Your DNA Test Results: Fact or Fiction

DNA test kits seem to be a popular gift idea. The testing companies have filled our TV screens with ads promising to unlock the locations of our ancestral homes and magically fill out our family tree. Can submitting a DNA sample fulfill these promises?

DNA testing is a powerful tool in genealogical research, but it is one of many tools that help us fill in the blanks of our family history. However, we also have to be careful as to when you take a DNA test. Submitting a sample as your first step in your family history research will usually produce confusing results. Basic document research should be the starting point in doing family history research.

Also, have a specific goal in taking the test. Are you genuinely interested in researching your family history, or do you just want to know your ethnicity? In both cases, please delay submitting your DNA sample until you know more about the origins of your family. Your DNA test results will not magically show you the answers and will probably be confusing unless you have done other research.

One reason many people seem to be taking the test is to reveal their ethnicity. Am I Polish or German or Russian? I see many matches in my DNA results with no attached trees and this makes me believe the test taker only wants to see their ethnicity and not do the family history research. However, their ethnicity results will probably be too general to answer people’s questions. In fact, this is one of the many complaints I hear from people when talking about their results.

DNA testing for genealogy is a relatively new science. Determining your ethnicity is based on the use of algorithms (complicated formulas) and comparing your DNA to base populations. Each testing company has a set of algorithms and base populations that are different. So, each company may give you a different set of ethnic percentages. Also, the base populations extend across broad geographical boundaries, that have seen vast back and forth migrations of the different groups of ethnic people. So, it is difficult to differentiate the DNA of many ethnic groups from their neighbors. Intermarriage has mixed their DNA over the centuries. For example, the DNA of Germans is similar to the DNA of the French. Also, most people living along the Mediterranean Sea coast have similar DNA. Likewise, the Poles have mixed their DNA with their German, Russian, Austrian, and Scandinavian neighbors for many centuries. Remember, the use of DNA is a developing science, and the accuracy of the results will improve in the future. Can you wait?

If you just want to submit your sample to see the origins of your ancestors, this may not be the time to take the test for you. If you want to start researching your family history, your DNA test results may give you clues on where to look. However, I would recommend waiting until you have found some of the basic documents such as census records or birth, marriage, and death records, and completed three to four generations of your family tree.

Doing basic genealogical research will give your family history a better foundation, and your DNA results may not be as confusing.

If you do not want to do the research and your children gave you a test kit, submit your sample. However, be patient when looking at your test results. Do not be frustrated with your ethnicity percentages. You may have to wait a few years before it makes sense. Doing basic genealogical research (such as census records, naturalization papers, passenger lists, and a basic family tree) will always help you understand the results faster.

If you do not want to immerse yourself in the details of doing research, make it a project with your children if they gave you the kit. Make them do the research, and you fill in the stories you remember. That strategy could be a fun family project and a great way to pass along your memories to your children and grandchildren.

DNA Testing and Your Ethnicity

TV ads are making DNA test kits a favorite gift idea for adults. These are autosomal (atDNA) kits that give two types of results: ethnicity percentages and individual matches. Most of the test-takers of these gift test kits seem to be only interested in the ethnicity percentages. I feel this is true because I see that over half of my individual matches have no family trees and a reluctance to respond to my contacts. No one has responded when a family tree is not attached.

However, the ethnicity estimates that test companies supply may be confusing due to limitations in the way the testing companies calculate the ethnicity estimates. In fact, the projected ethnicities are not foolproof; they are estimates based on the comparison of the test sample to a reference population used by the testing company. The companies then used their algorithms to determine the percentage of each ethnic group you belong to you.

Are these projections reliable? Initially, some people complained that their ethnic estimates were inaccurate. Each test company has different reference populations, and these numbers cause more confusion because the ethnic percentages will differ from different companies. However, this is a relatively new science, and companies are revising their methods and base data regularly.

The testing companies regularly add DNA from new individuals and more population segments to the reference panels. Recently, they changed many ethnic estimates that now seem more accurate. The results from companies still vary when compared to other companies, and will likely continue to improve as they add more individual samples from more comprehensive geographical locations and sources. Eventually, I believe the projected ethnicities from each company will become closer to being similar.

The size and the populations in the reference panel are substantial factors determining the accuracy of an ethnicity projection. If the reference population does not include a segment of the world’s population such as Native Hawaiians, the ethnicity estimate cannot have that as one of the results, even if the test-taker has significant ancestry from that part of the world. Each testing company describes their reference populations in the help or information sections of their websites.

There are limitations as to how much detail the projected ethnicities can show due to the widespread migrations of different people across the different continents. One example of this is the population of central and western Europe. DNA between Germany and France to predict which country your ancestors left accurately. Another example is the populations in southern Europe along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. There are no significant differences in the

The estimated ethnicity for broad categories such as Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas are generally accurate, but the accuracy decreases when the projection tries to be more specific as to location or country.

Another limitation in determining a person’s ethnicity arises from the fact that the person may not have received any DNA from their ancestors from a particular region. We lose portions of DNA for older generations as each generation gets DNA from their parents. The amount of DNA from each ancestor in older generations until the piece left is so small that it may not be passed along to the next generation. This scenario may completely eliminate DNA from a geographic location.

Ethnicity seems to be one of the top reasons why people are submitting DNA samples. They want to know where are their roots. However, the results are only an estimate and have severe limitations. Be cautious when evaluating and using your ethnicity results, especially if you are looking for clues to specific locations or countries. Use the results as clues and be patient because the results will be revised many times in the future.

My New Book – DNA and Genealogy Research: Simplified

My new book, “DNA and Genealogy Research: Simplified,” is now available. If you want to unlock your DNA results, my book will be a great starting point.

Even though I am not a genetic scientist or an M.D., I felt I had to write about the method I used to solve some of the mysteries in my family tree. I am one of the many who find it challenging to educate myself with the science of DNA and just wanted to work on our family history. The book explains my methods using non-scientific terms and does not discuss Chromosome browsers, haplogroups, or SNPs.

I had a brick wall, and I used my genealogical skills and traditional sources with my DNA results to solve the mystery. DNA is a powerful tool, and I learned to combine it with other genealogical sources without becoming a genetic scientist.

How DNA Can Help Your Genealogy

DNA testing has become a popular topic at genealogy meetings, and the growth in the number of DNA tests has been fueled by numerous promotional sales and promises to unlock secrets in your genealogy research. In some cases, DNA results have been powerful in producing clues and knocking down brick walls, but in many other cases, the results have been confusing.

Genealogists, who I talked to, gave me the following list of reasons why they submitted DNA samples:

• They were curious about what the results would
• They were curious about their origins and ancient ancestry.
• They were hoping to find matches and possible distant relatives to exchange information.
• They doubted their paper trail and wanted to prove or disprove their oral history.
• They wanted to test relationship theories.

I have heard many stories of successes in finding matches to lost branches of families that led to the addition of many stories and pictures to family histories. However, I have also heard many people asking for help in understanding their results. The testing companies are now adding tools that help family historians better analyze and utilize their test results. One step that helps significantly is the ability to attach your family tree to your DNA test results.  Some of the tools I find useful include:

• Identifying Genetic Communities
• Surname searches
• Identifying Shared Matches
• Adding surnames and other comments in the attached notes for matches

These tools led me to a secret portion of my ancestry that one of my ancestors took to her grave. However, I opened this new side of my ancestry by identifying a dark secret. So be prepared. If you have to unlock secrets, there may be a dark side that you may regret discovering.

In summary, I would recommend taking the Autosomal test offered by Ancestry.com or FamilyTreeDNA.com. Take Y-DNA and mtDNA tests only if you need to explore specific relationship theories. Your results will probably be very generic and match your paper trail. If your DNA results do not match your paper trail, you may have some secrets to uncover. If your results have matches that project as first or second cousins, contact them because you may have an exciting new source for family stories and pictures of common ancestors.

Just have fun exploring your family history and heritage. Remember to save and pass along what you find to your children, grandchildren, and future generations.

What I have learned in the past year about my DNA

Using DNA to make genealogy connections is becoming very important. However, understanding DNA results and matches can be very challenging. My results confused me, but I have made some progress. Here are some things that I have done and some light bulbs that have turned on:

1. I found the reason why my DNA results show Irish/English origins when my paper research indicates this was impossible. I found this by having relatives in different branches take DNA tests and compare the results.
2. The processing of the raw samples by the three major companies produce the same data.
3. However, the Origins segment of DNA results varies greatly. Each company has different algorithms to calculate where our ancestors came from.
4. The ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) projects the Origins analysis by 23andme is more accurate than FamiytreeDNA and Ancestry.com.

My major takeaway from my DNA testing is to treat DNA results similar to other genealogical documents. Remember, all contradictions in data should be resolved.