DNA ancestry test question?

Question

I do not know who my grandfather on my father's side was, or even where he was from, and I was wondering if I should get a DNA ancestry test.

What exactly do they tell you? Will it just say the general ethnic background or can they narrow it down by country? How do I go about getting one? Are there any specific ones you would recommend?

I'm kind of lost here...

Answer 1

It sounds like you need a Y-DNA test so I will stick with this.  You will need to have a male descendant of his through his male-only line, for this test, at least if this is what you want.

If you're patient, you might as well get the test, but you shouldn't expect to get a "relevant" match right away.  I say you might as well get the test because maybe somebody will later on.  If you're patient, hopefully a match will eventually show up.

The 12-marker test - normal characteristics: General information--probable haplogroup suggestable, but ambiguous--Many people your race can have this, and doesn't prove any relevant connection.

37-43markers-- MAY be good enough

67-markers--About as best as people usually get.  

You can scavenge a few more.  Unfortunately my calculations show that few go up to 67, which decreases your chances of getting matches.

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EDIT:  It is often difficult to have even someone the same surname as you to have had a DNA test.

If you're short for money, I DON'T recommend it.

For example, all my DNA told me so far is "European, probably".  I suppose there is small chances that it could have come from Middle East or Northern Africa, or Western Asia.  This is typical, not just me.  DNA is not yet very specific, unfortunately.

Answer 2

It may be a lot more specific to simply work with how to use the right records, etc, which would tell you exactly who he was. Barring an adoption or out of wedlock, I don't know of any reason that you could not do that.

Work first with known facts about Dad.. date and place of birth. I assume he has a birth certificate? That will give you name and place for grandpa. A valid record for Grandpa (birth/death records) will place him somewhere with a date.

As mentioned above... normally, you should be able to find some records.  The exception is when paternity is a question.

Answer 3

DNA tests that are used for genealogy won't help.  If you have a brother, his would, but not yours.

Y DNA is passed from father to son only.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to both sons and daughters but only the daughters pass it on to their children.

Y & Mitochondrial are used in genealogy since they go back in a direct line and remain virtually unchanged.  They are used to match people from different family trees.

Most of your DNA is autosomal.  You get it 50-50 from both parents. It is what determines your physical characteristics, your pigmentation, height etc.  It is the only DNA that relates a female to her father or anyone to the spouses and their families of the direct Y & Mitochondrial lines.

If you get back to your 6xgreat grandparents, barring any duplicates, you are directly descended from 510 individuals.

It pyramids as you go back.  You get your mitochondrial DNA from only 8 of them and if you are male, you get your Y dna from only 8 but you get autosomal DNA from all 510.

Right now, the only way autosomal is used is to give vague percentages of origins.  It will not give specific ethnicities but indicate something like Northern European etc.

Answer 4

DNA testing cannot show which country, or ethnicity in recent history someone was from, and obviously it cannot give you a name.

A DNA test can show, approximately, your ancestors trail through the world since the evolution of your first ancestor, because you are female a test of your Mtdna will not show any paternal line at all, only the possible origin of your mother, her mother, your great grandmother etc., etc. You do not carry your father's Y-DNA and, either he, your brother, father's brother, or your father's father, or a male cousin on your father's side, would need to be tested to show your father's genetic origins, it cannot show which tribe someone was a member of, only that Native American is, or is not, in your father's lineage.

Below is a reply I have given to a similar previous question, dna cannot tell you which country you originated in, only the probable area, or areas of the world your ancient ancestors passed through during their evolution.

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of s*x chromosomes. Females carry a pair of X chromosomes that can swap, or recombine, similar regions of DNA during meiosis. However, males harbor one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, and significant recombination between these dissimilar s*x chromosomes does not occur. Therefore, the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) remains largely unchanged over many generations, directly passed from father to son, son to grandson, and so on, along with genetic variations in the NRY that may be present. Scientists can use genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), on the Y chromosome as markers of human ancestry and migration.

It is very effective and the best companies will retest until they get a conclusive result.

If you have, say, just the first 12 markers tested($149 with FTDNA), that will give an indication of where you originated, the more markers you test on, the more information is gained ( for mtdna, your suggested geographic origin and your maternal deep ancestral ethnic origin, $129 with FTDNA) if you test on the maximumum of, say 67 markers ($349 with FTDNA), it is possible then to find a match to someone else carrying your own, or a different surname, and to prove a link where perhaps no "paper trail" exists. It can therefore pinpoint a place in which your ancestors probably lived in recent history but DNA does not, obviously,

have a surname attached to it, surnames have only been used for around 700 years and of course your DNA originated 10s of thousands of years ago. You can also have a SNP test which will help show the migratory pattern of your ancient ancestors, having said that, you can join a Surname project (e.g. with FTDNA) and receive discounted prices on your tests.

I recommend that you make yourself aware of the various tests available, and the costs with each testing company.

Plus, check out what is available to you after you have tested.

I used Family Tree DNA ,they were the first in the field (founded in 1999), have the largest data base, and do the testing for the National Geographic's Genome project, their "after sales" is excellent and I consider they are the best, but you have to make your own decision on that.

http://www.familytreedna.org

Answer 5

Okey-dokey. I will refer you to www.familytreedna.com, the one I used. They sent me a test kit, I swabbed the insides of my cheeks, sent the kit back and in about 3 - 4 weeks they sent me a printed copy of the results. I also have my own webpage on their site, including a world map showing where ancestors came from.

I got both the mtDNA and yDNA tests. Each test works ONLY in a straight line; mtDNA is mother to mother to mother; yDNA is father to father to father. However, since most (certainly ALL back in time) intermarried, that will cover MOST situations.

And, yes, it does point to specific countries (they use the modern geopolitical maps; countries changed so much in the past!)

DNA tests will NOT give you names of ancestors, dates, etc., but it WILL give good clues as to where your ancestors came from.

E.g., mine came from Greenland, Eskimos, Innuits, Philippines, Japan, China, all over Europe, parts of the Middle East, Africa...

And includes the Isle of Mann, the Canary Islands, several provinces in France, several states in Germany, several cities in England.

So, go to www.familytreedna.com and check it out. They also do the testing for the National Geographics Genotype Program (tracing human migrations around the world).

Answer 6

Scientist are now determining the geographical area that our ancestors came from by DNA testing.  Whether or not they have defined this to the point where they can tell you what country your ancestors came from I do not know (but would not doubt it if they have).

Advances are being made all the time in the area of science and you might want to start with the National Geographic article that recently can out on this subject.

Good luck.