Careful With Those DNA Tests!

[bbb]

I don't care about any of the DNA stuff, I just want to know who my grandfather was and who I might have on that side of the family.  My father was born out of wedlock in 1923, and my grandmother never said anything about his father except "he's out of the picture!"................My father never seemed to care that much about, or was intimidated by my grandmother, but now I'd like to know.

 

Are there any free places to just see birth records while I'm screwing around taking breaks from work (like I am right now) or does anybody have any other ideas like that? 

[RochesterRob]

39 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

What do you believe is your ethnicity?

 

i majored in history so have a good grasp of the time frame and European history 

  Nominally German but I certainly have other influences.  My father's family traces to being from near Dresden but not much known prior to that.  They moved to the Sudetenland sometime in the late 19th century but my grandfather was in the US at the start of the 20th Century before WWI and the fallout that came from that.  Mom's side was mainly Irish and English with the Irish side originating from Scotland.  I'm thinking some Dutch and a tiny bit Polish mixed in.  I don't know how the gene strains will all sort out until I see a test and understand that the test is not 100 percent foolproof.  Something tells me there might be a teeny tiny piece of Italian via the Romans sweeping into Britain.  Paternal grandparents would not hear of any talk of being anything besides German and mom's family pretty much talked up the Irish part.  Probably some feud played into anything else not being mentioned much .  Like a lot of families certain things were swept aside for the most positive aspects.

Edited December 7, 2018 by RochesterRob

[Buffalo716]

11 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  Nominally German but I certainly have other influences.  My father's family traces to being from near Dresden but not much known prior to that.  They moved to the Sudetenland sometime in the late 19th century but my grandfather was in the US at the start of the 20th Century before WWI and the fallout that came from that.  Mom's side was mainly Irish and English with the Irish side originating from Scotland.  I'm thinking some Dutch and a tiny bit Polish mixed in.  I don't know how the gene strains will all sort out until I see a test and understand that the test is not 100 percent foolproof.  Something tells me there might be a teeny tiny piece of Italian via the Romans sweeping into Britain.  Paternal grandparents would not hear of any talk of being anything besides German and mom's family pretty much talked up the Irish part.  Probably some feud played into anything else not being mentioned much .  Like a lot of families certain things were swept aside for the most positive aspects.

My mother’s side was the same way on her fathers side.. They were 1st generation Germans and that’s all they would hear...

 

i was always curious if there was a Roman influence because our whole german family had brown hair and Amber brown eyes

 

DNA tests pretty much confirmed that they were majority Scandinavian and Slavic from her mothers side

[KD in CA]

16 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

It's also worth knowing these DNA companies share your results with law enforcement, whether you're a suspect of a crime or not. They just add you to their database 

 

And the results have been pretty amazing so far, highlighted by the capture of the Golden State Killer, who had 0% chance of ever been caught otherwise.

[PromoTheRobot]

6 hours ago, KD in CA said:

 

And the results have been pretty amazing so far, highlighted by the capture of the Golden State Killer, who had 0% chance of ever been caught otherwise.

 

Pluses and minuses to everything. They cracked a cold murder case here in NH the same way. But it also means that your genome can be used against you in other ways. Insurance coverage for one. It's a brave new world.

[Joe Miner]

Why are all these stories about spitting in the DNA tubes?

 

That's not how I did it...

[/dev/null]

1 hour ago, Joe Miner said:

Why are all these stories about spitting in the DNA tubes?

 

That's not how I did it...

Was your test administered by a Catholic priest?

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

On 12/5/2018 at 3:17 PM, Nanker said:

NSFW. NSFW. NSFW.

Oh, it's NSFW.

 

thats a classic  

    

 

On 12/5/2018 at 7:28 PM, That's No Moon said:

Your grandparents might have moved from Sicily but given the sheer number of times Sicily has been conquered and held by different groups along with it's positioning along so many major trade routes I think it's extremely that your DNA is a very interesting mishmash.

 

Mine is similar.  My great grandparents were from Cornwall, Norway, and Poland.  Given that Vikings went all over Gods green Earth and Slavic peoples are subject to influences from all over the place, and the Cornish were conquered multiple times as well including by the Romans it's REALLY unlikely that my DNA will pop up as purely Northern European.

 

this can be said for most societies. 

Wouldn't it account for or classify that Sicilians are all of those?  

 

 

Then there is the "theory" that we all evolved from Africa.  So...  there's that too

[KD in CA]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Pluses and minuses to everything. They cracked a cold murder case here in NH the same way. But it also means that your genome can be used against you in other ways. Insurance coverage for one. It's a brave new world.

 

Indeed it is.

 

Ten years ago people figured if you stayed off Facebook your privacy was still intact.  No longer.  DNA, cell phone tracking, web search tracking, credit card purchase patterns, health records, etc., etc.   Big data links it all together and your detailed profile is there for anyone to buy.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

13 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

 

Indeed it is.

 

Ten years ago people figured if you stayed off Facebook your privacy was still intact.  No longer.  DNA, cell phone tracking, web search tracking, credit card purchase patterns, health records, etc., etc.   Big data links it all together and your detailed profile is there for anyone to buy.

 

I was on a non sports site yesterday and images of Josh Allen kept popping up.  

I ordered a christmas gift online for my daughter last week and a picture of it also popped up.  

 

There's no where to hide except in a cave with no electronics. 

[Punching Bag]

On 12/5/2018 at 11:40 AM, RochesterRob said:

  Fact is with all the invasions that have happened throughout humanity to all places on Earth the DNA was going to get mixed.  I've heard plenty of stories where some person is very disappointed that they are not what they thought they were.  A nephew of mine thought he had a lot of Italian blood to find out it is around 5 percent of his composition.  No doubt the result of the barbarians sweeping down into Italy as the Roman Empire was dying.  

 

Had a coworker take the test. Found out that he was a child of a Mongol invader and now is trying to see if he is related the Genghis Khan. 

[DCOrange]

This is bringing back my interest in doing a test like this. My family started using one of those ancestry websites to create a family tree a few years back, and among other things, we discovered:

1. Our relatives were pretty much all from England or Wales, so nothing exciting there
2. If we went REALLY far back (like multiple centuries), it looked like we had some Russian and Jewish in us.
3. We discovered that my grandfather is a year older than he thought, that he had a sibling he didn't know about, and that his mother took the kids (including him) and ran, changed their identities, and started a new family. So my family name isn't actually my family name at all.

[/dev/null]

2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Had a coworker take the test. Found out that he was a child of a Mongol invader and now is trying to see if he is related the Genghis Khan. 

 

I read somewhere that like 1% of the worlds population is descended from Ghengis Khan

 

On a similar note, something like 1% of the American population(myself included) is descended from a Mayflower passenger John Howland who fell overboard during the crossing and almost didn't make it ashore

[RochesterRob]

12 minutes ago, /dev/null said:

 

I read somewhere that like 1% of the worlds population is descended from Ghengis Khan

 

On a similar note, something like 1% of the American population(myself included) is descended from a Mayflower passenger John Howland who fell overboard during the crossing and almost didn't make it ashore

  I've always had this weird feeling that I have some DNA from Julius Caesar.  As far as Howland goes that is a lot of procreating over the years.  Same for Khan.

[/dev/null]

6 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  I've always had this weird feeling that I have some DNA from Julius Caesar.  As far as Howland goes that is a lot of procreating over the years.  Same for Khan.

That would be odd if you had DNA from Julius Caesar.  His daughter Julia died in childbirth and bastard son Casarian (whose claim can be questioned) died childless

[RochesterRob]

1 hour ago, /dev/null said:

That would be odd if you had DNA from Julius Caesar.  His daughter Julia died in childbirth and bastard son Casarian (whose claim can be questioned) died childless

  More bastard sons?  After all, the Romans loved their orgies.  Also, the world still hummed to a primitive nature regarding procreation then.  I suppose as long as the bastard children did not come seeking an inheritance they had a chance to survive.

[Augie]

For some reason, this doesn’t matter to me at all. I’m here, I am what I am, I have my family, and we all look forward more than backward. Why should I care about that kind of history? I’m not pissing on it, my wife would probably love to look into it (in fact, I think she HAS done this), but personally I just don’t get the fascination. I also prefer chocolate to vanilla, so whatever...

[/dev/null]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/dna-ancestry-kits-twins-marketplace-1.4980976

 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

I've enjoyed reading about those cold cases being solved by dopey distant relatives getting DNA tests to giggle about so I encourage you all to keep it up!

[Augie]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

I've enjoyed reading about those cold cases being solved by dopey distant relatives getting DNA tests to giggle about so I encourage you all to keep it up!

 

Amen! If it means justice it’s a good thing. 

[KD in CA]

49 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Amen! If it means justice it’s a good thing. 

 

Kinda wild to think where this will be in 30 years.   And a little scary!

[Just Jack]

18 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Amen! If it means justice it’s a good thing. 

 

Not quite the same, but here's one local case where old DNA came in handy....

 

https://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2018/04/innovative_dna_trick_pays_off_16_years_later_with_arrest_in_sex_attack_on_school.html

 

Quote

Retired Judge Joseph Fahey still recalls the Feb. 7, 2002 indictment that charged a DNA code with *****, attempted rape and other sex crimes. It's the only time in his career he signed a warrant for DNA.

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Just Jack

[Helpmenow]

I wasted $50 on ancestry.com

[BADOLBILZ]

On 12/7/2018 at 2:06 PM, RochesterRob said:

  I've always had this weird feeling that I have some DNA from Julius Caesar. 

 

 

Julius Erving probably.   He used to wear himself out with the ladies when the Nets came thru Buffalo. 

[RochesterRob]

Just now, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Julius Erving probably.   He used to wear himself out with the ladies when the Nets came thru Buffalo. 

  There is a fair amount wrong with that theory but I will let it go at that I was born before Erving made his rounds.

[bbb]

3 hours ago, Helpmenow said:

I wasted $50 on ancestry.com

 

Why was it wasted?  Nobody arrested?

[Nextmanup]

On 12/7/2018 at 10:59 PM, Augie said:

For some reason, this doesn’t matter to me at all. I’m here, I am what I am, I have my family, and we all look forward more than backward. Why should I care about that kind of history? I’m not pissing on it, my wife would probably love to look into it (in fact, I think she HAS done this), but personally I just don’t get the fascination. I also prefer chocolate to vanilla, so whatever...

I find this sort of thing highly fascinating.  But I love history too.

 

Everyone is different.

 

 

[/dev/null]

3 hours ago, Helpmenow said:

I wasted $50 on ancestry.com

 

38 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

Why was it wasted?  Nobody arrested?

 

When he opened the box he was disappointed to find a saliva test kit.  He was hoping to donate another fluid

[Augie]

1 hour ago, /dev/null said:

 

 

When he opened the box he was disappointed to find a saliva test kit.  He was hoping to donate another fluid

 

I have to wonder if he followed the directions exactly? 

[bbb]

I keep hearing ads for 23andme where they say they'll let you know if you are genetically disposed to like coffee, move in your sleep, and other things like that..............How the hell would you not know these things already?!?

[Augie]

15 minutes ago, bbb said:

I keep hearing ads for 23andme where they say they'll let you know if you are genetically disposed to like coffee, move in your sleep, and other things like that..............How the hell would you not know these things already?!?

 

No kidding! Who needs 23anndme to tell you your flaws.....if you have a wife already? 

 

 

(I kid, she’s a saint...in case my son checks the board.) 

[coloradobillsfan]

something similar to the originial post happened on a recent episode of Finding Your Roots, which is a fascinating show if you are interested in this kind of thing

[ExiledInIllinois]

Are people really this stupid to fall for these tests?  Like they are going to tell you precisely, be 100% right with what your ancestry is?  LoL... Come on people... They take samples from identical twins, triplets, etc... And the results come back different.

 

Look up the story about the identical (BTW, extremly hot!) triplets from Minnesota that got three different results.

 

 

People are idiots if they think these things aren't ballparking ancestry.

 

/smh... I do guess they are building better algorithms and they are getting closer with more and more samples.

 

They get you to believe they are building a missile base to launch missiles when they are really only launching bottle rockets from the missile base.  People sure love fads and especially in today's identity world, "who's team are you on", people eat this stupid crap up.

 

Just take the test alone.  Don't compare it with any family... LoL...

Edited January 26, 2019 by ExiledInIllinois

[thenorthremembers]

My wife's results outed her 93 year old Grandmother.   Wife had two first connection relations she had never heard of.   Come to find the old gal had an affair on her husband, which produced my Mother in Law.

 

The kicker is the guy who produced my Mother in Law has one full daughter with his wife, and about 5-6 other children from flings throughout Western New York.  Apparently he frequented bars throughout Rochester and parts of Orleans County.  Now all these kids he produced are showing up as relations on ancestry, 17 years after he died.

 

 

[rockpile]

On 12/6/2018 at 6:38 PM, bbb said:

I don't care about any of the DNA stuff, I just want to know who my grandfather was and who I might have on that side of the family.  My father was born out of wedlock in 1923, and my grandmother never said anything about his father except "he's out of the picture!"................My father never seemed to care that much about, or was intimidated by my grandmother, but now I'd like to know.

 

Are there any free places to just see birth records while I'm screwing around taking breaks from work (like I am right now) or does anybody have any other ideas like that? 

 

Our local library has a deal with Ancestry.com and you can sign up for "Ancestry Lite" for free. It does not have ALL the features of the paid subscription but you can create a pretty comprehensive family tree. If you have a break and want to get into it more "intensely" sign up for the free trial. Also, there are a lot of free genealogist web sites.

 

I signed up for "Ancestry"and connected to some first cousins in the U.S. and even one ancestor in Holland who is a very serious genealogist, who can trace my maternal grandparents back to 1589. The way he puts it "we share a few molecules", since our "trees" cross in the 1700's.

 

My mother died when I was only seven and I lost touch with her family. Now I know that on her side I am one of 23 first cousins!

 

My paternal grandmother's side I trace through the Civil War and found records going back to 1760. I would really like know more about where THEY came from, probably England.. 

 

I do this for a hobby, and do not spend a lot of time on it, but it is interesting!

My current family is large enough (ten grandchildren) to keep me busy without worrying about my ancestors

 

I am sending in the DNA kit today. (Christmas gift) 

 

Edit: Growing up, our Christmas dinner of all immediate family was seven people. I knew I had a lot of other family members, but we were not close. I think perhaps that is why building a family tree was interesting for me. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by rockpile
additional text

[apuszczalowski]

This is a genius way for an organization to obtain DNA samples of a ton of people, and get paid for doing it! 

 

I would love to see some people take a couple of these tests, send them in and see what the results come back as. The one article talked about the twins that did it and how although they had virtually identical DNA, the results came back different.

 

I'm sure they get most of the info close enough but not as exact or close as you would hope or expect, or could tell through a true DNA search. It wouldnt shock me if they didnt do any DNA testing and just searched the internet to get some answers for you....

[bbb]

17 hours ago, rockpile said:

 

Our local library has a deal with Ancestry.com and you can sign up for "Ancestry Lite" for free. It does not have ALL the features of the paid subscription but you can create a pretty comprehensive family tree. If you have a break and want to get into it more "intensely" sign up for the free trial. Also, there are a lot of free genealogist web sites.

 

I signed up for "Ancestry"and connected to some first cousins in the U.S. and even one ancestor in Holland who is a very serious genealogist, who can trace my maternal grandparents back to 1589. The way he puts it "we share a few molecules", since our "trees" cross in the 1700's.

 

My mother died when I was only seven and I lost touch with her family. Now I know that on her side I am one of 23 first cousins!

 

My paternal grandmother's side I trace through the Civil War and found records going back to 1760. I would really like know more about where THEY came from, probably England.. 

 

I do this for a hobby, and do not spend a lot of time on it, but it is interesting!

My current family is large enough (ten grandchildren) to keep me busy without worrying about my ancestors

 

I am sending in the DNA kit today. (Christmas gift) 

 

Edit: Growing up, our Christmas dinner of all immediate family was seven people. I knew I had a lot of other family members, but we were not close. I think perhaps that is why building a family tree was interesting for me. 

 

Thanks.  Oddly enough, since nobody replied to this before, I saw a post on FB that made me realize that one of my FB friends was into this.  I asked her and so far I've joined the free site that the Mormons have.  Found my father's WWII enlistment info.  Still haven't found who his father is yet, though. 

[Just Jack]

https://www.pcmag.com/news/366293/fbi-gains-access-to-popular-home-dna-kit-database

 

Quote

Home DNA testing kits are now affordable and commonplace and offer to provide you with detailed information on your family ancestry or a breakdown of your genetics. It also means there's a number of private companies who now hold large databases of genetic data, and the FBI has gained access to one of the most popular.