Why Should I Test With Multiple DNA Companies? | Genetic Genealogy

[@teebear3036]

Here is what I don't get. A student from one of my classes did a project where he submitted his dna multiple times to the SAME company and got very different results. He wasn't in the same class as me the following semester so I never got to hear why that could be. I cant find anything on the internet about others doing this. How could this be possible?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Lots of people have done this, including me. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJuVfHawjJlnp7c

[@michaelmenten6826]

Companies that perform DNA testing in the United States: Ancestry 23andMe FamilyTreeDNA My Heritage/GENi (I believe this company is in Israel) Looking for medical information from your DNA? In the United States you will have a difficult time trying to learn anything other than what 23andMe offers. My suggestion is to look at transferring your data to a Canadian company called Promethease. Once you've done sampling you can find additional locations to place your data like GEDmatch which is now called Genesis.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Thanks for sharing. Many companies are now offering health reports. We'll have to see how this changes things.

[@suebriley2017]

Hey there, I had my test done with 23andme then uploaded raw data to both MyHeritage and GEDgroup. On 23andme, I have 1183 matches and still can't find some answers. I'm looking for my mothers sibling who, like herself had been adopted at birth - 23andme found her mother through as 1st cousin once removed who actually had her birth certificate with only her DOB, mother and father (guess the father's name was correct but not sure). I do not know my father, I was really surprised to find my little sister was only a half sister. Through my 1st cousin who also had her mother (my Great Aunt's DNA done in GEDmatch I do have access to someone close to my Grandmother. Now I'm so confused. My question is: How do I eliminate the known. I thought I could just find those who are not DNA matches to my 1st cousin once removed but every one I've checked has someone in there group that is a match back to her side so I'm have to count them as "Rolfe" my known match to mom's grand parents on her mothers side. I have watched several of your videos and have really enjoyed them. My case just seems unsolvable. Any suggestions?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

This may be a case where you need to wait for more people to be tested. Right now Ancestry seems to be adding about 1 million new people a year to their DNA database. If you haven't tested with Ancestry yet, I would highly encourage you. Their tools aren't good, but they have the largest database and when trying to find matches, the larger the database the better.

[@ziggyutah]

On AncestryDNA I have distanct cousins listed with their family tree and family's listed with numerals to the right. Some are high 6 or 7. Those people are not in my tree. What does it mean? Why can't I see anyone explaining this? Thanks, DZ

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Could you send me a screenshot of what you are talking about? I don't see it on my AncestryDNA account familyhistoryfanatics at gmail dot com

[@ziggyutah]

I can sure try. I can take a screen shot using snipping tool. Do I email it to you after? can you give me your email address

[@ziggyutah]

I posted the the snipped photo to your Facebook page.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

To answer here as well, those numbers are the number of people in their tree that have that surname. If you click on the number, then you will get a list of the people. You can use the surname list to compare to your known surnames.

[@mynamehere9609]

Would it make a difference if you did the DNA with one company, download the raw dna information and upload it to another company?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Not really, but somewhat. I cove it in this video from a couple of years ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2iThI2IjJ6nb5I

[@SereniaSaissa]

But, but - being in more than 1 database - isnt that what GEDmatch is for? To increase the number of matches you get? I cant afford to test with multiple companies so I will only be using one company - and then using GEDMatch. That's my plan.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Some companies allow you to transfer your results to their database - FamilyTree DNA and MyHeritage DNA are two that come to mind. Ancestry and 23andMe don't.

[@alishab4144]

I'm a female looking for my biological father who I have no information about. I have 2 half brothers but they both have different father's. I've tested with ancestry and I'm in the process of testing my mother with them as well. I've also uploaded my results to my heritage and will do the same with my mom's results as soon as they are available. What I've noticed on my matches with on ancestry is I can trace them all to my mothers family or they are also a match to someone I've traced to my mom. My question is, am I wasting my time? Is there a chance that I can find relatives of my biological father this way or do you have any suggestions to improve my odds? I don't have a lot of money to spend so I want to use it where I have the best chance at getting answers about my biological father's lineage. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

First thing, upload to Gedmatch and FamilyTreeDNA (if you have the extra $19 then pay for the full transfer). This will get you to match with those in other databases that are not in Ancestry, thereby improving your odds. Gedmatch is free and with your Mom's DNA tested, you'll be able to phase yourself, giving you one phased kit from your mother and one phased kit from your father. You can use this paternal phased kit for finding matches. Using a phased kit will eliminate the matches of your mother's side which may be more numerous and closer related. Let me know if you need more help with this and I can make a video. Now whether you will find anyone depends on two factors. 1) Whether or not there are any relatives out there. If your father came from families that only had 1 or 2 kids, there may be very few cousins to match to (this is one of the problems my wife has). 2) Cousins will have to have tested. Right now, less than 2% of the US population has been tested. So look at this as more of a long term search plan.

[@alishab4144]

Thank you for the reply! I find the myheritage.com site to be confusing in comparison to ancestry.com but maybe it's because I'm not a paid member or because I'm on a mobile phone instead of a pc. On myheritage.com I only have 35 matches and over a 1200 matches on ancestry.com, just curious if that is because of a smaller database or the difference they use in how the analyze the data?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Smaller database. Ancestry is at 5 million. MyHeritage is probably in the hundreds of thousands.

[@damionthorne5615]

i looked up my family tree two dogs was using it..............

[@Yoko.Kurama]

I think it would be good to test the same company twice with a fake name to see if results vary

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

We did just that! It's all revealed in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJuVfHawjJlnp7c

[@thomasspicer4130]

I highly recommend livingdna it's a new company based out of the uk and it claims to be the best at breaking down your DNA ancestry into different regions of a country like Yorkshire in England or tuscany in Italy ☺

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Breaking down into smaller regions doesn't make you the best if you sacrifice accuracy in the process. Since any regional breakdown is dependent on the quality of the reference population, until I have seen more information on the reference populations that LivingDNA is using I am withholding my opinion and remaining very skeptical.

[@tanyakasim3988]

How much does a Living DNA test kit cost? 🤔

[@peneljsmith]

I read that Tuscan DNA is very iffy, because they only had 71 people tested there

[@mountainfolks]

Never use a company that asks what ancestry/nationality you think you are. That spells scam.

[@SereniaSaissa]

And what if they ALL Ask that question. Does that make all of them a scam?

[@mountainfolks]

SereniaSaissa They all DON'T. Why would they need to know what you "think" you are to do a DNA test. That knowledge has NO bearing on true DNA.

[@Asilee]

@@mountainfolks So, which ones don't?

[@mountainfolks]

Exactly.

[@mountainfolks]

@@Asilee The honest ones.