Is there any point in having one of those DNA tests done?

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Just wondered if anyone has done one of those Ancestry type DNA tests and if they produce any worthwhile results, or are they a waste of money?
I was born before my mother married. My birth fathers name is not on my birth certificate although I know the town he is from. I was adopted by the man my mother married. But I also know I have a sister out there and she has children. She was also born before marriage but unlike me she was given up for adoption.
Ive been thinking of trying to trace her but have very little to go on so wondered if there is any point in doing one of these DNA tests.
Has anyone used one and would you recommend giving it a go?
I was born before my mother married. My birth fathers name is not on my birth certificate although I know the town he is from. I was adopted by the man my mother married. But I also know I have a sister out there and she has children. She was also born before marriage but unlike me she was given up for adoption.
Ive been thinking of trying to trace her but have very little to go on so wondered if there is any point in doing one of these DNA tests.
Has anyone used one and would you recommend giving it a go?
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Am I expecting too much from the tests?
Lewis Carroll
It's probably a good idea to start by joining the Adoption Contact Register Adoption records: The Adoption Contact Register - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) as if your sister was looking for her birth family she might also register there.
There are people on Ancestry who didn't know that one or more of their parents wasn't biologically related until they tested and have no close relatives on the database to help guide them. Two of my more interesting matches joined 18 months and over two years after I did. It's taken time to work out the connections. In both cases, someone related to the match had an undeclared relationship outside marriage.
So you might find nothing initially, and then some-one pops up who is closely related. Or not.
It would be really good to test yourself and someone on your mother's side of the family. And to do a bit of research so that you know her family at least back as far as your great grandparents. www.familysearch.org. and www.gro.gov.uk are both free and useful, as is freeBMD, if you are looking in England or Wales. Your local history library may have free access to Ancestry or findmypast.
I realised very early on how two "matching" 2nd cousins fitted in to my tree, because I'd done enough research. The shared matches with them identified other people on the same side of the family. Which gave me clues as where not to look when sorting out the other close matches who weren't related to them.
If your mother is still alive test her, as most of the people with whom you don't share a match are related to your father. If she's not alive or interested, and you've a half-sibling from her marriage, or a cousin on her side, you share 25% DNA on average. Which means that the people who don't share a match with both of you , on average are twice as likely to be related to your father as your mother. You just put a little coloured dot next those related to your mother and concentrate on the others to find your father's relatives.
And it may also help to search for those people whose family trees mention the town he lived in, then check their trees. Some of the ancestors lived there in 16C, but others may have been resident there last century and worth exploring.
And you can download your DNA from Ancestry as a zipfile and upload it into other databases to extend your search. They may offer free uploads occasionally, or you can pay a reasonable one-off fee. Some people are on multiple sites, but you can find additional matches who aren't on Ancestry.
And do make sure your attach your results to an email address you use regularly, or forward to your phone, so you pick up that alert in 3 years time. I actually got a reply from someone today who I messaged in March 2019!