8 Reasons Why You Should Try Ancestry DNA
If you recall my last my blog about why you should try out 23 & Me, you will recall why I find these DNA testing companies so fascinating. It’s not that they’ve themselves are fascinating, it’s what you can uncover by using these facilities.
As someone with a perpetual need to seek and learn, I wanted to try out both of these DNA services and compare the findings. Genealogy is something I find to be increasingly fascinating. Ancestry has been around for quite sometime, but have only began DNA testing since 2012.
I have tried 23&Me DNA testing, now I wanted to give Ancestry DNA a try.
Here are eight reasons why you should also try Ancestry DNA
1. Put Faces to Names
It is common in some southern households, like mine, to a family bible that logs generations of marriages and births that can easily go back many decades. Whenever my mother and I would look through the dozens of names and dates, we would often be wondering what our descendants looked like.
Of course we had family photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents and the generations that spawned from them, but nothing of the generations before them.
My mother’s side of the family have written records that go back close to 200 years, but we only have pictures that go back to right after WWI at the oldest. Granted, photography has only been widely available since the mid-to-late 1800s for the average citizen.
Ancestry DNA allows you to access their database that gives you access to photos of those names written in your family records.
It has long been suspected that we are descended from Native Americans on my maternal grandmother’s side. Through Ancestry, we were able to find a photo of her great-grandparents and our (great-great) grandfather was confirmed to be 100% Native American-likely Cherokee.
2. See Ancestral Timelines
One really cool aspect of using AncestryDNA that, to my knowledge, other DNA services don’t have is seeing a timeline of when your ancestors migrated.
According to AncestryDNA’s database, my DNA story in the United States began around 1700 when some of my ancestors from the UK, Ireland, and somewhere in France and Germany wanted a piece of that new world pie.
What is especially telling about this aspect of AncestryDNA is that they break down what could be the reasoning behind the migration.
For instance, my German ancestors were likely starved into a situation where they could wait and till another fruitless harvest because of drought, or they could forge their own to a life of their own in the new world. I can’t say I would have done much differently if I were in their shoes.
3. Discover Specific Ancestors
One thing that Ancestry DNA has that sets it apart from other DNA services is its ability to find specific ancestors through their genealogy research data base. While using their DNA services exclusively won’t likely lead to any historical ancestors just in and of itself, it will lead to family trees by linking your DNA profile to other members.
Ancestry’s whole thing was and is about building and connecting family trees and linking ancestors. And by doing so, you might be surprised about who you will find in your family tree.
My aunt has both done used Ancestry data bases and their DNA services to create our expansive family tree. Upon researching down our family tree, she found a relative that history has come to know very well. Our 12th/13th (respectively) great aunt is Pocahontas. Our direct descendant (12/13th great-grandmother) is Cleopatra of the Powhatan Tribe. Cleopatra was the sister that accompanied Pocahontas to England.
Wow! How often do find your relatives in history books.
4. Get Updated Records of Your DNA Profile
Every so often, AncrestryDNA updates their ever expanding database and will offer updates on your DNA profile. This is a process to fine tune their results to give you the most accurate results to your DNA profile.
I have had AncrestyDNA for right at a year now, and they have updated my results once. No drastically major changes, just a little bit more here than there in some touching countries.
5. Reconnect with Unknown Relatives
As I previously mentioned, Ancestry’s whole thing is about connect family trees. But it’s kind of hard to start where you don’t have a clue as to who you are related to outside of your own family. That’s where AncestryDNA gives you a helping hand.
When you do DNA testing through Ancestry, your DNA is compared to other member’s DNA profiles to look for familiar DNA to build your family tree.
AncestryDNA updates me weekly on new relatives they found using my DNA profile.
6. Ancestry allows you to see where your ancestors are buried on the map.
I think this is super neat!
On the Ancestry app, when you go to your family tree, you are able to see where your ancestors are buried on the world map. Granted this only applies to relatives you have listed on your family tree.
7. Find Handwritten Accounts
This is what is on almost every Ancestry commercial. But for a very good reason.
There is something so special about finding handwritten accounts on your ancestors tangible existence. Whether it be from marriage, birth, or death certificates, census records, or letters written to and from loved ones, that could be the only physical piece of proof of their existence.
8. You get to learn more about your ancestral roots.
All DNA services gives you this advantage, but it’s still important to learn about. At least to me it is.
Learning about where you’re from is such a crucial tool in creating who you want to be. You may feel drawn towards somethings in life that can’t really explain. You weren’t raised around what you are interested in, you just feel drawn towards it. Like an instinct. AncestryDNA could offer you reasons why you feel the way that you do.
Ancestry not only shows you what countries your ancestors are from, but they also show specific regions and cities of where they likely lived, as well as places that are a possibility.
I have always felt like I was born on the wrong side of the pond. I have also felt more strongly connected to my English roots than anything else. So I wasn’t shocked in the slightest when most of my DNA came back English. Bid shocker.
There are many more reasons to try out AncestryDNA than just eight. You have a lot more options to access Ancestry’s database, but you have to pay for access. (And I didn’t want to have to pay at this time).
Like 23&Me, AncestryDNA also has genetic health testing, as well as testing for genetic traits.
As of right now, November 10, 2021, AncestryDNA is currently on sale for $59.99. Give the gift of discover to yourself and your loved one this holiday season.