Genetic genealogy is the application of genetics to traditional genealogy. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level and type of the genetic relationship between individuals.
I am seriously thinking of doing the DNA testing from Ancestry.com. I am 100% Full Blooded Italian (both sides of family); however, I would like to get a more precise picture of my Italian ethnic breakdown. My God-sister took the test -she is 100% full blooded Italian from Southern Italy area, and her results came back with 89% Greek/Roman ethnicity. Anyone know how accurate this testing is to determining Italian ethnic breakdown?
The percent breakdown can change slightly as more people are tested and therefore the database used to determine and describe results changes. I also understand that the description of ethnic breakdown varies with the company doing the testing, so FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe might give somewhat different results. I suggest Googling for more information about this. The Legal Genealogist blog has addressed some of this, as has The Genetic Genealogist blog.
What company did your relative use for the test? She can broaden the pool to get more matches and use more analytical tools by uploading autosomal data to GEDmatch.com.
You and your relatives would also find it helpful to get mtDNA tests (both males and females), which provide information about your maternal lines and Y-DNA tests (males only), for information on your paternal lines. The more people in your family that are tested, the more you will learn.
My Godsister (not blooded related to me) used the kit from Ancestry.com for her results.
You mentioned the mtDNA and Y-DNA tests for maternal and paternal lineage information. What happens if there is no longer any known living relatives from paternal side for the Y-DNA testing? Can I still get paternal lineage information performed?
If you are a female, and have a brother, you can get his DNA test. If you have no living male relatives, like me, then we are stuck for now. I have been getting hits from my own Y DNA test, but nothing useful. I think Family Tree DNA is the better, because they have an italian surname project, as well as group projects for people with the same haplotype.
I agree with bottino about FTDNA. That's the company I've used for myself, my husband, and an older cousin who agreed to let me test his Y-DNA, since he's the only one left on my father's paternal line. I don't even really know him, but he's my dad's first cousin (my dad is deceased), and another cousin asked him on my behalf, since I'm working on the family history. I chose FTDNA because it has the largest database, does a variety of tests, has good resources online, and has the geographic and name projects mentioned. Those projects used to offer discounts for the tests, but when I looked for that for someone recently, I didn't notice a price difference.
@Bottino and Lesley-thank you both for invaluable Y-DNA info. From what I am aware, I also have no living male relatives from my dad's side. Only two aunts and female cousins. Seems both of you feel FTDNA is the best company to ultimately go with due to their extensive database.
Thanks again for great info. and resource recommendations. Joy.
I just heard that Ancestry DNA has stopped all DNA work. They also bought a database from another source and were not sharing it. FTDNA is still the best overall. I'm getting lots of matches, but none very interesting yet, but there are not a lot of Italians in there. My friend is going back to my ancestral village in Italy in Oct. He will take a FTDNA test kit, and get another Bottino there to do it. I will pay for it, because I am curious as to how similar he might be to me. FTDNA also has several Italian sub groups and a Surname project. It will be more useful as time goes on.
I did the Ancestry test, I'm not 100% loving it though... I got a lot of low matches, I know it all depends on who else does the test. I uploaded it to GEDMatch, but I don't understand how that site works, & yes, I've read/re-read all the help info there. I just haven't had a lot of time to figure it out, I guess I thought it would be easier... Oh well... I'll figure it out eventually!!!
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Family Tree Dna is having a promaotion going on. You can transfer your Dna from Ancestry or any other companys to Family Tree Dna For No Charge. By clicking on the link below with help you to transfer your data to find more connection.
Family Tree Dna is having a promotion going on. You can transfer your Dna from Ancestry or any other companys to Family Tree Dna For No Charge. By clicking on the link below with help you to transfer your data to find more connection.
I took the ancestry.com DNA test I liked it shows you all your ancestry and how much percent you are But the problem is that it doesn't go in to detail about your ancestors which I kind of wanted but rather than that it was cool. It also showed you potential 3rd cousins and other family members that you never knew about!
dna won't connect you to a specific person.let me clarify.dna will reveal your genetic breakdown(black,white,asian,etc).it can confirm blood relationships to known individuals that may already be in a database.but it can only be compared to others in a database.example:my paternal grandmother(isn't that always the one with family uncertainties and mysteries?all my other 3 grandparents have clear direct lineages)was born ignoti genitori(unknown parents).so dna could not pull the names for her natural parents out of the hat.that would be impossible as my grandmother was born in 1883 and most likely her natural parents were born in the 1850s or 1860s,long before dna and definitely not in a database.the only way i could verify who her natural parents were would be if they were in the database.even if one of their descendants were in a dna database,theres no way i could ever identify them by name.so dna,while useful,only does so much in identifying unknown ancestors.great for genetic breakdown but useless in identifying specific ancestors by name.if dna could do that it would be worth $1000 a test rather than $100
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