Genealogy! Just Ask! Has DNA Now

By Robin Foster

UPDATE: See DNA Genealogy! Just Ask!

DNA technology has greatly advanced over the past few years. I have had my own DNA tested, and I have learned a lot about my ancestry. I have discovered and connected with cousins. Of the most important things you need to know when choosing to be tested, two come to mind first:

1. What test do I need?

There are basically three tests right now

• Y DNA (yDNA)

• Mitrochondrial (mtDNA)

• Autosomal DNA

You need to decide which test will provide the results that you are looking for. We are not experts, so we are not suggesting to our members what test they should take.

2. You need to decide which company offers the test you need. You need to investigate how the results will be formatted for you. Will the company basically just tell you where your ancestors where 40,000 years ago? We certainly will not suggest which company you should test with. Each company is a little different.

We embrace this technology, but we know it is highly dependent on your genealogical research and the research of others. What good is it for you to test without accurately documenting your ancestor's line? What good would it do you to find close DNA matches but the person has no documented family tree? I researched and documented so completely that I was able to easily find the missing clues on the pedigrees of people whom I match closely to in the DNA pool.

We are focused on helping you to find historical documentation. When you are ready, research companies and how they display DNA results. It is possible that we will help the majority of our members reach the point where they are ready to test, but until then, we will focus completely on documenting with original records.

Thank you emarking on this journey with us! We appreciate you.