The Mysteries, Fun and Gratification of Ancestral DNA Testing

This book (Approx. 8,865 words in length) is not deeply scientific but rather relates the journey (mine) that a person will take generally who is seeking their ancestral history, including learning enough to understand how to interpret their DNA analysis. As I relate in my numbered posts within this book, there can be satisfaction, surprises and at times, disappointments. All of this can happen when one takes a look at the results of ancestral DNA testing. I wrote this informational book in parts over several months, like one might make entries into a diary. What the information will do, is to help other people considering ancestry testing and analyses, to roughly know what to expect from them. Knowing your ancestral background can be tremendously interesting. There are people in America (many) who simply write "Caucasian" or "White" on forms that ask what their ethnicity is. While this may be true, they don't realize that they may have African or Hispanic countries in their ancestral background and possibly some Native American as well. In some cases, a significant percent of their ancestry may have actually come from the Middle East. The same is true of African people in America; they may have more European ancestry in their back ground than they could have ever imagined. So, breaking into those mysteries via scientific DNA testing that is proven to be accurate (although different companies may report analytical findings differently), can actually be fun, important and truly gratifying. Learn more about DNA testing via my compiled, numbered postings. 1. How My First Testing through Ancestry.com Compared to My Known Family History 2. My Reaction to the Analytical Ethnicity Maps 3. My Second DNA Testing through 23andme.com 4. My Complaint about "Southern Europe" and a 23andme Surname Affiliate Site 5. Lowrance History - Some Recent and Some Ancient 6. The Expected Changes coming soon to 23andme.com 7. Discussing Health Issues on the 23andme Forum 8. Do Names on your DNA Relatives Discovery List Change on Occasion (Question directed at me) 9. When I started with GedMatch.com 10. My Expressed Disagreement with 23andme.com over a Key Area Regarding Countries 11. My Favorable Review for 23andme.com