I know. I already did an ancestral DNA test with 23andMe. Why did I do one from Ancestry.com? Well, mostly because I am hoping to some day find a DNA match whose family tree looks nothing like mine. My great-great-grandmother had four children but was never married. My great-grandmother didn’t know her father’s name (at least that I know of). Ancestry.com matches people so you can compare family trees. It’s my hope that I’ll be able to find descendants from that anonymous great-great-grandfather to at least know his name and go from there.
Now on to my Ancestry.com DNA results!
Of the 26 major ethnicity regions tested I have the highest percentage of Native American. Great Britain, Iberian Peninsula, and Europe West are fairly close together. What surprised me was the 18% from Ireland. What? I have no genealogy that traces any family back to Ireland. My husband does, but I don’t. So what is going on?
I clicked on Ireland to expand that view and read more.
See where it says “Primarily located in: Ireland, Wales, Scotland” at the top? Now it makes sense! I have a lot of Welsh ancestors. Their genes must be pretty strong as they are coming through in second place after my Native American ancestry. Who would have thought?
Edward Ashton, Jane Treharne, Ellen Phillips , and George Duggan Gibbs would be so proud.
One interesting detail with my Ancestry.com results is the how it breaks up the Africa regions. I knew I had 4% African already but Ancestry gives more precise details.
Two percent of my African ethnicity can be traced to North Africa while Mali and Cameroon/Congo make up the rest. Fascinating!
Another interesting tidbit is the Middle Eastern ethnicity that Ancestry isolated.
Half of the specific regions Ancestry.com tests for are part of my DNA. I think that is awesome! Of the major regions only two, Pacific Islander and Asia, are not represented. I am truly a diverse mix!
Just think! All these people and many more make me who I am today. You can explore my DNA results further here.
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I’m so happy to see that you have tested with both companies and can share your thoughts on the experience! We’ve been slowly but surely testing my family, as my ancestors are being stubborn and not revealing themselves through traditional means. My husband’s family has their genealogy research done very thoroughly, as they are long-time LDS, and they have had relatives who willingly paid for their family history to be researched. I and my parents are converts, and we’re having to work for it!
Anyway, I saw that you’re hoping to forward your genealogy research through DNA, and I thought that I would share a resource that I found that does exactly that. The group is called yOung and Savvy Genealogists’, and they are a fantastic resource! They have a Facebook group- You can search for them on Facebook and request to join, and a YouTube channel that is really great. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCTp3edMcSuMi5xHupPUihjQ?rdm=2ee90g38c&client=mv-google
They’re always posting genealogy research and information, and they’re incredibly helpful. My biggest take away was the information about the database called GED Match. You upload your DNA results from whichever source you choose to the database, and it works it’s database magic seeking familial matches for you. This is incredibly helpful, especially for those of us with stubborn ancestors!
They also have a blog- http://youngandsavvygenealogists.blogspot.com
and a Google+ community.
I wish you luck with your searches!
Awesome resources! Thanks so much for sharing, Anita.
If you could only do one of the tests which one would you pick? Do they have a sale or deal? I’m hoping to do this for my birthday, but it’s a bit of a stretch financially. 🙂
It really depends on what you want the DNA test for. If you are wanting to further your genealogy go with Ancestry.com’s test. If you are wanting to know not only ancestral DNA but also mitochondrial DNA and be able to compare with other relatives exactly which parts of the chromosomes you share go with 23andMe. They have some really neat features and graphs. My kids can see what genes they got from my parents. You don’t get that or the mitchondrial DNA with Ancestry. Both companies usually have sales around major holidays.