Ancestry.com has a wealth of informative videos on You Tube. One of those videos is You've Received Your Ancestry DNA Results. Now What? I learned some vital information from the video. Crista Cowan does an excellent job simplifying DNA.
She explains that my sister and I, for example, may not have exactly the same DNA makeup. Obviously we have the same bloodline but we each got 50% of our DNA from Daddy and 50% from our mom. Nothing says we got exactly the same 50% from either one. So where, my DNA results showed a less than one percent European Jewish background, she may not have got that handed down to her. The video below here explains the results in a simple manner.
When I had received my DNA results, I was surprised at the percentages. The ethnicities however did not surprise me. I thought I was doing great going back through my generations. When Cowan did a little mathematical chart showing 10 generations back, it struck me how little I actually know and how much more there is to discover. The chart shows how many people you actually descend from in 10 generations (counting yourself as the first generation).
Ten generations takes you back to your eighth great grandparents. Not counting yourself, that is 1022 people from whom you are descended. My numbers are also shown above. I am doing great through the fifth generation. After that however ... well item #1 on my Genealogy Bucket List!
She explains that my sister and I, for example, may not have exactly the same DNA makeup. Obviously we have the same bloodline but we each got 50% of our DNA from Daddy and 50% from our mom. Nothing says we got exactly the same 50% from either one. So where, my DNA results showed a less than one percent European Jewish background, she may not have got that handed down to her. The video below here explains the results in a simple manner.
When I had received my DNA results, I was surprised at the percentages. The ethnicities however did not surprise me. I thought I was doing great going back through my generations. When Cowan did a little mathematical chart showing 10 generations back, it struck me how little I actually know and how much more there is to discover. The chart shows how many people you actually descend from in 10 generations (counting yourself as the first generation).
| Generation | Possible People | I Know | |
| 1 | You | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Parents | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Grandparents | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 2x Grandparents | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | 3x Grandparents | 16 | 13 |
| 6 | 4x Grandparents | 32 | 9 |
| 7 | 5x Grandparents | 84 | 7 |
| 8 | 6x Grandparents | 128 | 7 |
| 9 | 7x Grandparents | 236 | 1 |
| 10 | 8x Grandparents | 512 | 0 |
| 1023 | 52 |
Ten generations takes you back to your eighth great grandparents. Not counting yourself, that is 1022 people from whom you are descended. My numbers are also shown above. I am doing great through the fifth generation. After that however ... well item #1 on my Genealogy Bucket List!
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