Ancestry Genetic Communities is a new(ish) service for those who have used Ancestry’s DNA analysis. The original analysis breaks down into broad groups based on DNA inherited thousands of years ago: in my case Great Britain, Europe West, Scandinavia and Ireland (mainly), and I looked at this in Earlier Origins & DNA.
Ancestry has now assigned people to genetic communities based on DNA acquired in the last few hundreds of years, during the era of written records. It would therefore be surprising if these communities did not reflect extensive research going back up to 450-500 years.
I am assigned to two communities:
English in the West Midlands, connection “very likely”. My research identifies that the overwhelming majority of Andrew’s Kindred were born in Staffordshire or one of the neighbouring counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Shropshire, with a few in Wales, and the “next ring” of English counties. And this is precisely what the map shows. Obviously, there are gaps in my knowledge, where I have not found records to advance some lines, such as Evans in Flintshire or Jones in mid-Wales, or Brown in Shropshire. We all have our roadblocks to bear!
It is important to note that these are connections, including siblings and by marriage, not just direct ancestors from whom I could have inherited genes.
English Midlanders & Northerners, connection “possible”.
Once again, this closely reflects my research, but also shows where I might find more records, if they exist. Currently, I have 3,633 individuals in my tree, but this map must represent tens, if not hundreds, of thousands.
Ancestry also provides a list of 20 surnames that appear in this community, 16 of which do not yet appear in Andrew’s Kindred.
In the English in the West Midlands group are 64 Genetic Community Matches. Many of these do not have trees attached and many have two few individuals to identify where connections occur. Given past experience, I do not propose to investigate these and will wait for any Shared Ancestry Hints to arise.
Has this new service added to my knowledge of Andrew’s Kindred? Not really.
Andrew's Kindred 