Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Waiting for that Distant Cousin to Test
As our family was maneuvering the stop-and-go traffic on our way back home through the Los Angeles region yesterday, MyHeritage was squeezing a margin of their own—enough to break the latest price barrier on DNA tests. For the first time, we now have a $39 sale price for autosomal testing, and for those purchasing two tests at that price, shipping to the same address is free. That is breaking news, indeed, but according to MyHeritage, it will only be true through November 29. There is apparently no need to wait until Black Friday for Black Friday sales.
Of course, the holiday season has lately been one of the best times of the year, as far as reaping additional DNA matches go. However, in this past year, with DNA news in the forefront, there seems to have been a chill factor affecting the number of new DNA matches. This holiday shopping cycle may reveal some interesting counter-trend tabulations if potential new test-takers turn away from the opportunity to learn more about their roots, based on recent developments. Makes me want to pout, "All I want for Christmas" is...a few good DNA matches on my paternal side.
It's not like I can go out and find that anonymous distant cousin to take that coveted DNA test; if I knew who that key cousin was, I'd have already taken care of business. It's the unknown part of the equation that becomes so frustrating. And so, I wait—and so do countless other researchers, as well. Researchers who all share the hope of making that one vital discovery.
Seeing such a low price, though, is encouraging—and one which I hope will be followed by others, as well. Time will tell whether price is the barrier to further participants entering the market—or there is another obstacle.
Hi Jacqi, About a year or two ago you were posting about your distant ancestor that murdered a man in Canada while traveling on the train in the early 1900's. The man that was killed was Marshall Jackson. He is my 2nd great grandfather. I know that someone in my family reached out to you, but I don't think there was any follow through on our end. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about what happened from our side. My maternal grandfather, also Marshall Jackson, was about 10 years old and had walked his grandfather to the train that morning. If you would like to learn more about what happened to our family after that tragedy, I'd be happy to share.
ReplyDeleteIt was fascinating to hear the other side of the story. My mother had always believed that the man (I've forgotten his name) was never found. My mom is an only child and the gun that Marshall Jackson was shot with was passed down to her and she passed it to her first born son, my brother. He was researching the incident and was going to frame the gun with the article he found. That is why he found your story. We were all thrilled and it lit my interest in finding out more about our family. the Jackson family has a fascinating history, coming to America in the 1600's. Anyway, I'd be happy to share what I know. Thank you for writing the story so well and sharing the story of your rascal of an ancestor;)
Kit, thanks so much for getting in touch! Yes, I did receive emails from both your brother and your mother, and we have corresponded back and forth, a while back.
DeleteI would be very interested to talk with you further about the impact of that tragedy on your family. Please feel free to email me at afamilytapestry at gmail dot com and we can continue the conversation there.