GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > General Chat Topics > Chit Chat

Chit Chat The Chit Chat forum is for discussions that do not fit into the forum topics listed below.


Register Now for FREE!
Join GreekChat.com, The Fraternity & Sorority Greek Chat Network. To sign up for your FREE account INSTANTLY fill out the form below!

Username: Password: Confirm Password: E-Mail: Confirm E-Mail:
 
Image Verification
Please enter the six letters or digits that appear in the image opposite.

  I agree to forum rules 

» GC Stats
Members: 325,123
Threads: 115,503
Posts: 2,196,041
Welcome to our newest member, zsamulpitt5293
» Online Users: 1,176
1 members and 1,175 guests
No Members online
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 12-06-2016, 05:35 PM
honeychile's Avatar
honeychile honeychile is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Counting my blessings!
Posts: 30,468
DNA Tests

I was surprised that this didn't come up on a search, but -

Has anyone ever had their DNA tested? Which company did you use, and was there a specific reason why you chose that company?

I'll be honest, I would love to have mine done. I have so few relatives alive that it would be nice to find even dead ones!

What worries me is the unethical part. What if some lab worker at ancestry.com co-opts your DNA and spreads it around a crime scene? Or sells any medical information to your insurance company? Maybe I'm paranoid, but I actually had a free ancestry.com kit and have just been too wary to use it.

Any takers out there?
__________________
~ *~"ADPi"~*~
Proud to be a Macon Magnolia
"He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 12-06-2016, 05:39 PM
honeychile's Avatar
honeychile honeychile is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Counting my blessings!
Posts: 30,468
Here are a few disclaimers from ancestry.com:

Privacy for Your AncestryDNA Test



Was anyone happy, unhappy, or satisfied by your results?
__________________
~ *~"ADPi"~*~
Proud to be a Macon Magnolia
"He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12-06-2016, 07:36 PM
AGDee AGDee is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 15,390
I'm very curious about it, but have not gotten it done for the reasons you bring up. Right now, pre-existing conditions cannot prevent you from getting health insurance, but that wasn't true in 2008. Pre-existing conditions can prevent you from getting life insurance or can make your life insurance very high. What about genetic disposition to certain diseases? If it is known, could it affect the ability to get these insurances? Or cause you to have sky high premiums? Ever see the movie Gattaca?

That said, I'm very very curious. I want legal protections though. I have a second cousin who did it. She found out she's related to all of our other second cousins Plus some other people too!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12-06-2016, 08:33 PM
violetgeek violetgeek is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 81
I've been wanting to do this for a good while -- there was a National Geographic sponsored project a few years ago that was more academic in nature. Pretty sure mine would only say I'm an Irish & German mix, but I'm still interested.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 12-07-2016, 12:17 AM
PKT4LIFE PKT4LIFE is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 740
Whatever you do, DO NOT purchase"AncestrybyDNA". (Not to be confused with "AncestryDNA"). What a big rip off! Both of my parents are from Germany and my results said I was 95% European and 5% Indigenous American. (Not sure where the IA comes from.) I could of told you my family was from Europe but where? Eastern? Northern? AncestrybyDNA has a 1 star rating on Yelp.
__________________
Phi Kappa Tau, Est 1906
"Developing Men of Character into Men of Distinction"
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 12-07-2016, 09:41 AM
jolene jolene is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 756
I did the Ancestry.com one. I'm mainly Great Britain with some Scandinavian (12%) and small amounts of other European countries. I wish it got more detailed with the GB part. Am I more English, Scottish, Northern Irish? Some friends did a similar thing but they used either the National Geographic one or 23andMe, but I think they did the NG one.
__________________
AΞΔ
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 12-07-2016, 10:37 AM
AnotherKD AnotherKD is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 856
I'd like to do the kind like 23andMe, but really have no need to. When my kid gets a bit older, I think we'll do it for her because we have no idea what her family health history is.
__________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12-07-2016, 10:39 AM
SoCalGirl SoCalGirl is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: San Diego, California :)
Posts: 3,973
I remember a conversation in the "Who do you think you are?" thread on the topic.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12-07-2016, 04:08 PM
honeychile's Avatar
honeychile honeychile is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Counting my blessings!
Posts: 30,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by jolene View Post
I did the Ancestry.com one. I'm mainly Great Britain with some Scandinavian (12%) and small amounts of other European countries. I wish it got more detailed with the GB part. Am I more English, Scottish, Northern Irish? Some friends did a similar thing but they used either the National Geographic one or 23andMe, but I think they did the NG one.
They just give you British, not English, Scots, Welsh, or Irish? That a HUGE spectrum, considering that the British Isles is still the traditional jumping off place for the New World!

Genealogically, I know that I am Scots, Irish, English, Swiss, and German, but a photo exists that makes me wonder about my gg-granddaddy. He's somewhat up for grabs, IMHO.
__________________
~ *~"ADPi"~*~
Proud to be a Macon Magnolia
"He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12-07-2016, 04:27 PM
AXOrushadvisor AXOrushadvisor is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 696
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeychile View Post
I was surprised that this didn't come up on a search, but -

Has anyone ever had their DNA tested? Which company did you use, and was there a specific reason why you chose that company?

I'll be honest, I would love to have mine done. I have so few relatives alive that it would be nice to find even dead ones!

What worries me is the unethical part. What if some lab worker at ancestry.com co-opts your DNA and spreads it around a crime scene? Or sells any medical information to your insurance company? Maybe I'm paranoid, but I actually had a free ancestry.com kit and have just been too wary to use it.

Any takers out there?
I used 23 and me. They do your ancestry and test you for some genetic stuff that causes illness.
__________________
Alpha Chi Omega
Real. Strong. Women.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 12-07-2016, 06:38 PM
jolene jolene is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 756
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeychile View Post
They just give you British, not English, Scots, Welsh, or Irish? That a HUGE spectrum, considering that the British Isles is still the traditional jumping off place for the New World!

Genealogically, I know that I am Scots, Irish, English, Swiss, and German, but a photo exists that makes me wonder about my gg-granddaddy. He's somewhat up for grabs, IMHO.
I haven't dug deep into why, but I heard that with the XX vs XY chromosomes, that it may be easier for male DNA to get more specific. I haven't researched it much. If someone knows that a different company gets more specific, I'd love to try it.
__________________
AΞΔ
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 12-07-2016, 09:16 PM
1964Alum 1964Alum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 291
I used Ancestry when they had a sale, out of curiosity. There is a separate Irish category! I have done extensive genealogy, most of it in my mother's side, which predates even Charlemagne for her mother. Her father was Swedish, and a genealogist in Sweden did his genealogy back to 1640. There were no surprises there, and my DNA test confirmed what I had discovered through my genealogical research. It is important to remember that your DNA genealogy can be very different from your geographical genealogy! My grandmother's gateway ancestors all came from England. But they traced back to the Norman invasion and before that. Normans were "Norsemen" and went back to the Scandinavian invasions before that. Then married French women and subsequently married within the same gene pool up to and after coming to the Virginia Colony. I am 44% Scandinavian with but one Swedish ancestor!

The next large chunk was Western Europe, which included the low countries, Germany, and France. My father's paternal ancestors came from Germany, but after arriving and settling, married Quaker women who had come from England. I had previously found that some of his Quaker ancestors had married some of my mother's maternal ancestors, but the two had been on opposite sides of the Civil War in England! His mother's maternal ancestors came from France and her father's from England.

The BIG surprise was that I have but very trace DNA from the indigenous English, which tells me that those who had come from England on my father's side (Quakers) must have been from those areas where there had been Dane Law.

The other BIG surprise is that the third largest group was Irish, which includes Ireland, Scotland, and the Celts. I could trace one of my mother's maternal lines back to early days in Ireland and another to Scotland, and yet another to Wales, where some of the "Marcher Lords" had married women from those areas after they had invaded them. Again, my ancestral DNA did not match my geographical genealogy as far as my gateway ancestors are concerned.

These DNA results go back at least 1,000 years, and some say even further. I would say doing my DNA was definitely worthwhile and very interesting. I didn't do it to locate any new cousins, but many people have enjoyed that as well.
__________________
...to be womanly always; to be discouraged never...

Chi Omega

Last edited by 1964Alum; 12-07-2016 at 09:17 PM. Reason: syntax
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 12-12-2016, 06:12 PM
navane navane is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,873
I did the Ancestry DNA test earlier this year and was pleased with the results. I already knew that both sides of my family were from Poland; but, I wanted to check to see if perhaps there was anything else that might show up and surprise us. I had heard a family rumor that my great-grandfather was a German orphan that was taken in by a Polish family. Though, I now believe that is not true or the story was for one of his brothers or something like that.

At any rate, there were no surprises. My DNA came back 98% Eastern European. LOL! The other 2% registered as Europe West, Great Britain and Ireland. In reading the [scientific] explanations on their website, it's possible that the 2% of Great Britain could be a random quirk of the DNA testing process as some DNA pieces just happen to look like other regions (or something like that). In that case, I could still be 100% Eastern European as I should be. Interestingly enough, according to the reading materials, I have more Eastern European DNA than native Eastern Europeans!! (98% vs. 82%).

The DNA test cannot really pinpoint if my family is from Poland, Lithuania or Belarus, for example. However, all of my known blood relatives prior to arrival in the U.S. were born in Poland; so..........

What's also cool is that, if you want them to, Ancestry.com can scan their database of other Ancestry DNA customers and let you know if you are a scientific DNA match for other members. It will even tell you if the match is close or more distant. I've found a few second cousins this way - confirmed relatives that I already knew about. There are also a few promising leads for other "cousins" who might be able to fill in large sections of the family tree once we are able to figure out who our common genetic ancestor is.

In all, I was pleased with the product. About 15 years ago, we found a family in Poland that shares our uncommon surname and comes from the same region that my family comes from. Looking at photos, their great-uncle and my father bear a striking resemblance. We figure we're related somehow; but, we've not been able to work out the common ancestor. We've kept in touch as "honorary family" all of these years. I went to Poland a few years ago to visit with my mother's side of the family. While there, I got to meet the other family possibly related to my dad's side. They were really great and we're hoping to figure the mystery out some day. Well, part of that mystery is going to be solved shortly. I ordered an extra Ancestry DNA kit and I'm going to send it out to Poland. My "honorary cousin" in Poland agreed to spit into the tube and mail it back to the U.S. Then, using Ancestry DNA's matching feature, we will finally be able to determine if we are blood related or not! It won't tell us who the common ancestor is; but, it will be able to give us a scientific probability of whether or not we are blood-related. I have the extra kit here and plan to mail it out to Poland sometime this week. I will try to remember to come back and let you know how it works out!
__________________
GFB Z
Gamma Phi Beta

True and Constant
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 12-12-2016, 07:12 PM
1964Alum 1964Alum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 291
Thanks for your story, navane. I am very interested in hearing how this turns out. My mother's ancestry is very well research to way before her gateway ancestors, but not my father's, other than the Quakers. I connected some time back with a contemporary on my mother's maternal line. Lo and behold we had 12 ancestors in common, all in England, where he still resided. He even came to a family reunion here in the US with a huge genealogical chart of his family in England and its connection to the family here. We had an immediate personal rapport. He also had the same rapport with a cousin in my mother's generation who had roughly the same careers in their respective countries. There are also contemporary Swedes who are cousins on my mother's paternal line.

But my roadblock is on my father's side as I can't go back any further than my gateway ancestors with the exception of the Quakers. I did, however, come across a picture of a WWII German officer who was the spitting image of my father. He was a "von", which is part of that family's lore. I couldn't find any further record of him so that is all that I have. Germany is about the only European country I haven't gone to, mainly because of what happened here. There is, however, a street in my beloved Vienna, Austria bearing my family's surname.

Ah, the mystery!
__________________
...to be womanly always; to be discouraged never...

Chi Omega
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 12-12-2016, 08:21 PM
navane navane is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,873
1964Alum,

Interesting! What has been a problem for us is that Polish last names are often spelled incorrectly in many records, ship manifests, etc. Just a couple of days ago, I got a small break in the case when I found the funeral mass card of a great-aunt (one of my grandmother's sisters that I didn't know about). When I added it to the family tree, Ancestry.com started pulling up old U.S. census records matching her married name. Apparently she and her husband were still living with her folks (my great-grandparents). Those census records were showing with my grandmother's maiden name spelled incorrectly. The only reason I found those records is because my great-aunt and her husband were in the household (with their names spelled correctly). Similarly, Polish people often changed their first names to something more American. So, right now, I'm stuck on trying to find information on a great-grandfather Wojciech who apparently also went by "Albert" or "George".

Hopefully you'll catch a break and find something that links you to the big clue you needed!
__________________
GFB Z
Gamma Phi Beta

True and Constant
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
IQ and Personality Tests gphib_95 Cool Sites 0 04-26-2004 02:35 AM
Passed my tests! ActionJackson4 Sigma Gamma Rho 5 08-04-2003 03:58 PM
IQ Tests SAEalumnus Cool Sites 0 04-21-2003 05:40 AM
First home PREGNANCY tests, now home PATERNITY tests? AKA2D '91 Alpha Kappa Alpha 3 10-04-2002 12:08 PM
Pledge tests cassiwolf Recruitment 10 01-25-2001 04:45 PM



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:29 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.