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Ancestry DNA and similar tests

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I'd be worried to do it incase all my years being half Irish on Paddy's Day were a sham. Apparently Adolf Hitler spent some time in Liverpool in his youth (not sure how true that is) and my great nan allegedly would have given Molly Malone a run for her money. She came over here as a kid from Ireland with family. I only knew her as a kid before she passed away and she was extremely religious, her living room would terrify you, stuff just looking at you judging you.

As I got older I got some brilliant stories. What a woman. Passed away in her 90's but gone too soon if you ask me.
 

sbbefc said:
I received one of these kits for Christmas and got my results this week.

Since getting my results I've been a little obsessed with it. I've spent hours building the family tree. The results were largely as expected. My mums side is all Welsh but for a tiny smidgen of Irish (1%). My Dad's side is mostly English. The site specifically identified N/Wales and Merseyside as areas I connect to. This all checks out.

The surprising thing for me was the amount of Irish DNA I have (14%). I also had 4% Swedish /Danish. My understanding is that Ancestry dna only goes back a few hundred years. As far as I'm aware I don't have any Irish relatives. My Dad's maternal side is well documented and I matched a 2/3rd and 4th cousins, neither of them had much Irish Dna. So I've concluded that the bulk of it comes from my dads paternal side. However, my tree doesn't reveal any Irish names or evidence of any one being born there. I've gone back to the 1700s.

Has anyone else tested? Know how to interpret results? Or had a similar experience? Whilst it mostly confirms what I knew it also raises questions. All quite fascinating though.
Click to expand...
Vikings left their DNA in the population in the late Middle Ages. Also in the Western British Isles during the Middle Ages, it was fairly common for minor nobles to marry Gaels and Irish because they inherited down the female line (matrilineal) whereas the British inherited down the male line (patrilineal).

If you go far back enough you'll find you're connected to everyone eventually. There's always been mixing of populations. The British Isles are very mixed (we'd shag anyone).
 
canuckblue said:
My sister did my dad's family tree through Ancestry UK and found out that on my paternal grandfather's side, we go back to fourth-century French kings, through Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and the first six English kings. On my paternal grandmother's side, Robert the Bruce.
Of course, given they had so many kids each generation, I'm no different than hundreds of thousands of other people who share the same lineage.
Still, sniff it, you peasants.
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Almos everyone in Western Europe can trace back to Charlemagne eventually. If there's 3 kids per family over what must be 50 generation (rough numbers), that's ends up as billions of people.
 

datblygu said:
Vikings left their DNA in the population in the late Middle Ages. Also in the Western British Isles during the Middle Ages, it was fairly common for minor nobles to marry Gaels and Irish because they inherited down the female line (matrilineal) whereas the British inherited down the male line (patrilineal).

If you go far back enough you'll find you're connected to everyone eventually. There's always been mixing of populations. The British Isles are very mixed (we'd shag anyone).
Click to expand...
Diolch datblygu.

I just find it weird that if the Irish dna is older than 2/300 years how many/most of my matches have very little of it. Where they do, they have more recent relatives (within 200 years).

I understand the small amount of Danish/Swedish. I believe many communities in the Danelaw (especially eastern Yorkshire) stayed close knit. So the DNA would persist for many centuries later (up to this day evidently) .

I just thought with Irish being significantly more it could be traced back? But I suppose it could still be admixture. Either way, it's a bit of a suprise and fascinating nonetheless.
 
I started one through MyHeritage last year and am also thoroughly addicted. On my mothers paternal side I’ve gone back to direct ancestors from about the year 1100!

To enhance your DNA search, I recommended using GEDMatch

www.gedmatch.com

DNA and Genealogy Tools to Grow Your Family Tree | GEDmatch

With comprehensive solutions for genealogical and family tree searches, GEDmatch gives you free comparison access to more than 1.5 million profiles worldwide.
www.gedmatch.com www.gedmatch.com
 
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datblygu said:
Almos everyone in Western Europe can trace back to Charlemagne eventually. If there's 3 kids per family over what must be 50 generation (rough numbers), that's ends up as billions of people.
Click to expand...
More like millions, but your point is valid. I don't think I have to worry about inheriting a throne any time soon (apart from when I need to take a dump).
 

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