My Ancestry Part III: It Arrived!

It's here! My DNA test!

I'm so ecstatic! I've been playing around with my cousin's FTDNA (Family Tree DNA) on GEDmatch.com. It's so interesting. Gedmatch.com is a website where people from different DNA testing companies can upload their raw DNA. They have a population finder, matches, and they even have an eye color predictor. All of this is free!

What I find most interesting about the website is their eye color predictor program. It even shows you what your genetic markers are for eye color, and you have several of them. The only down fall is that the old 23andme DNA test was the only test that tested more SNP (pronounced "snips") or single nucleotide polymorphism, the most common genetic variations among people, for eye color. I don't know many of my cousins on my grandmother's direct maternal side so I'm having fun looking up their SNP to see what traits they've inherited. So far, I have learned that one of my cousins inherited the recessive allele for light colored eyes! It makes me wonder what I have inherited considering the fact that my late great grandfather had blue tinted eyes and so does my grandmothers brother. My only hope is that Ancestry DNA tests the same or more SNP for genetic variations in my DNA so I too can know what recessive alleles I carry.

Speaking of SNP, 23andme, and alleles. 23andme updated their services and now offer more tests for their program! They continued their health services and is now the only DNA testing service that is FDA approved. The entire test costs $199. Tests include:

• Carrier reports that show if you carry a disease whether or not you have the disease or illness. Example - Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Hereditary Hearing Loss.
• Ancestry Reports
• Wellness Reports   Example -Caffeine Consumption, Alcohol Flush Reaction, Lactose Intolerance, and Muscle Composition
• Traits Reports  Example - Hair: Curliness, Loss, and Color; Eye Color; Taste and Smell; and Facial features.

Honestly, I think the things that they test for are a bit creepy. It makes me wonder if they are going to start selecting people and their traits for breeding in the near future? There's going to be a day when they start cloning people too. Eugenics anyone?

I'm going to take my test and send it off. The process takes 6-8 weeks. I'll be updating you guys in the meantime. Ciao! 

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My Ancestry Part II: Searching for the right DNA test

So far, I have found three tests that I am interested in: FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, and Ancestry DNA. All are interesting and have different tests that make them unique.

Right now, FamilyTreeDNA is the only major DNA testing site that tests for patrilineal and matrilineal haplogroups. Meaning that they only trace your direct maternal or paternal ancestry. Anyone that shares the same maternal or paternal markers means that you descend from the same paternal or maternal line. I'll be using this test to find out ( or at least try) who my paternal great grandfather is. I'm hoping I'll find at least a second or third cousin with the Y-111 marker test. I'm going to have to put this on hold, because to upgrade my Y-12 marker test it would cost me a whopping 389 dollars! It will be worth it though. FamilyTreeDNA boasts the largest genetic genealogy database. Don't be dismayed. I plan on upgrading within the next couple of months! In the meantime, I'll be upgrading to a Y-67 DNA test by the new year.

Ancestry is a major genealogy website with over a million documents and records. In 2013 they started offering genetic DNA testing and analysis. Your autosomal DNA results include ethnic regions such as the British Isles, Western Europe, Scandinavian, Benin, Mali, to Native American and Eastern and Western Asian. The test however does not include matrilineal and patrilineal haplogroups like FamilyTreeDNA, so you can't test direct paternal or maternal lineages. This test is great if you want to know your ethnic mix. I was just introduced to gedmatch.com where you can upload your raw Ancestry data and they'll give you more precise locations on where your ancestors were from.

23andme is another DNA testing website that I'll be using. They offer the same thing as Ancestry. They used to offer health reports, but discontinued the program. I'll be waiting for them to continue the program in the future. I already suggested that they should be able to test you for recessive genes like eye color and hair color. I have cousins with blonde hair and blue eyes. I want to know if I carry the gene. Oh, yeah! Just for fun, the test shows you how much cave man you are!


Next week, I'll order my Ancestry.com DNA test kit. I will be letting you all know what comes next! Thanks for reading!

                                               ----------------------------------------------------                                               FamilyTreeDNA.com Tests and Prices: 

Autosomal Test

Family Finder Test-$99

Mtdna(Maternal DNA Test) 

One test-$199

Ydna(Paternal DNA Test) 

$169-Y-37  test finds cousins starting at eight generations

$268-Y-67 test finds cousins starting at six generations

$359-Y-111 test finds cousins starting at four generations

*They no longer offer the $49 Y-12 test

Ancestry Tests and Prices
Autosomal Test
Ancestry DNA $99
Genealogy Membership
$20/month U.S. Discovery
$35/month World Explorer
$50/month All Access

23andMe Tests and Prices
Autosomal Test
23andMe Genealogy DNA Test $99
23andMe Health DNA Test On hold

               

My Ancestry

I finally got around to writing my first blog! I decided to start one since I'm getting really close to ordering my first DNA test kit. I have been wanting to do this for so long and have been researching my family since 2010.I'm really excited and I wanted to blog about it!

First things first, here's a little bit of background on my ancestry: My last name is Chambers and my mothers maiden name is Sandles. So far, I have gotten to one man on my mothers maternal line who was from the Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom. He was the slave owner of my great-great-great grandfathers mother Alpha. I have heard stories from family members that she was actually from Madagascar, and from other family members, Hawaii. I highly doubt Hawaii, but who knows!

Also, from my mothers maternal line is my family from Louisiana. They are the Broussards and Cratchans of Creole ancestry. These are my great grandmother Inez's people from her fathers side. Her mother's side are the Scotts. I still know little about them. She told me stories about how her grandparents raised her and her older sister. While she was living, she would tell me stories about how her and her sister would braid her grandfathers long black hair and how stern her grandmother was. My great grandmother passed two years ago and I miss her very much!


On my mother's paternal line I only have a picture and family stories to go off of. I have heard that my grandfather's maternal grandfather's mother was part Congolese and half Indian and his wife was a quadroon*. My great uncle, the family historian, and I have no clue where the paternal side originates from. Someone told me that the surname Sandles is Swedish. Interesting!

My father's side is quite the same except for the fact that my paternal great grandfather is unknown. This makes my research that much more exciting for me. I already took a paternal Y-DNA test via my brother. Those of you that aren't familiar with maternal and paternal DNA tests, we inherit 23 chromosomes from both of our parents. Two of them are sex chromosomes. You inherit a X from your mom and a X or Y from your father.Only males can take Y-DNA tests because only males inherit Y-DNA from their father, thus making them male. Make sense? I took a Y-12 marker test  from Family Tree DNA and got a ton of matches. This is a test you take if you want to know your paternal origin and/or find relatives through your direct paternal line. My paternal genetic marker, or haplogroup*, is r1b1a2 which is the most common among Western European males(again, interesting). I still have to upgrade to Y-111 to narrow the results even further to find relatives through the fifth and third cousin range.  This is so interesting to me because my paternal grandfather is a black man, but someone in his direct paternal line is European. Who knows how far back that extends. Those of you that are scratching your heads like "huh?"I'll explain how African American's have considerable amounts of European blood in another post later.

I'll be taking an autosomal dna test and upgrading my Y-DNA kit.Questions I'm hoping to answer are where does my family originate( especially in Africa) and who are my paternal grandfather's fathers people? Anything will be a surprise!
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*Quadroon- A mixed raced woman of  3/4 white blood 1/4 black blood
*Haplogroup- a genetic population group that share a common ancestor on a patrilinal or matrilineal line.