How to Deal With Disturbing DNA Test Revelation

[mulletpelini 5216]

if he posts here I bet he don't

[Soldierhorn 206]

On 4/18/2018 at 8:21 AM, KYHorn said:

I recommend all of you who have gotten your DNA tests download the raw data. This is your raw DNA info base pair by base pair. You can then upload it to a number of really useful sites that can give you info beyond your ethnic makeup. GEDMatch and Promethease are 2 of my favorites. GEDMatch is free and allows you to find relatives and see the exact locations on each chromosome where you and your matches have the same DNA. This can be helpful if you're looking to trace exactly how you're related to various people, and if you have your family members' raw data, you can compare yourself with them and figure out exactly what traits you share with them (depending on if they are siblings, cousins, parents, grandparents, etc). With Promethease, you pay a very small one-time fee ($5 or $10- I can't remember) and upload your raw DNA and it will compare your DNA to a huge database of existing DNA research that will tell you what your genotypes are associated with, including health risks, rare traits, personality types, and other random findings (for example, I have a trait where I taste bitter strongly, which explains why I don't like coffee and other bitter things). 

good info. I have taken several genealogical DNA tests and Ancestry has been the least informative and useful.  

[Soldierhorn 206]

On 4/24/2018 at 6:33 AM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I’m not a conspiracy minded person but I don’t see the benefit outside of some minor entertainment to give your dna to these companies.  

well, if you dont value genealogy, then dont do it. 

Over the past 10 years I've received some really good info and leads helping my research from people all over the world.  For example, a guy in southern England and I are related somehow with a 37 pt match and we just have to find that common person in the 1600s that came to America (probably Boston but it could have been Carolinas).  He wrote a book taking his English ancestry (same surname) back to 1068 so finding this one match would be huge with regards to family history. 

 

[Soldierhorn 206]

On 4/26/2018 at 1:56 PM, KYHorn said:

I found this article to be helpful when I was making my decision. http://www.legalgenealogist.com/2015/02/02/2015-most-bang-for-the-dna-buck/ 

A quote from that link: 

"If you’re serious about using DNA as a tool in your genealogy toolkit and you can only afford to test with one company, then the company to test with is Family Tree DNA."

FamilyTreeDNA is the one that have found the most useful for genealogy purposes.  They're the oldest (going back to the '90s) and had the largest worldwide database to get potential matches. 

[KYHorn 17159]

4 hours ago, Soldierhorn said:

A quote from that link: 

"If you’re serious about using DNA as a tool in your genealogy toolkit and you can only afford to test with one company, then the company to test with is Family Tree DNA."

FamilyTreeDNA is the one that have found the most useful for genealogy purposes.  They're the oldest (going back to the '90s) and had the largest worldwide database to get potential matches. 

I use them for YDNA. They may be the only site that still provides it. If you're looking for paternal ancestry, YDNA is definitely a good way to get info, but it's damn expensive.

Edited July 2, 2019 by KYHorn

[Soldierhorn 206]

6 hours ago, KYHorn said:

I use them for YDNA. They may be the only site that still provides it. If you're looking for paternal ancestry, YDNA is definitely a good way to get info, but it's damn expensive.

agree... and I have found the YDNA as the most useful tool for genealogy purposes; everything else has been pretty much fluff, IMO (other than medical info of course), esp the halo groupings - great marketing but of little value even if they were accurate, which I doubt they are. 

The guy in England that I mentioned earlier as a DNA match is someone I never knew and very little chance of ever knowing; the only way we "know" each other is from the results of YDNA test match in a database and communicate via emails.  If you are serious about genealogy, have some men in different lines of the family take a YDNA test.  I ordered another packet and I'm planning on going up to the Okiehoma indian reservation.  We have a direct male relative on my mom's maternal side of Cherokee decent from the Trail of Tears who would be a great candidate for this. 

[KYHorn 17159]

6 minutes ago, Soldierhorn said:

agree... and I have found the YDNA as the most useful tool for genealogy purposes; everything else has been pretty much fluff, IMO (other than medical info of course), esp the halo groupings - great marketing but of little value even if they were accurate, which I doubt they are. 

The guy in England that I mentioned earlier as a DNA match is someone I never knew and very little chance of ever knowing; the only way we "know" each other is from the results of YDNA test match in a database and communicate via emails.  If you are serious about genealogy, have some men in different lines of the family take a YDNA test.  I ordered another packet and I'm planning on going up to the Okiehoma indian reservation.  We have a direct male relative on my mom's maternal side of Cherokee decent from the Trail of Tears who would be a great candidate for this. 

What level of YDNA have you gone to? I did 37 and am hesitant to buy further, as I have very few close matches

[Soldierhorn 206]

41 minutes ago, KYHorn said:

What level of YDNA have you gone to? I did 37 and am hesitant to buy further, as I have very few close matches

I bought up to YDNA 67.  What's the highest match? 100-something?  I have been tempted to buy up to that level when the next sale comes out... but my suspicions are that it wont add anything more than what I have now.  I could be wrong but I think for someone to be more than YDNA-67 match, they would be a direct relative within a few generations and those are people I know... and I have more than I need already. If I was adopted and trying to find direct relatives, I would probably pay for the highest I could get.  I think I would rather spend the money and get more packets in order to get other cheap SOB relative males to become part of the data base, and the responses would then come back to me. 

The Cherokee cousin several times removed could likely be a 37 or 67 point match (According to our family oral history, supposedly, we have three separate lines of Cherokee but that is not unusual with a linage of four hundred years in the south, esp with Scott/Irish background. For whatever reason, the Scott/Irish and Cherokee seemed to intermix a lot).  The way I see it, if a person is a high match, they will also be a 37 or 67 pt match as well and I will get an email notification regardless.  Your YDNA-37 could still pick up a guy that is many generations and hundreds of genealogical years removed like I am with the bloke in England (that's an assumption; there were several migrations of our surname including one group in the 1800s through New Orleans). 

I took my FamilyTreeDNA test about a decade ago, if not more and I still get weekly notices of matches; got a YDNA-12 match notice yesterday matter of fact.  I generally dont chase after YDNA-12 results until I accumulate quite a few of them and check them all out at the same time.  And, every once in a while I will get an email directly from a person outside of the FamilyTreeDNA automatic response.  Once I got an email from a guy form Hamilton, TX (or that is what his profile said) and we are definitely related (37 pt match). Hamilton is a short ride NW of Gatesville.  He hadnt done any genealogy work so there wasnt anywhere to go with the information. I told him the surnames of my ancestors buried in the cemeteries up in that area and if he finds something that matches to let me know.  Low and behold, we ended up stationed at Camp Liberty in Iraq at the same time and had lunch a few times. We are definitely related somehow but we just cant figure out how just yet. That never would have happened without taking the FamilyTreeDNA test. 

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Soldierhorn