Y-DNA is it worth trying?

[Talacharn]

I am looking for my paternal great-great-grandfather.
His son Thomas was born in Newcastle Emlyn (Cardigan side) around 1836.
The wedding certificate gave his father as John Williams a Labourer.
As he is my direct paternal line, would a Y-DNA test clarify anything?
I had a DNA test by LivingDNA. It was Autosomal and did not offer any close links, though uploaded to GedMatch I had a few results paternal and maternal.
Not happy with LivingDNA I deleted my results.
When the Autosomal offered so little, is there any point trying Y-DNA?
I am the last male on this line, with no one else who could take a DNA test.

[melba_schmelba]

I am looking for my paternal great-great-grandfather.
His son Thomas was born in Newcastle Emlyn (Cardigan side) around 1836.
The wedding certificate gave his father as John Williams a Labourer.
As he is my direct paternal line, would a Y-DNA test clarify anything?
I had a DNA test by LivingDNA. It was Autosomal and did not offer any close links, though uploaded to GedMatch I had a few results paternal and maternal.
Not happy with LivingDNA I deleted my results.
When the Autosomal offered so little, is there any point trying Y-DNA?
I am the last male on this line, with no one else who could take a DNA test.

With a surname like Williams I can see your problem. I would start off with an Ancestry and 23andme DNA test. Ancestry would help in you have many more matches so statistically just more likely to find Williams links that help you get back on that line. But obviously the problem would be confirming it was the same line. That is where 23andme could help, as you get Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroups (as a man), and if you have either someone named Williams as a match and they have the same Y-DNA as you then that is a good start. A female match that lists one of their family names as Williams would also be useful, if they had a father/brother/uncle/grandfather who could test. You can actually extract quite a bit of the Y-DNA information from (a male's) Ancestry DNA test using various tools such as those below

Y-Seq Clade Finder (more up to date)
https://cladefinder.yseq.net/

Morley-DNA subclade predictor
http://ytree.morleydna.com/

https://isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_tools#Y-SNP_haplogroup_prediction_tools

[Talacharn]

Thanks for the explanation. I was very new to DNA testing and hoped Living DNA would offer a Williams. There were a few Welsh sounding surnames, and many more English sounding ones. There is one Thomas Williams, born 1836 that fits the location. He was illegitimate, but names John Williams as the father, then baptised under both surnames. I was hoping, he would have fathered other children, and any males would also have the same Y-DNA.

Thomas Williams only appears in two reliable census records. His age is always two-years younger than his wife, but neither were fully accurate. I traced her and she was born in 1834. That makes me think 1836 is correct. Finding another Williams may be difficult. His son Thomas had two sons and three daughters who actually married, but only one of those sons had children. That was another Thomas who had one son and four daughters. Basically, there is me and possibly a male cousin who I have not met in 60 years. He too would have the same Williams Y-DNA. Hoping Living DNA would offer a Williams, I now realise it was a long shot.

If there are any Williams, with the same Y-DNA, apart from my cousin, it would have to be from John Williams. I will now look into 23&Me.

[melba_schmelba]

If there are any Williams, with the same Y-DNA, apart from my cousin, it would have to be from John Williams. I will now look into 23&Me.

Y-DNA should trace Williamses who are the same line back 500+ years (I know many Welsh surnames don't even go that far back). Autosomal matching may take you to the late 17th century if you are lucky, but you would have to have traced your family tree very thoroughly to even have a chance of doing this really. 23andme offers many less matches compared to Ancestry. The kits without a subscription will give you 1500 matches, and 23andme's matching database is somewhat unknown, but we know they have about 14 million, but only a percentage of that - my guess 60% i.e. 8.4 million will agree to match relatives (23andme is more health focused). Whereas Ancestry's database, which is all matching is 23 million. And with Ancestry as a Brit, you will have 10-20000 matches, significantly more than 23andme. Once you have confirmed your Y-DNA haplogroup, if you do find Williames matches on Ancestry, you could ask them if they have also got their Y-DNA or if not if they would use one of the predictor tools I listed to see if they are likely a match for you.

https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_testing_comparison_chart

[Talacharn]

I hesitate with purchasing both because of the costs, having already tried LivingDNA. To know my Y-DNA haplogroup would be a start. That at least would link me to my paternal great-great-grandfather; and maybe others, if not today, maybe a name will appear in the future.

My tree is not fully formed. Having hit a brick wall, I tried to fill in all of the gaps, hoping to find a path around. I am struggling to bring branches forward, because it is such a common name and they married others with equally common names, so pinpointing the right ones can be challenging. I do feel, the mother and/or father of Thomas Williams probably knew members of the wider family, with a few names repeating in both areas. That might be wishful thinking, as the same names could repeat all over Wales. Why and when did Thomas leave Newcastle Emlyn to arrive in Laugharne and marry in 1855? I might have him in 1841 near Newcastle Emlyn, then cannot find him in 1851 and the Laugharne 1861 is missing. By 1901, he is estranged and living in Llanelli working as a Navvy, but the following month he had been admitted to the asylum where he was in 1911.

[Biggles50]

First

If you do not test with Ancestry you are not testing with a company that will provide the most results.

As has been written, Ancestry have considerably more testers than 23&Me and your chosen My Living DNA is well way down the pecking order.

At c£60/70 when they offer reduced price tests Ancestry is pretty good value for 20,000 DNA match’s which is what I have.

Second

23&Me is the one to go to for a y DNA test eventually, now for the but, they are still small in this sector so you may have to be patient until someone shows up.  FT DNA are comprehensive and currently the larges but again the chances of finding a recent match has to be pretty small given the limited database due to the lesser Y DNA testers.  Fingers crossed Ancestry gets into this market soon

Third

Test with Ancestry and you can upload the DNA data to My Living DNA, My Heritage, etc, it is not allowed to upload to Ancestry

Four

Buy wisely, do your research first.

[Talacharn]

Thanks Biggles50, I feel money was wasted last time, so I want to be sure and will do my research, which is why I asked here. I know so little about DNA and everything that is available. Ancestry is the biggest, but I have to go to 23andMe first for the Y-DNA. I accept they are much smaller, but I need to start somewhere. Should Ancestry be having a sale I will then buy a test. When I uploaded my LivingDNA results to GedMatch, it took over a year until two close-ish relatives to join with their results. I am prepared to wait for relatives to be tested.

[Lincoln1955]

I believe Ancestry usually have a sale on leading up to Xmas.

[Biggles50]

I would hold on about getting a YDNA test as there are likely to be changes soon.