DNA Ancestry testing....

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I am not sure how to post in the BTS on the new design, and this does have a small amount of Conspiracy topic in it.

I am considering spending $400 on a DNA ancestry test. My father was just diagnosed with a degenerative hand disease known as "Viking's Disease." It is officially called Dupuytren's Disease. It is not a life-threatening disease, more of an annoyance, but it got me to pondering my ancestry.

My father once went into great depth researching our origins and we were linked to some Scottish and Irish descent through his mother, and even connected to Sir Walter Raleigh. His grand-father was full-blooded Apache Indian, and there is no record of him anywhere except a name, Roscoe Flowers. He supposedly lived on an Indian Reservation to a very old age, and in fact may still be alive! (He would be my Great-Grandfather, and he would be at least 90 years old now.) Anyhow, the lineage on his paternal side is probably impossible to trace past his Grandfather.

Here is the reason for the thread. I know a lot about my ancestry for a few generations, and I know the family names are good, old, well-established families beyond those generations. I also know that I have a very strong Apache bloodline directly from my father. What I don't know is how the European lineages got to America, or got to the Midwest.

So here are my main questions, and I'm hoping ATS can coach me up before taking this leap.
Are the DNA tests worth the money?
Has anybody done one of these and gotten credible results that matched your other research?
Are there scams out there?
Is Ancestry.com a credible provider?
Is there a privacy risk by participating in those sites?

Of course the recent "Viking" heredity has me intrigued, but $400 is a decent chunk, and I may not want to know that on my father's side I have Viking blood and Apache blood both! No wonder I'm so angry, LOL!

What are the implications of connecting the whole world through DNA? What are the personal pros and cons for a guy like me?

reply to post by getreadyalready


So here are my main questions, and I'm hoping ATS can coach me up before taking this leap.
Are the DNA tests worth the money?
Has anybody done one of these and gotten credible results that matched your other research?
Are there scams out there?
Is Ancestry.com a credible provider?
Is there a privacy risk by participating in those sites?

Bumping my own thread. I would like input from ATSers on this topic if anyone has any knowledge.

Knowledge on the "vikings disease" or info on these genetic tests for tracing ancestry. Thanks in advance!

reply to post by getreadyalready


I sent you a u2u. Maybe I can help.

...your great grandfather may still be alive and you dont know for sure?... did i read that right?... the first thing i'd do is find out for sure if he's still living... if he is, the 2nd thing i'd do is get my buns out there asap...

...what kind of apache?... theres more than a dozen recognized apache tribes... if he lives on a rez and you can find out which one, that'll help a lot but you might have to visit to get any personal details...

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Are the DNA tests worth the money?

...i dont know... 400 bucks is a lot of money to me and i know who my ancestors are, so i've never considered it... it might be worth it if you're concerned about a genetic ailment...

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Are there scams out there?

...its reasonable to suspect that there are - and - its reasonable to expect non-intentional human error too...

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Is Ancestry.com a credible provider?

...they're convenient... many of my friends have used them - but - the one that was the most into it said that a lot of the info on ancestry.com comes from the extensive libraries of the church of ladder day saints... they've been collecting info like that for a long time and not just on mormons... their biggest library is in salt lake city but there are others elsewhere and i think they all have websites...

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Is there a privacy risk by participating in those sites?

...my friends that used ancestry.com never had an issue...

...speaking of scams - there are people / services online who will research your ancestry for a fee... most of them use places like ancestry.com... its not really a scam if you're too busy to do the research yourself - but - i do believe it would be easy to scam someone that way...

...good luck...

reply to post by virraszto


Thank You! I got your U2U and I will send back some information before the middle of this week. I want to get you a decent list to follow up on.

reply to post by Wyn Hawks


Thank you! That does help. I was afraid I would use Ancestry.com and get a bunch of BS that I was related to Genghis Khan and Napoleon and some nomadic tribes, but nothing that I could verify or actually use to put together my ancestry. That information would be ok, as long as it connected directly to my verifiable family tree, but I don't just want general info that sounds cool but is impossible to verify.

I think I will probably do the $400 package next month.

As far as my Great-Grandfather, I would love to meet him and I have been to some reservations in Oklahoma but they are Cherokee reservations, not Apache. I have never met him, and I don't think my father has either, but he used to communicate with his son (my grandfather) randomly every couple of years. Last we heard he was on a reservation, but that has been probably 10 years ago. His family does live to very old ages, my grandfather is in his upper 70's and still doing tree work, climbing, and operating heavy equipment!

I don't expect to get too far on that side of my family, but my father's maternal side is a pretty good family with good roots, and I expect to be able to trace them back all the way to the settlers of this country. That is my real interest, I would love to know what family settled this continent and eventually became my family.

...check out fort sill apaches... lots of kiowa apache up that way too...

...let me know how the dna thingy goes... its very interesting whats available nowadays...