DNA Testing

[BlueUK]

Does anyone know of a company/website that does DNA testing relating to family  history etc ?
Testing to see if relations are in fact related etc etc

[Liz_in_Sussex]

Hi,

I haven't gone ahead with DNA testing myself but have read a lot about it - a company that seems to be recommended by a lot of people is FTDNA.  However - if you put DNA testing into the search engine of this site you'll find a couple of really interesting recent threads discussing it.

Liz

[BlueUK]

Thanks for the reply . I will do as you suggested and have a read of what pops up 

[Brewerton1949]

I have a one-name study on the name Brewerton. I also have recently started a DNA project with FTDNA. Men only testing at Y-37.
The 10th chap is just about to test. I have already connected 3 trees and caused some upset by making 2 people realise that do not actually belong to the Brewerton name. A 'parental mishap' having happened in the 1800's.
However, if you just want to test your own family you may be disappointed. My husband has no matches and my father only matches at 4 steps to a couple of different surnames.
Jeanie

[cougrrr8]

www.familytreedna.com is the one I have used.  You can also try the associated with www.ancestry.com

Relating to a match and actual connections is a remote possibility.  The key is having more markers tested.  The more markers in common the greater the chance of a match and the closer in time.  After a couple of years testing at 67 markers there is only 2 exact matches and only 1 with the same surname.  Obviously the number of those tested needs to increase dramatically to begin to get genealogical confirmation.

FTDNA does have a product...for a bunch more $$$ of course that is supposed to help in that regard but I haven't been sold on it yet. 

[kwheaton]

Here is a link to my own webpage DNA for Newbies.
https://sites.google.com/site/wheatonsurname/dna-for-newbies

The visual DNA chart which you can print from the bottom of the page is most helpful and I have explained it in detail about halfway up the page.

Here are my recommendations for DNA testing.

For Surname Studies (Y-DNA) absolutely go with FTDNA http://www.familytreedna.com/---they have the largest Database in the world for Y-DNA.

Autosomal
For the best value with some caveats 23andme.com tests mtDNA and Y-DNA Haplogroups and autosomal DNA and includes extensive medical info. The caveat is they may use this information (in non-identifying manner) to sell to research companies. AND they require a subscription for ongoing info.

The other options for Autosomal testing are FTDNA's Family Finder Test and a soon to be released autosomal product from Ancestry.com. I like both 23andme and FTDNA for different reasons. The database is much larger at 23andme but the folks at FTDNA are only there for genealogy and are much more responsive.

mtDNA (mitrochondrial DNA) Tests the strictly maternal line for both men and women---but because the surname changes with each generation this is much more difficult and more about ancient DNA.

Kelly

[stuartroxy]

They say that there is no such thing as a stupid question, so here goes:

If I get a DNA test, what will it tell me?

I looked at FTDNA, and that seemed to me to indicate that they could confirm (or not) who my named relatives might be. I think that my paternal family have changed their surname 4 times in a hundred years!  Consequently, I wouldn't know which Project Search to join.  Would I be wasting my time/money?

Thanks,

stuartroxy

[kwheaton]

Stuart,

Well what it tells you all depends on what sort of test you take. If its a Y DNA test it doesn't matter what the name is it will match you with other men that share a common lineal descent from the same man.  It won't matter whether the name changed or not. For instance in my Wheaton surname project we have 4 groups of men that all trace back to Devon and all with the name Wheaton or Wheadon. In Group B we have 9 Wheatons, 1 Mallenby, 1 Hancock, 1 Griffith and they all share a common paternal ancestor probably in the last 500 years. Since Y DNA is passed from father to son to son and so on and it does not go through recombination (almost entirely) aside from some relatively infrequent mutations it will be almost identical.

If you test autosomal DNA then you have the possibility of matching others who share a common ancestor anywhere in your tree. The newest entry into that market is ANCESTRYDNA by ANCESTRY.com. Currently available in the USA only although a couple of Brits have worked around this. The database has reached over 175,000 testers and I have 44 confirmed paper trail matches from the over 1800 matches I have there.  If it opens up on your side of the pond and you are already an Ancestry member I highly recommend it for Confirming that your paper family tree matches your real one.

Their are several other types of DNA and autosomal DNA can also be used by companies like 23andme to give you medical information if that is your interest. Most companies remove or do or test for medically relevant information.

As to a YDNA project. Just contact the Administrator of a project like the British isles or your surname and most will accept you no matter what the test turns out to show.

Feel free to ask more questions. If you want.
Kelly

[stuartroxy]

Kelly,

Thanks.  That explains the concept a bit better.

stuartroxy