Genetic Genealogy takes genealogy to a new level! 
Get help uncovering your roots!
Sooner or later, in researching a family tree, we all get to the point where the paper records become scarce to non-existent. Perhaps we have several possibilities or much circumstantial evidence as to whom the next ancestor in a line may be, but no way to determine which is which.
DNA testing may be just the thing to help to break down some of those “brick walls.”
As interest in DNA testing for genealogy has exploded in the last few years, many people want to get involved, but don't know the best way to go about it.
Here's some help!
If you want to get involved in Genetic Genealogy, here are some basic things you should know:
You have a choice of two basic DNA tests in the genetic genealogy field:
1. yDNA for the male (paternal) line. Only males can take this test, although women can find a male to represent their family line in the yDNA project. For purposes of a surname study, the lab looks at the yDNA of the chromosome, which only males have (males have XY chromosomes, females have XX chromosomes). The yDNA is passed from father to son in a direct line, and is useful for tracing the surname, which also passes from father to son. (More information about yDNA.)
2. mtDNA for the female (maternal) line. To determine the deep ancestry we all inherit through our mothers, the lab tests the mitochondrial dna (mtDNA), which both males and females receive from their mothers, but only females can pass on. This test can trace your mother's mother's .....mother's line, and tell you your deep ethnic and geographic heritage, but it is not useful, as yet, in a surname DNA project, as the names change with every generation. (More information about mtDNA)
Here are the simple rules of DNA testing:
2. A person testing with mtDNA must be directly descended from the (female) ancestor you are interested in researching - with no males between the test taker and ancestor being researched (mtDNA cannot pass through a male ancestor)
3. A female can find a male relative to be yDNA-tested to represent her family line. This can be a father or brother, but sometimes you will have to go back up the family tree and back down to find the right male.
For example: Did your father have a brother? Did he have sons?
Did your grandfather have a brother? Did he have sons? Did they have sons?
Did your great grandfather have a brother? Did he have sons? Did they have sons?...and so on.
Any male you find in this way will be able to represent your family surname line.
We have created a simple guide to getting the most out of your DNA testing for genealogy: We have distilled this knowledge into a step-by-step guide that will give you the best chance of getting the most from your DNA testing. By following these steps, reading the information we provide, and working with your surname project, you may just find the answers to your family mystery! You will find the guide DNA the Smart Way in the left sidebar of each information page, so you can refer to it often. |
And Remember: |
Worldfamilies.net:
What do we do? Why do we do it? Why do we work with Family Tree DNA?
For more information about Worldfamilies.net, click here.



