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Post by peajays on Aug 8, 2017 16:31:54 GMT
You didn't tell us what your ethnicity breakdown is. Were you what you thought you were? any surprises? Here's my breakdown Ireland 35% Great Britain 28% Scandinavian 15% Europe West 9% Italy/Greece 9% I had assumed from the copy of my birth certificate that Germany would have had a higher percentage. I have a suspicion now that perhaps my birth mother either lied about the father, or didn't know who he was. (she named him as German nationality with a very German name) a very large number of people that I have found with matches are all mainly French Canadians with deep roots in Quebec. |
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:35:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 17:57:07 GMT
I am having a bit of that holy moly moment.
I have a person who has contacted me as a 3rd cousin and she is from Australia.
Not possible. Anybody that close I know about. The person is quite sure we are related. Not really possible, but interesting.
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on Aug 8, 2017 18:11:06 GMT
You didn't tell us what your ethnicity breakdown is. Were you what you thought you were? any surprises? Here's my breakdown Ireland 35% Great Britain 28% Scandinavian 15% Europe West 9% Italy/Greece 9% I had assumed from the copy of my birth certificate that Germany would have had a higher percentage. I have a suspicion now that perhaps my birth mother either lied about the father, or didn't know who he was. (she named him as German nationality with a very German name) a very large number of people that I have found with matches are all mainly French Canadians with deep roots in Quebec. My DH sir name is very German, but DH was adopted, so our kids may be 0% German. At this time, none of us have any interest in finding out. |
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Post by floridasunflower on Aug 8, 2017 20:47:04 GMT
You can be sure I'd contact you if you showed up as an immediate family member on my DNA test results...or any of the other five that I manage. But then, I see DNA as a powerful tool in my genealogy research; not everyone who takes the test does. Many, in fact, are only interested in the ethnicity results.
If you have submitted your own sample, you can choose a screen name much like here. I have no problem using my own name because I'm interested in exchanging information but I respect the rights of others to choose something else. The tests I manage for others (my dad's 89-year-old first cousin, for example, who has no interest in family history but was game to help me find out more) appear in the results as "X.X. managed by MyName" (her initials followed by my name). In that case, the screen name is the contact person.
I've contacted individuals who came up as a 2d cousin or closer to inquire about their connection where they had no tree attached to their test results or the tree was private. In a couple of instances, they were children of adoptees. It was easy to figure out that one was the son of my husband's first cousin but he told me he was only interested in the ethnicity portion of the results. I was all ready to hand off that situation to what would be his aunt had he wanted more. In another match we're actively working together to try to determine the parent.
Your only way to contact people who match your DNA (or for matches to contact you) is through the Ancestry message system so you have a layer of insulation to protect your privacy but getting a generic email just for this purpose isn't a bad idea. Simple is good when it comes to the message. You're an adoptee looking for your birth family; they're a DNA match; you hope they can help you find some answers and see where it goes from there. Good luck and keep us advised!
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Post by epeanymous on Aug 8, 2017 20:55:11 GMT
Best of luck! I found two biological half-sisters through DNA sites, which provided me with some answers about my life -- I hope you get some as well.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:35:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 21:04:40 GMT
Here's my breakdown Ireland 35% Great Britain 28% Scandinavian 15% Europe West 9% Italy/Greece 9% I had assumed from the copy of my birth certificate that Germany would have had a higher percentage. I have a suspicion now that perhaps my birth mother either lied about the father, or didn't know who he was. (she named him as German nationality with a very German name) a very large number of people that I have found with matches are all mainly French Canadians with deep roots in Quebec. Keep in mind that the notion of nationality is basically a political notion of national boundaries. If you were to do dna of people living in Germany for generations you would discover they are not "german" either but are made up of genes from Europe West, Eurpoe East, Italy/Greece and Scandinavia. .. So your birth father very well could be a German national with a very German name. The dna shows thousands of years of immigration in your family story. So your family lore can be right but the dna is looking even further back. |
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Post by KelleeM on Aug 8, 2017 21:17:45 GMT
I'm so excited for you! I just got my kit today and can't wait to send it off! I'm curious about things I was told all my life. It will be fun to see what's true and what's not.
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Post by peajays on Aug 18, 2017 13:59:32 GMT
*UPDATE*
OK, so since I've received my results, I plucked up the courage to email the top two matches to request more information. I was up front that I was adopted, and just looking for any information that they were willing to share. The next day, the #1 person emailed me back saying that if I were to give them some names, dates, and locations that they would be willing to assist me. The #1 person only shows up on Ancestry as D.P. and managed by someone else. When he emailed me back, he signed his name just slightly different than in his ancestry name, and he also told me where he lived. So I googled him, and I found an online newspaper obituary that he wrote a condolence to, but in his name he added "Albert" to the name in quotes. So, being nosey, I did a facebook search using Albert Lastname, and I found him! I also then realized that the D.P. in his ancestry account stood for his wife! I looked all through their friends lists, and there were SO many of the same names that also showed up in distant matches on my ancestry account....so I am sure these are the correct relatives. (I feel like such a voyeur ) (I hope you're with me so far) Here is my question: I have a copy of my original birth certificate, and I have my birth fathers full name, and my birth mothers full name, including maiden name) and there isn't a single person on all of these profiles with a last name even remotely close to either of them. I even found an online obituary for D.P.s older sister and it listed all of the siblings. I'm missing something and hope there is another ancestry sleuth out there that can help me out!
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Post by Darcy Collins on Aug 18, 2017 14:10:28 GMT
You can be sure I'd contact you if you showed up as an immediate family member on my DNA test results...or any of the other five that I manage. But then, I see DNA as a powerful tool in my genealogy research; not everyone who takes the test does. Many, in fact, are only interested in the ethnicity results. If you have submitted your own sample, you can choose a screen name much like here. I have no problem using my own name because I'm interested in exchanging information but I respect the rights of others to choose something else. The tests I manage for others (my dad's 89-year-old first cousin, for example, who has no interest in family history but was game to help me find out more) appear in the results as "X.X. managed by MyName" (her initials followed by my name). In that case, the screen name is the contact person. I've contacted individuals who came up as a 2d cousin or closer to inquire about their connection where they had no tree attached to their test results or the tree was private. In a couple of instances, they were children of adoptees. It was easy to figure out that one was the son of my husband's first cousin but he told me he was only interested in the ethnicity portion of the results. I was all ready to hand off that situation to what would be his aunt had he wanted more. In another match we're actively working together to try to determine the parent. Your only way to contact people who match your DNA (or for matches to contact you) is through the Ancestry message system so you have a layer of insulation to protect your privacy but getting a generic email just for this purpose isn't a bad idea. Simple is good when it comes to the message. You're an adoptee looking for your birth family; they're a DNA match; you hope they can help you find some answers and see where it goes from there. Good luck and keep us advised! How do you use your DNA results in your genealogy research? I'd love to find a way to use it more effectively - and hopefully break through a few brick walls. Part of my issue is the pure volume of results. I have 1,800+ 4th cousin and closer matches. My other issue is one branch of my family is from New Mexico and essentially everyone is related - so the same half a dozen surnames are in most of the matches, which doesn't help solve any of my unknowns. I'd love to use it - but I just haven't figured out how. |
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Post by myboysnme on Aug 18, 2017 14:26:43 GMT
You may not recognize names if you are related through women. For example, I have a person who came up a second cousin. This is how we are related: Husband had 11 children. One of the daughters had a daughter who had a daughter - the person identified as my second cousin match.
I am descended from a son, who had a son, who had a daughter, who had me. So you can see we are one generation apart from the shared ancestor, but the past 3 generations were all women with different last names because of marriage. In actuality, my 2nd cousin match is a first cousin to my grandfather!
A person can be a second cousin and be second cousin once or twice removed, as in my case.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Aug 18, 2017 14:42:02 GMT
If you were to do dna of people living in Germany for generations you would discover they are not "german" either but are made up of genes from Europe West, Eurpoe East, Italy/Greece and Scandinavia. When I got my results from Ancestry.com, it had this explanation in the results: My personal percentage is 44%. I was surprised it was that high, but later I realized I shouldn't have been. My grandmother's generation was the first to marry outside of their Swiss German community. Then add in a bit of German on my dad's side and you get a high percentage. |
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