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To: grundle

DNA tests are not necessarily reliable for the purpose of establishing precise ethnicity. DNA is not passed down equally among siblings and your DNA has likely been watered down by hundreds of people’s DNA over many generations.
The test does not necessarily mean she doesn’t descend from a particular tribe.

These tests are quite useful in identifying distant cousins and assisting genealogists in research. Ancestry and other sites are being swamped by people that are clueless about genealogy and expect some magic DNA test to save them from the hard work of genealogy.


26 posted on 12/17/2018 11:02:41 AM PST by plain talk
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To: plain talk

My teenage daughter wants a DNA test for Christmas. I have one grandmother who can trace her family back to the Mayflower and my other grandmother’s mom was adopted. We know where my grandfathers were from and my husband knows where all his grandparents were from. It’s my grandmas who provide the mystery.

While going through my maternal grandma’s things we found a book of days started by her maternal grandmother. We knew that my great-great grandpa (who with his wife adopted my great grandmother) was a local attorney who was elected to the state legislature. What we discovered in that book of records and news clippings was how successful his siblings and cousins were. There have been no major university presidents, well known physicians, etc. in recent generations. Mom and I figured that the key to success must have been wired into the DNA...which we don’t share ;-).


53 posted on 12/17/2018 11:21:10 AM PST by NorthstarMom
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To: plain talk
DNA tests are not necessarily reliable for the purpose of establishing precise ethnicity. DNA is not passed down equally among siblings and your DNA has likely been watered down by hundreds of people’s DNA over many generations. The test does not necessarily mean she doesn’t descend from a particular tribe.

These tests are quite useful in identifying distant cousins and assisting genealogists in research. Ancestry and other sites are being swamped by people that are clueless about genealogy and expect some magic DNA test to save them from the hard work of genealogy.


It's a fascinating thing to participate in for us siblings. - more of a leisurely conversation piece, mind you. Our two grandfathers came, one from the northern coast of Spain and the other from Italy. One maternal great-grandfather came from French Canada. The rest of our lineage is mostly Irish.

Of the three of us siblings, the results from Ancestry.com was fairly equal, with a preponderance of the results from Ireland/Scotland. Although as it turned out, I got the lion's share of France at 37%, and only a remainder from Spain and Italy (14% and 6% respectively). My brother and sister got a better percentage of those two. Now I get needled for my culinary tastes, LOL.

70 posted on 12/17/2018 11:48:59 AM PST by COBOL2Java (Marxism: Trendy theory, wrong species)
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To: plain talk
Ancestry and other sites are being swamped by people that are clueless about genealogy and expect some magic DNA test to save them from the hard work of genealogy.

I have a cousin who works for ancestry. They have quite a useful and well-documented site for those willing to do a little work. The DNA testing product was introduced because they found so many people unwilling to do just a little work on their documentary site.

Once you've done a little work, the DNA test can be quite useful to fill gaps. Before then, it is mostly just for bragging rights.

88 posted on 12/17/2018 12:24:00 PM PST by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys all aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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