AncestryDNA

  I've always been interested in genealogy and our family tree has been well-researched back to about 1800. Both sides of my family (paternal Schmidt and maternal Huesman) came to the US from Germany in the early 20th century so I pretty much know where my roots are.

 But seeing as how this branch of the family tree ends with my brother and  I - neither of us have had children - I thought at  the very least 'd like to leave something behind, even if it's just a test tube of Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T), the four base pairs of DNA which  make up me.

 Maybe it'll uncover some long lost relative. Or, more likely, that's what I'll serve as for others.

 So when the AncestryDNA kit went on sale for $39 (normally $99) and I had enough of last month's Social Security payment left over to purchase it, I finally made the move.

 Here's what I got:

 I set up an Ancestry account and activated the kit. Now to add saliva to the test tube and get it mailed.

Saturday, 05/11/24: I took the DNA sample mid-afternoon and packaged it up for mailing on Monday, 05/13/24 to:

Ancestry
1226 S 630 W Ste 1
American Fork UT 84003-9802

05/20/24:

[all hyperlinks removed]

05/24/24:

 Received a text and an email:

05/29/24:

06/06/24:

06/07/24:

 So here are my Ethnicity Estimates:

 No doubt about the accuracy of this. As noted earlier, both my paternal and maternal lineage come from Germany and they place 63% on that country.

 I was a bit surprised  about the Scandinavian number (14%) but when I thought about it a while I realized my Grandma Paulsen had roots there (Norway, Denmark, Sweden).

 England and Northwestern Europe (6%) and Portugal (1%) remain surprises.

 I won't post the multitude of people I am related to due to privacy but I found my 3rd cousin (Cluxton) at the top of the list and I was surprised to see my maternal grandmother's maiden name (Rhodehamel) appear many times on the list. She wasn't raised by her parents and never quite knew much about the family she came from.

 Now to another area I don't mind  sharing publicly: Traits.

 Facial hair fullness is accurate; I've never had a thick beard. And my interest in dancing is non-existent.

 Hear rate recover is estimated as average and I'd agree, I walk daily  (a mile or more) and do closer to four or five miles every Friday at  the Y. I am indeed a morning person. I seldom stay up later than 10:30PM. And I have never been one to take naps until  the past year and then it's more of an afternoon nodding off if I sit to read.

 I'd dig into more of the data later but these are the important points.  Kudos to Ancestry.com. I'd say they nailed it. And their communication while the testing was done exceptional. The whole process took just 27 days, so well less than the six week estimate.