Beginner Dna Analysis questions

[Kiisa]

Hi! I had my initial dna testing done through National Geographic. Transferred my results to FTDNA...I'm somewhat perplexed. The HVR1, HVR2, coding matches do not match the nationalities I was told I had....the ones I have do match my dad's side (I am a female), and there is one nationality that caught me by surprise! Now.....does this mean someone was adopted? Any help is appreciate as I am totally new to this!
Thanks!
Debb

[Kathy Johnston]

Hi! I had my initial dna testing done through National Geographic. Transferred my results to FTDNA...I'm somewhat perplexed. The HVR1, HVR2, coding matches do not match the nationalities I was told I had....the ones I have do match my dad's side (I am a female), and there is one nationality that caught me by surprise! Now.....does this mean someone was adopted? Any help is appreciate as I am totally new to this!
Thanks!
Debb

The HVR1 and HVR2 are part of the mitochondrial line. That is your mother's mother's mother's (all maternal) line only. That represents only a very tiny part of your overall DNA and could go back thousands of years. Many people are surprised by the distant migration paths of this unilateral line. No, don't think you are adopted. You may prefer a different test like Family Finder for more recent genealogy. Never take these nationalities too seriously.

[Kiisa]

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately I cannot purchase the family tree dna kit...they do not accept Canadians....same with ancestry.

What I meant in someone being adopted is....my grandmother had her birth certificate registered 1.5 yrs after her birth......and 3 months after her brother was born......that's why I was suspicious about the adoption and the different nationalities.

Debb

[prairielad]

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately I cannot purchase the family tree dna kit...they do not accept Canadians....same with ancestry.

What I meant in someone being adopted is....my grandmother had her birth certificate registered 1.5 yrs after her birth......and 3 months after her brother was born......that's why I was suspicious about the adoption and the different nationalities.

Debb

FTDNA ships kits to Canada ($99 USD), I had 14 kits shipped here and processed.

https://www.familytreedna.com/

Ancestry.ca also has started shipping to Canada ($149 CDN)

Edit
You should be able to click on your Upgrade button and upgrade your Geo transfer (they may sent out new test kit)

[Kiisa]

Thanks! That is new...

[dna]

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately I cannot purchase the family tree dna kit...they do not accept Canadians....same with ancestry.

What I meant in someone being adopted is....my grandmother had her birth certificate registered 1.5 yrs after her birth......and 3 months after her brother was born......that's why I was suspicious about the adoption and the different nationalities.

Debb

Of course FTDNA accepts Canadians! There are like less than a dozen of countries in the entire world they do not ship to.

Use the upgrade button in the top right cornet, and for easiest handling use a credit card.

W. (Mr.)

[Kiisa]

Thanks! One question though...when I order the upgrade...is the test taken from the analysis they already have or do they send a kit to my house for further analysis? Sooo many questions...lol
Debb

[dna]

Thanks! One question though...when I order the upgrade...is the test taken from the analysis they already have or do they send a kit to my house for further analysis? Sooo many questions...lol
Debb

A transfer from National Geographic, as you wrote yourself, was only a transfer of your results. You would get a new collection kit from FTDNA.

W. (Mr.)

P.S.
When shipping back to FTDNA, select an option that allows for the shipment to be tracked. Trust me

[prairielad]

You may be sent out a new kit, depending on if National Geographic sample was transferred also, and if that sample is not adequate to run FTDNA tests

https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/imports/already-tested-genographic-project-can-join-family-tree-dna/

All tests ordered from FTDNA are run from new tests taken from dna swab/sample, not from Geographics results.

[lgmayka]

Ordinarily, FTDNA should be able to run tests on your original National Geographic samples. However, sometimes FTDNA will charge a shipping fee anyway (which they should not). If you see a shipping fee, you might do better to place your order by phone (1-713-868-1438).

As with any FTDNA test, there is always the possibility that your existing samples will be of insufficient quality or quantity to complete the test. If this occurs, FTDNA now sends an email asking for confirmation of your postal address before shipping a new kit. There should be no charge for the kit, although you may have to pay for the return shipment.

[dna]

Ordinarily, FTDNA should be able to run tests on your original National Geographic samples. However, sometimes FTDNA will charge a shipping fee anyway (which they should not). If you see a shipping fee, you might do better to place your order by phone (1-713-868-1438).

As with any FTDNA test, there is always the possibility that your existing samples will be of insufficient quality or quantity to complete the test. If this occurs, FTDNA now sends an email asking for confirmation of your postal address before shipping a new kit. There should be no charge for the kit, although you may have to pay for the return shipment.

There is a charge for shipping to Canada, at least until last year there was... Also the return shipment is not prepaid.

W. (Mr.)

[Darren]

To clarify, there will not be a standard shipping cost if one already has a kit in the system. So if one transfers from the Genographic Project and a new sample is needed a new kit will be sent out with no shipping cost. If a charge does show up please contact us to have it removed.

Return shipping on international orders would be the responsibility of the customer.

-Darren
Family Tree DNA

[Kiisa]

Dna confusion and question

Ok....can someone explain to me why my closest nationality is not showing up in my dna? I am somewhat curious as to why other nationalities are present in my dna results...totally a surprise, and not what I have traced at all
Debb

[dna]

Ok....can someone explain to me why my closest nationality is not showing up in my dna? I am somewhat curious as to why other nationalities are present in my dna results...totally a surprise, and not what I have traced at all
Debb

Dear Debb,

nationalities are new inventions, and the DNA test you took looks at the situation centuries ago.

For example, someone can be a German national, and all four of their grandparents could have been Germans by birth, and at the same time their grandparents DNA could have been Slavic (Central European Slavic), so their DNA would not be of Germanic tribes.

Another one. There is no uniform DNA in the British Isles. After hundreds of years together in relative isolation, distinct components can still be identified. And it is not that everybody has all of them.

However, more importantly, one does not inherit autosomal DNA uniformly from all of the ancestors.

Going back to your mtDNA results. You did not share with us your mtDNA haplogroup, so it is difficult to provide precise support. Nevertheless, even if you are looking only at those who exactly match you in HVR1, HVR2 and Coding Region, your common ancestor could have lived more than 500-1000 years ago, or even earlier...


On the other hand, I have a feeling that you are looking at mtDNA results and you are incorrectly thinking about all of your ancestors, while in reality... mtDNA is shared only from mothers (so your mtDNA would be the same as your mother had, grandmother, great-grandmother and so on). Going back 10 generations, your mtDNA would only belong to 1 of your 1024 ancestors. Memories of her could have been lost through centuries. Or going back 60 generations ago, at that time Roman Empire was huge. Citizens of Rome could have been moved/travelled on assignments from Egypt to Britain, from Spain to Turkey (modern names used). Has any of them married at one location and then moved to another? Has any female from their household who moved with them to a far country stayed behind when they left back for Rome? Etc.

W. (Mr.)

[Kiisa]

My haplogroup is: t2a1....
I'm still a bit confused at your last paragraph. My dna results were russian, italian....which is no where close to the irish immigrants that i have on paper...my great grandmother was born there...and so on.
Debb