DNA experties

[screwlooose]

This a question in regards to whether DNA tests can help with family lineage questions.
I will try to keep it simple.
My Great Great Grandfather was an illegitimate son of a barmaid. She named him William Broughton on his birth cert. Her name was Maria Phillips. She listed the father as William Broughton, occupation Gentleman. I have in my tree the William that I think is the father, but have been told that I can never 100% sure that the William I have is in fact the correct father.
 Now William Snr had 4 brothers, however my line is the only line with males all the way to now.
My question is this, do I need male descendants to prove parentage, if I do, can I go a generation back from William Snr to try and find another male descendant? And can the DNA tests advertised for Genealogy provide the info I require or do I need to take the more expensive ones that are used for paternity tests. I suppose the other question is, is it really worth the time and trouble?

[Wiggy]

I suppose the other question is, is it really worth the time and trouble?

I wouldn't think so - nor the expense.  but that's just my view!

Wiggy   

[Craclyn]

For the Y-DNA test you can go a generation back from William Sr and try to find another male descendant. You will also get an indication from the surnames coming back as matches as to your own potential paternal line. In addition testing autosomal DNA can be used to see if there are relationships on any line, so this would also be useful for you if you can test someone from a line that daughtered out.

Take a look at familytreedna.com and you will get a better indication of what the tests offer. They can pick up matches at quite a distance. As an example I have just found a match between my aunt and my 4th cousin which ties in with paper trail to 3rd great grandparents. However, you have to be aware that a no show on the matches will not necessarily mean that there is no relationship. Well worth considering.

[Alexander.]

DNA tests are most useful when you have a hypothesis you are trying to test.

In your case, if I understand correctly, you wish to determine whether you have identified the correct 2x great grandfather. To do this, the test that you need is a Y-DNA test. Y-DNA is passed along from father to son. Therefore, you ideally would need to test a direct male descendant of your 2x great grandfather, and a direct male descendant of his brother.

     Possible 3x great grandfather
                  ¦
     ┎-----------------------------┒
possible brother         2x great grandfather
     |                             |
possible cousin           great grandfather
     |                             |
possible cousin               grandfather
     |                             |
possible cousin                  father
                                   |
                                  you

If you share the same direct male ancestor, your Y-DNA will match closely. Mutations do occur at random when Y-DNA is passed down, so there will likely be a very small amount of variation. Ideally you want to minimize the number of generations (to reduce the chance of mutations) between you and your possible cousins, therefore if you have a father or uncle who is still alive then it may be better to test them instead of yourself.

There are multiple levels of Y-DNA test. While a 37 marker test may be sufficient to rule out a relationship, a higher level test (e.g. 67 markers) would provide much stronger evidence for the relationship if such was found.

At a later stage you could also potentially use autosomal DNA (that is all your chromosomes apart from X and Y) to confirm the match.

Alexander

[youngtug]

The OP has stated that their line is the only continuous male line of the of the purported gtgtgtgrandfather and his 4 brothers, if I read correctly. They want to find a direct male line from the [maybe] gtgtgtgtgrandfather or brother of.  A lot more variables.

[screwlooose]

I went back through my tree last night and if all the info I have is correct, my line is the only continuous male line from his generation. My 2x Great Grandfather was an only child to unmarried parents, The possible father, (3xGreat Grandfather), had 4 brothers with no surviving sons. There are other male lines from the 4x Great Grandfather, will a male line from this generation show enough similarities to tell me I have the correct ancestor?
thx

[davidft]

I went back through my tree last night and if all the info I have is correct, my line is the only continuous male line from his generation. My 2x Great Grandfather was an only child to unmarried parents, The possible father, (3xGreat Grandfather), had 4 brothers with no surviving sons. There are other male lines from the 4x Great Grandfather, will a male line from this generation show enough similarities to tell me I have the correct ancestor?
thx

BIB - Yes it would but I would test at least at yDNA67 level. If I was you I would try and find a direct male line descendant from the person before you test and try and persuade them to test (you may have to pay for it) to give you something to compare with

of course it is always possible for you to do a test and match with someone else who has tested already, but who you have notg heard of,  but this is a long shot.

The problem you will have is one all people who test have and that is that relatively few people test. For example I did a yDNA test a couple of years ago but no near matches so far and I have a quite common surname. On the plus side though I did also do the autosomal test and have a confirmed match to a fourth cousin once removed in America 

Good luck

[Craclyn]

I agree with Davidft that it is worth testing. You may have to wait for a result, but the databases are growing quickly as prices go down and people become more aware of the possibilities. Also a good idea to start with at least 67 markers. If cost is not an issue for you then I would recommend that you also do the autosomal test.

[youngtug]

There are other male lines from the 4x Great Grandfather, will a male line from this generation show enough similarities to tell me I have the correct ancestor?
thx

If the line runs true then it should.