DNA Query

[Torwoodlee]

Hello,

I am interested in having a DNA test done but I'm not sure what route is best to take.  Would anyone be happy to let me know about their experiences to help me with my decision?  I want to trace both my paternal and maternal lines but I don't know if my gender excludes me from any particular tests.

Thanks

Borderslass   

[Deer243]

Hi BordersLass,

There are several main types of DNA tests, Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA.

Autosomal DNA looks at all of your DNA apart from the Y chromosome (if you are male) and the mtDNA. Autosomal testing can find relatives on all your ancestral lines going back to a common ancestor about 5 generations ago. So if you have a parent that can be tested it is best to test them to maximise your chances of finding relatives. Autosomal testing will also give you an estimate of your "ethnic origin" e.g. 40% British Isles, 30% Scandinavian, 20% East Africa, 10% Mediterranean. These ethnicity estimates do need to be taken with a pinch of salt though. The test will also estimate how recently you are related, e.g. 2nd cousins, 4th cousins etc.
Autosomal testing can be done by both males and females.

Y-DNA testing can only be done by males (since only males carry a Y-chromosome) and this can trace patrilineal male line ancestors going back much further than autosomal testing can. Y-DNA testing can find relatives from around the time surnames were created and before. The Y chromosome is passed from Father to son and so should follow the inheritance of the surname (unless there was an adoption etc). With Y-testing you should find relatives who share a male line ancestor with you and get an estimate of when you share a common ancestor.

I have done autosomal and Y-DNA testing myself but not mtDNA testing but I'll try and explain what I understand about mtDNA testing.

mtDNA testing can be done by both males and females. mtDNA testing finds relatives on your Mother's direct female line; i.e. the mtDNA is only inherited from your Mother and she would have inherited it from her Mother etc. Unfortunately, from what I understand mtDNA is not as useful as autosomal or Y-DNA for family history because as the surname changes with each generation it can be very hard to work out how you are related to those that you match.

This video should help to explain testing in a bit more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gmdCkH0xNI

The video is made by Maurice Gleeson and he has made some excellent DNA videos on his Youtube channel which range from basic to very advanced: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcPhbETNSaXAb0I_yMGqHYg

To summarise, the only test which cannot be done by some people is the Y-DNA test which can only be done by males; however, you could get a male relative to take the test as a "proxy" for you.

I've been at the same brick with my Irish ancestors on my male line for almost 3 years now and DNA testing is slowly helping me to make progress but above all going through your DNA results and matches really is fascinating and adds a new dimension to family history research!

[clayton bradley]

I am involved with 3 Y-DNA projects. In the case of my brother there are no matches and it hasn't helped at all. Some kind soul burnt the parish registers. For my husband, it has helped partially. Although he didn't match with anyone of the same name he has matched at a distance of 2 with 2 families from Staffordshire and I have moved my search from Derbyshire to Staffordshire. In the third case, my mother's family of Broadley, it worked like a charm and we now know that Abraham Broadley, who arrived in Darwen, Lancs in 1654, was born in Yorkshire near Halifax and are moving slowly back to 1362 when John Broadley acquired his name. I have just added autosomal to my husband's kit on FTDNA and am still struggling. Good Luck, cb

[hurworth]

I would start with an autosomal test, which looks at all the chromosomes and will find maternal and paternal cousins. 

Two kits I manage match several other descendants of a gtgtgt-grandfather, and it has confirmed his identity.  The gtgt-grandfather was illegitimate and some matches are with descendants of his half-brother.  Each family had a man with this name in their tree (he was named and shamed as the father of our ancestor in Scottish parish records ) but it wasn't known if he was the same man until various descendants tested and connected with each other.

I've recently received results for someone else (not related to the other kits I manage).  This family has good paper records for some branches.   So far I only recognise one match - a half third cousin.   My theory is that descendants from one branch in particular are either so confident of their ancestry that they don't feel the need to test, or else don't want to test in case it turns out the paper trail isn't quite right (such as some hanky panky along the line).   The half third cousin confirms no hanky panky recently up the direct paternal line.

I'm very much hoping to find some matches - about one eight of this person's DNA is from a gt-grandmother who was born in 1805 and had her ninth child (our ancestor) in her late forties.  You should try to test the older generation such as your parents or grandparents first.  If that isn't possible test your aunts and uncles or their cousins etc.

Also, as Borders Lass I hope you do test, because I for one want more Scottish samples in the mix! 

Some of the closest matches for this recent kit are estimated at about the 4th cousin level.   They'll be more distant than that (because our line had moved away from the area by then) but interestingly a few of them have ancestors from the same or adjacent parish in Wigtownshire that a couple of branches of the family is from. 

Whichever company you use I would encourage you to also upload to Gedmatch.