Bottom Line Up Front
I would recommend MyTrueAncestry to anyone interested in having their autosomal DNA test data analyzed. MyTrueAncestry charges one-time fees, and updates their site at least once a week, so I feel as if I'm continually getting "more bang" for the "bucks" I've spent on their service.
Civilizations!
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Upload One DNA File for Free
In order for MyTrueAncestry to tell me anything about my ancestry, I needed to upload at least one of my DNA files. The first one I uploaded was a file based solely on a Y-DNA test, which I downloaded from FamilyTreeDNA.com. MyTrueAncestry accepts various file types, including .csv, .tar, .zip, and .txt, et al, from various websites, including 23andMe.com, Ancestry.com, LivingDNA.com, MyHeritage.com, et al. Unfortunately, their website was set up to accept only autosomal DNA files, and it could tell that mine was not such a file, because it was too small. I was obliged to pay for more FamilyTreeDNA tests and before I had any DNA files which MyTrueAncestry would accept. I upgraded my Y-DNA test, and ordered mtFull and FamilyFinder tests. I then uploaded a "Concatenated" version of my FamilyTreeDNA files, which, presumably, includes data representing my autosomal, mitochondrial, and "Y" DNA.
Later, I also uploaded an AncestryDNA file which represents my autosomal DNA, and discovered that they appear to contain similar (but not exactly the same) data. The most obvious difference I noticed, between my FamilyTreeDNA and AncestryDNA data, was that AncestryDNA's data doesn't seem to reach back as far as Cheddar Man, whereas FamilyTreeDNA's does.
After uploading my first FamilyTreeDNA file to MyTrueAncestry, I also upgraded my FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA test to their Big Y-700, and I uploaded the corresponding file to MyTrueAncestry. I therefore have three DNA data files on MyTrueAncestry; they represent:
- my first, autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-DNA FamilyTreeDNA tests
- my autosomal AncestryDNA test
- my autosomal, mitochondrial, and Big Y-700 FamilyTreeDNA tests
Furthermore, I have uploaded autosomal AncestryDNA files representing DNA extracted from my wife, her mother, her sister, and her adoptive father. The daughters of my wife's sister have also had their DNA tested by AncestryDNA, but I have not asked their mother for copies of their files, which would be unnecessary, anyway; AncestryDNA confirms that my wife and her sister are their mother's offspring, and that the nieces are the offspring of their mother.
In order to upload more than one DNA File to MyTrueAncestry, they required me to pay for an upgrade.
MyTrueAncenstry Membership Levels
In January, 2021, I received an e-mail, from MyTrueAncestry, informing me that, for forty-eight hours, I could access information about my DNA, which I would normally need to pay to see on their website. Once I logged in to see this data, I discovered that they were also having a "flash sale."
Clients pay one-time membership fees to upgrade their status. The fee(s) for all previous upgrades, if any, is subtracted from the price of every upgrade.
I upgraded from "Commoner" (free membership) to "Footman (Level 1)." I liked what I saw, so I upgraded to "Knight (Level 2)," "King (Level 3)," and eventually, their "Olympus (Level 6)," skipping their "Caesar (Level 4)" and "Zeus (Level 5)." There are two higher levels available, called "Odyssey (Level 7)," and their new "Enlightenment (Level 8)," which they added after I originally signed up, but, for now, I am satisfied with my "Olympus" Level 6 membership. This Level is the minimum Level required to "Create Ancient Kits." These kits are treated as if they were based on modern DNA files uploaded to the website. At Olympus Level 6, I am allowed to have fifteen kits at a time. Knights are only allowed to have two; Kings, five; Caesar and Zeus, ten.
Fast Login
I love how quickly I am usually able to login to MyTrueAncestry. Other sites require an entire, separate webpage to load, after clicking their "login" or "sign in" links. MyTrueAncestry causes a pop-up window to appear almost instantly, with my user I.D. and password preloaded, so it's loaded before the other websites have even loaded their login pages.
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Blog post by William Mortensen Vaughan
