I’ve always had an interest in our family history but never really took the time to do any research since setting up an Ancestry account in 2014. A lot has happened over those 6 years….my husband hit a milestone birthday as will I in a few years and my mother and my in-laws are now in their early 70’s.
My husband and I don’t know much about our family history/ancestry and we haven’t recorded or preserved any information to pass on to our girls. I think it’s important to know your cultural background and where your family came from to help develop a sense of who we are. I don’t want to leave this earth without my girls having this information.
We don’t have any family ancestors documented on my husband’s side so I’ve asked my mother and father in law to fill in an ancestral chart with as much information as they can remember about their parents and grandparents.
On my family’s side we have some information related to my grandfather based on a conversation that my uncle Robert (aka Uncle Bob) had with my grandfather and his aunts and uncles. He recorded this information in a Legacy Life and Times document he created for the MacKie family in 1989.
It is my uncles hope that we will take the time to record more of the history of our family and here we are…31 years later (I guess it’s better late than never). Sorry for being tardy Uncle Bob.
My aunt and one of my brothers have already started filling in our family tree on the Ancestry website so there is a bit more information that’s been collected over the years but there are still lots of missing pieces. They recently took an Ancestry DNA test and my brother sent me two additional kits for myself and our mom.
With an Ancestry kit, DNA is analyzed and it provides a breakdown of your Ethnicity Estimate (by %) as well as DNA matches. Ancestry has a network of DNA members (15 million people in their database and growing) and identifies people who share the same DNA as you. It even predicts the type of relationship that you have with that person (i.e. possible 1-2nd cousin, 3-4th cousin etc.). We purchased a kit for my daughter as a Christmas gift last year and we were able to make a few interesting family discoveries that I will share in another blog post.
The DNA kit was easy to use and it didn’t require any uncomfortable extractions of samples, just a small amount of spit. I’ve heard that one of the tests to collect a specimen for Covid-19 (the nasopharyngeal swab) involves the health care provider inserting a flexible swab deep into the back of the nose. There was no gagging involved for our DNA test.
This is how easy it is to take an Ancestry DNA test…
Once the sample is received by the lab, it takes 6-8 weeks for the results to be made available through your account on the the Ancestry website.
Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post once I have my test results back!!
Have you taken an ancestry DNA kit? Were you surprised or shocked by the results? Please share in the comments section below.
is a Canadian lifestyle and travel blogger, sharing stories, information and resources about family travel and everyday family life.
I just bought one of these… Very excited to see my results!
That’s great! 6-8 weeks to process seems like forever but it’s worth the wait.
I know this Ancestry testing is very popular right now. My husband and I have talked about doing it. Looking forward to hearing about your results!
I can’t wait for the results…stay tuned for a follow-up blog post 🙂
My daughter wants to do this. She also wants to do one that includes what diet works best with her DNA. I have been researching these. Interested in your results! thanks for sharing how easy they are to use.
You’re welcome!
I’ve done both Ancestry DNA and 23andMe DNA, it is interesting how they both have different data. But if you have some family history to pair with it… that makes it all so much more interesting. Thanks for sharing this!
You’re welcome Yvette! I’ve been thinking about taking the 23andMe test for the health data.
This is so interesting. I did not know exactly how it worked.
It is very interesting! Thanks for stopping by and reading this blog post Douglas!
My husband took this test. I think I will buy one and find out a little more about my ancestors.
That’s great Lisa! Thanks for reading this blog post.
I used a different company when I got a DNA test for my husband and his sisters. There were trying to trace their Native American heritage, which they knew was back on their grandmother’s side. They were a little disappointed when none came back – it was all European countries.
Charlene…for the Ancestry DNA kit, it is an estimated ethnicity. If you still think that there might be Native American heritage you might want to try a different DNA test to see if it shows any more specific results.
Really interesting… I have been thinking about doing this for a while. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Kate!
I love this and did the DNA test already. As time passed my DNA results have changed though! I was kind of bummed. Now I will just be visiting England if I go by my DNA test and I have already been there. Not as exciting as my initial results which included Eastern Europe, The Caucus Mountains and the Middle East! lol
Tricia – I didn’t realize that DNA results can change over time? This is interesting.
My husband did this and it is sooo interesting. I want to do it and give one to each of my children, too. I’ve already started my tree on ancestry. So, it will be nice to see what changes/additions can be made.
Laura – when we received my daughter’s results back we were able to fill in a few missing pieces on our tree so it’s been very helpful.
My grandma who just passed away at 80 was Japanese (dads side). My grandfather was Filipino (moms side). I do have a lot of questions that I want to be answered and think I will go ahead and get a kit for myself.
Jennifer – I’m sorry to hear about your grandma. We found my daughter’s kit helpful in solving a few questions about our tree that we had so it might help you with the answers you are looking for.
I’ve been wanting to do this so bad! I especially would like my husband to do it, he doesnt have any information on his heritage!
Sydney – you could purchase him a kit for him. Our daughter was thrilled when she received hers.
How cool! My dad has had some ancestry software for probably 20 years now and has tracked an absurd amount of our family history – basically everyone since the first family member came over from Germany in the 1800s. He even has some lineage traced back to King Henry VIII and Charlemagne. It is cool to see how it all comes together because you can input any person’s name and it’ll tell you your common ancestor.
Wow! That’s dedication to go all the way back to the 1800’s! My husband’s family is from Germany so I’d love to have more information from that side!
I purchased one of these kits awhile back but never used it. I just found it while I was cleaning out my basement, over two years later. I wonder if it is still “good.”
Danielle…you should contact them and see if it would still be fine to use. I’m not sure if there are expiry dates on DNA kits. I love it when I clean and find things I have forgotten about-LOL
Cool post! I’m confused about how these work, exactly…my brother and my sister each did one, and came up with different results! That surprised me; I’m thinking about doing it to, to see if I match one of them.
Hi Suz…from what I know about DNA, siblings (unless identical twins) will have different results – each sibling shares roughly 50% of their DNA with each other and it won’t be the same. It would be interesting to see how it would be shared between 3 siblings.
We did this last year and loved it! We weren’t super surprised by anything, but it’s still so neat to see. Now our daughters want to do it.
Thanks for reading my post Magan. Sometimes no surprises can be a good thing!
So . . . I just got off the phone with a friend who is going to meet a relative next week, as a result of her DNA test results. AND I have 2 kits here in my home home that I ordered months ago, but haven’t used them yet. I think it’s time to use these kits and learn more about my ancestory. Thanks for the step-by-step guide. Now I know more of how to do this and what to expect. Good luck with your results!! Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome Annette! That’s really exciting for your friend! You should go ahead and get the kits done and sent off 🙂
I’ve been curious to try one of these out!
Alexis – let me know if you have any questions about the kit!
I’ve always wanted to try this!
Leeandra – you should!!
I have always been interested in doing something like this. And I know there are a few family members on both sides that do look into it and share with me. It would be very cool to see how far back we can go.
It is very interesting to see how far back we can go to find ancestors – thanks for reading Stephanie!
I absolutely love ancestral stuff, it’s so so fascinating to me. I’m very mixed and multiracial, and I knew where a lot of my ancestral lineage is from, but not everything so I did one of these kits too. Can’t wait to hear about the followup!
Jessica – that’s great. Have you received the results back yet?
My in-laws just did this and excited to see their results. They will compare to their siblings and I am sure get a mix of results.
That’s great Angela. Thanks for reading my blog post.
I find this history lesson about ourselves super cool! My ancestry is well documented by family on both sides already, but I love learning about historical figures.
Me too Barbara – it’s all very interesting 🙂
I want to get a kit for my grandmother. She is my last living grandparent and I’d love for her to be able to get to see her results.
That’s a great idea Sara!
Good step by step procedure instructions. I did this last year, and so happy to be discovering more about my ancestors!
Thanks Roselyn!
Will be interesting to hear your results. I’ve been wanting to do this too.
Thanks for reading Debbie! I can’t wait for the results and to share them.
My husband and I did the Ancestry DNA kits a couple of years ago. The results were amazing and so informative. We’ve connected with lots of distant cousins and enjoyed discovering more about our ancestors. There have been some surprises as well! We have gifted the DNA kit to our children and their spouses. So fun.
Thanks for reading Cindy! Kits are a great gift idea.
This is awesome! We did the DNA kit as well and were surprised at what we found! Trying to get more info in our ancestry!
That’s great Jaci! There were a few surprises with the results from my daughter’s kit that I can’t wait to share in another blog post.
This is so cool! We actually just met a cousin from Australia we never knew about. His father, my great uncle, either never knew about having a son or never told anyone. He has since past away, BUT we got to meet David and his wife this past year and they are incredible people! All through doing this test.
Erica – I’m so happy to hear that! We’ve been able to connect with a relative we didn’t know about with my daughter’s test. It is pretty incredible the information to be found from taking the test.
Fortunately, on my Dad’s side of the family, we have an up-to-date ancestry! Blessed that my Aunt created this and has passed in on.
Suzan – it’s great that your Aunt was able to create this for you! Thanks for reading this post!
Knowing where we came from is so important!!
I agree Misty! Thanks for reading.
We used ancestry…then we went to Italy to see where my great grandfather grew up! It was amazing!!!
What a great experience Carrie! I’m planning to do the same once my results are back. Thanks for reading.
I’m excited to get my results eventually. I mailed mine in about 6 weeks ago but apparently there was an error reading my saliva so they’re sending another one out free of charge to try again.
Oh no Kendra. I’m glad they were able to send out another free kit for you.
I’ve actually been tossing around this idea… both hubby and I have pretty big families, so I can just imagine all the hits we would get!
Marianne – My daughter’s test had matches with 371 4th cousins or closer!! And we come from small families!
I’ve always thought about doing that, but have never had enough courage since I have never met my biological father.
Melissa – You can choose to keep your DNA matches hidden from other Ancestry members who match – and you can always change this setting if you wish later on. Thanks for reading.