Getting Tested: Testing is actually very easy these days.  The test is a cheek swab - not so different from what you see on the crime shows on TV.  The test kit comes in the mail, with complete instructions, a return envelope, a release form for you to sign, and all the needed testing materials.  You simply follow the directions, put postage on the return envelop and send by regular mail.  (some have reported problems when sending from foreign countries.  If you have that worry, put the entire return envelope in a second manila envelope and send it that way.)

You have a choice of two basic tests in the genetic genealogy field: yDNA for the male (paternal) line and mtDNA for the female (maternal line)

FTDNA has a good selection of information on their site:  Click here.

yDNA - for males only (females must test a male relative)

The basic science: This test is used for testing males only.  The y-chromosome is passed from father to son, essentially unchanged.  (If there were no changes, each man would have exactly the same yDNA as "Adam" and with each other.)  This test is only useful in testing the male participant's father's father's ... father's line.  As this line is associated with Surnames in western societies, it is pretty easy to visualize.  All men who share the same "common ancestor" will carry essentially the same yDNA and receive tests results that are also essentially the same.  (more on this below)

Haplogroups: Fortunately, there are random and subtle changes that allow us to see differences in different "genetic families".  Using these differences, scientists have been able to group all men into a number of branches called "Haplogroups".  These can be arranged into a "family tree of man" that shows the different branches that have separated over 1000s of years.  Each man today can be assigned to a Haplogroup, which tells him the "deep ancestry".  Many men's haplogroup can be estimated by looking at their results, while others have to have a test done called the "SNP test"  (pronounced "snip")

Mutations: as I mentioned earlier, the yDNA is passed from father to son "essentially unchanged".  However, on a random,  predictable basis for a large group, minor changes occur that we call "mutations".  We cannot predict when these mutations will occur in a man, but we do know that a mutation that occurs in one man will be passed on to his sons - and that they will pass it on to their sons, and so on ....  These mutations have occurred through the centuries, giving us the Haplogroups mentioned above,  These mutations happen to occur with a frequency that makes them useful in genealogy.  (Our genealogical paper trails usually extend a few hundred years, with a fortunate minority having paper trails reaching back 400 years or so.  And, there a very few who have paper trails reaching back as much as 1000 years or more.)   As surnames emerged into general usage around 1100 to 1200 A.D., we can correlate the yDNA results to Surnames in many cases.   By examining the closeness of the results, we can draw conclusions on which men share a common ancestor and estimate (with a disappointingly wide range)  when this common ancestor would have lived. 

Results: the results are generated by examining the genetic material at specific "addresses" which scientists know how to find.  A count is made of repeating patterns at each address.  One man may have an 11 at specific address, while another may have a 12.  Somewhere in time, a mutation occurred to change the count at that address in one man and not the other.  yDNA results are reported as a string of numbers.  Each number represents the count at a specific address.  By comparing the closeness of the string of numbers, we can determine an approximate time back to the two men's common ancestor.

Test Options: you can be tested at different "resolution" levels.  These vary slightly from one testing company to the next, in count, in cost and in which specific addresses are examined.  This explanation is for Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), the testing company that World Families Network recommends.  FTDNA strongly encourages group testing - often called a "Surname Project".  Other examples of a group project are the Clan, Family, Geographic, Regional and Ethnic projects.  This encouragement is particularly reflected in the test prices.  The prices are $50 to $80 lower when purchased through a group project.

Group Prices are listed first, followed by individual prices in parenthesis. 

Basic Test: 12 markers: $99 ($149)  Useful in getting started, particularly where cost is an issue.  Upgradeable.  Used to define Haplogroup.  Usually not adequate for genealogical purposes.

Medium Resolution: 25 markers: $148 (not available)  Contains the basic 12 markers, plus 13 more.  Upgradeable.  Usually sufficient for genealogical purposes.

High Resolution: 37 markers: $189 ($259) Contains the above 25 markers, plus 12 more.  Used for groups trying to resolve branching with a surname family who share a recent common ancestor and by those trying to match with a different surname. 

Extra High Resolution: 59 markers: $269 ($349) Contains the above 37 markers, plus 22 more.  The highest resolution offered by FTDNA.  Recently released.  Expected to become the new standard and best way to resolve questions relating to recent shared ancestry.

Finding a Project:  Click here to Search for your Surname.  If there is a project, then you can be tested there at the group rates.  If there is not a project, then we'll be glad to set one up for you.   (Contact Terry at the email address below) 

Click here to go to FTDNA and Learn more about your paternal side

more to come

mtDNA - for females and males (how's that for being unfair?)