[KC14]

I have been using Ancestry to create my family tree and I have found quite a bit of information. I am considering taking one of the DNA tests to confirm some info and see what else I can find out. Does anyone recommend one over the other? Pros? Cons?

[GraceKrispy]

We have done Ancestry because dh has a subscription to that site and he spends a lot of time on it, so it made sense to have it connected to our family tree and show us people we could connect to that were likely relatives. I don't know a lot about 23 and Me.

[timeforbed]

More people use ancestry and so you're going to get more "hits" from people who are related to you. After you open up to your page with your results, you'll be given a list of anyone who is considered to be a first cousin, second, etc. who also submitted a test. Click on one of them and it will show you the ancestor you have in common. I've found two long lost cousins that way and since they were both avid genealogists, we were able to figure out where the break in the family tie came in to play. And I got a fuller picture of what life was like in that household by looking at the sisters and brothers, who they married, what their children did, where they moved to and even why they moved. It's a step or two beyond just filling out a chart with names and dates of immediate ancestors.

After my great-grandfather died, his wife (ggmother) moved to another city to live with her daughter. That's the branch that disapeared. The cousin was able to send me a great picture of our common ggmother.

[Youthcantknow]

I've done both and it's interesting that they don't entirely agree on my DNA results. 23andme has me at 50.5% British & Irish, 19.6% French & German, and then smaller percentages for other areas. Ancestry has me at 42% Scottish/Irish/British, 35% Germanic Europe, and then smaller percentages of other areas making up the remainder.

Of the two, I like 23andme better for DNA because they update regularly and sometimes the results shift slightly, so I feel that they are constantly improving their data. I have a lot of DNA matches there - only one first cousin, though, and the rest are farther out, so I guess my large family isn't that interested in DNA. They also offer a lot of health information based on your DNA. I've definitely found more thorough information on DNA on their site.

However, like you, I've got a family tree built on Ancestry.com.

[wildflowerz]

I have a family tree on ancestry and also used their dna test. It has given me a lot of good info and does update the findings. It seems my Irish catholic side has done more with the dna than my Scandinavian side.

[TAOEP]

Since your goal is to connect with relatves and learn more about family history, ancestry appears to be the better choice. More people use it, so you will probably see more results. And it will be simpler to connect the information into the genealogy work you have already done

[KC14]

I do have a lot done on Ancestry so I guess that is the one that makes the most sense for me. I may try 23 & Me another time though since I am also interested to see if there are different matches there. I guess it all depends on which site my relatives have used.

Thank you for your recommendations!