By Thomas MacEntee, a techno-geek and genealogist:

For years I’ve been following the practice of sampling DNA as it relates to one’s own genealogy and family history. I’ve read many stories of how some who were absolutely certain their family came from a certain ethnic group found out that such was not the case. And I’ve also watched the African American Lives series hosted by Henry Louis Gates on PBS which has used DNA to trace the ancestry of the show’s celebrity participants.

So I decided to take the plunge. One part of the process is to ask: why do I want to do this? And do I really want to receive DNA results that might turn years of genealogy research upside down instead of reveal further insights?

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