Will DNA testing help me?

[Olde Crone]

Yes indeed, the problem is when there is no paper trail. Several of my relatives are illegitimate, sob, and for most of them not the slightest clue as to paternity. My brother took the DNA test as a last ditch attempt to crack some of these mysteries.

So far, 4 contacts proving each other's paper research. 1 contact with 22,000 people on her tree, which is just an unresearched collection of names with such glaring errors that it is useless from any point of view.

We live in hope that one day we will connect with someone who knows more than we do. Until then, it has been an expensive research validation.

OC

[Lindsay]

Article in the Telegraph about a Cotswold village that was DNA tested:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...llage-related/

Some of their ethnic conclusions seem rather dodgy eg 'only 6%' of one woman's DNA was British, the rest was west European. Hardly seems surprising in an area of the country (Wessex) that was settled by the Anglo Saxons!

[James18]

I've asked about this before; it's something I've always been both curious about and very sceptical of.

[BlueSavannah]

I've done the Ancestry test and I am undergoing the Living DNA one at present. The Ancestry test results regarding ethnicity were a little meh. I am 87% Great Britain they say, 6 % Irish (which I believe is my two Scottish lines) and 3% Eastern Europe (that will be my Polish branch). I've also got a 3% Iberian Peninsula which I have no clue about and 1% Italian/Greek, again no idea. I was surprised that it came back with zero Scandinavian. However, i've made a few really good contacts through the DNA matches which I do think the test itself is worth doing for.

My husband also did the test and he's this past week matched with a descendant of his grandfather's brother who disappeared to America in the 1940s which we are all really excited about.

[Jenoco]

Originally Posted by Rick

Autosomal DNA testing is an incredibly useful tool to add to your research armoury. Ignore ethnicity unless it amuses you, and there's a huge amount of ignorance and misunderstanding about the estimates they provide. These have no relevance to genealogy as they compare you with reference populations to give you a feel of where your ancestors may have come from around 1000 years ago. But cousin matching is a massive boon to the genealogist and is an exact science. If you share enough DNA with someone then you ARE related to them. Test your oldest relatives first as your DNA is just a dilution of theirs. Both parents is great - no need to test yours and you can phase your results (tell which side they come from). And yes - test grandma too. The worst possible outcome from this is you either prove or disprove your paper trail.

Agree, although no parents or grandparents left in my case. I'm currently taking the Future Learn Strathclyde University family history course and they have a component on DNA and different types of tests. I previously didn't see any benefit but am now seriously thinking of taking a DNA test. Wish I could persuade my brother - his results might answer some questions I have about my father's genealogy...