A recording of this talk was aired on 5th February 2021
Debbie’s enthusiasm for the subject of DNA is apparent and she is well able to describe it in layman’s terms. It’s a complicated subject to write about, with a whole new vocabulary, hence attending her talk which included a presentation, with graphs and trees, is to be recommended.
Debbie suggested using more than one DNA service, if you can, as the results will often differ. This is because each company has a different client base to match your DNA test against. Plus, some companies are more concentrated in certain regions of the world than others. Also, genealogy is not the prime focus of all DNA testing companies as some concentrate more on health.
Debbie uses 5 testing companies herself:
Ancestry DNA
23andMe
Living DNA
MyHeritage DNA
FamilyTree DNA.
She advised that if you are not able to use more than one DNA testing company then you should go for one with a high number of clients.
Debbie outlined her findings from the 5 companies she uses and her thoughts on their strength and weaknesses. She said some are picking up on migration patterns, whilst others are lagging behind and others improving their results overtime. 23andMe do not cover as many regions as AncestryDNA which currently has the most users of all the DNA testing companies Debbie has used.
Debbie explored the various DNA test reports she had received and the Family History matches against her researched tree. She advised us not to take too seriously some of the lower-level matches. She said you can switch off very low percentage matches in order to concentrate on the better matches and advised us to do that.
Matches will get watered down through generations and the further back in time you are matched the less likely it’s going to be a good match. By the time you get beyond 6th cousins the percentage of finding a good DNA match is remote. Debbie also cautioned that there can be false matches where a parent and child don’t match but should. However, you can link your DNA results to your Ancestry tree, which can remain private, and search for potential ancestor matches four generations back.
Debbie had invited members to send in questions prior to her talk and ended with graphs and images to explain her answers.
Report by Tricia Baxter