Tomeka Hameen: Yes I have taken genetic genealogy tests and it is some of the best money I have spent on my genealogy. Please ignore those who do not understand what DNA testing can and can't do. Many consider it to be the future of genealogy. It is a very new science and it's mind boggling how fast the information is changing.Currently the autosomal tests that potentially can match cousins back 6-8 generations cost $99. There are three reliable companies who offer these tests: 23andMe, Ancestry and FamilyTreeDNA. Don't waste your money on the others.Autosomal or Family Finder testing has two parts: an Ethnic Prediction portion that gives you a very general idea of where your family originated. The science on this is evolving rapidly and the results are interesting but should be taken with a big grain of salt.DNA testing will not provide you with a family tree, or solve all your genealogy questions, but it can be a great help. First you really need a well researched famil! y tree that goes back 5+ generations or more - as much as you are able. Without a tree, you will have no idea what your information really means. The other portion of the test gives you possible distant cousin matches. For this to be of any use, you need a family tree to compare so you can discover common ancestors.The three companies:23andMe has the best ethnic predictions and the largest database of possible cousins. They have recently discontinued the health report portion of the test, but this may be available at a later date. They have good chromosome matching tools - necessary for evaluating matches.Ancestry has a much improved ethnic prediction portion and many possible family trees to match but absolutely no chromosome matching so the "matches" are questionable. FamilyTreeDNA has the worst ethnic predictions but this is expected to be updated early this year. They have excellent chromosome matching tools and a rapidly growing database. I think they are the best for ! finding and evaluating potential cousin matches....Show more
Buster Exline: First of all, I used www.familytreedna.com, the oldest, with the largest data base. I do not recall how much I paid for the test, but, yes, I feel the money was worth it.I spent hours and hours searching for my ancestry; the further back I went, the more "far-fetched" my ancestry appeared to be. When I went back through Isabel Nettleton, a Colonist, to Charlemagne, I thought it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. So, I decided to try DNA testing. While DNA testing does not provide names, dates, occupations, addresses, etc. it tells a person where in the world his ancestors came from. Well, the DNA tests came up with all the same places as the paper trail...all over Europe, including Greenland, and all over the Middle East. Further, my DNA matches specific groups, such as Germanna Colony.So, overall I am pleased with the results; my only disappointment lies in the fact that a very few of my matches are willing to compare ancestries! ....Show more
Alberto Kozub: It is important to understand what you are buying. At home DNA tests are what genealogy DNA testing companies use. No DNA test will tell you who your specific ancestors were. There are 4 types of DNA, Y, X, Autosomal and Mitochondrial. You have 2 sex chromosomes. I assume from your Avatar you are female. You probably got an X from your father and definitely from your mother. Males get a Y from their father and some females do. However if you have ovaries and a menstrual period you got an X from him. X is not very traceable and generally is not used by DNA testing companies.You have 46 chromosomes and 2 are the sex chromosomes and then you have 44 Autosomes. The Mitochondrial is not in the nucleus of cells but in the cytoplasm outside the cells. Males and females get Mitochondrial from their mother but only females pass it down to the next generation. Everyone gets Autosomal 50-50 from both parents but not necessarily 25% from e! ach of their 4 grandparents. The reason why when your parents passed o! n the Autosomal they received from their parents to you it was randomly jumbled and recombined. So what you inherited can be a bias between grandmother and grandfather on both sides of the family. How you inherited any bias will not be how your siblings inherited it unless you have an identical twin. While your Autosomal generally will be similar to your siblings it will not be exact. Since the 70s genealogy testing companies have used Y & Mitochondrial. Its use is if you find someone you feel you share ancestors with in those 2 direct line and if you are both tested and match you are in a position to share information on your ancestors. They will assign you to a Haplogroup with both and show you the origin of your nomadic ancestors going way way back. However you get each from only ONE PERSON in each generation you go back. Get back to your 32 great great great grandparents and since you probably do not have a Y, 31 of them will be excluded from the results. If you! were a male and had both Y & Mitochondrial tested 30 of them will be excluded from the results. So no way does Y & Mitochondrial give you a picture of your overall ancestry.Autosomal testing is being used for the overall ancestral testing or what some call "ethnicity testing." It does not have the exactitude as Y & Mitochondrial. There are no Haplogroups with Autosomal testing. What they do is match you with population samples they have in their database. Therefore it has been reported if you go to more than one company and have your Autosomal tested the results will vary as one might not have or be deficient in certain population samples another has and vice versa. I have used FamilyTreeDNA, SMGF, and DNATribes in the past. SMGF is no longer testing and their information has been provided to Ancestry.Com. I have been satisfied. What some will do is send you a kit where you scrape the inside of your check with a rough Q tip type device and you fill out forms ands s! end it back to them. They provide you with the mailers. Another has y! ou to swish around a fluid in your mouth and expectorate in a little cup and mail it back. Sort of like when you have a fluoride treatment at the dentist office. They provide you with what you need and the mailer to return it. I might add I don't think DNA testing in isolation of traditional genealogy work using documents/records is all that helpful. I have given you information on different types of DNA as there has been so much hype on TV and many times we get questions and we find people have bought a test but did not understand what they have purchased....Show more
Chi Alfero: First of all make sure you understand what you are paying for.....which with DNA is what DNA any particular company has in their database on that day that is similar to yours, if you send off for 6 DNA tests from different companies you will get back 6 different 'results' and test in 2 months time and the results will be different again....... as ancestry is fact and doesn't change a DNA ! test doesn't tell you anything about your ancestors at all.......... DNA tests are for entertainment purposes, which is fine if you understand what you get and what you don't get............So if you wish to know where your ancestry is from and who they were then the only way to do that is to research it http://familytimeline.webs.com/recordsinyourownhom......Show more
Cody Shimko: DNA does not determine direct ancestry, It is a test that determines genetic markers and each company has its own data base, there is no standardization or centralized data base that they all share. Therefore the results depends on who the company has already tested. This means that if you have testing done by say 3 different companies the result many vary greatly.IF you want to lean about GENETIC background it is a beginning, but if you want to learn about YOU FAMILY ANCESTRY then Genealogical research is the only way becauseGenealogy is the study and documentation of a specific direct ! ancestral lineage within a biological Family....Show more
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