Are the ancestry.com DNA tests legit?

[james_pain]

(link removed by mod)

How accurate are these tests?

Has anyone here done any DNA testing to try to uncover their roots?

Edited September 12, 2016 by swansont

[StringJunky]

(link removed by mod)

 

How accurate are these tests?

 

Has anyone here done any DNA testing to try to uncover their roots?

Have a look at this review by an amateur geneaologist:

 

http://youngandsavvygenealogists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/my-ancestrydna-review-cautionary-tale.html

Edited September 12, 2016 by StringJunky

[Phi for All]

Have a look at this review by an amateur geneaologist:

 

http://youngandsavvygenealogists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/my-ancestrydna-review-cautionary-tale.html

 

!

Moderator Note

Actually, would you mind doing a copy/paste of the relevant excerpt? We had to remove the commercial link to ancestrydotcom in the OP to comply with the rules. Just so people can participate without clicking, would you mind?

[StringJunky]

 

!

Moderator Note

Actually, would you mind doing a copy/paste of the relevant excerpt? We had to remove the commercial link to ancestrydotcom in the OP to comply with the rules. Just so people can participate without clicking, would you mind?

Yes, no problem. I was only thinking of him TBH when I put the link up.

 

 

What impact has the AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates had on your research?

 

Absolutely none. These genetic percentages have not had any impact on my research whatsoever. Not in terms of people I know about already, nor those I have yet to discover. How could they? The African heritage was of no surprise to me. I didn't need a test to confirm this to me. The biggest surprise to me were the amounts of Jewish heritage I possess. But again, what am I supposed to do with this information? How am I supposed to use that to find the people to whom I'm related? How is this of any genealogical benefit to me at all?

Paying for information I cannot use puts me into the exact same position I was in before I ever knew the information. In fact, I was better off BEFORE I took the AncestryDNA test in this respect because then at least I would still have $99 and could take a test from a different company.

http://youngandsavvygenealogists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/my-ancestrydna-review-cautionary-tale.html

The gist of the article is that their testing, although accurate, what they test and the info they present is not very useful; next to useless.

Edited September 12, 2016 by StringJunky

[Endy0816]

Have to admit it is tempting.

 

On the one hand, have had limited success tracing relatives(based on name) across the ocean. On the other hand genetic record is likely to diverge from the official record.

[Delta1212]

My family has done it. I went through 23 and me, and the information it provides is very interesting. Not sure how much impact it would have on further research, though. I suppose it depends.

 

My dad, for instance, is very into genealogical research and had most of what he's done upended when he got a DNA test done to compare with his cousin for research purposes and discovered that his father wasn't really his father.

 

But that's probably a little more dramatic and immediately applicable to continued research than what most people would get.