I have received a number of questions about the results from my DNA test. Some are as general as what kind of information do they give you and some were specific like “How could you tell who your father was”.
Let’s start with some of the basic information. When you receive your results there are three columns of information. The first is Genetic Ancestry that includes Ethnicity estimates and Genetic Communities. The second is the DNA matches and the third column is the DNA Circles.
The Ethnicity Estimates provides you with the famous pie chart, more specifically the percentage of Ethnicity regions. The genetic communities provides you with an over view of the history and a map of the migration path.
The Ethnicity Estimates were, for the most part, pretty close to what I had figured. As far as my research goes back I believed I would have a high percentage of Irish, Scottish and British. This is 66% of my totals. What I did find surprising is the amount of Scandinavian (17%) and Iberian Peninsula (11%) . I now have to comb through my tree to see who may have contributed to these numbers. I am curious because one last name origins are from Germany and I have 0% for Europe West but have a 4% for Europe East. I have added this to my list of questions to be answered.
My genetic community did not come as a surprise to me but someone who might not have a lot of research experience might not know where their people were from. I love the history that Ancestry provides you along with a migration map. My genetic community is that of the ‘Early Settlers of the Lower Midwest & Virginia”. My family was predominantly in the Virginia and Carolinas until after the Revolution. They then headed towards Tennessee and Kentucky. During the Civil War some ventured into Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. After the war most moved farther west into Missouri and Kansas. This is where they put down their final roots and have been since just before the turn of the century.
The DNA matches are what helped me solve my question of who my father was. While I think everyone can use this information to answer similar questions, I had a bit of an advantage. I knew my biological sister did her DNA test and I knew going in the two names of who might be my father.
Now until this test we did not know if my sister was a half-sister or if we shared both parents. We share a mother and she was my top match with a confidence of extremely high. (Each match is ranked not only in your ancestry relation first cousin, second cousin; there is also a bar that indicates the confidence level of that match. As a known sibling I assumed that she would be my first or near first match.
I speculate after the fact, that the only way to have a higher match is to have a sibling that shares both parents.
I took this bit of information and mapped the connections. I started by opening all our shared matches. Each one took me to a name on our maternal side. This signaled to me that there is something that we don’t share. So I opened every one of her matches and listed how she was connected. I then proceeded to do the same for my matches. This mapping proved that while we share maternal matches we do not share a paternal match.
Once I made the discovery I did make an adjustment to my tree. I had been working both gentleman’s family’s for a few months and so I was able to make a finally adjustment as to what my father’s name was. While I had been researching both lines this for me was a big move. It took me a few days to actually make the adjustment to my tree.
The DNA Circles take individuals that are already in your family tree and maps / connects you to other decedents of that individual. Because of how DNA is shared or not shared you may or may not match individuals in the circle. One example of mine is for PVT Erastus Dugan. There are 5 members (Probable descendants) but I only match 3 of them.
Currently I have 11 DNA circles and all are linked to my paternal side which confirms my discovery in the DNA matches section. When I first received my results I also had circles for my maternal line. One day I clicked in and found that circles were no longer there. The circles can and probably will grow as more take the DNA test and fill in their trees.
The only explanation I can think of is that I did make some changes to my tree once I ascertained who my biological father was. However that did not affect the Walker line as that is my maternal side. So the question still remains where did those DNA circles go?
I know I have not even scratched the surface of all the information that has been provided. The thought of what else might be hiding in all this data is both exciting and daunting at the same time!
