DNA testing

[kizzy]

A cautionary tale about DNA testing...I've already done a test and wouldn't let this put me off ( truth is essential by my standards) but it is an example of what can happen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-46600325?fbclid=IwAR2ofFBL_6qF70KcwnSHjxrNJjoZIED-fU9BT82BkphJbw7YddOfdLdXW80

[RATTY]

Hmm! could be devastating. 

[HORT]

What an amazing article kizzy, thanks for posting it.

[woodsman]

Interesting Kizzy, but I do wonder how many persons actually have   'a feeling'  of not quite fitting in and the DNA does confirm.

[Dave]

I can't think which is more euphemistic "non-paternity event" or "not parent expected". I suppose that the first one would make more sense because it's a problem mostly pertaining to paternity. Anyroadup, it happened a lot.

[RATTY]

Did you know they now do DNA for dogs.  One woman just got a reduction in her pet insurance because they found her dog was a cross, not a pedigree,   

[kizzy]

Not surprised at all - this story might cause one or two to consider a test

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/21/dna-test-proves-former-care-worker-entitled-50m-country-estate-cornwall

[woodsman]

No wonder buck house have not replied lol

[Dave]

It is interesting and there's more in some of the other papers (pictures and other odd snippets). He gets to live in the house and has £50,000 a year. His dad didn't seem to like it and he turned into a reclusive junkie - ignoring the existence of his son. They'll probably make it into a film.

[Dave]

I see that Ancestry have updated the 'ethnicity' again. I don't know why they bother with it really. It's on a different level to the genealogy - a lower level, appealing to a superficial narcissistic consumer base. It must be the money.

[Tony J]

I wonder if it because folks are only interested in  their ethnicity that so many do not bother to messages on Ancestry and other sites.

[Dave]

I think that some start off thinking that they'll maybe make a tree. They get stuck though and that's why their trees are so tiny - or they just don't bother at all because that wasn't the motivation in the first place. They lose interest and then the subs expire. Or they're dead.

[kizzy]

I often wonder what will happen to trees and genealogy boards when one dies. All that research and no one else remotely interested - my kids have little interest in my passion. And is it less interesting the more records become available

[Tony J]

@kizzy In a way that wont be any different to the way some folks now discard of paper records etc. A friend of mine's parents died and she just chucked everything in a skip, family photos, BMD certs, the lot.

Does anyone use Gedmatch genesis? A funny thing happened when I was checking and old match. This person matched me by 52 cm, but only 4cm to my mum's second cousin who should also have matched, fortunately I did a snip of the result. Did the same comparison on Genesis yesterday and that 4cm match has increased tenfold to 40cm and my own 52cm match is up to 62.

[Guest]

On 06/06/2019 at 10:40, kizzy said:

I often wonder what will happen to trees and genealogy boards when one dies. All that research and no one else remotely interested - my kids have little interest in my passion. And is it less interesting the more records become available

Ive mentioned the same about photographs.

Digital storage?does the CLOUD storage mean anything to anyone?

How many photographs do people take just cos theyve got storage on their phone and then delete them? 

Do the photographs MEAN anything to them.

Its like LOVE LETTERS years ago.You just get DUMPED BY TEXT NOWADAYS!! 

Then all those naughty fotos go all round facebook, everyone knows about how much of a B  youve been on twitter.

Surely it should now be called UNSOCIAL MEDIA?

Edited June 7, 2019 by non sibi sed omnibus

[woodsman]

I know that DNA results can provide real answers to many questions regarding parentage and ethnicity etc but I do wonder if in a way we were 'happily' oblivious just following the paper trails. Think possibly one of the drawbacks of DNA testing is that you can never go back to what you where and not all results bring closure or happiness.

[kizzy]

I agree woodsman. Once the door is unlocked then anything could come tumbling out. I've been lucky in that most of my finds were positive ones.. as in I found what I was hoping to find but I was always aware of the possibility of a different result. My current sub has just expired so I'm going to give genealogy a rest for a while - until they make me an offer I can't refuse!

[Tony J]

@woodsman I also think it depends how far back you are looking, i have found out stuff about my gt gt grandparents but it is far enough back and times have changed enough for it not to be an embarrasment to anyone still living.

[kizzy]

Yes that's so true about what was once shameful events now becoming choice gems that people are delighted to include in their tree. Everyone is looking for criminals or better still infamous murderers in their history! My American lot were interesting but then again so were my Irish rellies - they were most definitely non law-abiding folk.

PS. Tony - you've cured my life long battle with 'were' and 'where', it seems to be working well thus far

[Tony J]

3 hours ago, kizzy said:

life long battle with 'were' and 'where

Glad to be of some use, it has served me well for a bit over 50 years since learning in "juniors"

[woodsman]

TJ reckon Kizzy and I went to the same school I have always got those two mixed up.

[woodsman]

Everything was going really well with my 'new relatives'. One new cousin even sent me letters from the person I was interested in to his parents. They made fascinating reading. The optimism and excitment of a 17/18 year old becoming a Radio Officer and getting his first posting in 1941/2 aboard a vessel working the atlantic convoys. Slowly but surely the tone changes as the war progresses, 43 onward he is aboard the tanker Architect sailing the pacific/Indian/China seas with oil from Iran down to Aus, Bombay and South Africa. Reading the letters, apprehension and mental weariness starts to come through. The close proximity of living with the same crew, mutterings about his relationship or lack of it with the Captain, his inability to get leave and news from home, the little things becoming more and more important.  But then one line in a letter from 1944 hit me. He was writing about the captian sneaking into the radio room trying to catch him listening to the BBC from London on June the 6th, D Day. So unless there was some kind of miracle my mothers friend has now become my uncle....  So I think it is fair to say that both DNA and written documents are very much needed prior to any conclusion. Am I disappointed, yes, as we had so much in common, everything seemed to fit, even the same shaped ears lol, but hey ho, The research has now switched to another brother, who was supposedly plodding round France with the Royal Norfolk regiment, but if only DNA had been around a number of years ago and the questions could have been asked when all were alive.....

Peters Medals, Atlantic Star, Pacific Star and Clasp.  The clasp signifies the awarding of the Burma Star.

[Dave]

Ancestry's new ethnicity estimate is even more hilarious. I'm more or less 100% English now. My dad has a little bit of Scottish/Irish and Germanic Europe and so does my daughter. Poor English me.

[kizzy]

My Irish cms have gone up to 54%! My Englishness has increased slightly to 4% with the rest showing up as expected apart from a tiny bit of Norwegian! 

[Tony J]

My Irish/Scottish has dropped from 37 to 35% and English increased to 65% but England now includes Wales and I am sure at one stage Wales was with Ireland. I downloaded the same test to Myheritage which has me as 25% Scandinavian and I seem to remember my original Ancestry result was 10% Scandinavian.