the line represented by the unknown great-grandfather. The challenge is to figure out which matches are from which part of the tree, and that's when it's extremely useful for cousins to test.
 
Yes, paid £20 extra for P & P. What other tests could I take if I am enthused by the Ancestry results? Besides autosomal what other types are there and what info will they give me? Grateful for any further info Peter.
 
FamilyHistoryGal said:
Yes, paid £20 extra for P & P. What other tests could I take if I am enthused by the Ancestry results? Besides autosomal what other types are there and what info will they give me? Grateful for any further info Peter.
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Autosomal tests are the only ones I recommend whole-heartedly. But see my newsletter articles for a run-down on the other tests.
 
I have now also taken a DNA test with Living DNA and I must say I was far more impressed with their service compared to Ancestry. Just look at the difference in my results:

ANCESTRY

45% Europe West
36% Ireland
13% Scandinavia
3% Italy/Greece
2% Iberian Peninsula
1% European Jewish

LIVING DNA

92.3% Great Britain & Ireland
4.7% Europe (North and West)
2.9% Europe Unassigned

Some difference? Living DNA results chime in with my own research

I also belong to Haplogroup K with mitochondrial DNA

Loved the Regional Breakdown for Great Britain too
 
The article The evolution of ethnicity estimates in the latest newsletter focuses on this issue.

Of course, in a year's time we might all be criticising the Living DNA breakdowns - but for now, they seem to be the best available.

But whichever company you test with, please support LostCousins by clicking a relevant link in my newsletter before ordering (even if the only one you can find is for an offer that has expired).
 
FamilyHistoryGal, just wondering about your Living DNA results....I presume there is a regional breakdown, otherwise it does not really tell you much. Interestingly, the Ancestry results give you a Jewish connection that I presume would not have come to light if you had just used Living DNA.
 
Hi Emjay,

Yes would love to post my regional results and will have to work out how to do it on this website - watch this space. The Jewish connection is hardly worth mentioning at 1% (room for error) and as the ethnicity results between the two companies vary so much could even be wrong!
 
Very interesting indeed - I'm currently waiting for my Living DNA results, but I'm reasonably happy with my Ancestry results (they have confirmed a number of question marks), but it should be interesting if my Jewish links show up in their results, as one of my 2nd great grandmothers was Jewish.

At this point in time, while Ancestry shows my Jewish-ness at 9%, it is not, so far, one of my genetic communities. The two genetic communities I have been given do match what my research has shown me for the rest of my family tree. (Purely British Isles, which, other than the Jewish line, is pretty much correct).

And like FamilyHistoryGal, I have an illegitimate great-grandfather (on the maternal side), who I would love DNA to shine a light on, and I just contacted a possible maternal 3rd cousin who I can't match to a known line yet, so there is a little bit of hope.
 
I have an illegitimate father, and just knowing that my DNA is primarily English would not be of much help. On both sides everyone originated from the U.K., as far back as I have checked. Of course I cannot go back with him since I know nothing about his father, except probably his name - too common - and have little to no information on his mother besides her name - also too common - and who she married later.
 
canadianbeth said:
I have an illegitimate father, and just knowing that my DNA is primarily English would not be of much help.
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A great reason to test with Living DNA if you haven't already done so - but also test with Ancestry so that you can connect with cousins. Not knowing the names of your ancestors doesn't stop you connecting with cousins - it simply makes it a bit more difficult to find out how you're connected.
 
Yes, look at our Regional Results Canadian Beth - Living DNA breaks down which part of the UK your last 10 generation of ancestors came from.
 
canadianbeth said:
I have an illegitimate father, and just knowing that my DNA is primarily English would not be of much help. On both sides everyone originated from the U.K., as far back as I have checked. Of course I cannot go back with him since I know nothing about his father, except probably his name - too common - and have little to no information on his mother besides her name - also too common - and who she married later.
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I'm in that boat as well - even my closest Jewish ancestor was born in London. But I think it's also important to know which parts of the UK, as it will help narrow down searches and give you limitations - i.e. I know my ancestors are most likely from this area, etc. Otherwise you're searching the entire UK, which with emigrant ancestors can be an issue.

I know, as far as it is possible to know, that I have relatives from Wales - Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire mostly, Scotland (with a bit of Irish/Scottish emigration going on) mostly lowlands, and England - including: Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, a bit of Hampshire (and maybe Kent?), Durham, Yorkshire, Shropshire... There's always a problem when your ancestors emigrate first... then get married. Always easier if they marry before the emigrate (then at least they're both from the same area!).

I want to see what Living DNA makes of my migrant ancestry to see if they can narrow down some of the areas that my ancestors are from, because I know they also moved around within the UK before emigration to Australia occurred.
 
canadianbeth said:
Of course I cannot go back with him since I know nothing about his father, except probably his name - too common - and have little to no information on his mother besides her name - also too common - and who she married later.
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Easily solved using DNA - roughly a quarter of all your DNA cousins will be related to you via each of your father's parents, so you will be overwhelmed with clues. Best to test some maternal cousins so that you can determine which of the closest matches are on each side of your tree.
 
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Just ordered a Living DNA test via the Lost Cousins link.
I have 2 illegitimate children on my maternal side, so hoping it may show up some interesting information.
 
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