AncestryDNA Revisited
By Angelo Coniglio
Several years ago, for about $100, I purchased a test kit for autosomal DNA analysis by Ancestry.com DNA (AncestryDNA). After sending in a sample of my saliva, I received a message from AncestryDNA saying that ‘not enough genetic material’ was found in it, and they would send another kit. After that sample, and then a third, could not be interpreted by AncestryDNA, I asked for and received a refund.
Then I purchased a test from the venue 23andMe, which was successful in extracting my ‘genetic material’. I previously reported those results, with which I was satisfied. I know from my ‘paper genealogy’ research of Sicilian records of birth, marriage and death, that my ancestry back six generations to the mid-1700’s is pure Sicilian, with all my ancestors back to that time from just two Sicilian towns, Serradifalco and Marianopoli. 23andMe showed an expected distribution of my ethnic/geographic ancestry, with clear displays and diagrams and easy procedures for contacting other 23andMe participants who share portions of my ‘genome’ (that is, other users whose DNA shows they are related to me at some level).
Though my previous AncestryDNA tests had failed, I am still a subscriber to Ancestry.com for access to its genealogical records. Several months after my AncestryDNA test failures, while logged onto Ancestry.com, I received a ‘pop-up’ message that said I had previously had AncestryDNA tests that had failed, and they offered to send me a free test kit for a free re-analysis.
The price was right. I agreed, and I received a new test kit in a week. I again followed the directions: spit about a tablespoonful of saliva into a plastic tube, seal the tube, shake it to release a preservative, then place it in a pre-paid mailer and return it to Ancestry.com (Ancestry). I then registered the kit number on line with Ancestry, and was advised to wait ‘six to eight weeks’ for results. In only four weeks, I received an e-mail saying that my results were ready. Here’s a brief comparison of the two venues.
DNA testing alone can’t give you a family tree of your direct ancestors, regardless whether the venue is 23andMe, AncestryDNA, or any other service. It can’t give ‘names and dates’, but it can give a broad picture of where your ancestors lived at some time in the distant past. I found that AncestryDNA and 23andMe results were roughly comparable:
23andMe says that its estimates are for the period ‘before the widespread migrations of the past few hundred years’. Ancestry.DNA says its estimates reflect your genetic ancestry ‘thousands of years ago’.
To extend knowledge of your family tree and find names of ancestors you may not have been aware of, it’s necessary that others who have compiled that information have also had their DNA tested by the same venue. Then you can identify ‘DNA matches’ (i. e. relatives), contact them privately through the testing service, and compare their ‘paper genealogy’ to yours. 23andMe allows users to submit a ‘profile’ that gives the important surnames in their heritage, and the names of ancestral towns. From a list of ‘relatives’, I can select those that have surnames or towns in common with me, ask them to ‘share genomes’, and see a ‘chromosome map’ or bar chart of the portions of each of my 23 chromosomes that theirs match exactly. I can then communicate with them (if they care to respond) to share family tree information, allowing expansion of our ‘paper’ family trees.
Ancestry.DNA gives a list of ‘relatives’ and the degree of the estimated relationship, but no chromosome map. Users may ‘attach’ their DNA results to their Ancestry family trees, so that information on surnames and ancestral towns entered in their public trees is viewable. For this reason, and because AncestryDNA has more than twice the number of participants as 23andMe, I prefer AncestryDNA. Many relatives who have not ‘attached’ their DNA still have viewable family trees. Ancestry DNA has features called ‘DNA Circles’ and ‘Shared Ancestor Hints’ which identify participants whose DNA matches yours and whose trees have common ancestors with yours. The venue has recently added ‘Genetic Communities’ which identify your ethnicity with a finer stroke, for example ‘Sicilians’ rather than the broader ‘Italians’.
Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at http://bit.ly/SicilianStory Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpul hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail him at genealogytips@aol.com
