Gransnet forums

Genealogy/memories

DNA help please

(60 Posts)
Anniebach Sat 08-Dec-18 13:18:04

Younger daughter has bought me a DNA test, I have to register it with Ancestry then send it off and wait.

What can I expect ? I have not the foggiest how it all works

Chestnut Mon 02-Sep-19 17:04:01

'Owain Gwynedd was the first Prince of Wales'
Agreed, and Owain Glyndwr was the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales some 200-300 years later (appears in Shakespeare's Henry 1V and V). It was 'Gwynedd' that Greg Davis was descended from and not 'Glyndwr' as stated.

luckyrose62 Mon 02-Sep-19 16:29:09

My husband has always tanned easily and was dark haired. I used to joke with him about where his DNA must be from. Where I am fairish with green eyes. So our present to each other was My Heritage DNA which was a swab
Well my husband is 100%English I originated Middle East tiny amount then Spanish then French then ?British. Which was a good result a 1st cousin twice removed was linked. He answered an important bit of history. My father always said we were from Hugeonot descent. Which I did not believe So this man told me this without me asking. If you have a bit of spare cash it’s a bit of fun with interest. So I am 57 varieties and he English. I am not allowed to forget this grin

Anniebach Mon 02-Sep-19 16:11:47

Owain Gwynedd was the first Prince of Wales

Chestnut Mon 02-Sep-19 15:38:45

Luckygirl, just came onto the forum and saw your mention of Greg Davies being descended from Owain Glyndyr. But realised that he was in fact descended from Owain Gwynedd, a different person! Very confusing but if you check Wiki you'll find them. I had never heard of Owain Gwynedd so this was all new to me.

Esspee Wed 12-Jun-19 06:11:18

I chose to do the "23 and me" DNA test which also provides medical information.
I was delighted to find that I don't carry the breast/prostate cancer gene nor the Alzheimer's gene.

BradfordLass72 Wed 12-Jun-19 06:00:28

I have traced my provable ancestry back, mostly on my mother's side, to the early 1500's and unprovably, but because the surname is unusual and most of us originated from one small Yorkshire village, back to 1300's via a Poll Tax record.

When I look at the huge scroll of my ancestors and know there are many more on Dad's side and beyond, it amazes me that there are only 3 of us left!

I have recently traced a first cousin still alive and I value her very much. She's just become a grandma so I suppose I have a 2nd cousin twice removed smile

I wish I could afford a DNA test because I'd like to know if I have more relatives anywhere - but please not aristocracy or royal, I couldn't bear that. hmm

Clara6 Wed 12-Dec-18 15:29:14

I sent a sample to Ancestry last year, but they couldn't get enough DNA from it and I had to submit another sample. The second time I scraped the inside of my cheeks with a toothbrush and spit that into the sample, so it worked. Read the small print of the terms and conditions and be aware of how your dna results could be released to other companies. In America, for instance, the police are allowed to search the Ancestry DNA database to find relatives of murderers making it easier for them to catch a killer. I'm not suggesting you have a murderer in your family tree though!

Anniebach Wed 12-Dec-18 08:36:15

oldgaijin. Thank you. Yes I am 100% Welsh regardless of the DNA results ?. Hope I can breakdown some brick walls, my greatest wish is to find a descendant of William brn 1834, but very, very unlikely.
How exciting you have found two first cousins in the USA, I have nineteen first cousins, fifteen live in Wales and four in England so there will be no first cousins to be found

oldgaijin Wed 12-Dec-18 08:08:02

Anniebach, it is totally fascinating and you can break down brick walls...just last night I found two first cousins in the USA. I am sure you are 100% Welsh, just as I am 100% Scots, even though my ancestry is mainly S. England and N. Europe! I think there is a little bit of Viking in us all.

Grandma2213 Mon 10-Dec-18 23:53:51

My DS bought me a subscription to Ancestry which I loved researching and I built quite a big family tree up to 3/4 generations back. Trouble is I kept getting sidetracked onto interesting lines so finally ran out of time!

I went with MyHeritage for a DNA test as I heard a programme saying it had the biggest database for comparisons. No spitting required, just a swab. As expected 9.1% Scandinavian because my great grandparents came from Sweden. 6.7% Finnish unexpected but it is not too far away. Despite only having Scottish and Irish ancestors otherwise I was 82.1% English That was a shock until I looked at the map with the results and it actually covered England. Wales, Scotland and Ireland. What really surprised me was the 1.1% North African and the 1% Nigerian. I wish I had a time machine to see how all this happened.

My other DS also took the test some time later and his English was only 27.5% but he also had 31.2% Irish/Scottish/Welsh. Maybe their database has become more sophisticated in the few months since I did it. On the other hand he was 40.5% Scandinavian. I struggled with this as I was only 9.1% and he is supposed to have inherited 50% of my genes. Maybe mathematicians could explain this! His 0.8% Greek must have come from his father!

They very quickly identified us as parent and child, though I appear to have hundreds of 3rd 4th and 5th cousins. They also identified one nephew

Jalima1108 Mon 10-Dec-18 23:30:59

Better not to know Anniebach!

fiorentina51 Mon 10-Dec-18 19:05:40

The health test is optional. I didn't bother with it.

Anniebach Mon 10-Dec-18 18:23:55

Thanks Jelima I wouldn’t bother with tests for health conditions no matter my age

Jalima1108 Mon 10-Dec-18 18:05:52

I think that 23 and Me is a genetic testing company - they will test for ancestry but also for health conditions.

(23 pairs of chromosomes)

Anniebach Mon 10-Dec-18 14:16:48

Espee. Thank you. I have never heard of ‘23 and me’

Esspee Mon 10-Dec-18 14:12:34

I know there are people who would prefer not to be told if they were likely to contract certain conditions but I am the opposite. I take full responsibility for my health and work in partnership with medical professionals.
Ancestry is something I intend to research when I finally give up work and perhaps am less busy but it is nice to be informed periodically that new genetic relatives have signed up to 23 and me.
They correctly identified my son despite me registering under a nom de plume so I do have faith that the ancestry information provided is accurate.

Esspee Mon 10-Dec-18 14:01:04

Anniebach I chose to use "23 and me* after Michael Mosley used it on his TV programme. I was particularly interested in inherited diseases and was happy to open all the locked results.
In the USA the FDA stopped "23 and me" giving some test results out so they have a diluted version nowadays as far as I am aware.

JudyT Mon 10-Dec-18 11:09:39

Sometimes my Gransnet doesn't load up. Today's for instance. The line endlessly travels across the top of the screen. This older post opened at once. I wonder where the problem lies and if others are experiencing this?

Purpledaffodil Sun 09-Dec-18 18:13:03

Bought DH an Ancestry test last year as a birthday present. He had a fantasy that his DF was descended from Spanish Armada wrecked off Ireland. Results disproved this, but resulted in Welsh, Irish and Scottish heritage. Also a small percentage of Finnish which was interesting. I would dismiss as smoke and mirrors, but one of his relatives they flagged up had the same surname as his paternal GM. Have not taken it any further as post stroke, his literacy isn’t up to it and I have plenty of other stuff on my plate!

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 17:25:15

When all's said and done, we are all related. grin
I bet that's a rather uncomfortable feeling...eh?

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 12:26:04

I did a lot of researching with my job GabrielllaG
Yes - fascinating.

Heritage and our origins are fascinating subjects.

Anniebach Sun 09-Dec-18 12:19:51

Interesting for the thread

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 12:17:48

Jalima1108

To you or to me?
You must spend a lot of time researching and copy/pasting articles. What a thrilling hobby.
If you're trying (unsuccesfully) to link that effort to me...so what?
The fact that you chose to spend time trying to effect a negative reaction says much about you and nothing about me.
Have a great day. winegrin

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 12:08:07

I am 25% Spanish through my maternal GM

In three African populations Neanderthal genes were vanishingly rare, and in the lipid processing area accounted for 2% of genes. Five European and three Asian populations had very similar rates of overall Neanderthal genes in the study – around 6% of those sampled, although more extensive studies have estimated 1-4%. However, in the lipid cluster this reached 20% for Europeans (and higher still for a sample from Spain, where Neanderthals are believe to have made their last stand) while being a third of that in the Japanese and northern and southern Chinese groups studied.

Interesting.

Anniebach Sun 09-Dec-18 11:55:41

Gabriella I don’t care if we originated from Africa
My direct line back to the 17th century is Welsh, good enough for me to say ‘I am Welsh’ no hope , no think, I am