The Ancestry.com DNA database is connecting people


In our webinar we received a lot of questions from attendees asking for more details on our database.  Definitely fair questions.  The Ancestry.com DNA database provides a new way to connect.  The goal of our genetic genealogy database lies with its ability to identify possible genetic cousins through matching.  With Ancestry.com DNA some members connect instantly while others connect as the database grows.  Ancestry.com DNA provides more than an identification of potential matches, it also facilitates the expansion of your family tree – unsurpassed by any other.

The robust offering that the Ancestry.com DNA database provides is two-fold:  1. matching mechanisms, and 2. expansion. 

Matching Mechanisms
First, our database automatically compares your results with all other participants and lets you know about possible matches.   We further compare your results against each new entry in our continually growing database and notify you of potential matches.    Data are added each day from DNA tested by Ancestry.com DNA as well as from user-transferred results added from outside sources.   Our connection service allows users to communicate with potential matches (while maintaining their privacy) and collaborate on shared ancestors and family tree connections. 

If you are fortunate, our common ancestor analysis will narrow your search to a time frame and together you and your genetic cousin will discover the ancestor who joins your two family trees.  And in some cases, this connection can also expand your tree with the addition of records, nodes, and branches identified on the other person’s tree.

Expansion
Unlike other testing services Ancestry.com DNA combines science with more than 4 billion records and more than 11 million user-submitted family trees to create an incredible asset for users to make connections, trace their roots and connect with distant cousins.  Attach your results to your online family tree and inferred results appear in all the profile views for all of the relevant family members of your family tree.  Attaching results to your tree expands the opportunity of spotting an interesting change.  Furthermore, it increases your chances of connecting with others who wouldn’t necessarily have seen the DNA connection simply by relying on the Ancestry.com DNA database in solidarity. 

Another aspect of expansion involves our DNA Groups.  We do more than just link you by surname, we maintain an interactive database for comparison, searches and grouping based on location, ethnicity, and birthplace-whatever you choose to create.  Groups instantly compare all members’ DNA test results at once, letting you organize new and existing branches of your family tree.   We also allow group administrators the opportunity to compare DNA results of requesting group members.  

Ancestry.com DNA has more than 50,000 records in its globally expanding database.  With over 7,000 DNA Groups and the power of all of the additional content available on Ancestry.com, finding genetic cousins and expanding your family tree is really…just a swab away.

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July 15th, 2009
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
kathy willis
Posted on:
July 18, 2009 at 6:59 am

i just received an e-mail from ancestry that someone was requesting to join my dna group. i never click on links in e-mail, so when i went to my dna site i can’t find the request or even any link showing a request. where are the bars that show links for requests. i just don’t trust e-mail links.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Ralene Guy
Posted on:
July 18, 2009 at 1:25 pm

I am interested also in doing my mother’s side. My question is: can I use a male first cousin with the last name to use as sample? I have no liveing uncles.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Dennis Bray
Posted on:
July 19, 2009 at 7:00 pm

I think you are overselling the DNA Groups. Connecting with people that you share an ancestor 200 or 200 generations ago is of little value. At least in my experience it has not helped at all. I tell people don’t do DNA testing unless you have two specific people that want to validate a connection between their family trees.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Donna
Posted on:
July 19, 2009 at 7:56 pm

I agree that just finding out your Haplogroup doesn’t help on your family tree. In our case, there is only one male left in our paternal line and he has no sons. I felt it was important to collect his DNA. Perhaps some day there will be improvements to help with identification.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Susan Limber
Posted on:
July 20, 2009 at 8:42 am

I am trying to add my brother’s DNA results to my family tree. He had the National Geographic 12 marker test. What do I enter when some of the markers don’t match up with your test? For example, his marker is 16 for DYS389II, but there is no 16 marker value listed on your DYS389II.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 20, 2009 at 11:49 am

HI Kathy, you can always access your DNA information regardless of any emails or links.

After logging in, click on “Visit Groups”; then click on “Group Home Page” of the group that you are interested in viewing. Once inside your group, choose “People” from the header task bar. Then choose the appropriate action, in your case, “Pending Requests.” This will show you information on the membership request.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 20, 2009 at 11:51 am

Ralene, as long as your cousin is a direct line descendant of the the individual and line you are interested in, then he should be an appropriate proxy. Should you have specific questions about selecting a proxy, please contact our client services team at dna@ancestry.com.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 20, 2009 at 1:10 pm

Susan, when inputting this marker into the Ancestry.com DNA site, DYS389I is entered the same as your allele value from the Genographic Project, whereas, DYS389II is the total of DYS389I and DYS389II.

A good comprehensive resource on marker standards and conversions can be found here.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Holly Adams
Posted on:
July 23, 2009 at 2:24 am

Is there a way to remove your information from Ancestry DNA? We signed up after getting National Genographic Project kits for Christmas a few years ago and uploaded our results to that project and also Family Tree DNA and Ancestry DNA. Since then, however, I get about two or three e-mails a week from Ancestry DNA members who have used only the default text provided by the Connections service and supplied no further information, not even whether they are trying to connect to me through my mtDNA results or my husband through his Y-DNA results, so I’m forever sending the same response giving details of both lines and asking which they wanted to hear. About 80% of the time I never hear from them again, and about 10% contact me again through Connections using the same default text without adding any new information.

Of those who do supply other information, the majority clearly do not have any idea what their results represent, nor are they interested in learning. If I explain that Y-DNA follows only the male line, they point out that their father’s grandmother was an Adams so we must be related through her line; similarly, when I say that my maternal line cannot be traced back farther than the mid-1700s in what is now Germany, I get responses saying that their father’s line was from German settlers in Kentucky.

I try to be patient and respond to each e-mail carefully and thoroughly, but I am getting really tired of this and just want to remove my results from the project since having them posted has been of absolutely no genealogical value. The chances of connecting with a relative are so slim that I’m far more likely to make a valid connection through other means.

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 24, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Holly, I’ve done some online tutoring and can understand your frustration.

Please contact our client services team at dna@ancestry.com with your login name and your request for removal can be activated.

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Debbie
Posted on:
July 27, 2009 at 1:27 pm

Hi, I just had gotton the results back from my husband’s DNA test, we had ti done through Ancestry, my question is when will matches becomes reachable. It showed 250 matches…only two are within 9 generations. And there are only one with the same last name of Riggins, and he was 15 generations away, I guess I do not understand completely, I thought it would bring connections.

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
Michael Creed
Posted on:
July 28, 2009 at 7:52 am

I had my y chromosome 48 marker test a year ago throgh Ancestry and am very disappointed to have had no matches, but of course you have no control over that.

I am even more puzzled that my haplogroup has recently swapped from E3b to C3. (I have the original printouts)

I now originated from Central Asia and am most commonly found in Native American populations.

Before I came from east or south Africa.

The raw data is the same on both printouts.

I now have absolutely no confidence in the test unless you can explain this.

I am considering repeating it elsewhere but I really should not have to.

Your comments would be most welcome.

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
Michael Creed
Posted on:
July 28, 2009 at 8:10 am

See previous comment.

I tell a lie, I now have one match 69 generations distant but their haplogroup is I2a. Perhaps these haplogroups have less relevance than I first thought.

Comment Number:
14
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 28, 2009 at 11:11 am

Debbie, in evaluating matches, keep in mind that the generational number is based on what is known as the most recent common ancestor analysis (MRCA) and is a statistical probability. This is meant to be a guide for you as you begin to evaluate further research. It is not a concrete number. In other words, there is a 50% probability that the common ancestor is found no further than that MRCA number of generations out.

Also, match possibilities who are coded as “anonymous” are still good possibilities for contacting. They have just chosen to have their names shielded from the public view.

If there is a match, and the surnames are different there could have been an adoption, illegitimacy or name change. It is with the marriage of DNA and paper genealogies that will show where the actual common paternal ancestor is.

You may also be interested in viewing a BLOG post relative to this topic: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2009/05/08/interpreting-your-dna-matches/.

Comment Number:
15
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
July 29, 2009 at 11:36 pm

Hi Michael, it is important to remember that Haplogroup predictors are not laboratory tests, but rather statistical models or algorithms used to estimate haplogroups based on Y-chromosome or mtDNA haplotypes. In addition to the actual algorithm, there are other variables that may affect the outcome of predictions, such as the number of markers tested, the location of markers tested, the comparison data used in the prediction, as well as the accuracy of the Y-chromosome or mtDNA test result (haplotype) used to predict a haplogroup. Because the predictions are statistical in nature, they will have an error rate associated with them.

We are committed to providing the most reliable haplogroup prediction and as such, we often update our predictor with additional SNP (confirmatory) tests, thus increasing the power of the prediction. In some cases, updates to the predictor create a new, revised designation for participants as was the case for you.

Your DNA results i.e. your haplotype has not changed and is not contingent upon the haplogroup designation. You should have full confidence in your actual DNA results. And as you mentioned, some people connect instantly, others as the database grows.

A different haplogroup than someone you may share common ancient ancestry with so far into the future (69 generations) should not be a concern. I’m not sure why such an ancient “match” would be appearing and will have our team look into this.

Thank you for asking and should you have further questions specific to your data, please contact our client services team at dna@ancestry.com.