DNA testing - results

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Originally Posted by Des Parrot

Yes, it was a huge burden, she received the initial response but didn’t understand it, it took me a few days to realise and fortunately it was via my managed tree & email so I was able to control the mass of incoming contacts.

My wife was estranged from her fathers family in Belfast, I worked for a couple of years and finally got a breakthrough, opened up her family and reconnected it. She now has an ongoing relationship with them. As you know many records were lost in Ireland so I thought a DNA test would open up more connections. Big mistake. Zero Irish blood, 50% Welsh blood.

All of the family in Ireland are not related.

It took 4 months to make the decision and tell her. because I was incapable of keeping it secret, because she might want to know, because she had brothers & sisters she doesn’t know, because she’s Welsh, because our kids have a right to know.

Her response was, I’ve heard, he’s not my father, never mention it again.

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Thanks for sharing what is very personal information.
On reflection my enquiry was intrusive - and I apologise.
I fully understand your dilemma.
What an unfortunate result from what was an innocent action in ordering the tests!
It's hard to imagine the stress the result has created and I meant no implied criticism of your action in telling your wife.
It must have been a terrible shock for her.
Perhaps sometime later, when she has absorbed what has been discovered, her reaction may soften.
I do hope so.
Your experience is valuable to me because I have to pass on all manner of sometimes terrible events I discover when investigating other people's ancestry. These have included rape, suicide even killings. Often I have to ask whether they really want to know - and even when my report is finished, I've asked the person's partner whether they can cope with harrowing events in their ancestor's lives. Just recently I looked into the family of one of my close relatives and opened a can of worms. Fortunately, I was in contact with a responsible daughter and we decided on an appropriate course of action. Once information is out there, it can't be redacted.
So I'm grateful to you for you describing what is for me a salutary experience.

I find them really interesting.
I did mine with ancestry, it showed the expected links to Wales (37%) and England (46%) but also DNA links with Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden/Denmark. When looking at my family tree it is all South Wales, Gloucestershire, Devon, so surprised to see the other areas come in, though I suppose it only takes one ancestor who has moved into an area.

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Originally Posted by rs3100

I find them really interesting.
I did mine with ancestry, it showed the expected links to Wales (37%) and England (46%) but also DNA links with Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden/Denmark. When looking at my family tree it is all South Wales, Gloucestershire, Devon, so surprised to see the other areas come in, though I suppose it only takes one ancestor who has moved into an area.

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Apparently, I'm a mongrel consisiting of a mixture of DNA from Wales (just 3%!), England, Scotland, Spain, Sweden/Denmark, NE France/W Belgium and The Baltics.
I don't think they will let me compete at Cruft's!

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Apparently, I'm a mongrel consisiting of a mixture of DNA from Wales (just 3%!), England, Scotland, Spain, Sweden/Denmark, NE France/W Belgium and The Baltics.
I don't think they will let me compete at Cruft's!

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https://www.crufts.org.uk/whats-on/scruffts

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Apparently, I'm a mongrel consisiting of a mixture of DNA from Wales (just 3%!), England, Scotland, Spain, Sweden/Denmark, NE France/W Belgium and The Baltics.
I don't think they will let me compete at Cruft's!

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This explains all those places you've name-dropped this year.......:-)

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Let us know the results!
I've recently finished a course on researching Welsh ancestors which was absorbing and instructive.
To my chagrin, the DNA test revealed that I am only 1% Welsh.

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This is why I don't and won't do it. I know half my family is English. And the Welsh half are from "out west".

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

This explains all those places you've name-dropped this year.......:-)

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I'm keeping schtum about my movements in the coming months....

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

I'm keeping schtum about my movements in the coming months....

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And I thought Tan was employing you as his Chief Scout to roam the continent of Europe.
I was convinced you were responsible for all those transfers. They had your mark.....:-)

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Thanks for sharing what is very personal information.
On reflection my enquiry was intrusive - and I apologise.
I fully understand your dilemma.
What an unfortunate result from what was an innocent action in ordering the tests!
It's hard to imagine the stress the result has created and I meant no implied criticism of your action in telling your wife.
It must have been a terrible shock for her.
Perhaps sometime later, when she has absorbed what has been discovered, her reaction may soften.
I do hope so.
Your experience is valuable to me because I have to pass on all manner of sometimes terrible events I discover when investigating other people's ancestry. These have included rape, suicide even killings. Often I have to ask whether they really want to know - and even when my report is finished, I've asked the person's partner whether they can cope with harrowing events in their ancestor's lives. Just recently I looked into the family of one of my close relatives and opened a can of worms. Fortunately, I was in contact with a responsible daughter and we decided on an appropriate course of action. Once information is out there, it can't be redacted.
So I'm grateful to you for you describing what is for me a salutary experience.

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It was actually therapeutic to respond, so it’s not an issue, sort of unburdening myself anonymously.

I’ve got around 3,700 in my tree plus two offshoot trees. The WW1 stories are interesting but normally turn out sad. Finding the many rogues & gaolbirds is always amusing.

Americans pee me off, they grab at any hint, stick it in their tree, no research and it then becomes factual family history.

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Originally Posted by Des Parrot

I bought the Ancestry kit for my wife & myself at Christmas. My was fine and as expected. Hers was a total shock & proved that her father was not her biological father. It took me 4 months to pluck up the courage to tell her. She doesn’t want to know and says it’s wrong. She has 4 half siblings & 550 close relationship but is not interested. It has caused lots of tension!

The morale be careful & be prepared

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How amazing is the timing of this thread for me!

My wife has just had her DNA profile back this week. Her biological mother was unmarried and had several (seven so far, we have discovered) children. Hence she has a number of half brothers and sisters, all of whom are now known to her and vice-versa. We don't know if there was a common father. Her DNA has a 100% probability match with a lady who was born the same year as her and in the same town. The issue is that we have discovered that this lady's father was married at the time to someone else! Therein lies one of the dangers of DNA testing - the moral of the story is.... be very wise what you do with the information. Imagine the scenario if my wife were to share this information with the lady....... "your father is my father too" !:frown:

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Originally Posted by Gofer Blue

How amazing is the timing of this thread for me!

My wife has just had her DNA profile back this week. Her biological mother was unmarried and had several (seven so far, we have discovered) children. Hence she has a number of half brothers and sisters, all of whom are now known to her and vice-versa. We don't know if there was a common father. Her DNA has a 100% probability match with a lady who was born the same year as her and in the same town.

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Therein lies one of the dangers of DNA testing - the moral of the story is.... be very wise what you do with the information. Imagine the scenario if my wife were to share this information with the lady....... "your father is my father too" !:frown:

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Apologies, on re-reading the sentence about the father "The issue is that we have discovered that this lady's father was married at the time to someone else" it doesn't make sense. What I meant is this lady's father was married to her mother but fathered my wife with another woman at the same time.

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

We all know how criminals are being caught decades after committing crimes because of advances in DNA science, but here we are talking about the man/woman-in-the-street having the means to discover the truth about long-lost family secrets.

Don't really know why I feel uncomfortable about this. I know my paternal great grandmother was immoral before she married, when she was married and after she was married. But I know this from the available records in newspapers and birth and census records. I don't feel anything about it - I just accept it as a fact of life, I suppose. Is there really any difference between having this knowledge from these sources and getting DNA matches? Logically not. But it feels different to me somehow.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

We all know how criminals are being caught decades after committing crimes because of advances in DNA science, but here we are talking about the man/woman-in-the-street having the means to discover the truth about long-lost family secrets.

Don't really know why I feel uncomfortable about this. I know my paternal great grandmother was immoral before she married, when she was married and after she was married. But I know this from the available records in newspapers and birth and census records. I don't feel anything about it - I just accept it as a fact of life, I suppose. Is there really any difference between having this knowledge from these sources and getting DNA matches? Logically not. But it feels different to me somehow.

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I never knew my great grandfather as my grandfather was a bastard. No-one had any idea, as it was 120 years ago. DNA testing enabled me to find him and verify through court and newspaper reports about non payment of alimony. I have no intent of pursuing it & have a separate private tree but it’s good to find the link of something that was a mystery for over a century.

I had the dna test done though ancestry, because I was curious of my ethnicity. My Nan came from Belfast, so knew I wasn’t 100% Welsh. Results came back 53% Scots Irish, 43% Welsh and 4% Irish.
The real shock though, was later finding out the man my Mum thought was her Dad wasnt. A bit of detective work with some new found relatives, found through Ancestry and we’re more or less certain we know who her real Father was. My Mum passed away in 2014 and in a way I’m glad she wasn’t around to find this out, as she would have been devastated.
These DNA tests really do open up a can of worms, as this thread has shown.

Received a heritage DNA kit as a gift.

76% Welsh/Scottish/Irish
12.5% English
10.5% Baltic (Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania)
1% Middle Eastern

Thanks for all the comments on this subject.
It won't have escaped the notice of anyone who's read this thread that no-one has said DNA testing is rubbish and one big con-trick - which is quite unusual on this forum.....

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Thanks for all the comments on this subject.
It won't have escaped the notice of anyone who's read this thread that no-one has said DNA testing is rubbish and one big con-trick - which is quite unusual on this forum.....

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I was a little sceptical as the kit was gifted to me and I sort of went along with it. After a few months though I received a close DNA match from Australia and it turned out to be a relative that my mum knew and we exchanged an email or two. Haven’t been able to track down the Baltic heritage yet so maybe a family secret!

I get lots of 3rd-5th cousin matches. Although I read that we each have 17,000 5th cousins on average so I don’t pop them all onto the XMAS card list.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

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You mean to say that human beings **** around? They don't stay faithful to one partner throughout the entirety of their adult lives? People have lovers, affairs, stuff like that?

Wow! Thank God for Ancestry and DNA 'evidence'. We'd never have known otherwise....

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Originally Posted by Des Parrot

I never knew my great grandfather as my grandfather was a bastard. No-one had any idea, as it was 120 years ago. DNA testing enabled me to find him and verify through court and newspaper reports about non payment of alimony. I have no intent of pursuing it & have a separate private tree but it’s good to find the link of something that was a mystery for over a century.

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So what actual good has this 'knowledge' done for you or your family? Have there been any tangible benefits?

What fascinates me about all this stuff is simply that people are fascinated by it. I don't understand it at all.

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Originally Posted by Baloo

Received a heritage DNA kit as a gift.

76% Welsh/Scottish/Irish
12.5% English
10.5% Baltic (Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania)
1% Middle Eastern

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I don't believe them

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Originally Posted by Baloo

Received a heritage DNA kit as a gift.

76% Welsh/Scottish/Irish
12.5% English
10.5% Baltic (Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania)
1% Middle Eastern

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I think it's the case that the DNA test concerned doesn't relate to nationality (Welsh, Scottish, Irish etc) but to the commonality of your genes with those found in Wales, Scotland, Ireland etc. and at a certain point in relatively recent history.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

So what actual good has this 'knowledge' done for you or your family? Have there been any tangible benefits?

What fascinates me about all this stuff is simply that people are fascinated by it. I don't understand it at all.

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Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

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Originally Posted by Des Parrot

Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

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Fair enough. The detective work angle I get. I can also understand tracing family trees as a hobby. What I’ve never understood is the emotion some people attach to the whole thing, or the apparent desperation some seem to have to track down distant relatives.

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Originally Posted by Des Parrot

Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

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That's awesome. I loved Neighbours.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Fair enough. The detective work angle I get. I can also understand tracing family trees as a hobby. What I’ve never understood is the emotion some people attach to the whole thing, or the apparent desperation some seem to have to track down distant relatives.

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There is obviously a huge interest in people knowing more about their origins, perceived identity and even relatives. I think it's fairly easy to understand.

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

There is obviously a huge interest in people knowing more about their origins, perceived identity and even relatives. I think it's fairly easy to understand.

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Perhaps, although it’s of no interest to me despite having a background that I’m sure would be fascinating to plenty of people. But as I said above, the things that baffle me are how emotional some seem to get over long-dead people they never knew and are barely related to, and how desperate some seem to be to link up with distant relatives. Each to their own, I suppose.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Perhaps, although it’s of no interest to me despite having a background that I’m sure would be fascinating to plenty of people. But as I said above, the things that baffle me are how emotional some seem to get over long-dead people they never knew and are barely related to, and how desperate some seem to be to link up with distant relatives. Each to their own, I suppose.

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It's great fun. I had incest, child beaters and adulterers in my family history, also thuggery and fraud, in fact, fraud is how i got my surname. :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

It's great fun. I had incest, child beaters and adulterers in my family history, also thuggery and fraud, in fact, fraud is how i got my surname.

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Allegedly.

I know a few folk that have found solace tracing such data as family and loved ones depart thier lives , and they seek the families heritage they even incoporate travel to many towns and countries , visiting graves and libraries.

Everyone to thier own ..

I recently got my DNA results from Ancestry. 34% Wales, 23% Ireland, 17% England, 16% Scotland, 10% Denmark/Norway

I must be British with a bit left over from the Vikings.

My parents divorced many years ago.

On my father's side, my great great grandfather was illegitimate. He was a pimp in Temperance Town (site of the bus station) in the 1880s. Did a bit of robbery, stealing from the punters and spent some time in Cardiff jail. His wife was in court many times for having a brothel. She died of alcoholism at 23. Her dad ran the Lamb and Flag in Canton.

I mentioned this to my mother, her reply 'I always knew you were from a long line of bastards'

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Allegedly.

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Nah - provably

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Nah - provably

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So you claim, but I’d take it with a large pinch of salt.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

So you claim, but I’d take it with a large pinch of salt.

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Supported by documentation that would be accepted by reasonable people

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Supported by documentation that would be accepted by reasonable people

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Sure.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Sure.

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Totally








:-)

I have been compiling the family tree for around 20 years and found other family members doing the same but none of us ever found out where in Ireland my fathers side originated from.
The wife got me one of those DNA tests and I have had a Cluster report which is the connection between the 8 closest matches, I know for certain that the connection is from the Irish side and there are 2 people in this cluster unknown to me who are from Ireland.
I may finally solve the mystery.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Many on here will know of my interest in tracing mine, and others, ancestry.

In June, I sent my DNA for the Ancestry test. I had been sceptical of the value of DNA testing, but having watched some programs on TV and knowing that the DNA pool is much bigger these days, I thought I'd see what came back.

I particularly wanted to see if there was a resolution to my question of who was my paternal grandfather - I had believed for years that he was ThomasC but then found a news report of an affiliation order which indicated he was in fact WCox. But I didn't really think there was much chance of closure here.

I should mention that I hadn't put my tree on Ancestry, so there is no chance they have factored in my known details.

I received my results yesterday. There were 247 close matches!

One definitely confirmed that WCox was my grt grandfather. Worth the price of the test right there.

But then it got weird.

Ancestry ping the 247 people who had matches to my profile and halfway through the morning I had a message from a guy who wanted to compare ancestries. He gave me some names, but there were no obvious links. We got into detail and he mentioned a knowledge of the Hoxton area of London. I had ancestors living there in the 19thC. Now we got serious - bloodhounds on the scent!

He told me there was a rumour in his family that his grandmother had an affair while married. He gave dates of when this likely happened. I replied with a family surname and that they were silversmiths. That was the 'Eureka' moment - the family rumour was that his Grannie had a fling with a silversmith.

Cutting a long story short, it turned out we were talkling about his biological grandfather - he never believed that the man married to his grandmother was his grandfather. We narrowed the suspects down to two brothers. I sent pictures of the brothers and he came back with a positive ID. We knew the name of his grandfather. Further investigation put him in the same street as his grandfather (on paper) in 1901 and I even had a photo of his true grandfather in that street beside a car.

I don't have to tell you how he was feeling. He said he was shaking. I discovered that he's a univeristy lecturer.

Today, I put him in touch with his first cousin who is also a grandchild. I'd love to hear that conversation!

The moral is - if you are interested, do the test
(Memo to TBG)

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Just to clarify, do you need an Ancestry account to get 'pinged' by close matches or can you make contact without? Also, is the DNA test good for both male and female lines? I would be most interested in my mother's side of the family...Italian/Irish and Norman French via Devon.

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Originally Posted by IanD

Just to clarify, do you need an Ancestry account to get 'pinged' by close matches or can you make contact without? Also, is the DNA test good for both male and female lines? I would be most interested in my mother's side of the family...Italian/Irish and Norman French via Devon.

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I'm pretty sure you would need an Ancestry account as the DNA results are available via the website. A new feature is that the DNA of each of one's parents is included - although the system only states Parent 1 and Parent 2. In my case, it was pretty obvious as to work out parent was which as they came from very different parts of this country.

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

It's great fun. I had incest, child beaters and adulterers in my family history, also thuggery and fraud, in fact, fraud is how i got my surname. :hehe:

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We could be related :hehe::hehe: