DNA Genealogy

[Oldhiker]

Family Tree DNA is who I am thinking about using. Do you know if I get the 37 or 67 marker (I am leaning toward 67) if it shows you the detail you just spoke of...ie like your mentioning of the the Lagin tribe...or did you have to do that research after you received the results?

the first 12 markers will tell you your haplotype or ancient ancestry. You wil find out of Celtic, Norse, saxxon, chinese etc.

the next test 25, 37, 67, 111 will help you pinpoint which people you match and how closely. This gives you a focus on where to concentrate you paper trail search. You will get MRCA details, Most Common Recent Ancestor giving you a probaility of sharing a common ancestor and the time frame for that match. It might say something like 98% chance of sharing a common ancestor 300 years ago. So then you look in 1700's for the common ancestor.

You can upgrade the markers later down the road to refine if you find matches, no need to speed all your money at one time.

Also beware you might find somethings of a surprise. NPE or non paternal events

Overall I find it very effective

[WVHighlander]

You mean like finding out I am more English than I really thought! :crap:


Shhh....don't let Chas see I wrote that..

[Chas]

You mean like finding out I am more English than I really thought!


Shhh....don't let Chas see I wrote that..

Too late, too late!

I have always known that I was 1/4 Scottish. My paternal grandfather came from Aberdeenshire. During a recent visit from my mother (who is 93), she let slip that he had courted my grandmother (who's father was a local land owner) for 5 years before becoming a civil servant and taking up a post in India. So by extrapolation, my grandmother was Scots as well. In the space of a few minutes, I went from 1/4 Scottish to 1/2 Scottish.

As for DNA testing, I have always thought this - Do not ask a question, if you cannot live with the answer.

Really WVHighlander, being part English might not be desirable - but it isn't a bad thing.

Regards

Chas

[WVHighlander]

Chas,

I knew you could take a good ribbing.

Actually, I have a lot of English in my family. (I think I did the break down earlier in this post or another) I would say a good 65% of my ancestry comes from the British Isles with the rest being German and Hungarian.

As for the not "living" with the answer, I am safe there too. Up until a few years ago I didn't even know my last name was a Scottish last name. As a historian in training I just want to get on the right track for my research.

Cheers,

John

[Chas]

Hi John,

I'm half English - I'm used to people taking the mickey.

On my mother's side they say that they didn't come over with William the Conqueror, they say that they were already here to meet him.

While investigating my wife's family tree, I discovered some interesting facts. The advent of the railway and the postal system had a profound effect on people's lives. One branch of her family used to travel between Norfolk and Cumberland (some 500+ miles) at least twice a year for work reasons. With the advent of the penny post it was possible to post 'post' children to school for 1penny. They were not fed or watered and truly were treated as packages with legs. Many of the well known public schools (boarding schools) would have an extra delivery on the first day of term.

So, even if people are nominally English, that doesn't mean that they were not living with Scottish people or in Scotland for a time.

As to 'living' that was a general warning to the whole thread. Often these things throw out answers that we really didn't want to know. And that the answer might not be what a person wished or hoped for.

Regards

Chas

[WVHighlander]

Chas,

Agreed. Like finding out your wonderful Uncle Mike is actually your biological Dad, which your father didn't even know. So if you are afraid a bone will roll out the closet and you can't deal with it (even during Halloween) don't open the closet door.

John

[Jack Daw]

A few short years ago I had both the Y-DNA and mitochondrialDNA tests performed. To make it short, the mt-DNA was not worthwhile at all as the results were rather too broad to make any difference. The mt-DNA test said I was Pan-Eurasian - gee, thanks alot for that. The Y-DNA test for 67 markers was well worth it. It said I was Celt-Iberian and connected me to several matches. So, I would say skip the mt-DNA test and go for the Y-DNA. Good luck.

[WVHighlander]

That is great info to know. I was wondering about the results of both tests. So I will stick with the Y DNA for sure.

[Dram]

As I have compiled my genealogy over the years I have run into some brick walls and hoped DNA testing would help to resolve those issues.

Personally, I think genealogical DNA testing is fantastic however, sometimes it can even bring about more questions.

I first had my Y-DNA tested and was a bit surprised at the results. My proven Y-DNA (fathers-father line etc...) comes from the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. This normally would show an ancient Briton signature however, my results showed the line was Gaelic. I have used both Family Tree DNA and Ethnoancestry, I also had my results interpreted by Dr. Oppenheimer. The reslut showed my Y-DNA was most prominent in south-west Ireland and in western Scotland.

On FTDNA my closest and overwhelmingly frequent matches are from Ireland, some were from Scotland. It is my thought that my Y-DNA was probably introduced to Anglesey by Irish pirates or Hiberno-Norse invaders.

Where a more interesting question arose, is that in addition to matching my own biological surname, I seem to have some relationship with another surname: Colwell, or Caldwell. It is possible these Colwell's remained in Ireland and my line having gone to Wales ended up with the Wesh surname of Jones.

Nevertheless, to me it has been a fun and exciting journey. I did also have my MTDNA (Mitochondrial) tested which is your mothers mothers line and turned up NO matches. Just the haplo group of T2.

[Gregmc]

I've considered Famiy Tree DNAs super DNA test and doing both lines at the same time to see what I get. I'm trying to figure out if my paternal line will show Gealic or Norse (Norman) blood. What do you guys think abou that test? I want to wittle it all the way down. I've traced my name back to the 16th century, but there's such a blend of people in Scotland and Ireland, from one to another and back again that it just mixes into a blur. I know my ancestry to be Scots, but Scots what?

What about the super DNA test? Is it worth it?