DNA Testing?

[Lookin2]

RootsChat had a discussion on DNA some time ago and I mentioned that my Brother and I had ours done.  Roots for Real and Oxford Ancestry only test 12 markers and Roots for Real came up with 1 for my brother and 3 for me. Oxford Ancestry for the Tribes of Britain came up with probably Mediterranean.  Please check with the Co. that you choose that if they only get one hit that they will re-test you later down the line for free.  I have not seen anyone mention that the direct lines from father to son and mother to daughter do, on occasion, have what is known as a "stutter" and the line is broken and starts anew.  I am going to try to post an article on one such person who wrote about it in the The Scotsman some time ago.

http://www.rootsforreal.com/english/The%20Scotsman%20-%20S2%20Wednesday%20-%20Meet%20the%20family.htm

[4kithnkin]

Today my first cousin who had been adopted out in 1947 received the result of his 37 marker Y DNA test from Familytree DNA.
He has proof of his lineage and is very happy to find his birth family after 63 years.

All 37 markers match the baseline markers submitted by my second cousin.
Previously he had a few close matches off by only 6 or 7 markers. This was the first conclusive match.

Interesting article thanks for sharing, I am going to send for the mtDNA test this month and look forward to reading the outcome.
Kate

[DevonCruwys]

I've used DNA testing for my Cruse/Cruwys surname project. I also run a geographical project for the county of Devon.

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Devon

There is lots of useful advice on the ISOGG website (International Society of Genetic Genealogy):

http://www.isogg.org

Generally speaking you are better off paying for a test from a dedicated genetic genealogy company so that you can upgrade your results and store samples, and more importantly so that you will get proper customer service. The larger the database the better as you will stand more chance of getting a match. There are Y-DNA and mtDNA comparison charts on the ISOGG website. It's cheaper to buy the kits direct from the US. Oxford Ancestors charge a small fortune for a very basic 10-marker test with no option to upgrade. You need 37-markers for surname matches and sometimes 67-markers can be useful Ancestry don't store samples (important for future upgrades and particularly so if you, your dad or your brother or whoever is being tested is the last in the line), and only have a limited range of tests. If it's any help I did do a brief article on the subject for my local family history society:

http://www.irishtype3dna.org/DebbieKennett.htm

[XPhile2868]

I've used DNA testing for my Cruse/Cruwys surname project. I also run a geographical project for the county of Devon.

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Devon

There is lots of useful advice on the ISOGG website (International Society of Genetic Genealogy):

http://www.isogg.org

Generally speaking you are better off paying for a test from a dedicated genetic genealogy company so that you can upgrade your results and store samples, and more importantly so that you will get proper customer service. The larger the database the better as you will stand more chance of getting a match. There are Y-DNA and mtDNA comparison charts on the ISOGG website. It's cheaper to buy the kits direct from the US. Oxford Ancestors charge a small fortune for a very basic 10-marker test with no option to upgrade. You need 37-markers for surname matches and sometimes 67-markers can be useful Ancestry don't store samples (important for future upgrades and particularly so if you, your dad or your brother or whoever is being tested is the last in the line), and only have a limited range of tests. If it's any help I did do a brief article on the subject for my local family history society:

http://www.irishtype3dna.org/DebbieKennett.htm

There's a few Cruwys from Devon in my family tree, although they're ancestors of distant cousins rather than my own ancestors.

Stephen

[MysticBreeze]

OK so if I ask my brother to do the test what will I get back? 

If I ask my father what would I get?

If I did the test being female, what would I get?

If I ask my maternal grandmother, what would I get?

Just trying to work out who would I be best to ask.  My brother is happy to do it so far.

[DevonCruwys]

Your brother and father would be expected to have identical results so you only need to test one of them. If your brother is happy to go ahead then use his DNA. It's best to start with the Y-DNA as the results are easier to understand and have more value for your genealogy research. What you'll get out of the test depends on your brother's surname and how many other people with the surname have been tested. Most of the surname projects are at www.familytreedna.com. If there's no surname project you can test with a geographical project (FTDNA have projects for Devon, Hampshire, East Anglia, Wales and even a catch-all giant project for the British Isles). The larger the database the more chance you have of getting matches. There are some surname projects too which will offer free or subsidised tests, and especially those with established surname societies or with large numbers of American testees where resources can be pooled.

With the mtDNA, you have inherited the mtDNA from your maternal grandmother so again only one test is required. If you were both tested you would be expected to have identical results. mtDNA gives less precise results, and the database is smaller, so it's better for learning about your deep ancestry. If you've been following "The Incredible Human Journey" on BBC2 you'll have seen that most of the early part of the journey has been tracked genetically by mtDNA.

[XPhile2868]

I've done the tests for mtDNA and the Y-Chromosome, and for the mtDNA, I got H, which is very common in Western Europe. For the Y-chromosome, I got I1, which is basically Scandinavian, which means that my paternal ancestor was probably Anglo-Saxon or Viking.

Stephen

[MysticBreeze]

I'm just very curious because being in New Zealand as far as I know we are only English,Irish, Scots and Welsh, but also have traced one ancestor who was from Canton in China which was a pleasant surprise

[Valdi]

;
On second thoughts the Icelandic naming system must be rather difficult to follow for genealogy!  Johnsdottir and Johnsson, Sigurdsdottir  and so on......
I would get lost by about the third generation!!!   


Icelandic naming system is actually quite easy, everybody is on a first name basis so there is no "Johnsdottir" or "Sigurdsdottir" and the last name tells you the name of the father.
This makes it very easy to trace linages and tell who is who in a family.