To DNA or Not To DNA? That is the question!

Lol....I was waiting for that, I’m actually more worried that ‘they’ (who ever they are) might discover that I’m the missing link, a kind of weird Neanderthal..
You might be like Ben Richards on the old TV show! From wikipedia - The Immortal is an American television series, starring Christopher George as a man whose blood chemistry and resistance to almost all diseases (including old age) makes him both almost immortal and a target of several wealthy men who would basically use him as a personal blood bank, aired on ABC from September 24, 1970 to January 14, 1971.

 
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You might be like Ben Richards on the old TV show! From wikipedia - The Immortal is an American television series, starring Christopher George as a man whose blood chemistry and resistance to almost all diseases (including old age) makes him both almost immortal and a target of several wealthy men who would basically use him as a personal blood bank, aired on ABC from September 24, 1970 to January 14, 1971.
I've never heard of this show before but am both intrigued and creeped out. :D
 
Thanks! I was unaware of Promethease.

And yes I agree about the dangers of blindly using Ancestry. The records it provides access to are wonderful. Other people's trees, not necessarily. We have a pretty good thread chronicling how not to use it: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/how-not-to-ancestry.104625/
The great thing about Ancestry now is you can add notes and corrections. It used to be a real hassle to try to get them to change something their transcribers, all volunteers, got wrong.
 
The great thing about Ancestry now is you can add notes and corrections. It used to be a real hassle to try to get them to change something their transcribers, all volunteers, got wrong.
This is especially true where the records are in another language; I've been going through church records from Mexico and there are significant errors- not just from the handwriting, but also from the terminology. I've found the records on Family Search to be more accurate (although I think they're affiliated with Ancestry in some fashion?), and there's a better understanding of the terms/abbreviations in use.
 
I forgot to add--my granddaughter does have considerable Native American ancestry through her father's side. And it shows up in her DNA report. Not that we didn't think it would, but it's fun for her. As the sample grows of folks who have various Native American ancestry, the science we have now will enable us to see more and more relationships over time (like it has with European and other groups).
My wife's family came from Mexico, and I've traced several family lines back to the 1800s; Ancestry showed 25% Native American (Mexico/Central America) DNA, clustered around Durango and Zacatecas. We were puzzled by the result, as her maternal DNA should've been 50% (or at least pretty close to it), with her maternal line as far as we can trace it coming from Mexico. I'm hoping this gets refined as well.
 
We found a lost 1st cousin, and reconnected with her. On the other hand, our DNA profile is ultimately not protected, if only from hacking. There is that trade-off. Are you the kind to cover up the self-facing camera on your computer or phone and keep the auto-mic off?
 
The great thing about Ancestry now is you can add notes and corrections. It used to be a real hassle to try to get them to change something their transcribers, all volunteers, got wrong.
Much of their transcriptions are actually done by software, which explains some of the REALLY bad transcriptions. The city directories are a perfect example.
 
My wife's family came from Mexico, and I've traced several family lines back to the 1800s; Ancestry showed 25% Native American (Mexico/Central America) DNA, clustered around Durango and Zacatecas. We were puzzled by the result, as her maternal DNA should've been 50% (or at least pretty close to it), with her maternal line as far as we can trace it coming from Mexico. I'm hoping this gets refined as well.
I think this is a common issue with non-European DNA results, though I am under the impression they're trying to broaden their database. I know my stepmom has said her mom's DNA results on Ancestry are much better for the English American side of the family than it is her Filipino side.
 
My wife's family came from Mexico, and I've traced several family lines back to the 1800s; Ancestry showed 25% Native American (Mexico/Central America) DNA, clustered around Durango and Zacatecas. We were puzzled by the result, as her maternal DNA should've been 50% (or at least pretty close to it), with her maternal line as far as we can trace it coming from Mexico. I'm hoping this gets refined as well.
I think this is a common issue with non-European DNA results, though I am under the impression they're trying to broaden their database. I know my stepmom has said her mom's DNA results on Ancestry are much better for the English American side of the family than it is her Filipino side.
It likely will the more people from those areas submit their DNA to the database. If you read the Ancestry site, they actually discuss this and explain why you could see 'changes' in your DNA summary as more samples are added to the database and traits are narrowed down even more.
 
It likely will the more people from those areas submit their DNA to the database. If you read the Ancestry site, they actually discuss this and explain why you could see 'changes' in your DNA summary as more samples are added to the database and traits are narrowed down even more.
Yes, that makes sense--thank you!
 
My wife's family came from Mexico, and I've traced several family lines back to the 1800s; Ancestry showed 25% Native American (Mexico/Central America) DNA, clustered around Durango and Zacatecas. We were puzzled by the result, as her maternal DNA should've been 50% (or at least pretty close to it), with her maternal line as far as we can trace it coming from Mexico. I'm hoping this gets refined as well.

Yes, I can't wait till it is!
 
A couple of thoughts on using DNA...

Be aware that scandals can be uncovered. My first cousin came back listed as my half sister. We are not quite sure what to make of this, but have agreed that we are not going to discuss it in the family until both of our mothers have passed away (both of our dads, who were brothers, are deceased). The skeleton in the closet should stay in the closet if somebody is going to be hurt by taking it out. There was also a story on the news this morning about a dad who turned out not to be the biological father of the daughter he and his wife had with the help of a fertility clinic.

If you are worried about privacy, you can always submit the test under an assumed name or initials. I'm the family genealogist, so in my family, I purchase and distribute the tests. This gives the test-ee a measure of privacy.

Know that the nationality percentages are wonky. There's a video on YouTube of three identical triplets - that's one egg split 3 ways - that got different results in terms of nationality. Ancestry blamed the Algorithm that they used.

That said, it did help us find a cousin/half brother who had been given up for adoption as a newborn, although it took tries with two different companies to find him. When we didn't find him on 23andMe, we tried Family Tree DNA. Amazingly, after 53 years, my cousin and her adopted brother both submitted their DNA the same month!

It has been useful in genealogy, and I've found cousins who I was able to help with the family tree, getting them back further than they knew.

Hope this helps!
 
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