RootsChat.Com
General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: lisat on Tuesday 02 September 25 13:03 BST (UK)
-
Hoping somebody out there can put me right about this, this forum has always come to my aid when I needed it in the past. So, here goes.... my DNA results some years ago surprised me with a 26% Jewish ethnicity. I have a fairly extensive tree, been researching for over twenty years, and know that I have no obvious Jewish ancestors ( although people always commented on how Jewish or Italian my Mum looked).
I am wondering if my grandfather may not have been my grandfather. I know my Nan was pregnant when she married, in 1927, but am considering if he may not have been the father, even though this seems unlikely.
When I checked my DNA matches on my maternal side with a common ancestor, they are all on my Nans side, and there are none from my grandfather's. I checked 40. I have a pretty comprehensive tree on Ancestry for both sides.
Do you think this has any significance?
Added to this, the best DNA match on myheritage that I have at 412.6 cM is someone with a similar ethnicity and a grandmother who, family story has, had an affair with a Jewish furniture store owner in 1930 Liverpool. She even looks quite like my Mum, who would have been her half-sister if this scenario is true.
Anecdotes aside, any help would be appreciated. Does the fact I have no matches with anybody that shares ancestors with my grandfather have any significance? thanks.
-
A papertrail 2nd cousin would make a good target tester to rule in/out the different possibilities. If they don't match it lends weight to an unknown ancestor scenario and those mystery matches then become far more significant, meantime building out their trees to see how they fit together & adding your dna results to other sites that accept uploads may catch more matches to piece things together.
Given the MH database is only around 1/3 of that held by Ancestry an Ancestry test is worthwhile, I've had very little in the way of matches on MH compared to Ancestry, it costs a little more but in my experience is better value for money in almost every case. Don't get fixated with the ethnicity too much, even identical twins show differences despite having identical dna.
-
Thanks Glen, I do have Ancestry DNA as well, but the only matches are ,as I said, on my grandmothers line with none on my grandfathers at all.
If I have 26% Jewish ethnicity, does that not indicate a grandparent was Jewish then?
I originally did an Ancestry test, then uploaded it to MyHeritage, and the both show very similar percentages.n
Would you recommend any other DNA tests?
-
Please read the post #28
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863488.27
Then work through your DNA matches who you have linked into your tree as detailed.
You will then probably have the coloured Group marker attached to the matches, leave you with those un-Group matches as the ones in question.
I did not have any DNA matches linking through my Paternal Grandfather.
Using the above Grouping I did conclude that he was the subject of an undocumented Adoption and when I assigned the probably biological parents to him all the significant DNA matches (50+cM) fitted into place.
Of course if any Ancestor originates outside the UK then that can lead to a lack of matches, to give you an example I have a half relative with a Mother who was born in a Continental Country and they have hardly any DNA matches.
Hope this helps.
-
I am very grateful for your reply and will spend some time studying your suggestion. Thank you very much.
-
It seems very likely. Your match 412cM is most likely a half 1st cousin, or 1C1R, but could be other relationships. Given you match with her closely, have no paper-trail overlap, and no matches for your supposed paper trail line, it seems like an overlap.
Jews take DNA tests at very high rates, so you should have lots of clusters of DNA matches that are Jewish.
It would be worth asking this DNA match from MyHeritage is they would take a DNA test with Ancestry. As mentioned above, MH is not very useful. ~99% of the value you get from DNA tests will be on Ancestry. If you have their test on Ancestry, you can then easily see who are common matches and identify common ancestors among those matches, which should give you at least some vague coordinates on who your biological grandfather is.
-
Thanks 4b2, that sounds like good advice. I will consider that. Much appreciated.
-
Whether you test with MyHeritage separately or copy your results from Ancestry to MyHeritage we should all have our DNA with MyHertiage as well as Ancestry.
I have many links with relatives on MyHeritage who are not on Ancestry and some of them only took the tes as it was a gift for Christmas.
-
Whether you test with MyHeritage separately or copy your results from Ancestry to MyHeritage we should all have our DNA with MyHertiage as well as Ancestry.
I have many links with relatives on MyHeritage who are not on Ancestry and some of them only took the tes as it was a gift for Christmas.
MH no longer accept uploads from 3rd parties.
-
Would anybody recommend another site that’s good for ethnicity.? Just to double check my results.
Luckily I uploaded my Ancestry DNA to MyHeritage a while ago. So I have both results.
-
Ancestry is the best for ethnicity (IMO), followed by 23AndMe.
You can also upload to LivingDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and GedMatch. I don't know what their thnciity abilities are like, but not as good as Ancestry or 23AndMe.
MH is really bad for ethnicity.
-
I would suggest that you download your Raw DNA Data from Ancestry and upload it to Gedmatch.
FTDNA is another that does Admixture plus it has other DNA tools available but some do need a fee to unlock them.
Ancestry does have by far the largest database of DNA tests and for me they now pretty well reflect my own Admixture. This has not always been the case and over the 8 years since I took a DNA test what has been presented has been refined as Ancestry update their algorithms.
I have uploaded my DNA to Gedmatch, My Heritage, ftDNA and Living DNA.
My Heritage - way off the mark
ftDNA - no idea, I have not paid to unlock it, I used this company for my yDNA test.
living DNA - almost as bad as My Heritage, I am 1/4 Italian and 1/4 Irish and this site shows 0 Italian and 1/2 of what it should be for my Irish Admixture
-
Thanks. Might try 23AndMe.
-
Thanks Biggles50. Very interesting advice.
-
I suggest that you hold off on buying from 23&me.
They went into Administration earlier this year and was bought out via a bid.
Rather strangely the CEO then resigned and she submitted a higher bid to acquire the assets, which she won.
23&me continues to operate but under Court Supervision.
There was a major data breach a few years ago of 23&me where their DNA database was hacked.
Personally I would not touch 23&me with a barge pole that reaches over the Atlantic.
-
Thanks for that advice. I too have heard some things about that company.
I’ll give it a miss I think.