12 marker match

[Richard J Lichty]

Just beginning DNA search for Lichty ancestry.  Oral tradition says that our ancestry is from Canton Bern.  To date 3 persons from Switzerland have a perfect 12 marker match with me.   Is there anything meaningful about this and is it worthwhile to contact these individuals and how would I go about that?

[marilyn]

Hi, Richard.  In general, 12-marker matches are not considered enough markers to confirm a common ancestor.  However, if these are the only matches you have so far, you might want to contact them and ask them to share family pedigrees to look for a connection.  In addition, if they have only been tested at 12 markers, you might encourage them to upgrade to more markers to see if the match holds up.  You can contact them through your personal page at FTDNA, if they are shown as matches there, or you can send me an email for them which I will be happy to forward.  I hope you have also uploaded your results to Ysearch and that you will post your pedigree on the Light Pedigree Forum.  You may find other interested researchers in this way. 

For a step-by-step guide to the whole process, please read
DNA the Smart Way http://worldfamilies.net/smart 

I have updated the Light Results Page, so your results are now posted there:  http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/light/results

Good luck with your continued research.