Help Krüger/Krueger find Krueger relatives. Do a DNA test

ow-preussen-l
1

For Birgit (& others who may question Allen's impartiality),

Yes, you have a legitimate reason to question Allen Krueger as to whether or not he receives any benefit by mentioning the DNA testing company he uses. But I must say that his appeal did not strike me as being motivated by any goal other than a sincere hope to locate his great-grandfather's family. He went to a lot of trouble telling us what he knows about his family, and for this reason I am willing to accept his widely broadcasted message as being largely non-commercial (despite his mention of a specific company by name).

He is faced with a problem similar to what we all faced in the the early days of genealogical software, when different platforms did not communicate --share data-- well with each other. I believe there are three or four major companies operating in the field of DNA testing, and it is not clear to me that we've reached the stage yet of having transparency. To achieve the broadest possible comparisons, one may still have to post test results to various sites, if not actually to test with more than one company.

As an editor of a monthly newsletter of a genealogical society with a primary focus upon immigrants to America, I'll now mention his quest in my next issue. And, who knows?, with a little luck having a few more people to take the test may result in my gaining my own first connection to a distant cousin through the Family Finder test (autosomal DNA testing)….

Best Wishes,

Gordon Seyffert
Altadena, California, U.S.A.

2

Hallo Gordon,
I meanwhile had email-contact with Allen and explained to him my reasons for being suspicious as to the final outcome of DNA-tests! If you speak German, it might be useful to watch the following link:

you have to click on the date Oct. 14th and on “Gentests für jedermann”:

Main content (I here quote the gist of my letter to Allen with a few changes):

They tested 3 companies, the saliva-donator wanting to know where his grandmother came from:

a Swiss one - Galantos, 380€

IGENEA – 449€

23andme – 139€

All three companies do not do their own research but rely on data from other scientists – even on data which for copyright-reasons are not allowed to be used (maps, for instance). One company even asked for a photo and fingerprints, which is not allowed.

23andme asked a lot of questions concerning health and previous illnesses and if you had ever been suffering from depression; they also wanted to know a lot about your consumer’s habits (like the shampoo you use!) – and they had a contract which was far too long to read – so almost everyone just clicks to accept the conditions without really knowing them …

The results of two companies were entirely wrong, only one suggested that the tested person’s grandma came from “Middle Europe” – that was correct - but no surprise at all and it gave no precise hint as to the origin of the woman. However, what was most disturbing: They had done a complete analysis of the testperson’s health – 237 health risks and genetic dispositions! - and the contract says that he had agreed to allow the company to sell his data to “a third party” in order to launch new products onto the market…

The founder of 23andme, Anne Wojcicki, is now wife of the co-founder of “google”, Sergey Brin … need I say more?

May-be that Germans are more sensitive with their data – especially when they fall into the hands of the wrong people – I would not like my insurance company to augment my fees because they bought my DNA-test …

I sincerely understand your wish to find your roots – if not, I would not be member of the “OWP-Liste” - but I am still convinced that a DNA-test will not lead you to the place your ancestors came from, as in Germany it is still not the same “hype” as in the USA or in the Netherlands - you’d better look through more church records etc.

Best wishes
Birgit