I’ve written about Ancestry.com in the past and think it’s a great product for anyone interested in researching and creating a family tree. You can build the tree for free — you’re charged only if you use the service’s databases.
If you want to travel further back in time than you ever imagined, the company also has an "Ancestry DNA" testing service that backtracks countless generations (we’re talking thousands of years), and in doing so, will pinpoint where your distant ancestors came from.
The Ancestry DNA genetic ethnicity map covers 20 regions around the world including the British Isles, West Africa, the Americas, Asia and more.
The test does something else significant: It will take your DNA data and synch it with Ancestry.com’s vast database.
Your genomic data will be compared with others whose DNA has been mapped out. In effect you could be introduced to distant relatives you probably never knew you had.
One of my friends volunteered to be the test case for this piece and he was blown away by the discovery of multitudes of fourth to sixth cousins that he never knew existed.
Ancestry DNA listed dozens of pages of family ranging from second and third cousins (whom he knew) to distant relatives 10 degrees or more removed.
Ancestry DNA, in effect, "rates" the probability of your chances of "relatedness" with varying degrees of "confidence," which helps you identify which matches to focus on. Confidence levels are determined by the amount of common DNA you share with others. The higher the confidence level, the more likely you’ll be closely related.
For example, Ancestry DNA (correctly) pointed out with 99 percent "confidence" that the second and third cousins it found were indeed blood relatives.
The next level down was a gaggle of third to fourth cousins who had a 96 percent chance of being related. These were the people my friend had never heard of.
Even with six to 10 degrees of separation, Ancestry DNA says its tests are "accurately able to predict about 90 percent of the possible relatives that are out there."
If any of the newly found relatives strike your fancy, the program enables you to contact via email anyone with whom you may want to explore your shared genealogy.
Other than finding links to long-lost cousins, the DNA test can point to ancestral origins that one might not imagine. My colleague determined that in addition to his Western European roots, he had 8 percent Persian-Turkish-Caucasus ethnicity. He had no idea that this part of his ancestry even existed.
The test is easy to take. You will be sent a package in the mail that includes a little vial to collect a modest amount of saliva. If you can spit, you can take the test!
Ancestry.com says that its capabilities differ from other tests because it utilizes autosomal testing that covers both the maternal and paternal sides of the family tree.
A team of scientists on staff continuously improves the technology.
Once you take the test, you will continue to receive links to newfound relatives, even if you do not subscribe to the database.
If you are at all curious about your background, doing this a no-brainer. Price is $99.
For a great introduction to the DNA Ancestry visit: dna.ancestry.com.
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Mike Meyer, formerly Internet general manager at Oceanic Time Warner Cable, is chief information officer at Honolulu Community College. Reach him at mmeyer@hawaii.edu.
