What to Do After Taking an Ancestry DNA Test

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

What questions do you have about the AncestryDNA website?

[@ESCAGEDOWOODWORKING]

I'm watching now. But as the video plays my question is, where do I find the section where a timeline scrubber is seen at the bottom of the screen and one can see migration thru the centuries or decades? I saw this feature in a few other videps but nowhere on my Ancestry dna page.

[@izabellagurdon50]

What do the rings on the map represent .? Like the ones that extend outward

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

It is part of the Communities or the Migrations. The section underneath the ethnicity percentages. Not everyone has them.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

The rings probably represent confidence levels that Ancestry has set for that region. To me, they mean nothing, since the accuracy at those small of a region is suspect as it is.

[@izabellagurdon50]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics thank you !

[@deckocards6988]

Great video, Andy! :-) I appreciate you explaining the different data that Ancestry provides!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You're welcome. We keep trying to make viewers like you happy. Stay tuned for more videos about Ancestry ThruLines. They'll appear after we cover Ancestry MyTree Tags.

[@SereniaSaissa]

I hope you have plans to do this for the other testing companies as well! I would love to see videos of you doing this on FT DNA and My Heritage!!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Sounds good. We'll put it on the video request list.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Yep, I have two of the videos recorded already and 1 more to record this weekend. Be looking for them over the next couple of months.

[@gailspotpourri2930]

You answered so many of the questions that I have just in the first 10 minutes. I am looking forward to more videos.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. Please share it with others to further show your support.

[@TheDunklebob]

Are you near Vermont? We are having a genealogy fair in late march and want to have a speaker explain DNA testing

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Unfortunately, we live in remote New Mexico.

[@paulbaltzer4745]

I wish you would have emphasised that you should build and attach a tree to your DNA to allow full Ancestry functionality since so many people have not done this.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

I focus on tree climbing from a genetic matching perspective and layer genealogy on top of it. Devon has a video that could address some of what you're asking. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJCaYZ2diNF5mbM

[@paulbaltzer4745]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics No, I think you missed the point of my comment. I understand the concept. I was hoping that when you taught the subject, you would have emphasized the importance of building a simple basic tree AND attaching it to DNA. This is a major problem at Ancestry. IMO Just a suggestion for future videos.

[@devvonsmith5030]

Wow. I bumped into this video coming from your Small cM/segments video, and lo and behold....your wife has my first name AND my middle name. I thought somehow that it was pulling my name from my computer ....somehow! LOL. But noooooo, her first and middle name and MINE is actually Devon Lee! Devon....okay there are a few of us around nowadays, but Devon Lee? That is a big coincidence. BTW, I'm the oldest Devon in the United States. There may be one more older than me....the person I was named after.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

That's awesome. Granted, Lee is her married name. One of her main reasons for marrying me was to simplify her maiden name. But, be careful searching for Devon Lee's online. Devon has to use her middle name Noel to differentiate herself from an adult entertainer.

[@devvonsmith5030]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Wow. Good to know! Well I spell my name with 2 V's, which often looks like a W unfortunately! So I get called De-won or Dev-von. Oh well.....been fighting the name game all my life! No worries, right? BTW, my grandson's name is Devin. Sadly, the name is no longer unique. Have a blessed rest of the week Mr. Lee and thanks for responding!

[@yatablah393]

My grandma has a native ancestor from canada(which is where we live). Hers showed up at 3%. Working down the tree dividing each time down the line it worked out exactly right, But I wonder if that means her ancestors came from the south or if the native DNA just matches to those in the south because the natives share similar DNA? I mean I've seen native peoples results that have ancestors going back hundreds of years in Canada and theirs shows up. It also showed up in my brothers test at 1%.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Probably similar DNA.

[@browseline]

Hi, Great information on this channel, thanks a lot Is it worth doing DNA test and all that stuff around if we're from Eastern Europe? I already done two trees on ancestry uk, for me and my wife, as we live in London, and was wondering what's the best way to continue. What type of membership would suit us? Is DNA test price included in the membership or additional purchase required? Any help appreciated... Regards

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Best for any location all depends on users and whether the company can sell DNA tests to that country. For instance, DNA tests are currently off limits in France. MyHeritage has a larger non-US database as it's not a US company and can sell in some places their competitors can not. However, it remains a smaller database than the others. My advice is usually to take a DNA test on Ancestry and transfer to MyHeritage, FamilyTree DNA, and GEDmatch. GEDmatch is a free transfer, while the other two have a fee associated with it. As far as subscriptions... you'll see a limited set of DNA matches on all of the websites. To see the full match list, you'll need to purchase a subscription.

[@nannysheena6538]

I have a question about ThruLines. The only ancestors that show are from my paternal line. Even the filter says 0 for maternal ancestors. What is happening and how do I fix it? Obviously I am new at this. Thanks for any input you may have. :)

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Have you watched Devon's ThruLine video series? kzbin.info/aero/PLcVx-GSCjcdm9FKEWYkGhtOMIZjfAhVgP I don't know which of the videos will directly answer your question but I know the collection should give you some guidance.

[@nannysheena6538]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Thank you so much for your reply. My mom's side did eventually show up, not thanks to anything I did. I appreciate your input very much. :)

[@rdjdik912]

I have a question... I've had my Ancestry DNA raw data on gedmatch for awhile now. Which option is the best or most accurate DNA %'s on gedmatch? Please??? ✌💚✝🙏

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

I assume you mean their admixture. None of them are the most accurate. Because admixture results can't be accurate. They are estimates only.

[@rdjdik912]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics yes, thank you for answering my question! Is there any DNA site that is most accurate? ie; dnaland, gedmatch, or wegene?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Not for admixture results. All of them are accurate at a continental level, but not so much at smaller regions.

[@rdjdik912]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics awesome!!! Thanks again! I found very similar results between dnaland, gedmatch, and wegene. They are all showing the same regions, unlike Ancestry. ✌💚✝🙏

[@AAca-dz6lh]

How would a half sister or brother show up on your DNA results. We would share the same mother.?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Check out this website and see what amount of shared centimorgans (cMs) would possibly indicate a half relationship. dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4

[@marthamurray7271]

Bummed! No common ancestors. Most haven't any trees. Or haven't researched in over a year. Only one paternal line match. Suggestion: on profile page description, add why you took the test. That would save me from messaging someone who doesn't give a flip. PS: great videos keep up the great work.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Devon talked about doing this very thing, or to hide your DNA matches from others so you don't disappoint other researchers kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJCTgZpjgpaZe68

[@saraschneider6781]

I tested my grandmother and she has 30% Swedish and Danish on one side we have no idea where it originated and, unfortunately, her parent 1 & 2 are otherwise so identical that I can't figure out even which is which. Her closest match3s are quite 1st cousin 1x removed on each side. How can I use her matches to learn more about this 30%

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Set aside the percentages for the moment and instead use DNA matches to construct your family tree. kzbin.info/aero/PLcVx-GSCjcdmsw25mbI-wJin_9_9QQUzI Then, see if the percentages line up (or is a composite percentage of multiple individuals0.

[@saraschneider6781]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I was really hoping there was an easier explanation than watching 20 videos lol.

[@karlayork877]

~ 23:16 "[T]he nice thing about this is if you know how you're related to this match ... all these people have to be related through that same way." No, Andy, they don't. While they most often are, you can have a situation where Jane is, let's say, a descendant of your mother's grandfather and John is a descendant of your father's great-great-grandmother, but through their parents who are not related to you, they are related to each other. That is why we really, really, really need a chromosome browser.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You are correct, and I point out this same situation in other videos. But this video isn't designed for people who have been involved in genetic genealogy for a while it is designed for absolute beginners. And for the majority of situations that beginners come across, the matches will be related through the same individuals. I don't want to confuse beginners with to many of the nuances because that starts to turn people off because they think it is too complicated for them to understand.

[@AntonioDellElceUK]

Wouldn't be wiser to use the unmarried name? It could help genealogy research....

[@karlayork877]

Yes! Yes! Yes! That's one of the first rules any genealogist learns. I see so many mistakes in trees that stem directly from the ignorance of that basic rule. Always use the maiden name.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Andy and Devon argue about this all the time.

[@claireb4259]

The nearest relative I found is 66 cM. I have no idea who they are. It goes downhill from there. It's so disappointing to find all my matches are very distant.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

It's possible you have the small family problem that my wife has. I talked about that in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnunm3udZpiEnas

[@claireb4259]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Thank you, Andy, I'll rewatch that video. My grandparents had very small families. Another question and sorry to bother you: I took separate tests on Ancestry and MyHeritage and one cousin comes up as 62cM on MyHeritage and 30cM on Ancestry. Do you know why?

[@claireb4259]

Problem solved, I watched your video about this!

[@nickmiller76]

@@claireb4259 I've found similar discrepancies.

[@kellysimpson6962]

I saw that your wife has the McCarty surname in her family. I wonder if we are related. I am a direct McCarty descendant from a branch of the family that immigrated to VA and ended up in Kentucky, although I believe other parts of this branch continued west.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Devon's related to Elizabeth McCarty of Culpepper, VA (1797-1830) and Mary McCarty of Ohio (1792-1871)

[@fyarmerchandising9257]

Hi very insightful video. Let me ask because I just received my results. How do I get an Idea of what my dna is made up of? So if it say 1% Indigenous, does that mean Im probably only 1% Indigenous? Also nxt to spain it has the symbol

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

I generally ignore everything below 5%. To me it's usually statistical error. This comes from looking at my results, my wife and children's results, and my cousins, parents, and grandparents. We all have various small percentages and they tend to disappear when databases update their ethnicity reference population databases. However, there is still a change that it could be true, but I would need other evidence to support those small percentages.

[@melsolomon8256]

How can I pinpoint were an unexpected Ethnicity came from. I'm trying to pinpoint who that grandparent most likely was.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

How large is that unexpected ethnicity? If it's small, then check out this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5nFdmeMns2Zask If it's large, then, you have to build your family tree through DNA matches and paper trails. Perhaps that will give you clues.

[@mariahmills328]

Ancestry doesn't seem interested in making regions for the East Coast due to the trail of tears, they made a video on how disease wiped them out and how they moved all west. My confusion is this- if they don't have population samples for Cherokee or other Native American tribes, wouldn't the DNA come back as unassigned and not European or African decent?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Since a lot of the eastern North American tribes mixed with the colonial populations, it is doubtful that there is any DNA that could be used as a true reference population. The DNA from native americans would likely show up as Asian since that is where it is descended from.

[@mariahmills328]

Family History Fanatics that makes a lot of sense, it’s so easy for ethnicities to dilute. I’m in a “Native American tribe” in SC and always believed we were a mix of things despite what my family said. My results were 67% European, 30% African, 2% Native American, and 1% South Asian. My older DNA matches have communities from Southern Mexico and also got the Andean region too. Now I’m super confused on what my actual ethnicity is 😐

[@rosaliegower1007]

My husband has 6% Swedish and my daughter has 2% Baltic region, I have neither. How does that happen?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Swedish and Baltic have enough overlap that when your DNA is added it probably changed some of the calls from Swedish to Baltic

[@SheilaBurks]

My DNA match page doesn't seem to have a place for the notes you mentioned. Only the add and edit groups. This I have done but would like to add notes to help remember exactly how we are related. Can you help?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

If you click on the match, there will be a link to "Add note". The note will be visible on the match list page, but you need to go to the individual match page to enter or edit the note.

[@devvonsmith5030]

Ohhhh, your last name is Lee. My middle name is Lee. But get this... I have a son named Andrew.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Fun.