4 BIG problems with my DNA Tests

#findingyourroots #ancestrydna #dnatest #louisiana #nativeamerican #creole #23andme #familystory #genealogy #hiddenstories #history

I took a DNA test to find out who my mom's family really was. I did 23andme and then ancestry DNA tests. But the dna tests were very very wrong.

Want to rewatch any of "Finding Lola"? Here's the series:

Watch the Episode 1 that started the whole journey:

Watch Episode 2 here:

Watch Episode 3 here:

Watch Episode 4 here:

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Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?

[nytn]

Want to see the series "Finding Lola"?

Watch the Episode 1 that started the whole journey:

Watch Episode 2 here:

Watch Episode 3 here:

Watch Episode 4 here:




Want to know more? www.findinglolafilm.com

[AS-ugbt]

I've not taken an ancestry test, but people often forget/don't know that nation state boundaries like Italy/France/Sweden/Germany/Zimbabwe, or whatever, were most often created/solidified in the past couple of centuries. So ethnicities, groups, countries of origin often come as a total surprise in 'reveal' videos. Also, with travel, trade, (and sadly slavery), even if you know a grandparent came from a particular country or culture, their forebears may have migrated from elsewhere. I'd guess - particularly where ancestry is very mixed - the percentages aren't an exact science. Hopefully further research will allow more accurate results. Kudos for your fascinating research. So much more practical and satisfying to track down real-life stories of your family than jumping to false conclusions as a result of dodgy commercial tests.

[nerdlarge]

Like you mentioned DNA Ancestry Tests should be used in combination with traditional Genealogy methods i.e. paperwork. These DNA Testing companies are constantly tweaking their matching algorithms and the reference populations of different ethnic groups in their databases the algorithms are supposed to match. So percentages will change over time because you're dealing with a relatively new technology evolving in real time.

As someone who used to work in the DNA Sequencing field, I can tell that PCR Amplification is the basis of the DNA Sequencing technology. PCR amplifies a small amount of source DNA to large enough amounts to easily sequence and analyze. The larger the amount of source or template DNA you start with, the more accurate the results tend to be because you don't need to over amplify the template DNA and potentially introduce errors like false positives. Your mother being a generation closer to your Mexican ancestor has more "Mexican" DNA and therefore produces more accurate matching results to the Mexican reference populations in the testing company's database.

[SimonHillKeepsItTrill]

“Soooo like… the ancestry tests don’t matter. But please believe me, I am part black, native american, and every other historically oppressed group that ever existed and feel qualified to speak about” 😂😂😂😂😂😂 help me lord

[lisabaltzer]

My father took 2 tests from 2 different companies. They were very different. One had him at 39% total of various European nationalities and one said he had no European ancestry at all.

[dshey]

I have only taken the Ancestry test. Yes, Ancestry about once or twice a year updates the spit test results. They claim it is because more people worldwide are contributing their DNA, thereby changing/refining the DNA groups. I would love to take a course on how Ancestry is computing all the data. My percentages haven't changed that much BUT the descriptors for the percentages have. I was originally Iberian (percentage 10 percent or less). The last contact from Ancestry indicated German instead of Iberian. What I really am is French (probably same percent) according to my mother's family lore. French Canadian. Why did Ancestry tell me I was Iberian? Because they drew a huge circle around Spain, Portugal and France and called it Iberian. Why are they telling me I'm German now? Because I think the part of France my DNA is from is today where other people with that same DNA now live in Germany. For example, the Alsace-Lorraine area has been part of France and part of Germany over the centuries. The borders kept changing depending on who won what war. So you see, it pays to study if one wants to deeply understand ones DNA.

[ranellnikora]

I think its probably more important to understand who you are culturally as it to understand which ethnicity you might belong to. Your cultural identity is what gives you the feeling of belonging, your values and beliefs etc that help shape your world view, while allowing you to acknowledge other ethnicities you may also be connected to. For example, my mother is of mixed European heritage while my father is Maori. Culturally I identify as Maori, I follow Maori family values and customs and am largely governed by our tribal societal rules, but I absolutely acknowledge my European heritage as well. The percentages might bounce around on a DNA test (I've never taken one so I wouldn't know) but culturally I know who I am and that never waivers.

[luvlyval]

So, from what I understand, you don't necessarily inherit 50% of your parents specific DNA. That is why siblings can test differently and look different. My husband is half Italian, his bio dad was born there. He tests a little above 50%, like 51, but his mother may have had some trace Italian heritage. I am not Italian at all, but our daughter tested 36.9% Italian! Over the years, my Asian percentage has changed to Indigenous American, which makes more sense with what I know about my family. And you are right, the test does not change the way you identify, and everyone is different. I identify as an African American period even though I am not full African. My daughter will say she is of mixed race ancestry, African American and Italian, because that is primarily what she is and she is raised.

[lkndiaries]

Hi, I completely understand where you are coming from with the DNA tests. I got way too obsessed with the percentage component and it really confused me on how to identity myself. Some of my percentages have changed a lot. As you said, DNA doesn’t always reflect experience or upbringing. I found out through my maternal grandmother, there’s a significant connection to India. I never knew that I had any South Asian heritage at all. I found this out when I was 15 and am now 20. It’s been a rocky road because I too get asked what my background is all the time.

Moreover, the most important takeaway I have gotten from this is to secure my identity as a child of God and to learn more about all parts of my very diverse heritage!

[jlpack]

It's been years since my Ancestry DNA test and my results are perfectly aligned with what I knew about where my family came from. The update differences were minimal and the more that they've been updated, the closer they are to what I've always known about my family.

[Calhorsey]

I've really enjoyed seeing my estimated ethnicity percentages, but I understood from the start is was a guess. I also put my data into GEDMatch and looked at a bunch more ethnicity estimates based on different algorithms. I honestly didn't know I had black, but I'm really glad to know it now, although I realize it came about because of tragic circumstances. My native Mexican also includes Yucatan, which I think is pretty cool too. Please keep creating content.

[priscillabordeaux]

My Lola is Ella, my great-grandmother. Everyone always said Ella was Native. I found a picture of Ella on Ancestry before I had ever taken a DNA test. It was very evident through the photo that Ella was multi-racial. I saw African American in Ella as well as Native. In any event I took Ancestry, 23andMe, and My Heritage. Ancestry and 23andMe confirmed African and the My Heritage and 23andMe confirmed Native, but Meso-American from South America. My results have changed over the years and some results have disappeared altogether. I uploaded my results to GED and I feel they give a better analogy.

[YesiPleb]

DNA doesn't lie. If you suspect there's been a mistake with the test then take another one. Ancestry DNA have actually released a couple videos on how to read the results, how they run the tests and more.

[cadenholmes]

Btw you are mind bogglingly gorgeous. Also I did my Ancestry and It confirmed my North American Native blood coming from my grandma her birth certificate says *English/Scottish and part Cherokee* also I've traced my tribal heritage back to my Grandmother's Fathers Great-Grandmother. Yes I am also European but I'm proud to have Native blood.
Edit: Either way I don't need a DNA test to know I'm Indigenous it's easy to see in my Grandmother. it's on her birth certificate and we know which ancestor passed it on.

[veronicalevin]

I went through the same thing with all 4 big companies and they were all different. So eventually I had my whole genome sequenced and now it fits my paper trail and oral history

[outbthecount]

I have noticed that my Ancestry test changes dramatically sometimes with each update, but my 23andMe test has been consistent with not much change over the years. Ancestry is now the largest and most diverse database but not the most "scientific" in my opinion. That being said the ethnicities are not written in stone and should be used as a guide not an absolute truth.

[sadfaery]

When I first did the ancestry DNA test years ago, I had a large percentage of Iberian DNA show up, Spain and Portugal, and my Puerto Rican friend took the test after I did and her Iberian was lower than mine. After updates, however, that did change and now I have zero Iberian showing up on there but she has Spain and Portugal showing up on hers. I think it's very much dependent on the algorithm changes as they get newer and more specific data to work with, and if you look at the percentages that show up for me in MyHeritage that I've uploaded from my ancestry results, that Iberian is still there. But genealogically, the last ancestors I have from that region were almost a thousand years ago, so it is interesting, but it's definitely not an exact science. Where it is incredibly valuable, however, is in connecting you with relatives to help you build out your family tree. And filling out your family tree and filling in crucial gaps is really valuable if that's something that's important to you. It certainly was to me and I finally was able to fill in the blanks from the side of the family we had almost no information about beyond my great-grandfather because his father was orphaned as a child and didn't have as much information to pass down. And I'm still trying to fill in some blanks on my recent immigrant side of the family, which is a lot more difficult because of the lack of available records and information to even use to figure out where to start searching, but I've connected on ancestry with a couple of cousins who have more information than I did, and in turn, I had some information that they didn't have, so we're sharing resources and all of us are able to build a more robust family tree as a result.

[alexandriat]

Thank you for posting this. Finding your family history is tough sometimes. I am native American ( Apache ), Spanish, Danish and German .. Lucky I was able to figure out how the Scandinavian got in the mix. That stumped me because I was skeptical ( I look native and Mediterranean) not Danish ..

It is a pointer not a absolute science. I think there is so much about DNA and inheritance that we don't know keeping an open but skeptical mind is important.
Best of luck on this journey!

[aaronwright]

I saw a documentary on DNA pop testing, and it’s a lot of guesswork due to the data base being very incomplete worldwide. There would have to be samples from the majority of the world population contributing to all databases. There would also, have to be accurate records going back several generations, and most people don’t have that. It’s tricky to say the least. It is only natural to to have wide variations in results. Don’t worry.

[BonnieDragonKat]

What you describe happened to me. When I got my test back my ethnicity had me with being Norwegian. A year later my Norwegian changed and said I was Welsh. The next update the Welsh disappeard and French took it's place.

Ethnicity changes as more and more people test. Also Ethnicity is a guess on Ancestry's part. The percentages also do not mean your ethnicity now. It's the ethnicity 100 to 1000 years in your past.