Has anyone had an Ancestry DNA test?

[Ruskie]

That 25% "Scottish" could be due to how the company groups various ethnicities, it could have come from elsewhere (such as a European country) and be grouped in with "Scottish", you could have inherited more DNA from an earlier ancestor (unrecorded/unknown/before written records) than expected. Populations are interconnected and don't conform to geographical borders ....

Of course, despite having a well researched "English" lineage, you may also have to consider an NPE somewhere along the line. 

[chrissiecruiser]

Righto,
This may be an old post...however, we are reading and keeping it going now.
Yes, I have done a DNA test with Ancestry, and as a person who has traced my tree fairly extensively prior to doing so, was happily surprised to find that my research was correct. (There's always a bit of being unsure when there are language barriers etc.)
But that's what Rootschatters are very good at...helping out!!!
My countries were spot on.

The test did bring up some 2nd cousins who I met through Ancestry but I have been disappointed with 3rd and 4th cousins who have trees and do not reply to my messages.
I wonder why they undertake a dna test and don't want to follow through.
Cheers
Chris

[coombs]

I occasionally have to explain to others on other genealogy forums or FB groups what an NPE is. "Not parent expected" or "Non paternal event". If an ancestor had a dalliance with the milkman while hubby was a master mariner out at sea much of the time. 

But no I have not done an Ancestry DNA test, not for just ethnicity estimates, as they seem a total waste of time. But have considered doing a common DNA test to find cousins. Autosomal DNA tends to run out after about 6 generations so I heard.

[Carmella]

To Keith -

If you are referring to Ancestry's 2020 ethnicity update then you are not the only one with "extra Scottish" this time around...

A couple of articles:

https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/why-your-latest-results-could-include-more-scotland-in-your-ethnicity-estimates/

https://dna-explained.com/2020/09/20/ancestry-releases-updated-ethnicity-estimates-hope-you-still-have-your-kilt/

C

[Keitht]

Thanks Carmella, those were very interesting but I remain unconvinced. I can see that I may have inherited Scottish dna from an ancestor or ancestors so distant and remote as to be untraceable but that would not produce a 25% response. When I compare it to my 2% Irish dna, which comes from a paternal 4th gt grandfather born in 1749 I can't help but wonder how much nearer to the modern day a potential Scottish ancestor must have lived to provide such a high reading. As I said in an earlier post, I have the documentation (BMD certs and PRs) to prove my lineage back to the mid 17th century and Scotland doesn't even appear, so how close a relative would I need to have in order to show such a high reading?

Keith

[Ruskie]

DNA is passed down randomly. Carmella’s links explain how the ethnic percentages are calculated and why they vary, or may not be as you expect.

Have you uploaded your raw data to other companies such as My Heritage and FTDNA to see what percentages they give you? As an example of differences, FTDNA says I am 2% Scandinavian - My Heritage says I am 29.4% Scandinavian.  I haven’t tested with Ancestry.

Also, documentation is well and good, but fibs could have been told as to parentage which in some cases could skew percentages. 

The general advice is not to take the percentages as gospel.

It is interesting to see the numbers in the reference panels for various regions and how they are determined. For some areas there are quite low numbers. There are numerous articles about this. One example here:
https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/2019/6/6/dna-ethnicity-estimation-reference-panels

[Anne McNeill]

Yes I've done one.  English, Scots, Irish and Scandinavian.  Had great records prior to test on paternal side - Scots and Irish.  Not so much on maternal side, but primarily English East  Midlands and Somerset.  Her maiden name unusual and relatively hard to find connections.  However, test did help a distant cousin find me (from maternal side) and we've been collaborating ever since.  As to Scandinavian,  the Vikings were certainly active in England, Ireland and Scotland and probably have a lot to answer for !

Anne McNeill

[Guy Etchells]

I would ask anyone mentioning ethnicity what they mean by ethnicity!
The countries of the UK have been subject to immigration for centuries, they have never been isolated communities and therefore contain DNA from not only Europe but from practically all over the world.
Added to that we do not inherit all our mother's DNA or all our father's DNA but a mixture of each and siblings each inherit a different proportion of that mixture.
In practice this means that virtually any person in the UK may show traces of DNA attributed to any region of the world.
The ethnicity estimate proportions tell you almost as much about the testing company and their dataset as it does about your DNA specimen.
Cheers
Guy

[owenc]

I have uploaded my dna onto FTDNA, LivingDNA, MyHeritage and AncestryDNA. AncestryDNA appears to be the most accurate, I am 63% Irish and 37% Scottish, that summarises my paper trail well.

I don't believe that my Scottish percentages are exaggerated, I think a lot of Americans classify Ulster Scots dna as 'Irish'. I have noticed also that there is a high tendency for Northern English to score large percentages of Scottish on this update. I would think this would be due to the shared links between Northern England and Scotland.