General Chat

My brother has been invited to take part in a (free) DNA test, the results of which will be compared with other like-minded people, in order to see if anyone's genes match up. Why do I feel uneasy about this?I mean, suppose he matches up with someone, at best it means YET ANOTHER search for a common relative. Does anyone have experience of this? What was the outcome? How "far back" can the genetic matching go? I welcome your comments.

Hi Marjorie Glad you sorted your connection out! There's a website dedicated to the Easterling family (my grandmother was one) and they've used DNA testing to establish whether or not there are links with various groups of that surname. I think it's a sound idea and interesting. Useful in cases like the Russian princesses too - it would have been handy to have when people like Anna Anderson were about wouldn't it? David :)

Glitter baby - no, he is being rather evasive about that! Although I can see its usefulness, surely its only of use in one generation? I mean, can it prove a link further back? Im confusing myself here, I think. We do not, as far as I know of course, have any missing living relatives.

Funny this thread being started. My husband was asked to provide a mouth swab about 5 years ago for research into his family name. About 3 weeks ago he happened to mention it and wondered what the outcome had been. 2 weeks ago a letter arrived. The results are so complicated that we haven't had time to go through it properly but it does give a map to show where the name is most common. No information is given to enable contact with others of the same name. Jacky :-)

For people who are interested, you can google DNA genealogy and get some websites. I don't think its much use unless you have someone in mind who could be related to you. And you'd only know about them if you had some family history, certificates etc to suggest you are to start with. nell

I am helping with a one name study and have found several family groups of the same surname that we have not been able to link yet by records. One lady traces her line back to Sussex in the 1700s and I can do the same with a different line from another Sussex town. When we met for the first time I was amazed at how much she looked like my sister. I would welcome a chance to find out whether there is a DNA match between our families. I vaguely remember a TV programme a while back, where they did a DNA check on people from a farming community, Somerset? and found a match with really old items found in a cave there. They reconstructed a face on a skull too and although it was from 100s of years ago, the villagers instantly recognised the likeness to one of the present day men of the village.

A friend's brother took part in DNA testing to see if the surname was Viking in origin. No idea how they work it out but they could tell him which part of Scandanavia his Viking ancestors came from. Jane

Thankyou everyone for your comments. Ive questioned my brother a bit more closely about this and it turns out that someone we are in correspondence with is anxious to establish a connection between our families - more because his own research has been very muddled, but he is equally reluctant to accept the research we have done, cos he paid a lot for someone to do his, and after all, doesnt know us to know how thorough we have been. He has already given a DNA sample to, I think its Ancestry, and he is willing to pay for my brother to give a sample. Given those facts, I said to my brother that only he could decide whether he had something to hide DNA-wise, and would it worry him in the unlikely event that the CIA or whoever, got hold of it. I'll let you know what happens!