Friday, April 3, 2015

New Ancestors You Tell Me? No proof? Is this an April fool trick?


After a neat overnight getaway, I came back to find I had a new ancestral couple from AncestryDNA..Really? Where can this couple fit? I am not all all sure although they tell me this:


"Your DNA matches the DNA of members of the Salathiel Lacy Houk DNA Circle. Because you match DNA with this group, there is a good chance (about 50%) you could be a descendant of Salathiel Lacy Houk."




..And they are telling me that this is proven because I have a strong match to 3 of the 5 people listed below.
They seem to be proving this via some sketchy looking trees which at least  3 people have different relatives in.
My Circle above to Francis and Catherine Rementer  works better BUT one of those 4 people has an incorrect ancestor and is not  descended directly from Francis or his wife.So they are basing this on what? Other people's incorrect trees?
WHICH Ancestor is it linked to,surely not both as we inherit from one ancestor and not a pair?






So  I think they laid an egg on this one. A chromosome browser would have cleared up this big mystery for sure.

I cannot find anyone in this tree any where at all. This line of Houk's seem to move directly from Berks County PA to Tennessee and then Texas? Cotton farmers it is said in this catchy little anecdotal blurb they have shared with me.

The problem is that ALL of my own ancestors have remained in either the Delaware Valley or the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Collateral relatives of my ancestors would not be my relatives would they?

I have responded on the appropriate Beta form, so I sincerely hope that Ancestry corrects this unworkable exercise and cleans up their act. They have such a large database that they could do so well with  just a few tools.

3 comments:

  1. I don't see how Ancestry can realistically go forward, and help its customers produce quality research, without a chromosome browser.

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    Replies
    1. I think they cannot and this, which was supposed to be their best shot, is proof..

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  2. Look at it this way. Ancestry will make a tree for you while you watch the game. Then for a "small fee" every year, you can look at it. And the more people who click the green leaf, the more matches you will have. Before you know it, you'll be related to everyone and the One World Tree will finally be created. Children of dead people, multiple marriages, husbands and wives living in different parts of the world at different times. I can hardly wait!

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