Blank ancestral information

[Ludie]

It seems the majority of the results I have give no information whatsoever. What's the point of having your DNA done if you don't provide anything to match up to others with. Or "private trees". Maybe someone can explain this kind of thinking -it's beyond me.

[dna]

It seems the majority of the results I have give no information whatsoever. What's the point of having your DNA done if you don't provide anything to match up to others with. Or "private trees". Maybe someone can explain this kind of thinking -it's beyond me.

Some possible reasons:

• Looking only and only for a specific match.
• Disappointed by initial results.
• Late realization that by default there is no privacy in genealogy.

Mr W

[loobster]

Additional Reasons:
Simply trying to confirm suspected Matches
and/or
They do have some info presented on the Kit of themselves -
-- but
the Kits Family did as a favor to them, so they can check
against for relatives in common, etc. -
those they have left blank, respecting the privacy
of the relatives who were kind enough to provide DNA.

[Ludie]

Issues with matchdes & no ancestral information

All of those reasons may be true. However I'm not talking about a couple but the majority. Just makes no sense to me.

[DaveInGreece]

I'm one of the guilty ones! The family tree here is too restrictive and not very informative. I've given a long list of surnames and locations and that should be enough to indicate where connections are likely.

I have never found anything here via a tree, only via surnames, locations, and/or shared DNA matches.

[Ludie]

Blank ancestry information

Oh I agree. I have been surprised to find the matches that have proven out have been on my father's side maternal lines. I'd been led to believe it would only be on my maternal lines. So that was a nice benefit.

But my peeve is for people who don't even list one surname or location. Well, on the bright side I guess it narrows down the options because I just ignore those.

[dna]

A special case of disappointment with initial results:

somebody has a Family Finder test to find a missing cousin (or a missing line), and finds more than a couple of thousands of cousins and hundreds of lines...

Mr W

[Ludie]

Bank ancestral info

What kind of test is that? I have two "grandmas" that are brick walls. My very very best match gave adopted parent name in the information I later learned after 2nd conversation. Once I learned his real father's name someone had it back into the 1600s but I still couldn't find where we matched up.

[Doublemartini]

Of course, it could well be that the reason they are having a DNA test done is because they are adopted or do not know their ancestral lines (or know them to be false), in which case putting up inaccurate info can be seriously misleading. A bigger bugbear are all the folk that do not respond to e-mails. No idea whether they've lost interest, passed away, changed their e-mail address or just do not understand DNA testing only works by comparison, as has been said already.

[Ludie]

Blank ancestral information

I would believe that if it weren't so many. More likely I guess they either don't know how to or prefer/scared to show any "personal" information online.

[The_Contemplator]

I was looking on this site's reviews of FTDNA and thought of this thread. For example one negative review states:

...I was not interested in finding additional family nor connecting with anyone with similar DNA. What I wanted was to know specifically where my ancestors came from 10-20 generations ago. Don’t waste your money. ...

I haven't even bothered to read the positive reviews as the negative ones give you more insight as to why some FTDNA customers don't bother coming back.

[Ludie]

Blank ancestral information

Thank you for the input. Being a newbie I'm still finding my way around the forums. That said my answer to someone expecting pinpoint origins with DNA should have done their research on the process before they tried DNA. That said I wonder if the majority of persons not providing ancestral names may be simply not knowing how to use the FT website or not caring enough to provide names. Again, why bother doing DNA? To each his own.

Ludie

[jsarnacki]

I am among the guilty (usually, I think I have a few trees up). One reason... this site is a pain to use for the family tree. I don't like it. Also don't like how I have to upload a separate tree for each of my 8 kits. Then there is an issue of privacy: yes, I want to do genealogy but I need to protect the privacy of those tested. And last, I need to protect the research, some of which was mine, some is from other family members. I promised not to publish their trees when they shared with me. Oh, and my extensive tree not only clutters the entire site if I do an easy upload of my existing gedcom and contains way too many living individuals. If I bread it down to ancestor trees, then I am doing double/triple the work to share those trees. Beyond those reasons, I am very annoyed with how many people request information from me, but then don't reciprocate. Way too many people expect the people they contact to solve THEIR mystery, then don't answer your questions. I find that beyond infuriating. I am tired of them taking the information when I get nothing in return. This research needs to be more mutually beneficial for all involved.

[Ludie]

Blank ancestral information

I can see you have your good reasons. Especially keeping living people private. I only uploaded deceased. Have only had one person tell me I needed to sign up for the database that shares across FamilySearch, Ancestry, etc. Fine. Didn't want her for a relative anyway. lol. Others I've contacted & shared with have been very nice. That said they've been very few due simply to lack of information on our matches. No way I can tell what surname we MIGHT share at all. Merry Christmas & good searching to you.