-
Posts
-
Hi. I just joined today. Got a postcard in the mail. The postcard mentions sharing DNA. Is it possible to do that in this group? I don’t see any directions on how to do that.
BTW, my name is William Jefferson Buntin. I am from Kentucky in the United States. I’ve traced my father’s family to Virginia in the early 1700’s (William Buntin, b 1718, August, VA). I have not yet connected my father’s family to anyone in Europe. My Ancestry.com DNA reports me to be strongly Irish and Scottish with some British and Welsh thrown in as well.
Hi William, welcome to the Bunting Society. Thanks for creating this important topic. I am wondering if you have had a chance to read the DNA page on this website, accessible by clicking the DNA menu?
To answer your question, yes it is possible to share and discuss DNA testing and results in this Forum.
It’s good that you have taken an AncestryDNA test, which is the best choice amongst the autosomal DNA tests available. Best because Ancestry have by far the largest DNA database of over 18 million testees, tight integration with Ancestry family trees, and excellent facilities and tools to help you understand and progress.
Autosomal DNA tests are great for finding and confirming close relations with a very high degree of accuracy. I am referring to the match lists, not the ethnicity predictions. That accuracy tails off with 3rd cousins and beyond but is still extremely useful. That is because autosomal DNA is diluted in each generation of descent from the ancestors that gave you that DNA. You inherited your autosomal DNA from both of your parents, and they in turn from their parents etc. You may not be aware that you can download your AncestryDNA data, then upload it to other DNA websites such as GEDmatch, Family Tree DNA Family Finder, My Heritage DNA, Living DNA, Geneanet etc. That means that you can compare your match list with the other match lists on each of those databases, and use tools there that are not provided by AncestryDNA.
The ethnicity predictions that I referred to, and your results that you mention – Irish Scottish British Welsh, are not at all accurate so should be treated with a pinch of salt. Ethnicity predictions and estimates are just that. Some people may receive results that match their expectations – others may not. This science is still evolving as more reference populations are added to the databases and the algorithms improve. We are not there yet. See https://dna-explained.com/2018/12/28/ethnicity-is-just-an-estimate-yes-really
If you wish to persue your male line Buntin, you should consider taking a Y-DNA test. Y-DNA is passed down the generations almost intact from fathers to sons in a similar manner to surnames being passed down. Y-DNA tests are highly accurate. Family Tree DNA is the only testing company that offers a wide range of Y-DNA tests, surname projects/groups and lots of support both from FTDNA and the community. The FTDNA Y-DNA37 test is a good choice. Many members of this society have already tested their Y-DNA. Their results are summarised in this table.
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/buntingdna?iframe=ycolorized
So yes, this is a good place to discuss and interact.
Trevor Rix
Will, I am wondering how you would like to proceed in sharing and discussing your DNA in here?
Trevor Rix
To William Jefferson Buntin,
I also trace my Bunten/Buntine/Bunton roots to Augusta County, VA. My branch went to North Carolina, then to Tennessee. If you have a Ancestry membership look me up as Kathy Paulus. I’m willing to share info on findings and theories.
I also have DNA results on Ancestry.com. I find that their site is much better than most in estimating ethic backgrounds, especially in the latest updates. My husband knows where several branches of his family came from for the last 500 years, (well documented), and his results match the documentation, in one case within a hundred mile radius. The rest matches pretty “darn” close. (I expect you understand “darn”, being from KY.) Since all branches of my family have been in the US for the last 400 years, I get a tight circle in the corner where VA, NC, TN and KY meet, with Scotland, England, Ireland, and Germany, and a few others thrown in there. My sister had Welsh in her results which I do not, but we are mainly Scottish and English.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.