After a four month wait, my initial results have arrived today from Living DNA. The wait has, I feel been understandable for a launch company. The results are still limited to standard mode only.
Living DNA Standard mode
100% European
Regional:
74% Great Britain & Ireland
10% Europe (South)
7% Europe (North and West)
10% Europe (unassigned).
Sub-regional:
39% East Anglia
8% South Central England
5% South East England
5% Lincolnshire
2.5% Cornwall
2.4% North Yorkshire
2% South England
1.9% Devon
1.6% Central England
1.5% North West England
1.3% South Yorkshire
1.2% Northumbria
3.5% unassigned Great Britain & Ireland
10% Tuscany (Europe South)
5% Scandinavia (Europe North and West)
2% Germanic (Europe North and West)
9.7% Europe unassigned.
My initial response? Enthralled and highly impressed. A little disappointed that the East Anglia percentage was not higher. I suggest 77% based on my documentary record. Living DNA gave it 39%. I still find that a very good result.
However... let's get this into perspective to 23andMe and FT-DNA tests. Documentary evidence suggests that I am 100% British over the past 300 years. 23andMe said 32%. FT-DNA said 36%. Living DNA gets it so much closer at 74%! That is a whole lot more accurate.
What about the remaining 26% on regional level, where do Living DNA say that comes from? All European. It suggests 9.7% unassigned European, 9.6% Tuscan (Southern European), 4.6% Scandinavian, and 2% "Germanic". The Tuscan is interesting, but I'm not convinced yet that it is not ancient and population based. The Scandinavian is also most likely ancient - in my opinion.
Two things please and impress me about my results on the sub regional level:
1) Based on documentary research, I estimate that 250 years ago, 77% of my ancestors were in East Anglia. Living DNA indeed, sees it as by far my largest sub regional percentage. At 39%, a little low, but very impressive. They correctly identified me as East Anglian.
My next main region, in my Family Tree, I have circa 12% ancestors from "South Central England". Living DNA saw this, and it is indeed, my second largest percentage at sub regional level. I get South Central England with 7.5% - incredible. The small "South England" would also tied to this line.
Then I get 5.4% South-East England. It could be over spill from the East Anglia ancestry, but I do have one 3xgreat grandfather Shawers In London, that I do not know the origins of. I wonder now?
Then it's "Lincolnshire" with 4.8%. Brilliant! I had a 3xgreat grandfather from the southern parts of Living DNA's Lincolnshire sub region. That fills my documentary record almost perfect. The small "Central England" percentage would also tie to this line.
Then follows a number of low percentages from all over Southern and Eastern England. They might tell a story, or might not. Surprisingly Cornwall and Devon show up in low percentages, as does Yorkshire. Did my Shawers line actually come from one of those regions? I have seen Shawers in Devon, Cornwall, Shores in Yorkshire, and Shawers in Lancashire.
2) What is excluded can also demonstrate the accuracy of such a test. No Welsh, Northumbrian, French, Normand, Irish, Scottish, or Iberian ancestry suggested. Not that I'd have any objection against descent from any of these, or anywhere - but that this test successfully sees that I am NOT descended from these close regions, is to my mind, a great success, and a vast improvement on any past autosomal DNA tests for ancestry by other businesses. The truth is, that the English are so like these other populations!
On mtDNA they get my haplogroup down to H6a1a.
They have not yet completed my Y-DNA analysis. I guess L in an English tester might have thrown them a bit.
No other DNA test has ever existed quite like this. My initial response is - an amazing test. The future of autosomal testing for Ancestry.
