How reliable are the ancestrydna communities?

[Aeolus]

I haven't checked my results in a while, and when I came back, it assigned me 2 new communities.

I have DNA relatives from these communities as well. I had them before I got the update, so I was wondering how accurate the communities are? If they are, then that would answer a lot of questions regarding the lack of genealogy in my family tree, but you never know with commercial tests, so I'm curious what you guys think.

[AimSmall]

Pretty accurate for the twenty plus kits I manage and I'm heavy into genealogy.

[JonikW]

I haven't checked my results in a while, and when I came back, it assigned me 2 new communities.

I have DNA relatives from these communities as well. I had them before I got the update, so I was wondering how accurate the communities are? If they are, then that would answer a lot of questions regarding the lack of genealogy in my family tree, but you never know with commercial tests, so I'm curious what you guys think.

Based on my own results Aeolus, I think they're accurate for southern Britain. Certainly Ancestry is by far the best of the tests I've done in that regard, including 23andme, MyHeritage and LivingDNA. Ancestry could potentially have added some additional more distant communities to my result but the ones they identified are absolutely correct. Hopefully someone will contribute here from your part of the world because I assume Ancestry does a better job with some communities than with others, depending on what samples they have in the database.

[East Anglian]

Mine are spot on. But I have a heavy tree on their site, strongly referenced, also one for my very local Norfolk mother, and I wonder if we are a part of the genetic communities reference:

[Aeolus]

Pretty accurate for the twenty plus kits I manage and I'm heavy into genealogy.

I'm kinda worried because I'm from the near East, and ancestrydna in general is best for western/Northern Europeans or Americans.

Balkans and the Middle East isnt as fleshed out as, say, England or France, so the chances for errors are higher for a non euro guy like me than for Americans as their reference population is also much larger.

[Aeolus]

I haven't checked my results in a while, and when I came back, it assigned me 2 new communities.

I have DNA relatives from these communities as well. I had them before I got the update, so I was wondering how accurate the communities are? If they are, then that would answer a lot of questions regarding the lack of genealogy in my family tree, but you never know with commercial tests, so I'm curious what you guys think.

Based on my own results Aeolus, I think they're accurate for southern Britain. Certainly Ancestry is by far the best of the tests I've done in that regard, including 23andme, MyHeritage and LivingDNA. Ancestry could potentially have added some additional more distant communities to my result but the ones they identified are absolutely correct. Hopefully someone will contribute here from your part of the world because I assume Ancestry does a better job with some communities than with others, depending on what samples they have in the database.

Yes that's what I'm worried about. That for a non euro dude like me it's not as accurate.

Although I do have a lot of matches from that region and the community, if accurate, would explain a lot of holes in my family tree.

[Nqp15hhu]

They’re acutely accurate for me. The only thing I would like is more clarification on the difference between the Ulster communities and the NI and SW Scotland communities.

I have communities that overlap in both regions. 

Looking at my matches I’m assuming the NI and SW Scotland one is an Ulster Scots GC. I would like to know how they are stringing those out.

An Ulster Scots born in County Antrim would have ancestors born in the same location as an Ulster Irish person born in County Antrim. So how do they tell the two a part? 

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[ESPLover]

Here's mine

[Jalisciense]

Very accurate; if I'm not wrong because something I have seen it's that AncestryDNA choose them based in the places of the matches you have.

[AimSmall]

Having deep trees and setting the accurate known relationship to your matches greatly enhances the accuracy. I've probably set thousands of these on my kit and those I manage. The more feedback they get, the more they get their features dialed in.

[Aeolus]

Here's mine

How accurate did you find them?

[Aeolus]

Very accurate; if I'm not wrong because something I have seen it's that AncestryDNA choose them based in the places of the matches you have.

Yeah, I do have plenty of matches from the place where I got my communities from.

[ESPLover]

Here's mine

How accurate did you find them?

The Eastern Pakistan one is accurate since I did have known ancestors living in the region. The Gujarat community does surprise me though since I don't have any knowledge of any family from there; I'll have to ask my family about that (The Gujarat one only started showing up for me with the last communities update btw, before that it was just the East Pakistan one).

[muttgenes]

My father's family has largely been here for 300 years with mixed African and European roots specific to the Appalachians. It gave me communities in this area as well as giving my father communities with Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina African Americans. My paternal grandmother's family are Russlanddeutsch and came in the 19th century and settled southern North Dakota and it also pinpointed that as a community. My mother's side are also largely Russlanddeutsch and settled in Illinois and Wisconsin and it detected early Wisconsin settlers. My 2nd great grandmother was the first of her family born in the US, immigrating from Rogaland in Norway. It gave me communities in Southwestern Norway for the villages they lived in prior to Rogaland. So, for an American with a variety of roots, it's pretty accurate.

[Aeolus]

Here's mine

How accurate did you find them?

The Eastern Pakistan one is accurate since I did have known ancestors living in the region. The Gujarat community does surprise me though since I don't have any knowledge of any family from there; I'll have to ask my family about that (The Gujarat one only started showing up for me with the last communities update btw, before that it was just the East Pakistan one).

Let me know if your family confirms it. You and I are in the same boat in that regard.