Finding out where your ancestors are from

faringdon

Hi,

Do you know if the below are cosha for sending money to them to see where your ancestors are from?….Or how you know if they are safe?

MyHeritageDNA

AncestryDNA

LivingDNA

GenesReunited

FamilyTreeDNA.

How do i know if any of these are safe to send money to?…if one is giving ones bank details then its needed to know its not a scam.

Baldytyke88

This is the Ancestry site, not a scam. Very good for UK residents to trace their ancestors, but not the cheapest.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/c/dna/offer/?stay&preview=true&o_xid=81657&o_lid=81657&o_sch=Paid+Search+Brand&ancid=tzyfpz5bwq&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=8732341387&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8JPVBhD-ARIsAO691sHKlHGY5GWarY4hu0PsgSuoSK8rsjbAXGQDsNVXYqr2qw7iIsQgHj0aAl-PEALw_wcB

marcia_

I use my heritage it has more records I feel and I got further than I did on ancestry. I'm back to the 1700s. Ancestry and my heritage at least are totally legitimate and you get what you pay for.

StewedApple

Generally you will find your ancestors are probably from Africa at some point, that your family has always been poor or that you were once wealthy, that there are criminals somewhere in your ancestry, and that you are related to someone famous by about six removes, and that at some point some of your family emigrated/immigrated.

marcia_

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82134734#Comment_82134734

I have found family secrets with my grandmother but have nobody to ask about them since they have all passed

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82134734#Comment_82134734

plus that at least one of your ancestors was illegitimate….

But the OP seems to be looking for DNA testing (e.g. ancestryDNA) to show heritage rather than tracking back their actual ancestors via records

pseudodox

Ancestry DNA tests are pricier than others but several times a year they have good offers, so worth waiting for. They are not scammers (nor are the others) but they are only good value if you are prepared to do research based on results. Ancestry have the biggest database of tests & through connections I have made I have got back into 1500s by collaboration with distant cousins around the world.

It's not as easy as it looks on TV - you have to work at it to make progress & sift out the online rubbish that people add to their trees just because names match. A WW1 soldier age 117? A woman still giving birth in 1700s in her 70s & 80s? Children of someone who had died age 4?

Grumpelstiltskin

ok where your ancestors are from. this is what Ancestry tells me.

• England
  • Southeastern England & Northwestern Europe62%
  • West Midlands19%
  • Devon & Somerset4%
  • North East England3%
• Celtic & Gaelic
  • Southern Wales5%
  • Northern Wales & North West England3%
  • Central Scotland & Northern Ireland2%
• Western Europe
  • Northwestern Germany2%

To find any more requires hard work.

Oh and if as you will find out there were illegitimate ancestors and you have no idea who their fathers were then you have extremely little chance.

Newbie_John

Ancestry DNA has half price deals on black Friday either directly or via Amazon (check both).

They decent imo, havent used other websites so cant tell.

strawb_shortcake

Someone I work with used one, not sure which and it linked her to a family she had no knowledge of. Turned out there were two potential Dad's when her Mum found out she was pregnant and who she thought was her Dad wasn't.

Grumpelstiltskin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82135310#Comment_82135310

Oh yes, you have to be prepared to find out everything was not as you thought it was. Luckily for me the closest relative I have found was my uncle who had fathered at least three children as well as the 6 he fathered with his wife. ( I say at least as 3 have done DNA test and you wonder how many more haven't done a DNA test )