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DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular?

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♂

Nov 20, 10, 20:00 #1

I'm curious as to how popular (Or unpopular) DNA testing seems to be in the country of Poland. I know that here in the United States it seems to be a lot more popular than a lot of Europe, probably due to the fact that we're a land of immigrants, and we become curious as to where we come from. Maybe this is just how American's like myself view it, so I'm curious as to what some of the people from Poland actually think of this.

If you are Polish, have you been DNA tested?

If you are an American with Polish ancestry, have you been DNA tested?

If you are either, and were tested, what haplogroup did you end up in?

I am obviously an American with Polish ancestry, and was tested through ancestry.com. I was put into haplogroup J2a1h. Apparently J2 has characteristics for Greece, but it only makes up I believe 4.5% of the Polish population. I unfortunately didn't get any matches within 35 generations on ancestry, or any other paternal database I've submitted my information to. Apparently I have no ancestry ;). This is part of the reason I brought this question up, because I was wondering if part of the reason I'm not getting any matches is because in Poland, DNA testing really hasn't become that popular. My greatgrandfather immigrated around 1900, so it doesn't surprise me that I didn't get any matches within the United States. Though maybe DNA testing isn't all that popular among Polish Americans either ;) haha.

But anyway, I'm curious as to your thoughts.

Regards,
Joshua

LenkaThreads: - Posts: 241 Joined: Nov 17, 09 ♀	Nov 20, 10, 20:37 #2
EsotericForest: If you are Polish, have you been DNA tested? No, I'm not interested in that. As far as I know all my family is pure Polish. My brother checked our genealogy and everything seems clear. If I had some not Polish ancestors in,let's say, 17th century I don't care.

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 20:40 #3
That's the general attitude I'm picking up on ;)

LenkaThreads: - Posts: 241 Joined: Nov 17, 09 ♀	Nov 20, 10, 20:49 #4
EsotericForest: That's the general attitude I'm picking up on ;) I must say that I've never heard someone mentioning DNA tests. Maybe it's because of the money? Anyway I don't know anybody who took the tests or is planning to do so.

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 20:56 #5
Sorry, but I couldn't resist this one. Have you heard about the moron who stayed up all night cramming for a DNA test? No, that's not to suggest that DNA testers are morons. It's just a rehash of an old moron joke in which the moron stayed up all night cramming for a blood test.

A JThreads: 19 Posts: 4,639 Joined: May 21, 10 ♂	Edited by: A J Nov 20, 10, 21:17 #6
About DNA, I've heard Holland and the U.S. now share their DNA data banks, so maybe I can find some relatives of mine the in U.S. that way? I know I have a cousin and some distant-relatives living in Houston, Texas, but I'm kinda curious if there are more people who carry my surname in the U.S. and if they're somehow related.

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 21:48 #7
Lenka: I must say that I've never heard someone mentioning DNA tests. Maybe it's because of the money? Anyway I don't know anybody who took the tests or is planning to do so. The 46 marker test on ancestry.com is $179. It isn't too over the top in my opinion as far as cost goes.

LenkaThreads: - Posts: 241 Joined: Nov 17, 09 ♀	Nov 20, 10, 22:06 #8
EsotericForest: The 46 marker test on ancestry.com is $179 What makes it about 500 zł (I've checked Polish sites and it's 620 zł)-I doubt that any of my friends would spend such money on tests.They would probably prefer to go on holiday.

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 22:11 #9
Well you'd have to probably have a pretty good interest in history, genealogy, family, and such to want to spend the time or money on it.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 22:14 #10
Lenka: I doubt that any of my friends would spend such money on tests.They would probably prefer to go on holiday. It's an interesting point though, don't you think, Americans spend that money on their own fantasy. There is no "Polish" gene. Some go on holidays in their heads.

♀

Edited by: Lenka Nov 20, 10, 22:18 #11

EsotericForest:

Well you'd have to probably have a pretty good interest in history, genealogy, family, and such to want to spend the time or money on it.

And your ancestry would have to be unclear.I think it's more frequent in US and therefore DNA tests are more popular there.

SeanBM:

It's an interesting point though, don't you think, Americans spend that money on their own fantasy.

Could you explain that to me because I don't quite get it?

SeanBM:

There is no "Polish" gene.

Of course not but deep down in my soul I know that we have one special gene that makes us so perfect and better than other nations ;D

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 22:30 #12
Well if you trace back far enough, every person in Poland has roots in some other country, region, or continent. It starts to depend on where you really want to draw the line and say "My ancestors were from (Fill in the blank)".

♀

Nov 20, 10, 22:35 #13

EsotericForest:

If you are an American with Polish ancestry, have you been DNA tested?

EsotericForest:

If you are either, and were tested, what haplogroup did you end up in?

I've been tested and so have my parents and the results were very accurate. Females can only find their haplogroup on their mother's maternal line and our haplogroup on that side isn't Polish but our autosomal DNA had matches in Poland, from the northwestern part of the country. From what I understand, a lot of those DNA results are from prisoners. eek.

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 22:42 #14
Well part of the problem is that sooner or later somebody in our ancestry was probably not of legitimate birth, or possibly even the result of a rape, or who knows what else. Nobody has pure and perfect genetic lines going back hundreds of years. There's always skeletons in the closet which can cause your ancestry to take a complete turn you didn't expect.

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Nov 20, 10, 22:44 #15

Lenka:

Could you explain that to me because I don't quite get it?

Sure, that Americans seem to travel through different countries and time in thier heads, believing that they were Polish or Irish etc... because of a website that they pay to tell them they have the Polish or Irish gene etc...
And there is no gene to prove it, so it is pure fantasy, therefore an escape and therefore a holiday, in a sense.

Lenka:

Of course not but deep down in my soul I know that we have one special gene that makes us so perfect and better than other nations ;D

I didn't know you were Irish too :D

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Nov 20, 10, 22:50 #16
Except that some of us have actual proof of our European ancestry ;). I can prove that I'm half Polish, and that I have French, and Irish, and English on my mothers side. We're not all in a little fantasy world as you make it sound. We all came from somewhere, and it's interesting to find out where exactly that was.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Nov 20, 10, 22:51 #17
EsotericForest: I can prove that I'm half Polish, Go on then, prove it using DNA tests. Or I will continue to believe you live in a fantasy world ;)

♀

Nov 20, 10, 22:58 #18

SeanBM:

Sure, that Americans seem to travel through different countries and time in thier heads, believing that they were Polish or Irish etc...
And there is no gene to prove it, so it is pure fantasy and therefore an escape and therefore a holiday, in a sense.

Now I get it although I don't know If I agree with you entirely.

SeanBM:

I didn't know you were Irish too :D

I didn't know that either but now I'm blessed with the knowledge :D

EsotericForest:

Nobody has pure and perfect genetic lines going back hundreds of years

Of course someone has pure and perfect genetic line going back to the firt people on the planet- I do ;D And now let's be serious- are you really interested in your ancestors from 11th century? It would be nice to know that but just as some kind of curiosity. And btw- DNA test are only showing you some traces and don't tell you anything really important.

♀

Edited by: shewolf Nov 20, 10, 23:39 #19

Lenka:

What makes it about 500 zł (I've checked Polish sites and it's 620 zł)-I doubt that any of my friends would spend such money on tests.They would probably prefer to go on holiday.

You can go on a holiday with only $179? No wonder people think Americans are rich. That's how much we spend just going to the supermarket. hehe.

EsotericForest:

The 46 marker test on ancestry.com is $179. It isn't too over the top in my opinion as far as cost goes.

By the way, I only paid $99 because I ordered the test some time ago. The prices keep rising. It's better to take advantage of the current price than to wait until it doubles and then you can't afford it.

♂

Nov 20, 10, 23:49 #20

SeanBM:

Go on then, prove it using DNA tests.
Or I will continue to believe you live in a fantasy world ;)

I can't prove it with DNA testing because I don't have ANY matches haha. Some of you Poles should start getting tested so I can prove it with DNA ;).

I do have Birth records on the other hand that can get my back to my great grandparents on my grandfathers paternal, and maternal side...both of which trace back to Poland. As far as the paper trail, and word of mouth can prove...I have about as much proof as a person can get to say that I am at least half Polish.

Lenka:

And now let's be serious- are you really interested in your ancestors from 11th century? It would be nice to know that but just as some kind of curiosity. And btw- DNA test are only showing you some traces and don't tell you anything really important.

I think it'd be very interesting to get back to the 11th century, and why stop there? You have to remember that I'm one of those people who will, by his own choosing, sit down and read a history book...especially if it has to do with European history. It's not just about finding my 30th great grandfather, it's about learning the stories that go along with the names. Every person has contributed to the world in some form or another...some have left a larger mark than others, but none the less, they've all left a mark of some kind. The paper history of census records, birth records, marriage records, as well as the written stories about the people are just part of genealogy and history. You also have the history that runs through every persons own body. We all have DNA that can date back thousands of years so some man or woman who had their own unique story. Then you also have the visual art of history in heraldry. The coats of arms that were passed down from father to son, and were either kept the same, changed slightly, or even quartered to include the mothers paternal heraldic device. There are many elements of history, and I think they're all interesting.

DNA doesn't stamp out my family tree out for me. I still have to do some work to figure that out, but none the less it will give me genetic cousins and that's how you get your answers. It's a team effort for sure to use DNA to your advantage, but when done right it can make connections that you would never find, or take a very long time to locate.

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Nov 20, 10, 23:58 #21

shewolf:

You can go on a holiday with only $179?

Bolonia 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Düsseldorf (Weeze) 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Liverpool 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Madryt 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Mediolan (Bergamo) 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Paryż Beauvais NOWE 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Sztokholm Skavsta 24,00 zł (about 8 dollars)

Birmingham 66,00 zł (about 23 dollars)

Bruksela (Charleroi) 66,00 zł (about 23 dollars)

Dublin 66,00 zł (about 23 dollars)

Ryanair.pl

EsotericForest:

I can't prove it with DNA testing

Kind of ruins the whole point of the thread, doesn't it?

♀

Edited by: Lenka Nov 21, 10, 00:13 #22

EsotericForest:

DNA doesn't stamp out my family tree out for me. I still have to do some work to figure that out, but none the less it will give me genetic cousins and that's how you get your answers.

It only gives you an idea about what group of people share similar DNA.It don't say nothing about stories of this people and that's what I'm looking for in my family history.

EsotericForest:

The coats of arms that were passed down from father to son, and were either kept the same, changed slightly, or even quartered to include the mothers paternal heraldic device.

I'm among this fortunate ppl that have this things.My brother found our coats of arm- it's great we have this piece of information.

♀

Nov 21, 10, 00:21 #23

Maybe you should do a search on your results. I just got my DNA results from some company not through ancestry.com and found I am of Haplogroup 6 putting me in the eastern european group. Tell me something I don't know as I have been Polish al my life! I got tested to see if my grandparent's were Jewish. I feel the answer is yes based on statements made by gma, food, customs. Plus I found gpa's name on a 1930 USA census as Isaac! Not the Ignacy I was told. He was born in Jankowice. Haplogroup 6 is shared by Jews too. I think those companies that say find your ancestors via DNA are playing off your emotions as from what I can tell, there is no "Jewish"gene. The studies are on small subject pools and are biased depending what the researcher wants to prove. And I think that Jewish gene is based on one group of Jews from the Levite line with certain names. I'm new to this genelogy stuff so I could be wrong on this.

As read on ancestry.com, sometimes the only "proof"of ancestry is those things you heard as family lore or absorbed as a child when the adults thought you we're listening! I think you would get a lot of information by searching. Good luck.

♂

Nov 21, 10, 00:26 #24

Lenka:

It only gives you an idea about what group of people share similar DNA.It don't say nothing about stories of this people and that's what I'm looking for in my family history.

I never said that it did say anything about the stories. There's a lot of tools used in genealogy, and DNA testing is just one those. But simply but, it's only a tool, not the key to the mint. You have to utilize the DNA as best you can to find the information in the paper records. It's an assistant, not the answer.

♀

Nov 21, 10, 02:38 #25

EsotericForest:

There's a lot of tools used in genealogy, and DNA testing is just one those. But simply but, it's only a tool, not the key to the mint. You have to utilize the DNA as best you can to find the information in the paper records.

DNA tests are good when someone doesn't know their paper records. I've known people who don't know who their fathers are or maybe anything about their family's history. They take the tests because they want to know what their ancestry might be.

♂

Nov 21, 10, 03:31 #26

SeanBM:

Plus taxes, food, baggage costs and accomodations..... much more than a DNA Test, no?

EsotericForestThreads: 7 Posts: 70 Joined: Sep 6, 09 ♂	Edited by: EsotericForest Nov 21, 10, 06:26 #27
shewolf: DNA tests are good when someone doesn't know their paper records. I've known people who don't know who their fathers are or maybe anything about their family's history. They take the tests because they want to know what their ancestry might be. Just another tool, as I said before. A lot of us are fortunate enough to have a family Bible sitting in our grandma's house haha

nikt	Nov 21, 10, 09:18 #28
SeanBM: There is no "Polish" gene. there is (I mean typical for central Europe especially for Poland). Check haplogroup R1a.

nikt	Nov 21, 10, 09:26 #29
ShawnH: Plus taxes, food, baggage costs and accomodations..... much more than a DNA Test, no? no. 650 zł you can go to Greece on last minute offer for a week. Average price of summer hollidays is double of that price.

♀

Edited by: Softsong Nov 21, 10, 09:38 #30

Hi EsotericForest, when I go on some of the sites that post DNA results there are quite a few from Poland, not as much as the USA, though. But, some people in Poland do get the testing done.

I am a female, therefore I did the MtDNA test which only tests that special form of DNA that is passed down intact from mother to daughter without recombining. (I am mixed about 50% Slavic, and 50% Germanic according to written records and family knowledge). However, my maternal MtDNA line is historically as far as I know, all Polish.

My results were U5 which is the oldest Haplogroup in Europe. It is the equivalent of saying an indigenous European tribe. It predates, Vikings, Slavs, and Celts. It is most common in the reindeer herding Sammi people. So way back about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago that would be the origins of my maternal line. Which leaves out all the other people in my lineage and only considers the mother's mother's mother's and so on.

Most MtDNA Haplogroups even though they are passed down intact from mother to daughter, eventually mutate and become a new Haplogroup. Mine was the first to arrive in Europe, and has not mutated. If it were any older, and it would be Neanderthal. There are older Haplogroups than mine, but they are not in Europe. All this was quite a surprise to me.

U5 was not what I expected because it is not the most common MtDNA group in Poland. It is most common in Finland, and northern Russia.

I have not had the autosomal test done, but might someday if I can afford to do it. I am thinking of asking my male cousin if he would be interested in having his Y-DNA tested. That paternal surname is Szmit or Schmidt. I have traced them living in Poland back to around 300 years ago, but they are Germanic. Most likely Dutch.

And I am thinking of asking my father's male cousin to do a Y-DNA test. That surname is Wycke or Witzke and it is a Germanic name with Slavic influence. They too lived in Poland. I'd be curious to see if that Y-DNA has the marker more common to Slavic people, or the marker more common to German people. Just because I am curious. I love history, genealogy and learning about the migrations of all the tribes in Europe.

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