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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: BlueUK on Saturday 07 April 12 11:37 BST (UK)
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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
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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
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Thanks for the reply . I will do as you suggested and have a read of what pops up
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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
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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.
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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 (http://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
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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
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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
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Kelly,
Thanks. That explains the concept a bit better.
stuartroxy
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If you get a test from FTDNA you can manually enter the results into Ancestry, and your results are automatically uploaded to the ysearch.org database.
Before choosing which company to get tested with, you should find out what databases your results will be going into, and whether there will be annual charges to remain on the databases.
P.S. FTDNA currently have a sale on :)
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Nick is correct you can manually enter Y-DNA and mtDNA info into Ancestry if you have tested these elsewhere. However Ancestry does not currently have the option of uploading your atDNA (autosomal DNA)
I personally would test with FTDNA for the YDNA or mtDNA. For autosomal where your major interest is genealogy I personally favor Ancestry do to the power of their larger database and active Genealogically minded customers. However Nick is right there is a subscription involved so it would only be worthwhile long term for those that already subscribe. And all 3 labs are not going to have many matches for at DNA results that are helpful UNTIL a significant number of British take the tests. Matching with Americans or Australians can be helpful but not as helpful as matching British. :-)
And the FTDNA sale is good through the end of the year!
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Thanks.
So, would I be right in thinking that my DNA would be tested against the company database to determine any ancestors - if there's no-one there, then there's no results?
Can they still determine ethnicity? I'm fairly sure that I'm Scottish (including Shetland) for the last couple of hundred years, but wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit a Scandanavian or Irish thrown in a while ago.
stuartroxy
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In order to help you best are you mostly interested in your overall ancestry? That is your whole genetic background. If so then the autosomal test is the way to go. Here are your choices with the positives and negatives of each company:
FTDNA: Only includes atDNA. Samples kept 25 years. Great privacy policy. Modest database for atDNA. Includes those tested at their partner operation in the UK The ancestry background is being revamped but at this point may not be able to separate the various nationalities within the UK
Genographic 2.0 through the National Geographic and tested at the FTDNA lab is brand new and may be your best bet if what you are after is the ancient origins of your make-up. This contains lots Ancestral Indicative Markers but nothing that would make connections in genealogical time frame.
ANCESTRY.com: This gives you the largest database but at this point mainly US market. Eventually I would expect this to be offered there and because of its size and outreach probably will have the best chance of connection. Right now the Ancestry breakdown wouldn't get you any finer than British. And many Americans of British descent are coming up Scandinavian on Ancestry. They seem to get those with recent British Ancestry fine but can't break it out for those like myself whose ancestors came in the 1600's and 1700's to America.
23andme: This offers a lot of value for the price and will ship to the UK. What you get is your mtDNA (maternal line) Haplogroup your Y-DNA (paternal) DNA (father's line) Haplogroups are your ancient DNA for just Your mother's and father's strict maternal or paternal line of descent. AND you get your atDNA so all your matches across your tree and there are those that have tested from the UK. ANd you get all the medical info. The disadvantage is that many people who test do so mainly for medical reasons so only maybe 1/4 of the folks are responsive to contact as far as genealogy is concerned. They are just rolling out a new ancestry feature that promises to be one of the best yet.
Among those above All give you your Raw DNA for download except ANCESTRY which is supposed to make that available next year. Why would you want your Raw DNA you might ask? because you can then use mainly tools that help you breakdown your ancestry finer. like the free GEDMATCH.com tools.
I wish it was simpler but alas it is not. Please continue to ask until you get the answers you are looking for.
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Nick is correct you can manually enter Y-DNA and mtDNA info into Ancestry if you have tested these elsewhere. However Ancestry does not currently have the option of uploading your atDNA (autosomal DNA)
I've quite rapidly come to the conclusion that autosomal DNA is the industry's way of making some easy money. I paid for an autosomal test, and the only 'links' that I've had so far were from Americans who didn't have a clue where their family came from, who were desperate to find a link in Europe. In the last 6 months I've had 3 Americans 'claiming me' as a long-lost 2nd cousin ! I do have family connections in the USA, but I have paper proof, not test-tube proof.
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If you have Scottish ancestry you might like to take a look at Dr Jim Wilson's DNA testing:-
www.scotlandsdna.com (http://www.scotlandsdna.com)
I haven't taken his tests but his reputation is good and, being Scottish, he has arguably the most knowledge of Scots DNA there is.
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Thanks!
stuartroxy