DNA Myth

A common DNA misconception is that you and your sibling will have the same autosomal DNA results. I have no idea where this myth came from but here are some examples showing how not true it is.
On the left is me and on the right is my brother.

 Here we have three more siblings: Marcos, Rebecca, and Mary.

There are more regions but they are all less than 1% noise except on Mary's. Hers also includes 2% Mali and 1% Senegal that didn't fit into the screen cap.
That's just the ethnicity results. Let's take a look at the cousin matches.

They are all listed as "immediate family" for each other and they all match their aunt, Maria B.
As you can see they all share different amounts of DNA with different relatives. Jannivy is the granddaughter of their sister who has passed away. Maria shares so much DNA with her that she shows up as "close family" instead of "1st cousin" where a great-niece would usually show. As the amount of DNA shared gets smaller it's more likely a match will only show up on one sibling. If you're using, or will be using, DNA as a serious research tool you should test as many family members as possible. Your brother, sister, aunt, or uncle may be the key to solving your mystery.

Do Not Ancestry

UPDATE: Apparently there's a new subscription level for DNA users but the only reference I've found for it is this thread in the "community." Note that comments are closed on that thread.

AncestryDNA is now available in the United Kingdom and Ireland but it looks like Ancestry doesn't really want to sell any tests. The price of the test is £99. That's about $150 US. In the US the test sells for $99. Shipping to the UK and Ireland is three times what it is here, £20 ($30). US shipping is $9.95. And that's just the beginning.
For everyone purchasing a test after September or October 2014 (Ancestry has  not given an exact cutoff date) the following items are no longer included in the price of the test:

- List of surnames in common with matches.
- Ability to message your matches.
- Viewing the pedigree of your match's tree.
- Shared Ancestor Hints
- DNA Circles

Any tests purchased before the arbitrary date will still have those features with or without a subscription. AncestryDNA already lags behind when it comes to comparison tools and now they're moving what little they do have behind a pay wall.
The closest competitor for AncestryDNA is FamilyTreeDNA's autosomal test, Family Finder. Their test is $99. Period. Their prices do not vary by country. Standard shipping to most countries is $9.95 and they will ship everywhere except Iran and Sudan. And, most notably, using their comparison tools does not require a separate subscription.
When Ancestry jumped into the autosomal market they drove down prices. Once it became clear that autosomal tests would be the "next big thing" they dumped their Y and mt tests. Do they think they've cornered the market? Are they that confident in their minimal DNA tools? Do they think customers will be loyal no matter what?
Anyone have any insights on this?

[Full disclosure: I have no association with any DNA company except as a customer. I purchased a Y-DNA test from FamilyTreeDNA but have not purchased their Family Finder test. I received my first AncestryDNA test for free and have since purchased six more.]


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AncestryDNA News

If you missed last week's AncestryDNA news you can read about it here.
A few things from Anna's blog post stuck out to me.

"These advancements will make AncestryDNA matching far more accurate, and each new match will be more likely to lead to a new discovery."

What good are "far more accurate" matches when we have no way of seeing how they match or each other? How about some decent tools? A matches in common tool? A surname search that actually works? Anything?

"Best of all, we’re going to roll this out to all AncestryDNA members for free, and you don’t have to take a new test to get the benefits."

Is it just me or does anyone else think Anna is trying to make Ancestry.com sound magnanimous? In reality that's exactly what Ancestry promised from the start. No charge for new matches, updates to our results, or new features. If they started charging for new features sales would drop dramatically. Why would anyone buy a test if there was a possibility of, a year or two down the road, Ancestry actually coming up with decent tools that we could only use if we shell out more money?

"Pairing this data with well-documented family trees and the expertise of Ancestry has allowed the AncestryDNA science team to develop groundbreaking new algorithms for finding and predicting relationships through DNA. These new algorithms will lead to better matches for anyone who tests with AncestryDNA."

Am I reading this correctly? AncestryDNA matches will factor in trees? What the...? Yeah, because that has worked so well for Ancestry's shaky leaf hints.
Is Ancestry hiring hundreds of genealogists to vet those "well-documented" family trees? Or will the "well-documented" label be based solely on the number of records attached? We all know how helpful that will be. Our clickophile cousins can just mash our trees together with theirs with no regard for accuracy and Ancestry will assure them that the relationship is solid. UGH!

"Be confident that your matches are in good hands with our team of experts."

Confident? Ha! Experts? If their DNA experts are as qualified as their social media experts the AncestryDNA test will become worthless. We'll have to wait and see what updates they have in store for us.


PREVIOUS POST: Social Disgrace: Double Down
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Social Disgrace: Double Down

Note 1: I am going to refer to the admin as "he" in this thread but the admin may very well be a she. It is just easier to write and read a single pronoun rather than constantly using he/she.
Note 2: This is an updated post. After publishing (and sleeping) I, hopefully, figured out how to make this easier to read. There are also corrections to the comment timeline. The original post still exists and is after the jump if you're curious.

Ancestry.com's social media team is so inept I could write these posts on the daily basis. Sometimes their answers are just painful. This admin doesn't understand that the link he's posting contradicts the point he's making. Shirley and Jane keep trying to get him to see his error but he refuses. My comments are after the screen caps.

(1) Shirley points out that a post on Ancestry.com's blog clearly contradicts the admin.
(2) Shirley also links to Ancestry's help section that clearly states what is and isn't included with the purchase of an AncestryDNA test.
(3) The admin states that updates have been made and then posts a link that goes to the exact same page Shirley posted. Uh, okay.
(4) Shirley quotes the linked page.
(5) Jane quotes the linked page.
At this point, shouldn't the admin be questioning himself? "Maybe I'm reading this wrong. I'll should go back and read it again."
(6) Instead he blames the site developers because he couldn't possibly be wrong. Here's the link he suggests to Shirley, "Providing feedback about Ancestry."
How's this for feedback? Dear Ancestry, please hire competent reps.
(7) Now he just doubles down and posts the link again!
Dear Admin: Posting the same link again will not change the fact that it contradicts what you're saying. Here are some steps to follow: 1) Read 2) Comprehend 3) Answer customers' questions. If you can't do steps 1 and 2 don't even try step 3.
(8) The final comment looks to have been made by someone from a different department. Notice the "signature." Maybe they can give the previous admin a tutorial on reading comprehension."The information in the article is correct...Once again, we are sorry about the miscommunication," by other Ancestry employees who are clueless, "and invite you to send us a private message with your email address if you have any further questions about this issue. We can then provide you with information specifically pertaining to you and your account." It will also allow us to answer questions without other customers pointing out errors by Ancestry employees.

The thread above was from Oct. 31st and can be found here.


PREVIOUS POST: What the WHAT?
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New DNA Results

AncestryDNA released their updated ethnicity results yesterday!
Of course the DNA portion of Ancestry.com promptly crashed.
I know, you're shocked.
Here is the new list of the possible results:

Africa
Africa North
Africa South-Central Hunter-Gatherers
Africa Southeastern Bantu
Benin/Togo
Cameroon/Congo
Ivory Coast/Ghana
Mali
Nigeria
Senegal

America
Native American

Asia
Asia Central
Asia East
Asia South

Europe
Europe East
Europe West
European Jewish
Finnish/Northern Russia
Great Britain
Iberian Peninsula
Ireland
Italy/Greece
Scandinavia

Pacific Islander
Melanesia
Polynesia

West Asia
Caucasus
Near East

I was able to get the results for all five of my tests open in separate windows in one of the short functional periods. After making all these screen caps I was going to see how this change was shown in matches and explore some of the other changes. Unfortunately the AncestryDNA site was no longer available so for today I just have images of the results to compare.
After the jump the images are side by side so you don't have to scroll up and down to see what changed for each person.

Here are the original results for (top) Dad, Mom, Mom's Aunt, (bottom) me and Baby Brother.

Here are the new results without "trace regions":

New results with "trace regions" (Dad, Mom, Mom's Aunt, Me, Brother):

After the jump: Side by side comparison

DNA: False Advertising?

23andme.com advertisement as seen on Facebook.

What Nationality Are You?

Find out how much African, Asian, and European ancestry you have.

I noticed this advertisement after my last DNA series. Thought I'd save it for my next run of DNA posts but it'll be a while before I have time to write those. I have the results for my great-aunt but haven't time to get into the matches and new features. Hopefully by the time my brother gets his results I'll find time to do another series. Anyway, back to the ad.
How can we expect the general public and potential DNA test taker to grasp the basics of autosomal DNA when those selling the tests don't understand the fundamentals? A DNA test cannot tell you your nationality. Nationality is determined by birth or naturalization, not DNA.
Let's say you were born in the United States but all four of your grandparents were born in France. Is a DNA test going to tell you you're American? No. Your passport will, a DNA test will not. You get your DNA from your parents. Their DNA did not change just because they, or their parents or grandparents, crossed an ocean or a few borders. The test will also not tell you what percentage of your ethnicity is from France. Which bring us to the next ad...

ancestryDNA advertisement as seen on Huffington Post.

MADE IN ENGLAND, FRANCE AND SPAIN

What are your countries of origin?

Find the full story of your ethnicity.

England, France and Spain? None of those are possible results with ancestryDNA. Countries of origin? Countries and borders have changed throughout history. No one will get results telling them what country their ancestors were from with ancestryDNA. The results are regional, no countries, no specific native tribes. Here is the list of possible results:

British Isles
Central African
Central Asian
Central European
East African
East Asian
Eastern European
European Jewish
Finnish/Volga-Ural
Middle Eastern
Native North American
Native South American
North African
Pacific Islander
Persian/Turkish/Caucasus
Scandinavian
South Asian
Southern African
Southern European
West African

Do you see England, France or Spain on that list? Do you see any result that is a single country? Outside of the name of the test and the link to purchase the test, nothing in that ad is accurate.
Then there's "the full story" claim. There are thousands of us with a large percentage of "uncertain" who are still waiting for the full story.
The final advertisement for today is after the jump.

My DNA Results III

In case you missed the first two posts on my results (links at the end of this post) the test I'm talking about is Ancestry.com's newest DNA test, an autosomal test. It can be taken by both men and women and is currently only available to purchase in the U.S..
I wanted to have results from both of my parents before writing another DNA post. I was fully prepared to write about how I really am "Daddy's girl" because I was sure my 40% Scandinavian and 18% British Isles were all from Dad. I was surprised that the percentage would be so far off of 50%. 52/48 I could see. 54/46 maybe. But 58/42 seemed off to me. Well my instincts were right. I just never expected British Isles results on my mom's side! Not even a single digit percent. I'm stunned!
Results and more after the jump.

AncestryDNA Site Tools

The DNA site is still in the BETA phase. If you think of something that can be improved or a feature that you'd like added be sure to use the feedback button on your DNA page. Hopefully they'll add features that many people have asked for. A surname search, a username search, the ability to find common matches with another user, and the ability to find matches that match each other are just a few suggestions I've made.

Top right: Feedback button
Bottom left: Full Results button

Here's a look at the features as they are today...

FULL RESULTS

Of course the pie chart is the most obvious part of the results. Under the chart you'll see a "Full Results" button. On the full results page there are tabs for each ethnicity where you'll find out information about each ethnicity in your results including: Modern Day Location, About Your Region, Migrations into this region, and Migrations from this region. To the right of that is a list of your closest matches with that ethnicity in their results.

If you have more than four regions in your results the page is esthetically unappealing but the function is there.
In the "About Your Region" section you may find some helpful information but you will need to get past pointless filler statements like, "This is where Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems. It's home to the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood." In what way is that is helpful?

PEDIGREE AND SURNAMES

The 10-generation tree is probably the first thing you'll look at on your match's profile. If the tree is public you'll see the tree and on the left side of the page will be a list of surnames from their direct line. If you share surnames there will be a a separate list of those above the surname list.

This does not mean you are related through those surnames. This is not a "You are Related Here" sign but rather a "You May Want to Look Here First" sign. The common surnames are hints. If you click on a surname in that box you'll see, side by side, lists of people with that surname from your tree and your match's tree. The lists will only include people in the direct lines.
You should also look through the complete surname list below the box. The matches in the "shared surnames" box are exact matches only. While your great-great-grandmother might have been a Smith one of her brothers may have decided to use Smyth.

MAP AND LOCATIONS

The shaky leaf shows on the map.

The further back you go in time the less likely it is your family moved around a lot. Many families stayed in one place for decades. Because of that you may be able to find family connections if you find a relative of your match living in the same place at the same time as one of your ancestors.
In the case above the match has a shaky leaf hint. That shows on the map. Even if there wasn't a shaky leaf hint there would still be other hints. I could look at the "shared birth locations" on the left or the green markers on the map to try and find some common ground. Literally.
Just like the surname box you can click on a location in the "shared birth locations" box and see a list of people with that birth location from both trees.

NOTES

Surnames, maps and hints are only viewable by opening up the profile page. Notes on the other hand can be viewed on the results page by hovering over the note icon. The note will show only after you've written a note.
I can only tell you how I use notes. You may find other uses. When I've determined where the link is I put that in a note along with my relationship to the match. For those I haven't figured out I write a list of surnames in the note. Surnames that match those in my tree and surnames that I've seen on the trees of other matches. Then I can view the notes and open, in a new window, only those matches with a certain surname so I can compare their trees.
I haven't used the map feature yet, except to see how it functions. I will probably add any location details that I think are important to the notes as well.

Top arrow: Send message button
Bottom arrow: Add a note here

MESSAGES

Use the "send message" button on the match profile and a link to your match profile will be included in the message so the person you're messaging won't need to sift through their matches to find you. This link will not appear if you message them from their main Ancestry.com profile or from their tree.

After the jump, the various sorting options for your matches.

No Tree and Private Tree DNA Results

The most common complaint from those who have taken Ancestry.com's autosomal DNA test is about the number of test takers who either have a private tree or no tree at all. Frankly I'm sick of the whining and need to vent. So here goes...

PRIVATE TREES

For the private tree issue I have suggestions for both sides. For those wanting to see private trees, take a break from your complaining and message the tree owners. If you message them you stand a chance of opening a line of communication. If all you do is grumble about people who have private trees I can guarantee you'll get nowhere and accomplish nothing. And if your message has even a tinge of "Why the heck is your tree private?" attitude you shouldn't expect a response.
If you really want a response don't demand to see their tree. Don't even politely ask for an invite to view it. Ask if they can tell who your common ancestor is or if they have an idea where the link may be. I did just that and now know where my connection is to the person with a private tree. If someone does give you an invite to their tree don't start copying all their media to your public tree. Anyone who does that is the reason those with private trees are wary about letting others view their tree.
To those with private trees I'll ask you to consider something. Please think about making a public tree. Hear me out. You don't need to add media. You don't even need to attach records. Create a tree that has only your direct line with names, birth dates/places and death dates/places. That's it. Attach your DNA results to that tree. I'd also suggest that if you are interested in finding family that you should message your matches. There are plenty of people who are doing what I'm doing and putting matches with private trees in the trash. I'll go back and look at them periodically to see if any have decided to switch to a public tree but I'm overwhelmed with matches and have decided to focus on finding connections on the closer matches with public trees.

NO FAMILY TREE

If a match shows "no family tree" check to make sure. The person could have multiple trees and be undecided about which tree to attach their DNA results. If they have a tree, or two or three, they may show as "no family tree" on your match list but when you click to their match profile you'll see this:

"Select a tree to preview" and you may find a clue or even an exact match.
Another reason someone may not have a tree is they were adopted. Y-DNA and mtDNA each focus on a single family line. Autosomal DNA looks at all of them and can be taken by both men and women. This is the ideal test for those who have been adopted and want to find out something, anything, about their background. Chances are if you have someone who was adopted on your match list they will be contacting you. I recently had someone who was adopted contact me. She is a very distant match and has realistic expectations. She just wanted to know more about the ethnicity we have in common. I told her what I know and hope I can help her more in the future.

JUST THE PIE

Some people may not care about making contact with distant relatives. This applies to everyone whether the trees are public, private, or non-existent. They may want to contact only 1st or 2nd cousins or may not want to contact anyone at all. You're probably wondering why they bothered taking the test at all. They took the test for the ethnicity results. Period. Just because they are your 7th cousin twice removed does not mean they have to return your messages. They did not take the test for you.

NO EMAIL

One last reason for no response may be Ancestry's glitchy message system. Last week I received emails for every message on Ancestry. This week? Plenty of new messages but not a single email from Ancestry's message system. Be sure to keep an eye on the number next to the envelope in the top right toolbar on the Ancestry.com page. That number should reflect the number of new messages whether you get an email or not.

Whatever the case you cannot force anyone to answer your message so quit whining and move on to your next match.


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My DNA Results II

You can read about my initial results here. Since that post I've had time to look through all the matches and new ones have been added almost daily.
Here are the stats so far:

1144   total matches
    18   are in the 4th to 6th cousin range with 95% confidence or higher
    67   of the public trees have fewer than 30 people on them
  157   do not have a tree on Ancestry.com
  184   have private trees

Because of the large number of results I'm setting aside the matches that have no tree and those that have private trees. My tree is public so they are free to look and if they find a match I hope they will contact me. One person already has because she read my previous blog post! She invited me to view her private tree. No luck finding our connection (4th - 6th cousin with 95% confidence) but we'll continue to search.

After the jump: Surnames and DNA matches

My DNA Results

I considered writing an overview of Ancestry.com's new autosomal DNA test but the Legal Genealogist already has an excellent write up. I highly recommend reading her post if you're interested in the autosomal test.

As of March 2012 the categories for Ancestry.com's results were as follows:

  British Isles
  Central European
  East Asia (includes Siberia, China & Southeast Asia)
  Eastern European
  Finnish/Volga-Ural
  French/Swiss
  German
  Jewish
  Middle Eastern
  Native North American
  Native South American
  North African
  Russian/Persian/Turkish
  Scandinavian
  Southern European

As you'll see from my results at least one of those categories, Russian/Persian/Turkish, has changed since March. Also, I have yet to hear of anyone having "German" as a result. That may have been a result that was not as clearly defined as they initially thought. As Ancestry gets more input during this BETA phase of testing the categories, and thus everyone's results, may change a bit.  
One thing to keep in mind is that a country's borders are the results of politics not biology and they vary widely over the course of history. If you have any ancestors from "Bohemia" I'm sure you are already keenly aware of this.
My results after the jump.