Week 42 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Conflict

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 42

Prompt – Conflict

DEOXYRIBOSE NUCLEIC ACID

A few weeks ago I attended a genealogy conference in Kelowna. It was there that I bought my Ancestry DNA kit. I actually pre-ordered it for pick up at the conference. The price was too good to pass up in my opinion. It was $80 Canadian as opposed to $129 US dollars and at that point it was the only reason I got one. 

Unopened DNA Kit

In the past few years, DNA testing has become a huge thing in the genealogy world. Ancestry alone has 10 million samples in their database. At the genealogy meetings and of course the conferences there is always classes to attend and learn about its use in one's own research. I have to say that having sat through these classes I don't feel all that much wiser about the subject. I love to say that even though I have a nursing background, I practiced in the era where microscopes were used to look at cells and differentiate their type. Looking inside that cell and nucleus was just coming of age. DNA, chromosomes, nucleic acids, X and Y Chromosomes, mitochondrial chromosomes and genotypes all come together to make us who we are. It may have been out there in microbiology, but certainly not public knowledge.

 But as science tends to do it sweeps you up and carries you forward into the next century..

  Maybe with the help of some gentle reading and easy to understand blogs I might be able to understand this.

 Aside from the steep learning curve needed to understand this new tool in our genealogical toolbox;  there is the privacy and the whole ethical dilemma. Ancestry assures me that my privacy is important to them. They store my DNA and results without a name visibly attached. Ancestry will download the raw results at any time I choose and will even destroy the results and / or the actual sample upon my request. The only time this is not followed is when required by law. As you may of heard in the news lately two murderers were found using DNA from the crime scene and matching to gedcoms in  a public database.  (a GEDCOM is an open de facto specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. GEDCOM was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an aid to genealogical research. Wikipedia) 

 Interesting and not surprising that soon police departments will be adding genetic genealogy departments. I have nothing to hide and thus this does not scare me however maybe my relatives might object for reasons that only they know. None the less, I am pretty much out in the public domain being on Facebook and having two genealogy programs – My Heritage and Ancestry.

I have had the kit for nearly 3 weeks and as of yet have not opened it or given my sample. An internal conflict battles within me trying to sort out if I should follow 10 million others in submitting my DNA. In speaking with some of my fellow genealogists from the DNA Special Interest Group, it is a lot of work once you get the results to put it together and figure it out. That is somewhat daunting because the family trees I am working on now are so much more work that I ever thought possible. In fact my family trees may never be done. I would have to ask myself why would I start something that is even more work with maybe little payback.

My reasons for doing the DNA test is my naive curiosity. Maybe it will tell me that my elusive maternal grandfather that is a dead end in my research is not really of Irish ancestry and I have been looking in the wrong place all along. Wouldn't that be grand?

Wendy