# Ancestry DNA test. What to expect? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058 "2020-12-28T02:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/101 "2026-03-25T18:45:47Z")
And they are building up a comprehensive database of people’s DNA. If asked to provide a sample for any other database (such as the police), many of those same people would undoubtedly protest strongly. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/102 "2026-05-07T00:48:02Z")
OK since I got my results, and they kind of have me in a pickle, and I need some guidance from those in the know, I’ll reveal the basics now. The results on the maternal side were as fully expected, as my birth mother, her sister, and one of her daughters all showed up on my list with the appropriate %'s. My b.m. has insisted that my birth father was an American man with Swedish ancestry, but the results show a different man with a different name and Irish/Scottish ancestry (the same as my adoptive father note). This has her rather perturbed, and I won’t force anything with her on this matter. The scenarios which immediately popped into my head were a one-night stand or even a facilitated date rape, a tryst of one type or other that she totally wiped from her memory. But the other possibility is that Ancestry goofed on the data entry side and put someone else’s paternal side in. My understanding is that the actual test itself can’t have errors of that magnitude, but I could be wrong, so that’s where you guys come in. My putative half-brother got back to me last night, and he does look a lot like me, esp. his smile. He has constructed an extensive paternal family tree, note (I didn’t see my adoptive father’s surname anywhere in it however). Turns out his father was a birdwatcher like I am. I’m _not_ sharing my above concerns with him, yet, note. I may have a chance to discuss this face to face with my birth mother next week (depending on how all the Middle East diplomacy as such proceeds) and try to reassure her that I am not trying to throw doubt on her recollections, just piece together my past. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/103 "2026-05-07T01:04:14Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > But the other possibility is that Ancestry goofed on the data entry side and put someone else’s paternal side in. Not possible. There isn’t a someone entering data. It’s all done automatically ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/104 "2026-05-07T01:12:24Z")
I’d suggest asking your new half brother for any pictures of his father from the general time you were conceived. Maybe seeing a photo will jump start your birth mom’s memory, because this man is definitely also your biological father ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/105 "2026-05-07T01:36:56Z")
As noted, there’s no mistake. My 2 cents: I can think of three people who were told by their birth mothers all their lives who their bio-dad was. DNA proved differently. For one of them, Mom was long since deceased. For the other two, when they mentioned the results to their moms, the reaction was basically, “Oh, yeah, that’s right.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/106 "2026-05-07T01:43:17Z")
Mine is absolutely adamant however, and I’ve known her long enough to respect her on such matters. A total conundrum it seems. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/107 "2026-05-07T01:51:23Z")
Just because you have the utmost respect for her doesn’t mean she’s telling you the truth. It’s possible that she doesn’t know the truth. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/108 "2026-05-07T01:53:08Z")
OK but you said this earlier. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > They met in a state on the other coast from where she lives now, and she has consistently been _very_ tight-lipped about him, and even has given conflicting information to me at several points when I did manage to get any info out of her. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/109 "2026-05-07T02:01:13Z")
There was a thread some years ago where a poster found out that his bio-dad was a friend of his parents. Poor guy had a hard time accepting it, and he might have even been banned due to his meltdown. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/110 "2026-05-08T16:14:28Z")
I’m still waiting for a good juicy surprise to pop up but so far nothing. There may be something hidden down at the 3rd and 4th cousin level but I have no idea who any of those people are. My wife found out that her father’s uncle had an extra kid with the nextdoor neighbor. That’s the biggest surprise anywhere close to me. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/111 "2026-05-08T16:49:59Z")
I have often fantasized that I was switched at birth but that’s incredibly unlikely. I think putting your DNA in a database is very reckless but I understand the desire to find out more about your heritage ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/112 "2026-05-08T17:04:01Z")
Yeah, the only surprise for me so far is a much younger cousin who had been adopted. I got in touch with another cousin who’s the ancestry person on that side of the family, and neither one of us could figure out who her parents could have been. She (the adoptee) dropped it, so it can’t have been super important to her. Heck, I’m barely in touch with even first cousins who live on the same coast as me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/113 "2026-05-08T21:26:29Z")
Endless emails for them about some "3rd cousin twice removed’ which I cant open as I wont pay for the subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/114 "2026-05-08T23:29:27Z")
Here is a real horror story (except it had a good ending) about a woman who applied for child welfare in WA state. They administered routine DNA tests of her and her two children and told that they were not her children! They were threatening to prosecute her for attempted fraud, were about to take her children away and interrogated her to find the “real” mother. Eventually a smart lawyer dug up a paper in the New England Journal article about chimerism, a situation in which a person is a blend with two different sets of DNA. A new DNA test using a uterine swab showed she was the mother. Apparently, she had fused during gestation with a non-identical twin. Added: See [The Case of Lydia Fairchild and Her Chimerism (2002) | Embryo Project Encyclopedia](https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/case-lydia-fairchild-and-her-chimerism-2002) ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/115 "2026-05-12T13:32:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Not possible. There isn’t a someone entering data. It’s all done automatically The DNA isn’t wrong, but there are people entering info in the family trees, and that can be really wrong. My great grandmother had a child with someone who wasn’t my great grandfather. That son always claimed he was the child of both, but the DNA says the father is different. That side of the family has put down the wrong father, and Ancestry will tell you in the DNA section that he is the father. So if you go looking for the father of my half uncle it will tell you the wrong person. In order to figure it out you have to either ask people, or find other ways to find the correct parents. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/116 "2026-05-12T14:04:30Z")
Ah. I see what was meant now. I rescind that. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/117 "2026-05-12T14:11:59Z")
Yeah, it can be a real bitch to sort things out sometimes. Even naming someone a slightly different name will not always bring them up as related. One of my great grandmother’s I have named as Ann Rebecca, others as just Rebecca, we don’t show up as “related” through her because of the different names. Maybe Ancestry has fixed some of that as I tend to only see if I have close relatives or look for photos and such. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058/118 "2026-05-14T02:52:29Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > The DNA isn’t wrong, but there are people entering info in the family trees, and that can be really wrong. I’ve never even glanced at the family trees. I just look to see whose DNA is related to mine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancestry-dna-test-what-to-expect/929058.md?page=5)