tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post4776335649521327620..comments2024-03-08T15:43:54.700+00:00Comments on Cruwys news: My updated ethnicity results from AncestryDNA - a British perspectiveDebbie Kennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-31869018665174607892021-01-12T23:29:31.176+00:002021-01-12T23:29:31.176+00:00The "ethnicity" percentages are based on...The "ethnicity" percentages are based on comparisons with modern populations. <br /><br />I wrote an article last year for <i>Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine</i> which explains how these percentages are calculated:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/dna/what-do-dna-test-results-mean/" rel="nofollow">https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/dna/what-do-dna-test-results-mean/</a><br /><br />You might also find of interest the presentation I did at Family Tree Live in 2019 where I go into a more detailed explanation of the workings of these tests: <br /><br /><a href="https://youtu.be/BUF0Stujq6M" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/BUF0Stujq6M</a>Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-84790759119763758842020-12-21T13:36:42.636+00:002020-12-21T13:36:42.636+00:00The Ancestry results have recently been updated ag...The Ancestry results have recently been updated again and are proving more confusing than ever. My English/Western European results have always been high at 85%, the rest made up of Scots/Irish and Norwegian. However this time others are getting a 'Germanic Europe' results, I haven't. I checked my 'cousin matches' and half had none but the other half were between 2% and 8%. <br />I live in Northwest England so I was a bit confused to have no 'Germanic Dna', neither Germany nor Denmark is showing on my DNA map either but Norway is and so is Northern Switzerland...both considered to have 'Germanic populations'. Interestingly my MtDNA haplogroup is J2a1 which is linked to the Alpine region.<br />I then came across an Ancestry Q & A segment, I don't know who wrote it, whether it was someone connected to Ancestry or not, I didn't take a lot of notice but I was amazed by the 'answer' that Ancestry's 'Germanic doesn't include Anglo Saxons'. I twigged that it meant modern German Ancestry, as per immigration to the U.S. That's a very confusing for a British person who doesn't look into it further. <br />I am quite surprised it is showing on my Ancestry map when they can't pick out 'Anglo Saxon' yet.<br />Now to my husbands...half Ashkenazi, oddly that seems easy for them to identify but where on earth does someone who's ancestors come from Lancashire get virtually no English DNA? He has a touch of Welsh and Portugese but the rest is Scotland and Wales. I went back about 7 generations and his maternal grandmother was a Moffatt (ironic) but his DNA map was showing Eastern Highlands. Irish was South Eastern Irish. Now there is a lot of Irish and Scots Ancestry in Britain generally but it was a surprise to see he had so little English, especially as his grandparent had a 'Lancashire surname'. I did wonder if it was just a sign of West Atlantic route. Strange that we have heritage in the same country but our results are so different...discounting the Ashkenazi of course. My mainland Europe map was North Eastern quarter of France, Holland, Belgium plus the other bits I mentioned. You think you know who you are but I find the picture very confusing to be honest. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00356187907244129967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-73447120082292439032017-03-29T16:23:20.948+01:002017-03-29T16:23:20.948+01:00Ironically, Ancestry DNA says I am only 2% Italian...Ironically, Ancestry DNA says I am only 2% Italian/Greek and 2% Caucuses region (West Asian). However, GEDmatch has me at 26% Mediterranean and 9.5% West Asian. The GEDmatch results are far more accurate. I have recent ancestry from southern Italy. Southern Italy was attacked many times by the Ottomans.... this explains why my Mediterranean ancestry also has a very measurable amount of West Asian.<br /><br />At only 2% Italian/Greek as Ancestry DNA says, that would be like my only Italian relative would have been a great great great grandfather... and that simply isn't so. <br /><br />Ancestry DNA says it is an "ethnicity estimate", where are GEDmatch simply breaks down the chromosome and is the real science of where those traits come from...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00856478641252033001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-56571031150790674322016-12-31T20:31:15.285+00:002016-12-31T20:31:15.285+00:00Lin
You shouldn't take the country percentage...Lin<br /><br />You shouldn't take the country percentages literally. Having 28% "Irish" doesn't mean that you have lots of Irish ancestors. Most English people with little or no Irish ancestry are coming out with high percentages of "Irish". The problem is that the British and Irish are genetically very similar and with the AncestryDNA test it's not possible to distinguish between the two. The main reason for taking the Ancestry is to have access to your matches with your genetic cousins. You should focus on contacting your matches and exchanging genealogical information with them.<br /><br />Best wishes<br /><br />DebbieDebbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-87591057164113500452016-12-30T14:50:11.452+00:002016-12-30T14:50:11.452+00:00As I've only just had my results I've stil...<br />As I've only just had my results I've still to get my head around it all. <br />Can anyone help me with this, it's all so confusing.💐<br /><br />I am 55% British and 28% Irish. Can anyone tell me if that means my ancestors started out in Ireland and then moved to Britain.<br />My family tree that I have goes back about to my great, great,great,great,great granddad with no Irish connection. So I'm thinking I'm Irish first and foremost. <br />Thank you<br />Lin Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00049860569602447274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-60563905246817440182016-03-16T15:45:40.698+00:002016-03-16T15:45:40.698+00:00Vi You shouldn't take the country level report...Vi You shouldn't take the country level reports too seriously. They are based on a limited range of reference populations, and each company uses a different database. The percentages can vary wildly between companies. Both AncestryDNA and FTDNA have said that they will be updating their admixture reports this year. I've heard that Ancestry's new reports are already being rolled out to some people in beta testing. The important part of your AncestryDNA test is your list of matches. If you are getting a substantial number of matches with people of Italian origin then you will very likely have some Italian ancestry. Most of the matches we get are with quite distant cousins, and it is quite normal not to be able to find the genealogical connection with the vast of your majority of your matches. I've still only confirmed three genealogical relationships with my matches across all three companies. You should focus on the closest cousin matches and any that share a sizeable amount of DNA with you.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-43733532907858985542016-03-15T09:07:41.124+00:002016-03-15T09:07:41.124+00:00I don't understand how Ancestry could report t...I don't understand how Ancestry could report that I have trace Italian/Greece, but gedmatch and ftdna show about 17% Southern Europe Italy and there are some dna matches to Italians. However, I can't find common ancestors on any of the family trees that I've found on any of the sites. I didn't pay to look on ancestry trees though.vihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384087293090909762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-19039958785292003202016-02-11T08:29:14.557+00:002016-02-11T08:29:14.557+00:00The country level predictions from Ancestry are ac...The country level predictions from Ancestry are actually fairly good. My known ancestry is from the fringes, not continental Europe where everyone is inter-related and it's hard to tell Germans from Swiss, etc. The Iberian is unexpected, and the Tree also found Southern Europe. However, I do have a middle name that could be Sardinian. Duh, is this called a clue?CarolASThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09382255105149582046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-79026846488216655922016-01-13T09:40:59.294+00:002016-01-13T09:40:59.294+00:00Carol, You shouldn't take the country level pr...Carol, You shouldn't take the country level predictions too seriously. Each company is using a different mix of reference populations but none of them are able to give accurate ancestry proportions at the country level and they may never be able to do so because our ancestry is just too complicated and we're all so inter-related.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-36495239607609670522016-01-13T06:41:49.483+00:002016-01-13T06:41:49.483+00:00As an American with high British ancestry accordin...As an American with high British ancestry according to AncestryDNA (72%), I wasn't surprised because my mother was born in England, while one side of my father's family was Scottish and the other reportedly half Irish and half Sami (from Norway or Sweden). AncestryDNA said the rest was 10% Europe West, 9% Scandinavia, 5% Ireland, 3% Finland/Northern Russia, and <1% Iberian Peninsula.<br /><br />However, with the same data, Family Tree came up with 81% Scandinavia, 13% British Isles, and 7% Southern Europe. Maybe the Sami broke their algorithms or something. DNA Tribes doesn't even have this tribe.CarolASThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09382255105149582046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-15933106979290138022016-01-12T19:02:26.854+00:002016-01-12T19:02:26.854+00:00Thanks for letting me know about our very distant ...Thanks for letting me know about our very distant connection. If I could trace my ancestry back far enough I'm sure I would have many ancestors from Continental Europe. Some of my surnames are Norman. I did have an old Relative Finder match with a Russian even though I have no known Russian ancestry. It just goes to show how closely we are all related even if we can't document the relationships.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-331858586503315832016-01-12T18:54:55.542+00:002016-01-12T18:54:55.542+00:00Dear Debbie Kennett,
Apparen...Dear Debbie Kennett,<br /> Apparently, according to the now disabled 23andMe 'countries of ancestry feature' I share 6 centimorgans with you.<br />I don't have a single drop of English blood in my body. All of my ancestors lived in continental Europe since the year dot.<br />Anyway, I like to think of our connection as something dating back to the Dark Ages, possibly the expansion of Steppe/Corded Ware groups.<br />That said, I wish you all the best - even if our connection was countless untraceable generations ago. I just wanted to let you know.<br /><br />Love & Peace.John Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04454926902513067703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-57706245695566470382014-08-09T15:43:18.217+01:002014-08-09T15:43:18.217+01:00Thanks so much for your advice Debbie! Thanks so much for your advice Debbie! Paulanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-90610834736612599472014-08-08T10:25:02.220+01:002014-08-08T10:25:02.220+01:00Paula, Many people did tend to test with 23andMe p...Paula, Many people did tend to test with 23andMe primarily for the health reports though those have now been temporarily withdrawn while they try and get FDA clearance. However, 23andMe do have a massive database, albeit very US-centric, so you could find people there who've not tested elsewhere.<br /><br />If you want to do an mtDNA test then it's best to do the full mtDNA sequence test with Family Tree DNA. They have the monopoly on mtDNA with the largest mtDNA database. They're also the only ones who let you use mtDNA for matching purposes. It's best to hold out for a sale. There's usually one in the summer and again at Christmas.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-21443860162434985622014-08-08T01:43:41.378+01:002014-08-08T01:43:41.378+01:00Debbie,
I appreciate your reply and thoughts. I r...Debbie,<br /><br />I appreciate your reply and thoughts. I read that 23andMe was often used by people interested in the health side of things rather than family history, but will consider it further now you've suggested it. I had been thinking of getting a Mitochondrial DNA test next, in the hope I might have more luck with matches there. Thanks for letting me know about FTDNA being at the WDYTYA events, I'll try to be patient while the database grows.Paulanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-15309355094672917222014-08-07T20:26:23.897+01:002014-08-07T20:26:23.897+01:00Paula, Thanks for sharing your results. It's i...Paula, Thanks for sharing your results. It's interesting that your results align much more closely with your family history than mine. With autosomal DNA it's a question of patience. FTDNA do actively promote their company in the UK and come to WDYTYA Live each year. They will be at the Scottish version of WDYTYA at the end of the month. It's going to take a while to reach critical mass but now that the cost of the tests has come down so much the database does seem to be growing quite quickly. It might be worth you testing at 23andMe too if you've not already done so.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-45734540651612517852014-08-07T17:34:14.135+01:002014-08-07T17:34:14.135+01:00I'm British, recently married an American and ...I'm British, recently married an American and so took an autosomal DNA test with Ancestry. In contrast to your experience I thought that my results seemed quite accurate. I came out as 65% Great Britain, 19% West Europe, 7% Scandinavia, 4% Ireland and other trace elements that mostly matched my mum's results when she took a test with Family Tree DNA.<br /><br />My only disappointment is that I haven't found any common ancestors with any of my matches or my mum's on Family Tree DNA. <br /><br />PaulaPaulanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-46048831652267514152014-06-20T22:08:24.925+01:002014-06-20T22:08:24.925+01:00It's completely daft to combine Greece and Ita...It's completely daft to combine Greece and Italy in one. Anyone who's been on holiday to either country would probably realise that. I suspect whoever did this is in America and has probably never travelled to Europe.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-32975857890963682972014-06-20T18:20:00.882+01:002014-06-20T18:20:00.882+01:00Quite bizarre to see Greece coupled with Italy in ...Quite bizarre to see Greece coupled with Italy in any ancestry DNA search! In both history and culture Greece is a southern Balkan country and many Greeks, particularly in Greek Macedonia, have origins in various parts of Anatolia or the South Caucasus region! I'm not sure whose idea it was to couple Greece with Italy in this way, maybe someone whose views of Greece are entirely formed by holidays in the med rather than historical and cultural awareness. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-45123133458139639372014-03-27T09:25:16.193+00:002014-03-27T09:25:16.193+00:00Terraskane, Did your British ancestors intermarry ...Terraskane, Did your British ancestors intermarry when they arrived in the US? That probably explains why some Americans have these high percentages of "British" ancestry.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-16667226014605332562014-03-26T19:15:55.800+00:002014-03-26T19:15:55.800+00:00I have 2 sets of gg grandparents and ggg grandpare...I have 2 sets of gg grandparents and ggg grandparents who migrated from England to Utah in the 1800's after converting to Mormonism in England. So yes I have a higher percent of British DNA. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15138649744701232134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-62632813093147283762014-02-12T00:21:27.897+00:002014-02-12T00:21:27.897+00:00Ancestry is using information from customers to in...Ancestry is using information from customers to inform the analysis and as 99.9% of their database are in America they are comparing people against British Americans not British people. Ancestry are also using the SMGF database and that included disproportionate numbers of people from Utah. That data could well have skewed the dataset. With all these admixture tests we can expect to see improvements as more reference populations are added and the algorithms improve.<br /><br />AncestryDNA is only looking at autosomal DNA. The haplogroups come from Y-DNA and mtDNA testing, and so are not relevant for autosomal DNA.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-24378994749543405352014-02-05T18:44:29.854+00:002014-02-05T18:44:29.854+00:00Ancestry has offices all over...but their headquar...Ancestry has offices all over...but their headquarters are in Utah. Utah has the highest percentage of English ancestry of all the U.S. states. I wonder if that has anything to do with the results being high from Americans? I know this test has been advertised in Utah, and by word of mouth here (I live in Utah), so maybe that's a reason for many Americans having the results you've mentioned.<br /><br />Also, I'm curious about this test...with so much knowledge out there on haplogroups and their origins, is that not taken into account? If it is...then tracking back your ancestors, even 20 generations, wouldn't give you insight into what haplogroups you're a part of...as the haplogroups could be originated 20,000 years ago.<br /><br />BTW...I have VERY strong British ancestry. My G-Grandmother came to the U.S. (Idaho) in 1901 from Lancashire (Heywood)...this is on my mother's side. My father's lineage goes directly through the British isles, and has a line directly to Edward the I, King of England (my 19th G-Grandfather).<br /><br />I bet, in certain parts of Lancashire, I have far more British DNA than the residents...as I've read that many parts of full of newer immigrants to the British Isles. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-82037027805909276482014-01-22T17:37:03.493+00:002014-01-22T17:37:03.493+00:00Soleika,
It's a pleasure. I've just reali...Soleika,<br /><br />It's a pleasure. I've just realised that the 23andMe transfers to FTDNA will no longer work. FTDNA have just introduced a new chip and I understand that FTDNA can't accept transfers for tests done on the new chip. The 23andMe test is still worth doing, and especially if they restore the health reports which I'm sure they will in due course once they've satisfied the FDA.Debbie Kennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573470282571579765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238849140976286627.post-82956145028135002542014-01-22T15:46:58.873+00:002014-01-22T15:46:58.873+00:00Thankyou very much for your reply, it is very help...Thankyou very much for your reply, it is very helpful and much appreciated.SoleikaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com