Just sent in Ancestry DNA...few questions (family tree, free, French)

[ozarknation]

Originally Posted by Charlotteborn

I am considering ordering my Ancestry DNA test but I have a question. Do you have to pay a yearly fee to have access to the data? I read somewhere that Ancestry used to be free but now they charge.

No, your data is yours forever. Don't need to pay extra fees or subscription to get access to your data.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by trobesmom

My results put that Native American ancestry tale to rest too! I was told by all my elders that I was definitely Native American. Huh uh. Less than 1%. But I'm 37% Scandanavian. Who knew? Also a good bit Italian and Irish and some Great Britain. It was very interesting.

See my thread //www.city-data.com/forum/genea...l#post49250127 which I'm pasting in below. I was told by my son's grandmother (my ex-mother in law) that her fathers mother Minnie was at least part Native from her father DW, no one was sure if his wife Jane was Native, I haven't worked on her line in a while, I don't see that I have the maiden name. I found a pretty good tree on family search for DW's tree so I know who his parents are.

So DW is supposedly NJ Lenni Lenape, son's DNA at ancestry doesn't show it. I had his grandmother done too. No Native at ancestry. I uploaded to GEDmatch, both show Native American. So make sure you upload with the directions below.

Originally Posted by Rivertowntalk

You get access to your DNA information free on an ongoing basis, but if you click on DNA relatives, you need a subscription to get very far if you are researching. It will block you from going further without a subscription. This is the way it has been and I assume it still works this way, unless they changed it this past year. I have a subscription. I tend to use it more in the winter months and let it lapse in the Spring/Summer months.

Also see my directions thread. What I've found is that some people do not reply. It wouldn't surprise me if they're using an app. I like the ancestry app for DNA results, it allows me to click view match, if your tree is private, the only thing you can click on is shared matches. I also do not pay, have not used my 2 week trial; I'm only able to contact DNA matches. I'm not able to see the trees of my DNA matches because I don't pay but they're able to invite me to their tree, I can invite them to mine.

I just had one cousin upload his and his fathers DNA to My Heritage, Family Tree DNA and GEDmatch, we have no common matches. He's a 3rd to 5th cousin at My Heritage, a 4th to 6th cousin at Ancestry

Originally Posted by xboxmas

I am completely new at the whole Ancestry DNA thing. I just sent in my spit sample now am waiting...I know it says 6-8 weeks, but what has been your experience in how fast or slow it was to get your results? Does it take longer certain times of the year?

Also, what has been your experience with finding more family members and ancestors with the DNA results? Were you able to get in touch with cousins? What kind of information were they able to give you? Was your DNA able to confirm a lot of facts and debunk myths?

Basically asking for your experiences. Can't wait to get mine back!

One CD member just got his DNA back in 2 weeks. If you recently sent yours in, you may get lucky too.

If you do contact any DNA matches, try to establish some sort of relationship with them before asking to be invited to their tree. There's nothing that drives me nuts more then people contacting me saying my tree is private, can they see it yet they don't offer to show me theirs

See my thread //www.city-data.com/forum/genea...l#post49250127 which I'm pasting in below.

Be sure to upload your DNA to GEDmatch for free family matching and ethnicity, My Heritage for free ethnicity (no Native showing yet for my son and his grandma but they're a new DNA company) and family matching, uploading to Family Tree DNA is free for family matching. Also free right now are health reports at Promethease; from what I understand the reports stay online 45 days. Best suggestion is to download a copy but view the report on their web site. If you do upload and want to post, there is a thread //www.city-data.com/forum/genea...l#post50389589

Holiday Gift from Promethease: all uploads are free through the end of December 2017. See FAQ.
Promethease/Free Runs 2017

Originally Posted by Roselvr

I've had this as a blog but decided to share it as a post for those that need it. If anyone has tips, please feel free to add them

Family tree and DNA general instructions

I originally wrote part of this as a reply to someone, hopefully what I've learned will help someone not waste time doing their tree. If anyone has any tips or correction of info, please let me know. I've been doing my family tree since fall of 2015, our DNA June 2016 so am fairly new myself. I wish I had found a basic guide but instead learned everything the hard way. My goal is to leave a tree for my kids, grand kids and my hubs grand daughter that we do not see, so she only knows her maternal history.

I started my family tree on My Heritage a year and a half ago. It's been a learning experience. My parents both came to the US from Hungary in the late 50's. My dad passed away 11 years ago, his brother only speaks Hungarian which I do not speak. My uncle gave me what he knew of their family (father, mother and her parents) when I had someone to translate a letter. My mothers relatives are in Hungary too, I have one Hungarian cousin who can answer basic questions using google translate, so I have a little help if needed. He gave me my grandparents, grand mothers maiden name plus my mothers siblings that I didn't know, I still need some date of births and locations. I have 2 kids, my daughter is in the same boat with immigrant grand parents from Poland and Germany while I had a good amount of info on my son's side. I have help from my kids grandmothers when needed. For my hub I had a good amount on his mothers side but not his fathers. I was able to start my tree with a decent amount of info. Now I have about 2,000 people in my tree at Ancestry.

So, I did my 1st tree on My Heritage, it gave me matches and some times smart matches where I looked at the match, was able to take what I needed to add to my own tree. At one point someone copied my kids relatives; so I ended up going to Ancestry to work in private; so far it's been great. I keep my main tree there. I've gotten pretty far because Ancestry gives you hints too. With the free account you can't save the hints, you have to type the info out yourself which is no big deal. I really do not do much with the tree at my heritage any more but that may change after I do my DNA there or if I run into a relative road block. I'll enter them to see if I get a match on someone elses tree.

I've used Family Search for records in the past. At some point I realized they gave free family trees too, so I started a basic one there. The tree view itself takes some getting used to but the person profiles are what I mainly use it for; I then go to their records search page to get info on a relative I'm working on at ancestry. The only time I add more relatives to my family search tree is when I run into a dead end so to speak. What's nice is they let you attach those records to the person profile in the tree. I have found more records at family search for some relatives then I have at ancestry. What I like about family search is that when you're entering say parents for your mother, it will do a search to see if she's already listed there; you may get lucky with a full tree branch as a result; which you then attach there, and when you have time, enter it into your tree at ancestry. It's not going to be a quick process; but you'll get rewarded with knowing more about your family and who you're working on.

When you do your tree, make sure you pay attention to privacy settings. Some people make their trees public but mine is private because I have relatives that are private people, they do not want their info to be public. I personally do not want my info public either. As a matter of fact, check out the thread 'Creepy' genealogy site knows a lot about you, it's about the site Familytreenow.com. In the search, enter your name; parents, grand parents, see what you come up with. That will give you an idea of what a public tree is like; info at anyone's finger tips. If you keep your tree private at ancestry or my heritage, people have to ask for an invite to view your tree. I didn't know about security when I started. I have not paid at any site and have not used my free trial at ancestry yet. I'm doing everything as a free account. I'm saving the free 2 week trial until I run into a dead end. Right now I'm getting tons of free info on 3 sites. IT takes more time entering things yourself but I feel it's worth it because the cost of membership at My Heritage or Ancestry is pretty steep. It wouldn't be bad if they did $10 a month but they want the hundred dollars or more in one shot. I'm going to need the world explorer which is a lot more.

Once you make a tree on Ancestry or My Heritage, you want to go to tree settings, save as GEDcom file. It's easier to make a tree on one site then upload the GEDcom file to other sites. I didn't know this when I started, had I known it, I would have started on Ancestry, then uploaded the GEDcom file to my heritage. I wasted a lot of time retyping my tree not knowing about it. Family Search also does GEDcom files, I haven't tried it so can't offer anything.

Family Tree Sites and GEDcom Files - Back up your family tree to upload to other sites

Ancestry - go to your family tree, next click the name of your tree in the top left corner, you'll see tree settings, click on it. On the right side you'll see a white box with Your home person in this tree; Your home person in this tree; Hint preferences; Manage your tree - Export your family tree data, as a GEDCOM file, to your computer, the GEDcom download will take a few seconds to generate.

My Heritage - Go to your profile, At the top it says home, family tree, discoveries, DNA, photos, research; mouse over family tree you'll see import GEDcom and manage trees, click manage trees, on the far right under actions you'll see export to GEDcom. My Heritage is limited with free family tree accounts. I have 203 people in my tree, it's telling me I have reached the maximum and will have to pay to add more people.

Family Tree DNA FTDNA - Log into FTDNA, you'll be on the main page that shows Welcome to myFTDNA with your account info in the left box, you can't miss where it says family tree; which you click then upload GEDcom is right there.

Family Search Scroll down on the main page, you'll see Do You Have a GEDCOM File? Preserve and Share Your Family Tree. You'll then see Submit Your Tree. To submit your tree, you must sign in or register with FamilySearch.org. What does it mean to submit your family tree? When you submit your family tree, you can upload a GEDCOM file so that others can search it on FamilySearch.org. This process replaces the Share My Genealogy feature that was used to submit information to the Pedigree Resource File (PRF). It then goes more into detail. Family Search trees are public trees, which I only recently found out. They do protect living people so only you will be able to see the info you add but I'm unsure exactly what others see so it's on my list of things to check out.

wikitree is a public tree. It's a community of genealogists trying to connect the world on one tree. I have not spent much time on wikitree so I can't really say anything about it except it's a decent place to get info for your own tree, but from experience you have to make sure you check what they have because it could be incorrect. There is a relative of my son's family there who has a lot of wrong information. I left comments on some of the profiles that have wrong info, she has not fixed it yet. I've emailed her asking to be on the safe list for the relatives because some are set to private, she hasn't answered. I haven't had time to go back to wikitree to each relatives profile to ask to be put on the safe list for each of the relatives we share. From what I see you have to sign up to volunteer before they'll let you do anything such as edit incorrect info.

Now to the DNA

.

23andme Accessing your Raw Data

FTDNA Accessing your Raw Data to upload to GEDmatch


23 and me offers 2 tests, one for family finder ($99) and another for health ($200). If you do the family finder without health and you're interested in doing the health later on it will cost you an extra $25 so be aware of that. They do not support uploads from other sites.

Ancestry DNA - costs $99 plus $10 shipping. They do not allow uploads from other companies. Tests normally go on sale mothers and father's day, black Friday $69 and the Christmas holiday $79. I have a coupon code in my 1st post here I believe where it's $89 but you have to add the $10 shipping to it. It's very easy to buy more tests to add it to the people in your tree.

Family Tree DNA costs $79 or you can transfer your Ancestry DNA or 23 and Me autosomal DNA data to discover new matches for free. For $19 more they will give you myOrigins, ancientOrigins and Chromosome Browser. I haven't done it yet. I plan to do it at some point so I can get the experience. I have directions on how to upload multiple raw data files at FTDNA in case anyone gets stuck. Once you have the 1st one uploaded and have electronically signed it, logout of FamilyTreeDNA, then select the drop down box "DNA Tests" and select the "Autosomal Transfer". Fill out First Name and Last name of the person who's test you will be uploading and select if they are male or female and then enter your email address if you are the person who will administer this account. It will then assign you a new kit number and email you a new password for the kit. Then it will proceed to the upload DNA page. Make sure you look for the password email. You're going to get one for each sample you upload. You have to upload your family tree GEDcom file for each sample which is a pain in the butt but over all it's been a good experience. Directions page in case anyone needs it.

My Heritage DNA is normally $99 but they're selling it for $79. They're a new company so you may not get many matches. I didn't have many matches until recently. Their database has really grown.. They allow free uploads from Ancestry, 23 and me and FTDNA. June 2017 - New, they now give free ethnicity estimates. I won a kit from My Heritage for a founders project. They were interested in me because my family has lived in Hungary for a long time. I got my ethnicity report from it, I'm 96.3% East European and 3.7% Italian. It took 6 months, they wouldn't release it until they were done analyzing data from everyone that was in the project. They did give me DNA matches, I only have 5 where on FTDNA and Ancestry I have a lot more. To upload your DNA from another company, go to your profile, you will see the DNA tab where you can upload your raw data. They're saying they will eventually be charging to upload raw data. They're also going to add a surname feature where they will give surnames at some point. To upload DNA to another person in your tree, find them on the tree then click their name, it will open a box on the left that has the link to upload.

GEDmatch where you can upload both your DNA and a GEDcom file; look for matches and do all sorts of things with finding out your ethnicity that's more involved then any of the other companies. They go back to hunter-gatherer. GEDmatch upload in case you can't find it. It only takes a few minutes to upload the DNA, then you can play around with the tools. Full results will come in a day or 2. I have not spent much time here so can't go into more detail on the matches. There are tutorials on DNA matching that I have not read yet. Click here to register

To get the break down on your ethnicity, see below GEDmatch Heritage Tool

GEDmatch Tools for DNA and Genealogy Research -
Analyze Your Data
'One-to-one' compare
X 'One-to-one'
Admixture (heritage) - Eurogenes and other admixture utilities
Admixture/Oracle with Population Search
Phasing
People who match one or both of 2 kits Updated
Predict Eye Color
Are your parents related?
3D Chromosome Browser
Archaic DNA matches
Multiple Kit Analysis NEW
DNA File Diagnostic Utility

GEDmatch Heritage Tool
copy your DNA sample number, go to Admixture (heritage), select project, Eurogenes. Next page, Select how you want to process it: Admixture Proportions (With link to Oracle); Enter your kit number: Select the 'calculator' model to use: Eurogenes K13, Enter your Ethnicity: you'll then get the graph, Eurogenes K13 Admixture Proportions; under the populations on the left, you'll see oracle and oracle -4
Here's a basic intro guide to gedmatch's admixture calculators: Genealogical Musings: Finally! A Gedmatch Admixture Guide!

Near East Neolithic K13 - select Admixture (heritage), Select the project GedrosiaDNA, Select how you want to process it: Admixture Proportions (With link to Oracle); Enter your kit number; Select the 'calculator' model to use: Near East Neolithic K13

DNA Land - free upload of raw data. See the Frequently Asked Questions to see what you can do and directions to upload multiple raw data files from other relatives

Q - I have consent from a number of my family members to upload their DNA files/I have DNA files from all three of the companies, but I only have one email address. Is there anyway I can make multiple accounts with one email? (top)
A - We can currently handle a single genotype file per user/account as part of the consent process. But, if you are able to use a Gmail account, there is a trick that will allow you to create all your accounts using one email address. Say that your Gmail address is dna.land.user@gmail.com. To upload another family member (say your mother) to DNA.Land, create an account with the email dna.land.user+mom@gmail.com. Though it may look weird, DNA.Land will accept this as a valid email account. When we send the validation email to dna.land.user+mom@gmail.com, Google will redirect the message to YOUR account (dna.land.user@gmail.com). You can do that for as many genomes as you’d like, all under one Gmail account

Be sure to check this thread 1st Geneology & DNA Sites - Free Dates & Specials Thread, they post DNA sales as well as family tree related sales, days when Ancestry or other sites give free days such as St Patrick's day they gave free records in Ireland for a few days

[Cindiana]

I did my DNA throught Ancestry. I think the biggest disappointment for me was seeing so many matches, but no one had uploaded their family tree. Also, when I would write to people about our connection, very few have replied. Of course, those things aren't Ancestry's fault. I have found some connections on my own though.

[Crashj007]

Originally Posted by PawleysDude

Opinions differ, but here's mine...
<>
IMO, the ethnicity estimate is an amusement, at best.<>

Exactly. DNA typing is the new horoscope. The Types are not scientific, they are observed from DNA samples taken from people and correlated with what they think they are. Patterns have emerged from people who think they are Irish. When that pattern is seen again it is called 35% Irish. Whatever.
"Your fortune told, $200"

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by Crashj007

Exactly. DNA typing is the new horoscope. The Types are not scientific, they are observed from DNA samples taken from people and correlated with what they think they are. Patterns have emerged from people who think they are Irish. When that pattern is seen again it is called 35% Irish. Whatever.
"Your fortune told, $200"

It is not the same thing as a horoscope or fortune. The ethnicity reports are an estimate, especially on sub-continental level, but on continental level it's actually pretty accurate and there is a scientific basis to it, it's just not perfect. Companies generally use samples from people who can trace their ancestry within one region as far back as possible, it's not as simply as they simply "think" they are Irish - they need the research to back it up. AncestryDNA actually excluded about 1,000 samples because they weren't reliable enough. The ethnicity report is an estimate primarily because sub-continental regions are too mixed to tell them apart, not because the samples are unreliable.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by Crashj007

Exactly. DNA typing is the new horoscope. The Types are not scientific, they are observed from DNA samples taken from people and correlated with what they think they are. Patterns have emerged from people who think they are Irish. When that pattern is seen again it is called 35% Irish. Whatever.
"Your fortune told, $200"

You've either never done your DNA or did it years ago. DNA is cheap now, between $79 and $99; the only one $200 is 23 and me with health. There are also companies that allow free uploads for ethnicity and family matching; I'm including a link to my tips thread for anyone wanting to do it. I'm happy with my experiences at Ancestry and My Heritage. I was part of the control group on My Heritage because my family on both sides have lived in Hungary for many generations.

//www.city-data.com/forum/genea...l#post49250127

[brownbagg]

if it says 6-8 weeks, its going take every bit of that. On mine, I found alot of second cousins, my parents first cousin, in united states and abroad, Last week I found my mom first cousin that hasnt talk to my mom since 1958, In london

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by brownbagg

if it says 6-8 weeks, its going take every bit of that.

Not necessarily. It really depends how busy they are, but I did hear they added a new lab for processing so it's not taking as long during busy times as it used to. My dad did his during a busy time (i.e., right after a big sale) so I was expecting it to take the full 8 weeks at least, but then the results came in only about 3 weeks later.

[aries63]

You never know how long it will really take, I have purchased many kits and some are fast, some are slow. It not only depends on how busy they are, but kits can get hung up at any step of the process due to technical glitches that can happen. Just sit tight and know that once you get your results you can spend the rest of your life monitoring them. You will be getting new matches all the time, and the ethnicity results will be updated when they modify their algorithms as they do from time to time.

[brownbagg]

if you do FTDNA, what ever they tell you in time, add two months