I got one off Ancestry.com for my father for XMas. Sent it in yesterday, it was very easy, and we're really excited. Results expected in 6-8 Weeks.
From what I heard, Ancestry is more on like your origins and 23andMe is more Health related stuff (how suspetible you are to this or that). My father's 75 and in poor health already, so I figured he doesn't want to know that stuff with 23andme.
Plus you can post it to your ancestry account, so I think your family members can look at it and analyze if they have an account too
EDIT: Oh yeah, so essentially you spit over and over into this tube until it reaches a level that looks maybe the amount of a shot glass. The whole kit is provided. Seal it, then send it USPS. They have all the shipping handled for you, so I just handed it to the mailman.
I did 23andme for me and our son Edwin adopted from Guatemala.It was amazing to get the results. We didn't know a lot about Edwin's heritage, thinking he was 50% Hispanic and possibly 50% Asian because of his Asian-looking eyes. Turns out he is almost 100% Maya Indian. We found a few distant cousins of his, mostly other kids in the US who were also adopted from Guatemala.
Mine turned out at almost 100% Ashkenazi Jewish as expected. I found a few new relatives through 23andme, also through gedmatch, a free site where you can upload your results.
I had that done at 23 and Me. It was free because I was participating in a study. It was kind of interesting but I wouldn't pay 99 bucks for it. Mainly they don't tell you the best part. What kind of health issues you could potentially have due to your genes. And yes they have that info. They used to share it until the FDA said they couldn't.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
If you're black, these test a lot of times are useless.
Records weren't kept during the slave trade, which is why it's hard for black Americans to pin point what specific country they are from in Africa.
It might show that you're mixed with other things, but for a lot of us, we really want to know what specific country we come from.
Unfortunately that's not possible for most of us.
Last edited by Swish; 12/30/1603:56 PM.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
If you're black, these test a lot of times are useless.
Records weren't kept during the slave trade, which is why it's hard for black Americans to pin point what specific country they are from in Africa.
It might show that you're mixed with other things, but for a lot of us, we really want to know what specific country we come from regardless of your skin color.
Unfortunately that's not possible for most of us.
As I'm reading more and more on this issue, being white doesn't help you much in that respect either. You can only get percentage information of a possible group like Southern Europe that covers from Portugal to Greece. They can't tell you what country you actually come from.
Mormons reportedly use Ancestry.com, they own it, to posthumously baptize individuals into the Mormon church. Apparently you get to heaven if the Mormon church baptized you after death. They've done it to Anne Frank multiple times.
Joseph Smith was a prophet...(someone finish the Sout Park reference, please)
I guess it's still slightly better for you guys. So if your trust says Southern Europe or so, you at least know you have genes from the Balkans.
Or Eastern Europe, you have Slavic blood in you. Also, you guys typically hold on to your last name, which helps narrows it down if you do your own research.
For example, There isn't exactly a whole bunch of guys in west Africa with the last name Johnson, if you know what I mean.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
As chance would have it, a commercial was just on with a black gentleman saying how he used Ancestry.com to trace his African roots and was pretty pleased about it. Certainly it's anecdotal but it still may be worth a shot for you.
If you know your history, then you'd understand why I really hope My ancestors wasn't part of that time period.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Ethnic identity is very cool and all, should certainly be super celebrated by everyone. But I wouldn't get caught too much into it. We're all part of the same human race. There's very little genetic variance in the human DNA structure.
Since these sites also match your DNA to others in their data banks they can tell you about cousins you may have and not know about. That's pretty cool. I'm more interested in the ancestry aspect rather than medical as I already know my family has crappy hearts and clogged veins.
Ancestry is cool. But it, in my opinion, doesn't mean much other than I can trace my family back to.........
It doesn't make you "that".
I can trace (and that's false - someone ELSE traced ) my dad's family back to 1798. Christian (my dad, his dad, his dad, his dad, his dad Christian) back to France. He moved here in about 1828 if I remember correctly.
It's cool to know your ancestry, just like I found it cool. It doesn't make me French though.
And I found it neat to actually be able to see where my grandpa was buried. Of course, I knew him, and was at the burial. And to see where his dad was buried. And to see where HIS dad was buried. (all were buried around here. Cool to go to the different cemeteries and get pictures of the tombstones.
I get that it's great to know your roots.
And I understand the desire of Africans wanting to be able to trace their roots as well. Wish it could be easier.
Mormons reportedly use Ancestry.com, they own it, to posthumously baptize individuals into the Mormon church. Apparently you get to heaven if the Mormon church baptized you after death. They've done it to Anne Frank multiple times.
Joseph Smith was a prophet...(someone finish the Sout Park reference, please)
Sweet ! So I have to do absolutely nothing and I too can be side by side with Jesus and Ol Joe Smith . At least I have that going for me .
Ethnic identity is very cool and all, should certainly be super celebrated by everyone. But I wouldn't get caught too much into it. We're all part of the same human race. There's very little genetic variance in the human DNA structure.
Agreed, 100%.
Odd thing....
My Sis and I were both adopted at/near birth. Raised by 2 of the finest God has ever placed here. We came from 2 entirely different gene pools (she, from Columbus/I, from CLE, although we could pass for blood on viewing).
Since we were little kids, she's been obsessed with her origins. I couldn't care less if I was paid to.
I don't even care for health/longevity reasons, because... -everyone dies of something eventually. Sometimes, it's because one was hit by a bus. For me, 'genetic markers' would be a weight around my neck. I don't know anything about them... and I feel free, as a result.
Back in the early 2000's, Oprah ran a series of "reunion" episodes, wherein long-lost family, separated by adoption, were reunited. It was a huge rage at the time (early DNA/internet years, you know?)
At a dinner party, one of my dearest friends had been caught up in the Oprah thing... and wanted to know why I wasn't at the 'bleeding edge' of such an initiative. She was shocked that I wasn't part of the spearhead movement.
[Mary]: "...but WHY NOT? You have the tools to solve a mystery..." [Clem]: "What mystery?" "Where you came from.... who you are..." "I'm from Cleveland. And I already know who I am." "But-" "Answer me this, Mary- how many parents do you have? "Two." "How many parents did you need?" "Well... two." "How many parents did I have? "Two." "Exactly. It doesn't matter to me if I share blood with My Parents. What's important is that I shared Life with them. They're the only parents I've ever had, the only ones I've ever known... and the only ones I'll ever need. They gave me everything- and because of that, I want for nothing." "But aren't you curious about-" "Nope. My life started when I first opened my eyes to My Mommy and My Daddy. Just like you. I don't care about bloodlines, heredity or potential health and wellness issues. I'm here now... and that's enough for me."
That was almost 20 years ago. My stance has not changed one iota.
I admit that my situation is unique, but it also lends itself to a certain freedom of identity for me. To be sure, I've adopted My Momz's and Pops' family histories... but I've also always felt free to make of myself what I may, without the pressure of health history/family institution(s) influencing my day-to-day choices. I base my day-to-day life on the teachings that I received from them... but I also make my own way in this world.
I know that My Incubator and My Sperm Donor were both young students in the CLE area at the time of my birth. I know that they were unwed when I arrived. I know that my tan-looking arse came from a couple who didn't look like Barbie and Ken (Barbie? perhaps. Ken- not so much). That's all I've ever known. I assume that my adoption was due to my bi-raciality, waytheF back- in 1956.
________________
I have two things to thank My Incubator for:
1. Carrying me to term 2. Giving me up, so that I could be raised by two of the most giving and loving Human Beings Our Father has ever seen fit to place on this planet.
I started out with less than nothing... and was gifted by God with more than most. To ask or want more from my life just seems like... greed to me. A person who has everything he's ever wanted or needed should not require more from his life.
Oh, I'm sure that there is some heart-wrenching/heart-warming story behind the circumstances that led to my abandonment/embrace, but that story belongs to others' biographies. I'll let The Donor and The Incubator write out "my chapter in their lives" as they see fit.
I'm too busy writing out my own chapters- with 2 Real Parents as central figures in my early chapters.
If I hail from Sweden and Zimbabwe, fine and dandy. If I hail from a dozen other worldwide sources, so be it. It means nothing at all to me.
What matters is who raised me, who I am... and who I make of myself, going forward.
I know that for some, this post reads as me being harsh and bitter, but it really isn't. I write these words from a a dispassionate, detached POV. I make a distinction between Incubators/Doners and Mothers/Fathers because that distinction has been essential in my understanding of Family. It's a distinction that My Sister always struggled with, because she could never make the intellectual separation between a random act of procreation- and a commitment to child-rearing.
Life isn't about blood. Life is about choices.
I choose to ignore the 'unsolved mysteries' regarding my genesis. Because I've already had the best parents a person could want... and because they came from champion American stock.
We're all after contentment, I'm glad to read you've found yours.
PBS did a series hosted by Henry Louis Gates that was wonderfully produced. Here is a 3 minute clip from Maya Rudolph's portion of the show. I didn't want to post an entire show here but Youtube is filled with the clips and full episodes.
Just got my results in from 23andme. Turns out that I'm 69% white. Where do I go to get my maga hat and my polo?
I see no reason to pick on polos. Everyone at my club wears one.
I'm not picking on polos. I actually miss them. I haven't worn a polo without a pop collar since I can remember.
I don't see to many pop up collars. Actually I can't remember ever seeing anyone wear it that way in person.
My 23andme came back and I am 100% Northern European and 81% British Isle's. I don't have a drop of Native American blood, regardless of the family tales to the contrary.
I'll be back in tomorrow to report what it feels like to wear a belt for the first time.