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I did my ancestry DNA today and will mail it in tomorrow. I am so anxious to know why I look the way I do.
So I am Native Swedish, born and raised. My parents are also born and raised in Sweden and so are both my grandparents and their parents. And most likely beyond that. Nobody on either side have claimed to know of anybody that came from outside Sweden. they already research possibilities such as Sami and something else I don't remember the name of it.
Both my parents came from rural parts of the country. My dad is from the most Sothern part of Sweden and my mom from the middle part of the country.
Here is the thing. I have medium brown hair and light brown eyes and a olive-skin complexion. My mom is the same way. We are the odd balls in our family and it drives me crazy because nobody can explain why.
I hope that ancestry maybe can shed some light on my mystery because I would love to find out why I look different than the rest of the family.
I would also like to find out if anybody is in a similar situation like me and what they found out once they got their results back. Please share your experience!
My mom is the same way. We are the odd balls in our family and it drives me crazy because nobody can explain why.
Once you get the results you may be surprised at what you find, there's a LOT of odd stuff in people's backgrounds no one knows about, things that happened in the old days when being pregnant and unmarried was a horrible shame, so very often the girl was kept hidden or sent away and the baby raised as the child of the unmarried girls' MOTHER or older sister! All kept very hushed to avoid scandal and neighbors "talking"
I have two ancestors on my mom's side of the tree and one on father's side that vanished into thin air never to be seen or heard from again!
The one on father's side had fathered 6 children and suddenly vanished without a trace, the family thinks for several valid reasons that the mob took him out, I feel he may have been in the Federal witness protection program because a private detective hired by his brother found NOTHING, my searching found absolutely nothing more current than a 1940s draft card and his HS yearbook page, it was like he was wiped off the face of the earth and never existed.
Another pair on mother's side way back, "Mary" came from Ireland and married Charles Wanser and had several children, yet after months of research I could not even find a marriage certificate or anything showing either had married at all let alone each other, I couldnt even find any documents showing what her Irish maiden name was.
You may find some strange stuff in the family tree, including divorce and remarriages that were kept hushed up, extra marital affairs are another possibility- a woman became pregnant and her husband assumed it was his and was never told it wasnt, there was no DNA testing in the old days, it was the woman's word for it that had to be taken for who the child's father was.
Also back then unlike today, people were able to just vanish and change their name, there was no database, driver's licenses or ID cards like today, in the 1800s you could skip off, assume a new name and that was it.
I did my ancestry DNA today and will mail it in tomorrow. I am so anxious to know why I look the way I do.
So I am Native Swedish, born and raised. My parents are also born and raised in Sweden and so are both my grandparents and their parents. And most likely beyond that. Nobody on either side have claimed to know of anybody that came from outside Sweden. they already research possibilities such as Sami and something else I don't remember the name of it.
Both my parents came from rural parts of the country. My dad is from the most Sothern part of Sweden and my mom from the middle part of the country.
Here is the thing. I have medium brown hair and light brown eyes and a olive-skin complexion. My mom is the same way. We are the odd balls in our family and it drives me crazy because nobody can explain why.
I hope that ancestry maybe can shed some light on my mystery because I would love to find out why I look different than the rest of the family.
I would also like to find out if anybody is in a similar situation like me and what they found out once they got their results back. Please share your experience!
See the thread Brown eyed Swedes. From memory, it's not that uncommon.
Are you still in Sweden or in the US?
Best suggestion I have for you, once Ancestry is done processing, go to my DNA tips thread (stickie at the top) and save your RAW DNA data to upload to My Heritage which is a largely European database and uploads are free. In the tips thread, scroll down to For anyone needing advice on which DNA test to buy, see the blog post by PA2UK, under it you'll see a quote box which I'll paste in below. Next is click here to go to the directions to upload to My Heritage for free. I highly recommend paying the $29 to get the advanced tools. Whatever you do, do not buy a test from My Heritage. That $40 test will end up costing you $100 a year to get the advanced tools. Please do not drag your feet uploading because it's possible they're going to stop uploads. I'm currently waiting for my 3 year old granddaughters Ancestry DNA to finish to upload there.
Since they're the number 1 European DNA company, you could very well meet up with cousins still in Sweden. I've met cousins in Hungary. I'm 1st generation born in the US. All of my family except an aunt is still there.
You can also upload to FTDNA (Family Tree DNA) but be warned, they allow LE (law enforcement) to upload crime scene and rape kit DNA. When you log in to change your password, click your name in the top right corner, select settings, privacy and sharing, Matching Preferences then under that Law Enforcement Matching (LEM). Your slider will be to the right, slide it to the left. It's turned on by default when you upload and turn matching on. Most people don't know this. It's their dirty little trick. They also have a lot of Europeans but I don't go there because it's not a genealogy site like Ancestry and My Heritage. I also suggest you do not upload a tree there because LE may be able to access it. FTDNA directions are in the 1st link.
The 2nd link to My Heritage which I'll also paste in below is the newer info on it. I've wanted to rewrite the tip thread but each DNA company keeps changing their sites. 23 and me has changed a few things since a member here wrote tips for it. 23 and me is a novelty DNA company that does offer different ethnicity then Ancestry but they do not have family trees. If at some point you're still stumped about your original question, you may want to do DNA there to see if it picks it up, it may. It's the only site that picked up French for me but I haven't found any.
If your family is the typical European, you may have some Asian DNA like my Hungarian uncle (father's side) and my 1st cousin also there on my mother's side. I also have Italian on my dad's side. Unfortunately my dad's been gone 15 years, I'm thankful his 80 year old brother did DNA for me.
I forgot, one of my 2nd cousins on my mother's side, his father was raised by our great grandparents while his grandmother came to the US with most of her sisters. My grandmother was the only one to stay there. His father eventually came to the US at 17. What he did on his marriage license was put our great grandfather's name but Americanized it with his mother's Americanized 1st name (it started with a V, changed to W here but Hungarians have no W in their alphabet) with our great grandmothers maiden name to throw people off that he didn't know who his father was. I feel bad for my cousin, he now has this wrong Americanized last name and his sister was given the grandmothers name spelled with a W. My mother and sister have it with a V. Mother was named for his grandmother. He ordered his dad's birth certificate, it's blank for father.
Quote:
How to access and download your autosomal DNA results from AncestryDNA once you're ready to upload to other sites.
1. Navigate to the Ancestry.com website homepage.
2. In the upper-right corner, click Sign In to display the sign in window.
3. In the Username or email field, enter your username or email.
4. In the Password field, enter your password.
5. Click Sign In. Your Ancestry home page is displayed.
6. On the menu bar, click DNA > Your DNA Results Summary. The AncestryDNA home page is displayed.
7. On the right side of the page, click Settings. Your Test Settings page is displayed.
8. Scroll down the page.
9. On the right side of the page, in the Download your raw DNA data section, click Get Started. The Download your raw DNA data window is displayed.
10. Enter your password in the empty field.
11. Click Confirm. A window requesting that you check your email is displayed.
12. Check your email for an email from AncestryDNA with the subject line Your request to download AncestryDNA raw data.
13. In the email, click Confirm Data Download. You will be redirected to the Ancestry.com website.
14. Enter your username or email and password in the appropriate fields, and click Sign In. The Download DNA Raw Data page is displayed.
15. Click Download DNA Raw Data to download your raw data file. Note where you save the file on your computer
My Heritage directions
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
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.
Now to the DNA
My Heritage DNA is normally $79 but it goes on sale for $49. Note, you can upload your DNA from another company for free family matching, exporting DNA matches, contacting matches and shared surnames of matches. For a fee of $29, you can unlock other features like ethnicity, family trees of matches, chromosome browser, shared DNA matches, shared ethnicities, shared ancestral places. They also offer theory of family relativity that tells how you match some people. There is also a AutoClusters for DNA Matches which is a pay feature.
MyHeritage subscribers who already have a Premium, PremiumPlus or Complete Subscription do NOT have to pay anything to unlock the extra features for uploaded DNA kits. They can upload as many kits as they want and enjoy all the premium features for all uploads.
Join My Heritage, upload your family tree GEDcom file. 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. 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.
My Heritage has also gotten into health testing for $199. I've seen it on sale for as low as $99. I have not done it so can not offer experience. When you click the health testing link you can read what they test for. Here is a blog post I found Navigating Your MyHeritage DNA Health Reports
If you're going to upload to My Heritage but you don't recognize any of your matches, consider messaging your Ancestry DNA matches to ask them to upload for free too. I have 2 cousins that helped me out, It's really helped me see how many are related thru my maternal grandmother. I'm able to click a common match and follow them to see if one of my cousins comes up. They offer so much more to find matches then Ancestry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
From the my heritage users FB group showing they do not give premium DNA tools when you purchase their test, uploading and paying $29 is cheaper. You'll have to buy an expensive subscription plan to get it.
With a MyHeritage DNA Test you will receive the Ethnicity Estimate, DNA Matches, you can contact the DNA Managers via the DNA Matches, export the DNA Match list, use the Shared Ancestral surnames feature and use the chromosome browser. If you want to use all the power features of MyHeritage, including the additional advanced DNA features, a Complete Plan is a good choice. You can try the current 14-day free trial of the Complete Plan. And if you do not cancel it before the expiry date, you will receive a 50% discount.
If you do wish to cancel the free trial within the 14 days, you should log into your website, click on your name in the right upper corner > Site Settings > My purchases.
I take it with a grain of salt. I knew that I was primarily UK and Ireland with some Iberian (last name is Portuguese, traceable lineage to Portugal) and a small amount of Native American. The first results seemed pretty accurate - mostly England and Ireland (>90%), small amount Iberia (5%) and Indigenous America (1%).
Since then they’ve changed it a few times. Looking at my most recent update I’m 3% Ireland, 0% Iberia, 5% Norway, 2% Wales, 27% Scotland, 1% Ivory Coast, and 61% England and Northwest Europe which is a fairly large area.
I don’t get how now I am 3% Irish when I can trace my family on both sides to Ireland. And it’s also weird that now I’m 0% Indigenous American when before I did test positive (can also trace roots to a great-x Native American grandmother who was married to my great x grandfather who was pastor in Virginia in the 1800s). Oh and now I’m showing up as 1% African which did not show up before.
So, it hasn’t been particularly helpful and I don’t have much confidence in the accuracy. It’s fun to do but I don’t think they’ve mastered the science behind it. It will be interesting to see what the next update will reveal.
I take it with a grain of salt. I knew that I was primarily UK and Ireland with some Iberian (last name is Portuguese, traceable lineage to Portugal) and a small amount of Native American. The first results seemed pretty accurate - mostly England and Ireland (>90%), small amount Iberia (5%) and Indigenous America (1%).
Since then they’ve changed it a few times. Looking at my most recent update I’m 3% Ireland, 0% Iberia, 5% Norway, 2% Wales, 27% Scotland, 1% Ivory Coast, and 61% England and Northwest Europe which is a fairly large area.
I don’t get how now I am 3% Irish when I can trace my family on both sides to Ireland. And it’s also weird that now I’m 0% Indigenous American when before I did test positive (can also trace roots to a great-x Native American grandmother who was married to my great x grandfather who was pastor in Virginia in the 1800s). Oh and now I’m showing up as 1% African which did not show up before.
So, it hasn’t been particularly helpful and I don’t have much confidence in the accuracy. It’s fun to do but I don’t think they’ve mastered the science behind it. It will be interesting to see what the next update will reveal.
How far back is the Native American great grandparent? It doesn't show for my one MIL who's few times great grandparent had Native American. It's just too far back, but she did get genes from the relative because I have matches for her through that line.
As for your Irish, maybe your original Irish ancestor went there from somewhere else. I also don't know a lot about history but people were having children by men who went there to fight in their country. It could be due to that too.
“Between 2000 and 2018, the number of American residents who were at least partially Native American increased 39%, according to the US Census Bureau.
The estimated 5.7 million Americans in 2018 – 1.6 million more than 2000 – identifying with “American Indian or Alaska Native” racial backgrounds represent less than 2% of the total national population. That share was double the Native American group’s share in 2000”
Since we know that the NA birth rate is barley 1.7%, well below replacement rate, the conclusion is more people “identify” as Native American.
Unfortunately for many, their grandma just repeated a lie/myth that had been passed down previously. Face it, many times when it comes down to family history...your family lied a lot. Or maybe didn’t actually know...and that where the blanks get filled in.
It would help if NA tribes allowed DNA testing. But unfortunately you’d find way too many frauds in the tribes so they don’t allow testing.
I’d not “count” any result from a DNA test with a number below 10%. It’s probably noise.
People love their myths about beloved (usually false) “ancestry”.
Whenever an American talks about 'confirmed' Native American ancestors I have to instinctively clear my throat.
With regard to OP - it's important to remember that phenotype isn't genotype.
I don’t really care what makes you clear your throat. My point was that in the first Ancestry DNA test I showed up as having Native American ancestry while in the second one I did not. And in the first one I didn’t have African ancestry and in the second one I did. I get it if they want to move the regions of Europe around because there was a constant movement of people around the continent for centuries, but I find it strange that they would mess up whether or not I have African or Native American DNA, and that clearly happened in my case.
Oh, and I should also add that my full brother had tested for Native American in the first test and in the refresh he still did, and he tested 0% for African in both the original and the refresh.
How far back is the Native American great grandparent? It doesn't show for my one MIL who's few times great grandparent had Native American. It's just too far back, but she did get genes from the relative because I have matches for her through that line.
As for your Irish, maybe your original Irish ancestor went there from somewhere else. I also don't know a lot about history but people were having children by men who went there to fight in their country. It could be due to that too.
It was mid 1800s, so it would have been quite a few generations ago.
As far as the Irish relatives go, my great grandparents actually came from what is now Northern Ireland and we know where they lived. So, the 3% is for sure inaccurate.
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