Advice Corner: Stop damning people for not meeting your expectations on DNA sites
Got your results, but that third cousin has no tree? Well, fudge. You have seen the commercials for DNA tests. Ancestry is the largest advertiser, but there are others. And they all have people or actor portrayals of "people" who are surprised by their DNA results. " I want to learn more about my <Insert Nationality/Ethnic Group Name> heritage ," they say, surrounded by Indian pots, or dressed in native clothes or on tour in their newly found ancestral lands. " My parents made me take up German Lieder because they thought our family was from Munich, but according to my DNA tests, I should have been taking Italian Opera lessons instead! " " Take your genealogy further, " and " Let DNA break down those walls " is the other hook. That's the marketing - opening doors through DNA testing. The problem is, DNA testing isn't a magic bullet, it isn't a panacea, and it sure isn't Gabriel's horn. It...