Comments on: Unexpected ethnicities. New discoveries. See where AncestryDNA takes you.

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:23:48 +0000

I wish I had read the posts by others above and I probably would have chosen another company for DNA testing. I have 79% British Isles, which was expected. But 11% Eastern European and 10% Southern European, which was not at all expected. Migrations aside, I have most of my lines back to at least the mid-1600s and there is nothing but English, Scottish, and German. So even if there were migrations into these areas, it certainly should not have shown up as 21%–it would have been a fraction of that. Also, no German showed up even though I have identified German ancestors. I think this test is too unreliable to be of any real help. I will do one with another company and hopefully the results will be more accurate.

By: Doug Wescott

Doug Wescott — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:45:32 +0000

I have used Ancestry.com for years, and really appreciate it’s ease of use and many, many resources. As a result, I had high expectations when I submitted my DNA. I am very, very disappointed in the results. With some exaggeration, of course we can all trace back to Adam and Eve, but how useful is it to know that? I trace back to the British Isles in the 1500′s, yet there is no such link in my results. I understand others do show the British Isles in theirs. Why don’t I? I was told because the British Isles were populated from Scandinavia. This does me no good. Again, very disappointed in the results, and the explanation.

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:51:50 +0000

The only test to put your money on is the Genogenetics National Geographic Gene 2.0. They are currently updating their test to include 2-10th generation ancestral info. Prior to this update, it was specifically the mtDNA and Haplogroup but they’re now using the Genochip for genetic anthropology where they utilise over 150,000 markers (richest ancestry-relevant information). It costs $119 for the basic and $199 for advanced.

By: Doug Wescott

Doug Wescott — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 06:22:00 +0000

I spoke with someone at Ancestry.com today regarding my DNA results, which were way off from what I know about my family tree, and expected. He explained that the British Isles were populated by Scandinavians. He made a good case for my results.

My concern now is that the results point back too far to be useful. Exaggerating slightly, it’s as if I was told my ancestors were Adam and Eve. How useful is knowing that?

As I told the Ancestry.com rep., I really like all of the features of their software. This worked against them, in this case, as my expectations were very high for gaining useful information, and I’m very disappointed.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 01:29:07 +0000

My paternal grandmother is from Germany. My paternal grandfather is from England. My maternal grandmother is from the Jersey Islands. My paternal grandfather is from Canada and family stories have them imagrating from Ireland, france and Scotland.
What are my test results? I’m 51% Scandinavian, 23% from spain or portigal and 21% from Eastern Europe. I have done geneology on all these lines and have 2600 people in my tree. None of the people in my tree are from any of the countries that the test says I’m from.
I called my mom to see if I was adopted and she says I wasn’t. I look like my paternal grandmother. What in the world is going on?

By: Barbara

Barbara — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:37:58 +0000

Previous post #2: My brother also did the autosomal DNA test like I did. My results, as I said before, were 86% Caucasian and 14% Native American.

His results from the same testing company were 84% Caucasian and 16% Native American – so we know it isn’t a fluke.

He just texted me to let me know that he is going to take the ancestry DNA test and will let me know what his results are. It will be interesting to see if we match up on this test like we did on the other.

By: Monika

Monika — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:23:47 +0000

Yes, I am a little bit puzzled by the results as well. I already have my husband’s standard DNA test on ancestry.com, I had him take the ancestry.dna test as well, because I was told that it does not focus entirely on the paternal line. Yet his ancestry.dna test came back 97% British Isles and 3% uncertain. His father’s ancestry line is 100% in England, but his MOTHER’S ancestry is 100% in Germany. (So much so that even the tombstone of g-grandpa is written in German while he is resting here on American soil!) So, 97% British and 3% uncertain does not explain how the DNA test results do not show the German side of the family if they do not just focus on the direct male line.

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:13:52 +0000

Barbara, Kay, and Dee – you are not the only ones to raise questions. There are some serious concerns about ACOM’s DNA results circulating the internet and for that reason, I’ve decided against getting their test done:

http://dna-explained.com/2012/10/24/ancestrys-mythical-admixture-percentages/

http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/2012/06/19/problems-with-ancestrydnas-genetic-ethnicity-prediction/

http://www.genealogue.com/2012/06/ancestrydna-and-possible-faux-pa.html

I guess the old saying is true – you get what you pay for. I thought ACOM’s test was a great deal but if it means getting inaccurate test results, it’s only a waste of money.

I wonder if this will get deleted.

By: Dee

Dee — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:25:21 +0000

I previously had a dna test done and my results were 65% North African (Moroccan and Algerian) 15% East African, 15% Iberian Peninsula. and the reest was Brazilian and American Indian.

Ancestry.com’s test said I was 79% West African, 17% Scandinavian, and 4% unknown. The “unknown” basically lines up with the Indigenous dna from my last test, but the othet labels are kinda off. What’s going on?

By: Kay

Kay — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:42:20 +0000

The results from AncestryDNA certainly do not match my results from either FamilyTreeDNA from both autosomal and mitochondrial testing, or from the autosomal test at 23andMe, but those two basically agree with each other. I have a large amount of “Central European” and a fair amount of “Scandinavian” in your results and honestly that doesn’t make any sense with what I know about my ancestors – and I know quite a lot. There are either some basic problems with your testing or with your confusing reporting.