[Mark Blaeuer]

Mike, my results arrived yesterday. The website indicates that processing may take 8 weeks or more, but mine came in about 4-5 weeks. On my end, the instructions were easy to follow, and I mailed the sample to them in a postpaid package they provided as part of the overall kit.

The Ancestry.com test is oriented strictly toward 1) calculating “ethnicity estimates,” and 2) matching you with possible relatives who have also taken the test.

1) I’m certainly no expert in genetics, but the results appear to have been cautiously interpreted. The most applicable ancestral regions were listed and shaded in different colors on a world map (I had three of these regions). Then there were “trace” levels of regional heritage as well (I had four of those). There were percentage estimates provided for my descent from populations in various regions, e.g. 21% Scandinavian, but it was admitted that these “estimates” are only averages of the scores within a range (on a scale of 0-100). They do show your overall range of scores within each region where your overall score was above zero, and they list other regions were your overall score was zero.

2) They listed 748 people who were possibly my 4th cousins or closer. The entries at the top of the list were ones for whom they had the highest level of confidence that I was related; indeed, several top-of-the-listers were people I know myself to be related to. Some of the entries included family trees, but it’s well to remember these genealogies are only as good as the research that went into them.

Of course, it’s an evolving science, but they do provide methodology and explanations on the website. For what it’s worth, I feel satisfied that the results are useful in complementing my archival research about the family.

By the way, 23 and Me has been mentioned, but I’ve read that National Geographic offers a similar service.