The best test for me

[Fletcher42]

Hi all I am wanting to go back through my male line of Fletchers but half way back it hits a female my 3rd great grandmother had 2 children out of wedlock due to a mistake on my second grandfathers birth certificate it does name the father Harrison but they put a line through his name when they realised she was not married I have managed to get back to my 7th grandfather 1729 down my male side so I am not sure which test would be best for me as I would imagine the female will throw a spanner in the works any suggestions.

[davidft]

So what do you want the test to establish ?

Do you want to establish if you are Fletcher's or Harrison's (if I have read your post correctly).

Have a look at www.ftdna.com and their surname interests projects. Have there been any tests in there from people of your surname Fletcher\Harrison ? that you could possibly link back to.

If there is any possible connection you could then do a yDNA test (Paternal line - tests males only) to see if you have a match. However takeup of tests is very low so it will be a bit hit and miss if you get a match

[Fletcher42]

I would like to find more connections on my paternal side and possibly find where we originally came from but would having a female in the middle mess things up down my father, grandfather Fletcher side

[davidft]

I am a bit confused.

You say you have gone back to 1729. Is this in a direct male line or is this a combined male \ female line ?

You say you have a birth certificate with the name Harrison on and then crossed out. There was a period when it was illegal to put a reputed father's name on a birth certificate if the mother was not married to him.

What date are we talking for for Harrison ? And is Harrison a first name or surname in this instance.

Have you found the baptism record for the child who has Harrison's crossed out name on the birth certificate? Although it may have been illegal to name the reputed father on the birth certificate (1850-1875 see link below) it was still permissible to put it on the baptismal certificate. Therefore I would start by looking to see if there is a baptismal record and if so what it says about the father and leave the DNA testing route until you have explored this

http://www.dixons.clara.co.uk/Certificates/births.htm

[rt-sails]

Hi all I am wanting to go back through my male line of Fletchers ...  I am not sure which test would be best for me as I would imagine the female will throw a spanner in the works any suggestions.

You have a choice of four types of genetic genealogy tests:
1. Y-STR tests "short tandem repeats"("micro-satellites") on the Y chromosome and can identify or exclude a direct paternal lineage within genealogic time. Any intervening female ancestors will break the Y-inheritance chain. Depending on the commonness of the surname, Y-STR is more or less associated with surnames. You may find you have Y-STR matches with men named Harrison, which could suggest that this was the surname of your 2nd great-grandfather's biological father.

2. Y-SNP tests single nucleotide polymorphisms on the Y chromosome and relates to paternal ancestry before genealogic time. Again, the Y chromosome does not pass through a female ancestor.

3. mtDNA is analogous to SNP testing, but for mitochondria instead of the Y chromosome. Mitochondria are passed to both genders, but only by mothers; males do not pass on their mitochondria to their children.

4, AuDNA ("au" meaning autosomal) tests genetic blocks in all chromosomes and can identify similar genetic inheritances up to a limit of about five generations. It is not limited as to ancestors' genders

To trace paternal lineage, I recommend a Y-STR test of at least 37 markers. It can look as far back as 24 generations, roughly about the time of universal surnames. More recent relationships (where both parties share a direct paternal ancestor) will also show as matches.

My opinion is that, at this time, Family Tree DNA is the provider of choice for these tests. Prices are reasonable (as compared to others), reliability and customer service are good, the database (for searching) is large, and support & tools are excellent. I also recommend joining a project for a surname or geographical area in order to obtain further support; this also argues for FTDNA. 

[Fletcher42]

Thank you for all the advise as for Harrison the full name was William Harrison I did try tracing him but with only a name and the area of Gainsborough I was unable to get anywhere and my second great grandmother married Robert Dixon a few years later in 1893 so the trail goes cold as for the test my aim would be one to see where we originated from and two to see if the test could link me up with anymore relatives much further down my fletcher side but my worry was that the female in the middle would mess that up if that makes sense

[rt-sails]

Thank you for all the advise as for Harrison the full name was William Harrison I did try tracing him but with only a name and the area of Gainsborough I was unable to get anywhere and my second great grandmother married Robert Dixon a few years later in 1893 so the trail goes cold as for the test my aim would be one to see where we originated from and two to see if the test could link me up with anymore relatives much further down my fletcher side but my worry was that the female in the middle would mess that up if that makes sense

In general, the Y-STR results will match with male Fletchers who are direct paternal descendants of your earliest Fletcher ancestor (your 2GGF?). It will also match with Harrisons (if that was your 2GGF's father's name). If that was not his name, it will match with other surnames who also share a direct paternal ancestor.

There are exceptions to the general rule. Certain very common haplotypes will also show "coincidental matches" but one never knows whether one has one of those haplotypes until seeing the results.

[supermoussi]

Thank you for all the advise as for Harrison the full name was William Harrison I did try tracing him but with only a name and the area of Gainsborough I was unable to get anywhere and my second great grandmother married Robert Dixon a few years later in 1893 so the trail goes cold as for the test my aim would be one to see where we originated from and two to see if the test could link me up with anymore relatives much further down my fletcher side but my worry was that the female in the middle would mess that up if that makes sense

The female is not the only thing that may mess this up! There is more chance than not that you will not match any of the existing Harrisons or Fletchers that have tested so far. See:-

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=654882.0

The best use of STR testing is when you have 2 researchers trying to prove whether their lines are connected. If you are just testing blind it is pot luck.

Can you find other Harrisons/Fletchers from the Gainsborough area who could test?