Just had the ancestry dna done... and was surprised by the results. Before I start "questioning" family members - does anyone know what the accuracy statistics are of this dna test? Any advice would be appreciated.

I don't have an answer for you, but I was surprised myself. I found the DNA testing placed me in regions I have no knowledge of via family lore. Also, I was not placed in the areas my family told me we came from.

I'm going to add feedback via the BETA feedback option. I'm very new to ancestry.com and haven't got a family tree up nor much time to do it now, but I am interested in following this particular discussion.

thanks for starting it,
elianna james

Hi Eliannaji....The parts of my family that aren't under a mystery came out right on with the dna results. I have some mysteries that I hoped the dna results would solve... it however only intensified the mystery. I also left a feedback message about the dna testing - asking about the accuracy stats. If I hear anything before you do - I'll post it. And you do the same, please? Thanks.
-Terri

Will do, Terri

Mysteries are what make this interesting, right?

elianna

I just went to the FAQ section and typed it "how does the dna test work"... and it explained the science behind the results. Some was hard to digest. Here's the link: http://ancestry.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5479/kw...

See what you think of it.

I don't know, Terri, maybe I just don't have the scientific grounding in this area that would enable me to interpret the findings. It is curious to me when they say that "maybe your father is 50% Italian, but you might be anywhere from 0% to 50% Italian in your ethnicity".

Still puzzled. I wonder if my kids got the tests done what the results would be. I think, like all tech advances we have to take this with a few grains of salt. Did you get any results that you expected?
elianna

The percentages themselves might be reasonably accurate, but what they actually mean is questionable. The labels Ancestry arbitrarily assigned to the various components are misguided and far too specific to be of any real use. And nowhere have they listed their reference populations or adequately explained the methodology for their analysis.

Also, keep in mind these components could signify recent ancestry or much further back than any written records exist.

Yes - the science was hard... i think some of it was over my pay grade. :)

My father is un-willing to have the test done as he doesn't want to address any discrepancies... it seems I have hit a wall with him. I may never be able to solve the mystery. Oh well. From what I can understand - I believe my results to be accurate. I think that some deceased relatives in the family tree were maybe not totally honest about where they came from. In my case a great grandfather claims to have been from Mexico - but I am not seeing that in my dna. In 1900 they may have had to be dishonest in order to get papers or immigration status or ????

I will plod on and do the best I can.
-Terri

You will have to think about deeper ancestry to make sense of your findings. Unless you are of Indian or Asian descent, "being from Mexico" means your ancestors are from somewhere else. Mexico was settled by Europeans in the recent (1000 years) past. Therefore, having an ancestor from Mexico may be geography and not genealogy. My father was born in Mexico as were his ancestors as far back as the 1600's. His DNA is J2 - Mediterranean. It is not a mistake. I just have to trace his paternal line back farther to find where they came from. They were probably from Spain, but where were they before they settled in Spain? Whoever wrote that the mysteries are the fun of genealogy is right. Have fun while you learn. Remember, DNA can confirm a paper trail, but it is no substitute for research.

Thank you romero89 - that is almost the first thing I've read that I've been able to understand! geography vs. genealogy.... what a concept. Thank you so much!!!!
-Terri