Posted on 01/24/2020 7:45:05 PM PST by bgill
Both are customers.
Precisely.
If your family has been in the US for generations, go to your local public library and ask for their password to their Share site (or whatever it’s called where you are) that has Heritage Quest, etc. That’s where the US Census is. There are other sites to find random census records but this one is easy and more complete. When you find your family on the census, do a search of that county’s records for them.
http://www.usgenweb.org/ has genealogical records by state and county.
https://www.rootsweb.com/ is good to find them but much of their info has been sent to Ancestry.com which charges a fee. However, Ancestry does have free trials so get as much stuff together as you can so you can use the free trial wisely.
Request whatever access or help from the libraries in the areas your family lived. Don’t just look in one particular county but the surroundings counties as well because it may have been closer to travel to the neighboring county to do their business. And be aware county and state lines were constantly changing.
Or just google your names.
I almost ordered this for my wife who was adopted and knows nothing of her history. However, reviews made it seem like all it does is tell you “your ancestors are from western and/or central Europe”, or some such generality.
One is people who only want to know their ethnicity.
I have a cousin who has spread the part Indian bs for years. When I, based on the science of DNA, told the family we have zero Indian ancestors, she got po'd at me. We now don't speak. But that's okay she's a CommiecRAT lib.
The other is people actively working on their genealogy. For this later group fake names hinder placing DNA matches into the tree.
I agree with that.
Sent you a PM
But folks could say “Somewhere in our tree is a Jojo Dogfaceboy.”
How cool would that be? joking of course.
I did not think the results of a standard kit were so precise as to say so and so is related...learn something everyday...
I'm a little different than most researchers as Uncle provided me some training. My time as a process server helps too.
The relationships fall within relationship ranges.
Example: Two of my grandson's cM (centimorgan) relationship range falls within the range for being, grandchildren, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, or half sibling of me.
It's not perfect however. My stepdaughters match with her mother is just short of being a parent/child relationship. They fell within the full sibling range.
To me it would be interesting to check their honesty. My paternal family have info all the way back to Switzerland in 1744 when Hans & Anna with 4 children left their little village, to work their way across Europe, eventually shipping out of Rotterdam, and landing in Philadelphia in Nov. 1750. But like you, I’m not giving them my DNA. Blessings.
Your wife will be matched to others who have tested, and opted in to matching relatives. This is for both ancestry and 23&me. Ancestry has the larger data base of the 2.
I’m in a lot of adoptee groups, and as time goes on, more and more adoptees are getting close matches, 1st cousins, half siblings, grandparents, etc. Used to be you felt lucky if you got a 4th cousin match.
I think the downturn for 23&me is over saturation. There’s only so many people and their going to test once.
Ancestry has the public record database and family tree thing going for them, so I think that will keep them going strong for awhile.
If your wife wishes to find her bio family, ancestry is the way to go. If she’s looking for health history only, 23&me might be better.
She can also upload to promethease and get a much more comprehensive health report.
Best wishes whatever she chooses.
OMG don’t tell me about the fake names. I have a fairly high match, no tree, only has a weird user name. My working theory is that she is the granddaughter of a cousin who was adopted out, who in turn adopted out a child. She has not responded to my generic greeting and message.
For the longest time my highest match was a 1st cousin, 1st initial and last name. Private tree. Did not respond to any messages despite logging in frequently. I finally figured him out, he was a kept son of my maternal bio aunt who was adopted by his step father. That was why I couldn’t find him in the CA birth index.
You may want to check the newest update on ethnicity. My husband’s great grandparents were native American, but his ethnicity estimates didn’t show it. The most recent update now has the appropriate amount of north American native American. He also has showing a significant amount of central American Indian showing from his fathers Hispanic side.
I also don’t really want to know.
It would be a shame if I found I was part ‘Black’ as I feel I would be upset that I am not a star NBA player.
Then again, if I were to have a smidgeon of Indian in me, I may have become a pResidential candidate.
Then again, I could get in line and receive my reparations.
Then then again, I was raised to believe I am of Irish heritage and we all know what the snooty Johnsons thought of the Irish in ‘Blazing Saddles’.
Sometimes you are better off not knowing...
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