I founded one DNA project (Chandler) and am a
co-administrator of two others, all three with
<FamilyTreeDNA.com> (www.ftdna.com).
While all of the factors mentioned so far have varying
degress of weight, eight that to us are among the most
important are
(1) speed of getting results;
(2) ease of use of the reports (i.e., the formating of
the website);
(3) support;
(4) the size of the providers data base;
(5) the PRIMARY PURPOSE of the provider (e.g., general
vs. special interest); and
(6) will the provider's results integrate easily with
other data bases;
(7) will the provider share/integrate with other data
bases and if so is there a fee (cross-check the
providers so that you can compare/contrast); and
(8) does the provider allow easy transfer of results
to YSearch.com, a free service of FTDNA that has
linkages to some but not all of the other providers.
The National Geo project -- which uses FTDNA as its
provider -- is NOT set upn for teh purpose of doing
"genealogical DBA" except in an ethnic sense. For this
purpose, it only uses the 12-marker test, which is
usually inadequate for anything except the most basic
genealogical purposes. According to our Chandler
Project expert -- a genuine DNA expert -- 12-markers
can actually match randomly sufficiently often that
one should not place much reliance on a 12-marker
test.
Moreover, one should investigate whether the MARKERS
CHOSEN by a particular website are best suited for
"genealogical DNA" or for other purposes, such as
ethnic and cultural research. I.e., what kind of
information is the owner/manager of the DNA provider
trying to gather.
If special ethnic identifies are being investigated --
e.g., African American, Native American and Jewish
lines -- be especially careful in evaluating what is
offered. Contact the provider with specific questions
to (1) find out if you get a reply and (2) what the
quality of the reply is. Then, ask another, perhaps a
more general provider, to find out what it says.
These are not all of the caveats, but some good ones.
jc
--- Sunshine49 <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Do a Google- I had mine done at Oxford Ancestors, on
> recommendation
> of a friend who had hers done there, too. Some
> places are wildly
> expensive, some take months for the results. But the
> National
> Geographic genome project does basically the same
> thing, for much
> less. But other than telling you what your DNA
> results are, the rest
> you have to interpret for yourself- there are many
> online groups and
> websites to help you do this. There are groups that
> specialize in
> native Am. DNA, as I said. Or African, they have a
> databank of DNA
> from various tribes in Africa. Jewish lines incl.
> the Cohen, which
> evidently is a unique line. The male Y chromosome
> testing is
> different, but Oxford will do that, too. I have read
> all kinds of
> interesting tales about DNA discoveries. A French
> college student was
> told she had native American ancestry. No, what she
> had was a shared
> Hunnish ancestry. I believe it was the National Geo,
> who tested a
> small group of people from various backgrounds. To
> everyone's
> surprise, a woman of Greek ancestry shared DNA with
> a full-blooded
> Cree Indian. It seems that long ago their common
> ancestor had lived
> in central Asia, where one branch went south, and
> one went east and
> eventually to North America. I found that I had a
> long ago ancestor
> who was probably one of the North African cavalry
> mercenaries (or the
> wife/ slave/ camp follower of one) the Romans had
> stationed along the
> German frontier. And earlier than that, I share
> ancestry with the
> modern Kurds, who in ancient times were the Mittani.
>
> Nancy
>
> -------
> Believe those who seek the truth;
> Doubt those who find it.
>
> -Andre Gide
>
>
>
>
> -------
> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for
> three days.
>
> --Daniel Boone
>
>
>
> On Jan 24, 2007, at 11:06 AM, Jessica Welton wrote:
>
> > On the subject of DNA testing, who has tried it
> and what do you
> > look for in companies that do it?
> > Some of my Native American friends expressed an
> interest, and I
> > have no idea what to tell them.
> >
> > thanks,
> >
> > Jessica
> > On Jan 24, 2007, at 10:43 AM, Sunshine49 wrote:
> >
> >> Nothing to do with Virginia history, but a very
> interesting
> >> article about humanity's mixed ancestry. I had my
> maternal DNA
> >> done last year, the results were very
> interesting. The National
> >> Geographic genome project will do it for just
> $99, and there are
> >> places that specialize in African, Jewish, native
> American and
> >> other ancestries, but they cost a bit (or a lot)
> more.
> >>
> >> Nancy
> >>
> >> -------
> >> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for
> three days.
> >>
> >> --Daniel Boone
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> ** Yorkshire clan linked to Africa **
> >>> People of African origin have lived in Britain
> for centuries,
> >>> according to genetic evidence.
> >>> <
>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6293333.stm
> >
> >>>
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