For my birthday this year, Patrick got me DNA ancestry kits for Cassie & myself. It was seriously the best birthday gift ever! We used Wisdom Panel for Cassie’s DNA ancestry & AncestryDNA for mine. For Cassie’s test, we just swabbed the inside of her cheeks (she was so cooperative! Not!) & sent the swabs off. The results came in quickly, within a few weeks. For my test, I had to fill a vial with saliva & send it off. Kinda gross & weird & even though they tell you that not much saliva is needed, it seemed like a lot. My results came in about a month after Cassie’s.
When both sets arrived, Patrick decided to throw a mini-reveal party for the two of us. All of my close friends came over on Saturday night. Patrick decorated the house & grilled burgers. After eating & drinking for a bit, we all gathered in the living room to see what the results said. Patrick made a PowerPoint of the highlights & showed it on the TV so everyone could find out together! I was blown away by the excitement & support! First up was Cassie!
The Wisdom Panel algorithm uses 11 different models to predict the most likely combination pure and mixed breed dogs in the last three ancestral generations that best fit the DNA marker pattern in your dog. You can click on any of the breeds to get more information about the characteristics and behaviors common to that breed. Here are Cassie’s results, which were not entirely unsurprising:
You’re also given a predicted family tree, going back 3 generations! I was a little surprised by the Border Collie, but she does show some herding tendencies at times. She will “herd” us toward the cupboard where her food is stored when it’s treat or dinner time!
After we went through Cassie’s results, it was time to reveal mine! AncestryDNA’s estimates are created comparing your DNA to the DNA of other people who are native to a region. The AncestryDNA reference panel contains 3,000 DNA samples from people in 26 global regions. Each panel member’s genealogy is documented so there is confidence that their family is representative of people with a long history (hundreds of years) in that region. You’re also provided with some information on the population history and genetic diversity of each region, as well as how your results compare to the typical person native to each region.
I was adopted at birth, so I’ve always had very limited information on my ancestry. I thought that it was so sweet of Patrick to give me the opportunity to learn more about my history. Records indicate that my birth mother was Czech, Irish, & Cherokee Indian. If you followed along on Snapchat or Instagram, you know that I was a little surprised by my results. The fact that I am 98% European was not really surprising, but the fact that I am 36% British was! “Europe West” includes the the Czech Republic, so the only thing in my records that wasn’t supported by the test was the Cherokee Indian. Here are my full results:
This was such a cool experience & I really recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about their background. I loved all of my friends were there to celebrate with me! My mother’s family has done years of genealogical research & traced their family back for generations. I’d really love to get a test for her, to see how well it matches up with what we already know!
Leave a Reply