[Subtitle: An overview of AncestryDNA's Genetic Communities for someone with predominantly British Isles ancestry, highlighting the benefit of testing multiple family members.]
I tested my DNA at 23andMe and FTDNA around 2010, when autosomal SNP tests with genealogy features first became available, and have subsequently tested at AncestryDNA. I was trying to figure out where my then
mysterious father came from. In the early days my ethnicity estimate was 100.0% European, jokingly referred to on genetic genealogy forums as "boring vanilla". That's it. Accurate, yes. Helpful, no. I later got some geographical resolution in terms of European countries (more accurately speaking, regions labelled as countries). It was better, but still gave a rather fuzzy picture.
This week AncestryDNA released its Genetic Communities feature representing ancestral origins hundreds of years ago versus thousands of years ago to all AncestryDNA customers. I am pretty impressed with the results, which are consistent with what I have discovered about my ancestry to date.
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My father came from Liverpool, not far from
where my mother was born near Birmingham. |
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1881 census record for my great-great-grandfather
James Burke, born West of Ireland |
This is what my family tree looks like now in terms of place of birth, showing the nearest large city in the British Isles where known. Almost half of my great-great-grandparents are concentrated in the Midlands and North West England [AncestryDNA's English Midlanders & Northerners and Welsh & English West Midlanders regions]. My maternal grandmother was born near Dublin in the East of Ireland [AncestryDNA's Munster Irish region]. One of my paternal Irish ancestors, James Burke, came from the West of Ireland [AncestryDNA's Connacht Irish region] and his second wife Ellen Gilheany from whom my father descends probably came from County Leitrim as her maiden name is quite rare and specific to that county [AncestryDNA's Irish in the North Midlands region]. I don't know whereabouts in Ireland John and Elizabeth Monaghan came from or where John Pattison came from in Scotland. There is another Irish line and probably a Welsh line one generation further back (not shown in the tree below).
So what AncestryDNA Genetic Communities did I get? Testing several family members helps to provide a fuller picture. We have tested three generations in our family, including our paternal aunt, my sister and I, a maternal first cousin, and my sister's children. Taking into account our combined results, all my recent ancestral origins are covered excluding Switzerland which is not yet included in AncestryDNA's list of over 300 Genetic Communities. All three generations got the English Midlanders & Northerners Genetic Community. Our aunt got Scots while we did not and out of the two nephews tested at AncestryDNA only one has a Genetic Community. My nephews' South African father has British Isles and Dutch ancestry and he and one nephew did not get any Genetic Communities.
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| Our paternal aunt |
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| Me (maternal first cousin also has the top two) |
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| My sister |
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| My nephew |
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| Brother and father of above nephew |
