Bjbaxter

I have not done the DNA testing, but my daughter gave both myself and my hubby the Ancestry.com for Christmas, so we will do it. I am only curious to see if it matches the ancestry searches my Mom did. Being a Mormon, she had done extensive research for many years. My husband's mother has also done lots of research, and, yes, both sides have the information written down.

Peckish

This is what I was talking about. We are learning SO much about DNA, and obviously we don't know all that there is to know. Just because your uncle has little to no Cherokee DNA in him doesn't mean she lied! It just means HE didn't get that DNA. We thought, because my husband's grandmother was African American, that her grandchildren would show 25% African DNA. Not so! One grandchild is 2%, another grandchild (same parents) is 16%.

I would be curious to know why your uncle was so adamant about you believing your mother is (was?) a liar. How does he benefit from that?

I love all the responses here from the people who are so against it, even going so far as to insinuate that people who are curious about it are unhappy with their lot. If you don't want to do it, fine, but don't judge those who are fascinated by the science.

ekuw

I'm in the no camp for many of the reasons already stated. I guess I am just too much of a cynic to think the companies that get your DNA will do the right thing. I just prefer that mine stays with me. There are a lot of unintended consequences with technology and the speed at which we are embracing it; Artificial intelligence is coming sooner than most of us realize. I'm not saying I think our DNA can be used nefariously, but we don't really know that for sure do we?

nativetexan

yes, the percentages one can get opened my mind a bit. but then we were only following what we were told about hereditary. now they know more.

cjsews

I am in the no group. Not that I think there is anything wrong with it. I just don't find it as fascinating as others do. My eldest GS would love it. He is into many research projects related to such things. My youngest GS on the other hand just considers himself a redneck and that's all he needs to know. To each his own. Enjoy your research.

sewn3w

Might I make a suggestion to those starting geneology research in online sites? You may want to varify with historical documents anything you find. I set up an account on one site. It should have been viewable by others but not open to editing. Someone changed my father's first name. It happened multiple times. I would change it back and in 6 months it was edited again. I quit going into the site. I have no confidence in it. It is one of the most popular sites, one that has been mentioned. I choose not to name it here, as i have chosen not to take the matter up with the site. (No public shaming).

mac

They just did a local TV program on here in the Bay Area about DNA testing. There are certainly a lot of things to think about. One of the good things is that the police are solving cold cases because of DNA testing.

One lady found out that her father, who was a doctor and a sperm donor, fathered 30+ children and the number is still growing. Although he has since passed away, they said he was a "serial" sperm donor and his daughter had no idea. She was quite shocked, but said that she is getting used to the idea of having a bigger family since she is all alone now.

I think it is a good idea for people who may not know who their parent/s are. Some families keep deep, dark secrets and it nice to be able to shine a light on the situation.

Sandygirl

We all came from Europe.

quilterpurpledog

I would never do this simply because the results are kept by independent companies and they do not have to tell you what they do with or plan to do with the information-could turn into a very bad situation. Also, since only a small percentage of people (at this time) do this, I cannot see how they can have a database large enough to come up with matches back into the past. We have geneology information about family of three sides through written records that we know are accurate. I am very suspicious of the accuracy of the information from these tests.

Barb2018

To judykay
I used Ancestry.com and by using the census information I was able to go back to 1880. I did finally sign up for a subscription yesterday and now am able to access information about immigration from Wales and Germany.