Is family surname research a good way to go about researching your ancestry? I looked up a few family surnames of my family heritage online and I got a wide range of different cultures that shared my surname in common that I may or may not have ancestry from. I could not come to any conclusions about my ancestry on family surnames alone.
Share About Your Ancestry
- Thread starter mmatt9876
- Start date
That's bad if you're a habitual criminal - or political dissident or ecological activist - but could be useful to your family if you become the victim of crime.
OTH, every sample is one more scrap of data for their banks. The more they collect, the more accurate their results will be. Plus, it contributes to medical research. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/06/ancestrycom-medical-research-juggernaut_n_7008446.html which, of course, will make them even a whole lot richer.
Apparently, the discrepancy between the results from different companies is that they each compile their own comparison-base and don't share information. According to one source, the most comprehensive data-bases are the Mormon one https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/science/utah/ and Iceland's, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27903831 which is great if you come from there.
RainbowSingularity
Valued Senior Member
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be aware that the whole ancestry thing is a massive data base ready for massive exploitation by scammers.
it is probably crawling with low life scum looking to fleece elderly at the moment.
the wholesale big corporate approach is not a free pass to avoid being scammed. they are just massive collection points where only 1 hack is required to get massive lists of scam targets with all sorts of unregulated personal information.
easy pickings
be aware that the whole ancestry thing is a massive data base ready for massive exploitation by scammers.
it is probably crawling with low life scum looking to fleece elderly at the moment.
the wholesale big corporate approach is not a free pass to avoid being scammed. they are just massive collection points where only 1 hack is required to get massive lists of scam targets with all sorts of unregulated personal information.
easy pickings
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
It's bad for the privacy of any citizen, lawful or otherwise.
You still believe in privacy?
The Mossad knows more about you than your wife does.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Hardly any, since the Good Friday Agreement - now threatened by a disorderly Brexit.
But what is relevant to a person's decision to emigrate several generations ago, is the conditions at that time. Before Irish independence the Protestants formed a sort of ruling class in Ireland, their ancestors having come in with or after Cromwell to keep the indigenous population subjugated. That was the cause of the resentment and the drive for independence. The persistence of this ruing class mentality was what led to the Troubles in N Ireland. The police were all Protestant, you could only get a job at Harland and Wolff if you were Protestant, etc etc.
So someone in the past emigrating because they were Protestant is, on the face of it, something requiring explanation.
spidergoat
Valued Senior Member
Yup.
Also, must be nice to be able to express your ancestry without fear of bigotry.
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
The fact that someone can take something from me without my consent does not equate with me handing it over willingly.
As far the DNA testing goes, I wouldn't hand it over to strangers, either, without a compelling reason.
But if I were tested for something medical, or during a criminal investigation, I certainly couldn't expect to have any control over what happens to the material after it leaves my possession, or of the information it provides.
But if I were tested for something medical, or during a criminal investigation, I certainly couldn't expect to have any control over what happens to the material after it leaves my possession, or of the information it provides.
spidergoat
Valued Senior Member
They can track you down just from family DNA results.
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
Which is why I have not partaken of this new service.
That is a scary thought. I may think twice about subscribing to an ancestry DNA test.
I am glad things have cleared up a bunch between the Protestants and Catholics in and around Northern Ireland. It sounds like things were bad for anyone living in Ireland who was not Protestant back then.
RainbowSingularity
Valued Senior Member
buying a test is probably not soo much an issue if it goes through an SSL (HTTPS)
and as long as you use a credit or debit card and not give your bank account number.
never do direct banking with companys/people you dont already know
however, what the sites want is 2 things
1 all your personal data to build their data base which gives them an ever increasing asset they can sell, lease, sub-let or sell advertising space for.
2 your personal emotional connection to pay what ever it costs to fill that emotional gap you have been told you have to make you feel ok about society et-large. (product sales)
i think heraldry is fantastic, but no different to churches 'in the modern protagonist' is the market of snake-oil used vacuum cleaner door to door sales techniques.
pandering to an alt-right pyramid get rich or die trying style economic culture & society selling to a socialist market morality.
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
Er. Are we actually talking about financial data here?
I thought we were talking about DNA data?
I'm fairly confident these DNA companies are no more at-risk for financial hacking than any other.
Sure, they may put their results online - but that will be separate from financial data. This is apples and oranges.
I've spent some quality time with my aging mother recently and learned a great deal about her side of the family.
You might be able to really really play the minority victim card
Get a Government grant to open up a office and employ others to check if any more like yourself
Brilliant thought. Set up a DNA testing lab
For a small fee find out if you are one of us
A guy I know, his parents both came from Denmark. He did one of those DNA tests and it said he was 46% British and 1% Nigerian. I can't wait for him to play the race card.
Thanks for the advice.