Both husband and I recently did a My Heritage DNA test, I wanted to find more about where I come from, both my parents are no longer with us, so I'm not able to ask questions, most of our family live in a small area of Somerset where I was born. I am not going to delve into our family tree, hubby's brother is doing his family and it's a full time thing for him.
So my results are in, the Scandinavian bit was a surprise, but I have always wondered about eastern Europe, as my mum loved names from that region, I have brother called Ivan, My sister is Lena and my name Marlene.
So my ancestors were from southern England and Wales area, which is all put into one section which is slightly misleading titles Irish, Scottish and Welsh, at this level it does not breakdown any further.
Then I read below, so my part of heritage probably comes from when the UK was still attached to Europe, these are the average results for UK.
I already knew my niece, who started doing her family tree a few years ago and gave up, I have loads of extended family in America, I know mum's older sister lived there, a cousin visited us when I was about 7or 8, so I was aware of family there. I don't intend to take this any further, I checked the profiles on the 7 extended families and none of them are actively working on their profiles.
Hubby results were more simple than mine, he does have a huge Welsh heritage.
The website wants me to pay more to get more details, but as I'm not taking things further, I won't be adding to their profits, I have received emails reminding me I have matches and encouraging me to click and find out more, if they get too much I will un subscribe from the site. These kits were half price, but still £35. Was it worth it, hubby say's no, my results confirmed what I believed, but with no one to ask about previous generations, it's as far as I go, after all it was just a bit of fun.
I think "a bit of fun" is the best way to treat these DNA tests. They seem to be so popular at the moment, and a lot of people get hooked up on them.
ReplyDeleteYes we all seem to have mixed heritage Marlene. I am half Irish and half English. My great grandmother came from Wrexham in North Wales and my mothers maiden name was German.
ReplyDeleteIf interested, you might look at familysearch.org. There are many, many names being discovered and posted on that free website.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I will.
DeleteI wouldn't mind doing one of these tests, although I've worked on my family tree and know that going back to the 16 hundreds my family, on my mums and dad's side all lived in and around the area we now live, so not sure what help it would be to me, but I'm still intrigued.
ReplyDeleteIt might help, if you find connections to other peoples family tree's.
DeleteWe did 23andme a few years ago but there were no startling revelations, though we didn't expect any. Genealogy is interesting but very time-consuming. I can understand how it can become addictive.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that both sides of my family were in Suffolk in the 1700s means I'm probably very English!
ReplyDeleteMight be interesting to know further back but probably wont bother.
These sites do seem popular.
ReplyDeleteEven at half price £35-00 each it was still a fair amount and interesting that they are now saying please spend more to get more details. I wonder if you may have to unsubscribe?
All the best Jan
All the best Jan
I've done a little bit of research into my family tree, but haven't got very far to be honest. As each census is released I find out a bit more. Only another 7 or so years to go before the next one. Like you, neither of my parents, and very few of their siblings are around to ask, which is a shame.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I've not done a DNA test, but I am a member of familysearch.org (recommended above). It appears all my traceable ancestors came from the British Isles. Because the website is collaborative, I have a pretty good idea of my genetic roots, which are similar to yours: Celtic (primarily Welsh), Saxon, Norman French, and Scandinavian. Considering the history of Britain, this is no surprise!
ReplyDeleteI probably wouldn't take the bait to pay more either. It's just nice to have a sense of where one came from.
Our son is putting some of our family history together and he has a lot of information already collected by his grandparents. I know D is quite keen to try one of those tests as it will draw information from both sides of our family. Probably nothing we are not already aware of though. A fun exercise to do nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteInteresting results. I've often been tempted to take one of these tests myself. X
ReplyDelete