The Genealogist Review
The Genealogist is an extension of Genealogy Supplies (Jersey) Limited, a company dedicated to publishing a wide range of family history data online. It also focuses on developing innovative tools and helping people find their ancestors and learn more about their lives by publishing unique data sets. Apart from The Genealogist, the company also manages sites like UK Census Online, UKIndexer, BMDregisters, RootsUK, and FHS-Online.
This review of The Genealogist, however, will primarily focus on this particular website, more specifically, on the overall reach of its ancestry DNA testing portfolio. So, if you want to know more about The Genealogist and how it can complement your ancestry research with genetic exploration, keep on reading.
How The Genealogist Works
The Genealogist, as its name implies, is primarily dedicated to genealogical research and helping individuals learn more about their past and unknown relatives by going through historical records. In order to complement its service with genetic sequencing, it implements a set of ancestry DNA testing solutions offered by Family Tree DNA. Therefore, it uses the same at-home business model as the company that provides the tests.
Once you’ve decided on a specific test, you can place your order on The Genealogist website and provide the necessary data (forename, surname, email, password, house name/number, street, city/town, country/state, postcode/zip, country, and gender). The second step is choosing your preferred payment method (cash, credit cards, PayPal, bank transfer…).
After your order is placed, your personal DNA testing kit will be sent to the specified address. Testing kits are shipped directly from Houston, Texas (Family Tree DNA’s lab location) and can take up to a couple of weeks to arrive at UK addresses. Every kit contains 2 swabs, 2 tubes, comprehensive instructions, and a release form. Both tubes are filled with antibacterial fluid in order to guarantee the safety of your sample. Once you perform a cheek swab, collect your buccal cells, and store them, they can be kept fresh for several months inside the tubes.
Note that Family Tree DNA won’t start processing your DNA sample until the payment is received in full. Depending on the particular test in question, your results will be available within 4-10 weeks.
Why Choose The Genealogist
The Genealogist is an excellent place to start learning more about the lives of your ancestors. It features numerous search options that allow both beginners and experienced family historians to start uncovering the past using only first names.
Here’s a list of the most prominent features offered by The Genealogist:
- Extensive genealogical sources and data sets
- Family Tree DNA testing portfolio
- Modern technology and processing facilities
- Rich knowledge base and help center
- The largest database of DNA profiles (Family Tree DNA)
- Exploration of potential Jewish heritage
- Good privacy policy
- Worldwide shipping
- Automated result updates
- Personalized user support
Tests
The Genealogist basically offers Family Tree DNA’s portfolio, which means it includes the following tests:
- Family Finder (99.95£) – Family Finder will identify your DNA matches, establish family connections, and trace your ancestral lines through history. It will also provide you with ethnic percentages reaching back to ancient times. The test is autosomal, which means it inspects 22 pairs of chromosomes, excluding the XX and XY gender chromosomes.
- Y-Test (Y-DNA37 – 124.95£; Y-DNA67 – 189.95£; Y-DNA111 – 259.95£) – Y-DNA or father’s line tests explore the history of your personal ancestry and establish genealogy by inspecting 37/67/111 genetic markers.
- mtFull Sequence (154.95£) – mtFull Sequence is also called “The Mega Test” since it covers every mitochondrial region, including the coding region and HVR1/2. It is currently the most sophisticated iteration of mitochondrial testing available in the world.
The Genealogist also offers Family Tree DNA’s combination packages:
- Family Finder + mtDNA Full Sequence (229.95£)
- Family Finder + Y-DNA37 (189.95£)
- Comprehensive Genome; Family Finder + Y-DNA67 + mtFull Sequence (429.95£)
Privacy And Security
Both Genealogy Supplies (Jersey) Limited and Family Tree DNA take the security and privacy of their clients very seriously. Every testing kit comes with a nonsequential and completely random personal ID, which the companies use to connect you to your results. Note that the ID doesn’t hold any personal information and can never be recovered from Family Tree DNA if lost. Furthermore, the information stored by the companies is never shared with any third parties or otherwise compromised.
If you so choose, you can disclose some of your personal data for easier communication with your genetic matches, but you can also remain completely anonymous, even after your final report has been generated. Both websites implement HTTPS protocol in order to keep your online communication as secure as possible.
Shipping And Handling
Family Tree DNA uses DHL shipping for domestic orders and DHL International when shipping abroad. When it comes to standard shipping costs, The Genealogist has already calculated them into the total price of every test. That’s why the prices are somewhat higher than on Family Tree DNA’s website.
The expedited shipping fees may vary depending on your location, so it’s best to contact The Genealogist and get the relevant info prior to choosing this option.
Note that shipping to Japan, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia requires special processing. The company cannot ship its kits to Iran and Sudan. International shipments do not come with a return postage due to the broad range of international postage costs.
The Genealogist offers an abundance of genealogical sources on top of genetic exploration, which is provided by Family Tree DNA, one of the best companies we’ve ever talked about on this website, so you can definitely have complete faith in its genetic processing, staff competency, lab quality, and result accuracy. The Genealogist primarily focuses on British ancestral heritage, which is excellent news for individuals who want to explore their potential background in those areas. It wouldn’t be our first choice for US citizens, but it would definitely make the top of the list for inhabitants of the British Isles.Bottom Line
After I got my results I started searching for family members through the Genealogy database and actually found a couple of people. I didn’t really believe it first so I tracked them on facebook and send a message to each one and every one replied. We managed to find out exactly who is related to whom and I even visited one of my cousins. It’s great when you find out you are not alone in the country which is not yours. I don’t feel so homesick anymore.
My dad started making out a family tree a couple of years ago but ran out of old people to ask for information and most of his relatives are from east Europe meaning they didn’t keep written records of dates of births in small villages that long ago. We decide to surprise him for his birthday and ordered a Y-DNA111 so he can find out more about his father’s side of the family. He actually found out that he has some relatives not too far from where we live and now they keep emailing all the time and they even went for lunch to get to know one another.
It is great that the Genealogist pays so much attention to privacy because it offers pretty sensitive and private information about people which could be a problem if someone found out. According to what I’ve read, the ID mark is random and there is no way anyone can get any information on you based on that ID. Once I found out my results, after I did the Family Finder test, I wasn’t yet ready to share it with my potential family members and I wouldn’t feel comfortable if someone contacted me first.
I’m an American. I subscribed to the The Genealogist UK based on glowing online reviews like those found here. I’m truly baffled by the praise this website receives. The only resource that was of even marginal pertinence to me was the PCC wills. I was able to glean a few useful bits from those. But, other than that, I was disappointed by their other paltry offerings. For example, they will link to articles in books and journals, but those are already available for free through: Google Books, HathiTrust, and Archive.Org. Even their births, marriages and deaths are free at Familysearch. I was really hoping they would have wills and other local county records that simply can’t be found outside of the UK. Another example: I learned through my research that the Hertfordshire Archives have wills that aren’t covered by the PCC records or available in printed form or online. This is also true of most other English counties. There is a wealth of county probate information locked away in these records. These are the sort of records I need to see to do adequate research. This is what I was hoping to find at the Genealogist. If they do not offer these there’s no point is spending my money here. One final point — I think that there may be many researchers who, when they see what is offered here, go away with the impression that that is all there is. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Tell me if I’m missing something here but isn’t family tree dna cheaper like a lot??
I ordered from the Genealogist website, I get notification my fam. tree dna account is ready, my credit card says something else… What’s going on here guys?!
Great service! Took a while to get the final results but that didn’t diminish the overall experience for me.
Great stuff, but the report was too complicated for me at first.