Week 17 (Apr. 23-29) DNA

The Week 17 prompt of DNA has sent me back to my Ethnicity Estimates with Ancestry. 

The table below shows my ethnicity estimates over the years since I first tested.  I have commented before that with every ethnicity estimate update, my results seem to move further from my family tree as I know it.  For the second time in a row the numbers moved a little back towards what my existing tree leads me to expect.  It is worth noting that in 2018 and 2019 the Irish ethnicity represented Ireland and Scotland combined.   

According to my researched Family Tree, my father's family is 100% English back to the early 1700s and further and is primarily from the Essex/Suffolk area. My father's parents married in England before they came out to Australia.  My mother's family is at mostly English with some Irish (a Great-Grandmother), German (Great-Great-Grandfather) and Scottish (Great-Great-Grandmother) mixed in.  Most of her lines arrived in Australia in the 1840s and 1850s, and the various nationalities intermarried out here.  This is not reflected in my ethnicity estimate.  

I would love to know where the Ivory Coast/Ghana and Yorubaland heritage comes from - both are from my mother's side of the family and I have a suspicion I may eventually find slavery in my ancestry.

As I say just about every time I post about Ethnicity Estimates, we need to remember that these numbers are estimates only and can still be quite inaccurate and open to interpretation.  As I move back I may find my known Irish ancestry (Antrim) links back to migration from Scotland.  Likewise some of my northern European ancestry (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands) may link into my German ancestry, or even my Scottish and Irish ancestry (Vikings!).  I may never see back far enough to know for certain.

Isn't it fun to think about, though!

23andMe Files for Bankruptcy

23andMe, one of the world’s largest DNA testing companies, has just announced that it is filing for bankruptcy protection.  The company said it has initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court.  The company said that it would continue to operate its business and there would be no changes to the way it stores customer data.

Mark Jensen, chair and member of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors at 23andMe, said in a recent statement: “After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business.  We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities. We believe in the value of our people and our assets and hope that this process allows our mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome to live on for the benefit of customers and patients.”

“We want to thank our employees for their dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We are committed to supporting them as we move through the process. In addition, we are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

Founded in 2006, 23andMe saw its share price plummet after the company suffered a major data breach in October 2023, when hackers breached about 14,000 customers’ accounts, gaining access to the data of 6.9 million people who were listed as those users’ relations.  In September 2024, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit by affected customers.

23andMe has an FAQ section about the ongoing situation on its website.

Who Do You Think You Are Magazine has published a guide on how to download and/or delete your data from 23andMe is you wish to do so.

Ancestry Ethnicity Estimates Updated

Recently, Ancestry again updated their DNA Ethnicity Estimates, so I have again been studying my new, updated results.  I have commented before that with every ethnicity estimate, my results seem to move further from my family tree as I know it.  For the second time in a row the numbers moved a little back towards what my existing tree leads me to expect.

The table below shows my ethnicity estimates over the years since I first tested.  It is worth noting that in 2018 and 2019 the Irish ethnicity represented Ireland and Scotland combined.  According to my researched Family Tree, my father's family is 100% English back to the early 1700s and further and is primarily from the Essex/Suffolk area. My father's parents married in England before they came out to Australia.  My mother's family is at mostly English with some Irish (a Great-Grandmother), German (Great-Great-Grandfather) and Scottish (Great-Great-Grandmother) mixed in.  Most of her lines arrived in Australia in the 1840s and 1850s, and the various nationalities intermarried out here.  This is not reflected in my ethnicity estimate.  

This latest update gives back come of my Irish ethnicity while decreasing my Scottish, and much of my Sweden/Denmark percentage returns to Germanic Europe.  Completely new are the Netherlands and Yorubaland (southwestern Nigeria).

I would love to know where the Ivory Coast/Ghana and Yorubaland heritage comes from - both are from my mother's side of the family and I have a suspicion I may eventually find slavery in my ancestry.

As I say just about every time I post about Ethnicity Estimates, we need to remember that these numbers are estimates only and can still be quite inaccurate.

Ancestry DNA 2-step Verification

For those who have done a DNA test with Ancestry, you may have already noticed that to access your DNA matches you are now required to set up 2 step verification.

To set up this added layer of security, you are first required to choose between having your code sent to a mobile phone or an email address.  Then you input the number or address you wish to choose and confirm using your current Ancestry password.  A code is then sent to you via your chosen method for you to input before you are able to access your DNA matches.

Once you have accessed your DNA matches, you have several ways of sorting them.  At the top level, you can view matches by :

• Parent - view matches on your maternal or paternal line
• Ancestor - choose any ancestor in your Ancestry tree
• Location - zoom in on a world map to see where you matches are dispersed

You can also filter by 

• Unviewed matches - highlighting those DNA matches you have not yet evaluated.  
• Common Ancestors - viewing only matches whose Ancestry tree intersects your own
• Trees - sort by Private Linked Trees, Public Linked Trees or Unlinked Trees
• Shared DNA - sort by Close Matches, Distant Matches or by Custom Centimorgan Range
• Group - create you own custom group such as new matches

So if you have done an Ancestry DNA test and haven't checked back in a while, go set up your 2 step verification and check out the latest updates.

Ancestry DNA Update 2023

Recently, Ancestry again updated their DNA Ethnicity Estimates, so I have again been studying my new, updated results.  I have commented before that with every ethnicity estimate, my results seem to move further from my family tree as I know it.  This time actually moved a little back towards what my existing tree leads me to expect.

The table below shows my ethnicity estimates over the years since I first tested.  It is worth noting that in 2018 and 2019 the Irish ethnicity represented Ireland and Scotland combined.  According to my researched Family Tree, my father's family is 100% English back to the early 1700s and further and is primarily from the Essex/Suffolk area. My father's parents married in England before they came out to Australia.  My mother's family is at mostly English with some Irish (a Great-Grandmother), German (Great-Great-Grandfather) and Scottish (Great-Great-Grandmother) mixed in.  Most of her lines arrived in Australia in the 1840s and 1850s, and the various nationalities intermarried out here.  This is not reflected in my ethnicity estimate. 

	Sep 18	Sep 19	Sep 21	Apr 22	Sep 22	Sep 23
England	65	78	54	45	33	43
Ireland	22	10	2	2	1	0
Scotland	0	0	33	32	38	32
Germanic Europe	8	3	0	0	4	5
Ivory Coast/Ghana	2	1	1	2	2	2
Sweden/Denmark	2	5	0	2	19	15
Norway	1	2	9	14	0	0
Mali		1	1	0	0	0
Wales				3	3	3

The breakdown of my maternal DNA and paternal DNA also shows some unexpected results.  All the Sweden/Denmark DNA comes from my father’s side, as does a small amount from Scotland and Germany.  My Irish ancestry has disappeared completely from my mother’s ethnicity.  And I have never known where that 2% Ivory Coast/Ghana comes from.

Maternal	Paternal	Total
England 14%	England 29%	England 43%
Scotland 28%	Scotland 4%	Scotland 32%
Germanic Europe 3%	Germanic Europe 2%	Germanic Europe 5%
Ivory Coast/Ghana 2%	Ivory Coast/Ghana 0%	Ivory Coast/Ghana 2%
Sweden/Denmark 0%	Sweden/Denmark 15%	Sweden/Denmark 15%
Wales 3%	Wales 0%	Wales 3%

Ultimately, we need to remember that these numbers are estimates only and can still be quite inaccurate.  More important to most who are actively researching are their cousin matches, people whom the DNA tests show are being related. I have cousin matches on all the major branches of my tree intersecting at various grandparents, great grandparents and further back, so for several generations back I am reasonably confident my tree is accurate - or as accurate as it can be.