Nebula Genomics offers "Deep Ancestry" as part of its Whole Genome Sequencing test. Your results for Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can be transferred to YFull to get these ancestry rep… Read More

Y-DNA can solve mysteries when the documentary evidence does not exist. We are trying to resolve the identity of Jacob Bertschinger who arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Mercury in 1735. W… Read More

This post is a great example of how to get the most from your Y-DNA. In this case we will not only prove a Y-DNA relationship, but also pinpoint the exact location in Ireland where a man's a… Read More

How can we make genealogical matches with mitochondrial DNA? Can we extend our family trees with mtDNA? This used to be very difficult, but with the advanced tools recently released, it is n… Read More

In my previous post Advantages of submitting to YFull, I discussed mostly what you can find in YFull even if you don't have any close matches. In the summary I mentioned that the post did no… Read More

Sometimes Y-DNA reveals unsuspected relationships between men with different surnames and in different locations. It in only by researching all of them that we can find the answers we have b… Read More

There are questions and conflicting opionions on many online forums about evalutaing Big Y-700 results. Why should I order a Y-DNA test?DNA for family history is all about finding match… Read More

For Y-DNA testing, I have seen a lot of questions about how to evaluate Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests such as Family Tree DNA's Big Y test, and similar tests at Full Genomes Corp, Y… Read More

What unites people? Armies, gold, flags? STORIES. There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it. . . . [You] are our memory… Read More

The Big Y test can resolve a Y-DNA problem when STRs alone cannot tell you what you need to answer your genealogical questions. In this blog post we will start with the standa… Read More

DNA testing is very popular, and millions of people are now using it to find their ancestors. Some people are unaware that there are more than one kind of DNA test. The tests can be put into… Read More

Family Tree DNA has just released new a Y-DNA haplotree that is open to the public. Using the new FTDNA public haplotree can help you decide whether you want to do your own Y-DNA testing and… Read More

Since its inception Family Tree DNA has been conducting Y-chromosome DNA tests. Originally these were STR tests, then Family Tree DNA began SNP testing. For an explanation of the differences… Read More

In my previous post, The amazing power of Y-DNA, I stated the following:In November 2017, Family Tree DNA announced that in 2018 they would be including about 500 STRs, in addition to the SN… Read More

The amazing power of Y-DNA can help you break through brick walls in many of your ancestral lines. For example, when there are several men with similar surnames who lived in the same locatio… Read More

Before reading this article, it will be very helpful if you have done the following:Download your raw DNA data from your DNA testing company, and upload it to GEDmatch.Download your family t… Read More

What is GEDmatch? GEDmatch.com is a volunteer-run website for people who have already tested their autosomal DNA at DNA testing companies such as AncestryDNA, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA… Read More

I began my post Getting started with GEDmatch with the following discussion: _________________________________________________________________There are two very important items for using DNA… Read More

The Big Y from Family Tree DNA is a fantastic Y-DNA test for finding out more about your direct paternal line. If you want to know what's so great about the Big Y, please see the following p… Read More

Once you've taken an autosomal DNA test (Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA Family Finder, MyHeritage, etc.) and learned how to use a chromosome browser [See What is the big deal about a… Read More

There are two very important items for using DNA testing for family history. Documented family tree. A documented family tree contains proof of family relationships including copies of… Read More

This is a continuation of my previous post Getting more from Family Tree DNA Family Finder. In order to understand the importance of a chromosome browser, we need to first review what I… Read More

Sometimes when you hear that something has never been done, or cannot be done, it makes you even more determined to do it. That's what happened with a project that involved preserving the co… Read More

If you took a DNA test and recently received your results, it is not too late to get a free health report.I was just helping someone do a last-minute raw data upload to Promethease to get a… Read More

I have seen lots of questions about how to get the most from Family Tree DNA's Family Finder test, so we will examine a little about how to use it. We will start by looking at the three majo… Read More

If you took the Ancestry DNA test, the Family Finder test from Family Tree DNA, or the Ancestry Only test from 23andMe, you did not receive any health-related information with your results… Read More

What is YFull?YFull.com is an interpretation service for Y-chromosome Next-Generation Sequencing tests which include the Big Y test at Family Tree DNA and tests like the YElite 2.1 from Full… Read More

The Big Y conversion to hg38 is complete for my kit and those of my matches. In my previous post Evaluating new Big Y changes I examined my new hg38 results and the new chromosome brows… Read More

If you've taken a Y-chromosome DNA test from Family Tree DNA, your first test showed the results of Short Tandem Repeats (STRs).  Below are the results of a 37-marker test:These results… Read More

Big Y conversion in processI have been seeing many questions regarding changes to Family Tree DNA's Big Y results or the inability to access them. Here we will see why some people cannot acc… Read More

I have used Y-STR testing to confirm that my immigrant ancestor was Robert Thompson who died 1697 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. I used my list of Y-DNA matches at Family Tree DNA and the r… Read More

On October 9, I posted the Big Y Update from Family Tree DNA. The announcement stated that FTDNA was updating all Big Y results from the older human genome reference sequence, hg19, to the m… Read More

I have received my brother's Big Y results from Family Tree DNA. You can see the incredible discoveries I made by seeing my post The Big Y test from Family Tree DNA can knock your socks off!… Read More

If we hope to find more DNA matches, we have to first get our DNA accounts set up properly, create some online family trees, and then advertise like crazy.Since I was in the process of findi… Read More

Why test with Family Tree DNA?I am an absolute freak about DNA testing. I test every family member I can because I have been doing family history for decades, and I can finally prove or disp… Read More

FamilySearch.org has a free online family tree that anybody can use. All of us collectively are connecting our ancestors into one worldwide family tree. Of course, documentation is critical… Read More

Who was the father of my ancestor Electious Thompson, and how did DNA prove it? It is unlikely that this mystery could have ever been solved without Y-DNA testing which zeros in on the pater… Read More

I used Y-STR testing to trace backward in time to find the father of my ancestor Electious Thompson, born 1750 in Maryland (see Breaking through brick walls with Y-DNA). I not only found his… Read More

For decades, all I've known is that my direct paternal line ends with a man named Electious Thompson who was born 1750 in Maryland and died in Morgan County, Alabama, in 1840.  I lived… Read More

I am going to start a long process of showing how to solve ancestry with Y-DNA. Unfortunately, you don't have a lot of choices with Y-DNA like you do with autosomal DNA. There is only one co… Read More

After I ordered a Y-DNA test from Family Tree DNA, I wanted to join a surname project.  I should have joined the project before ordering the test because I would have gotten a discount… Read More

I ordered a 37-marker Y-DNA test for my brother in 2005 to see if we could extend the Thompson line with DNA. Let's examine what to do when you take a Y-DNA test.When you first order the tes… Read More

Family Tree DNA announced changes to the Big Y test. These changes take place October 10, 2017, and will bring much needed improvements.  We will be releasing a big update to Big Y ne… Read More

When recording the lives of your ancestors, it is essential to have at least two online family trees.  I always knew it was a great idea for everyone else, but for many years I resisted… Read More

As I have been writing about Y-DNA testing at Family Tree DNA, I have been wondering how the business and its employees are doing since they are located in Houston where Hurricane Harvey has… Read More

Ahhhh, China. What an experience.  I had studied a year of college Chinese, could read several characters, but I felt like a complete infant. Even getting off the plane and navigating… Read More

Who are The Ultimate Family Historians? All of us who are now doing genealogy and family history should begin to consider ourselves in this category. That probably includes you.The term "Fa… Read More

I started this blog years ago with great intentions.  But life took a turn, and I could barely cope with my own thoughts, much less get them out to others.  So what was the big tur… Read More

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the word "Ultimate" has several meanings. Two of them are:The best or most extreme of its kindThe last in a series or progressionWith the correct tools… Read More