Paula:

The answer is . . . "it depends."

Which company(ies) you test with and which test(s) you order depend upon
your individual needs/interests.

The best companies are FamilyTreeDNA.com and 23andMe.com.

If you want to track a direct male yDNA line (father's father's father,
etc.), you need to recruit a male relative to test for that line. If he is
not a genealogist, you may need to pay for it. Test at least 37 markers at
FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA). Anything less than 37 markers is anthropologic
information.

If you want to track your direct female line (mother's mother's mother,
etc.), you can order the complete mitochondrial (mtDNA)test at FTDNA. You
may or may not derive any immediate genealogical help from it. If you are
curious about the anthropologic information, see Bryan Sykes's book _The
Seven Daughters of Eve_.

Both FTDNA (Family Finder) and 23andMe (Relative Finder) do autosomal
(atDNA) testing of the non-sex chromosomes for several generations back
from you. 23andMe includes some yDNA (in males only), mtDNA, and xDNA
testing as part of the package, as well as medical information (risks for
various diseases, medication sensitivities). Autosomal DNA can help you
find living cousins with whom to collaborate on your mutual research
problems. Hence the value of the surnames and place names for use in
sorting the matches to determine how you are related. FTDNA and 23andMe
provide tools to help in analysis.

The X chromosome (xDNA) test can be quite interesting. The two X
chromosomes (one from each parent) are scrambled (recombined) in females.
The Genetic Genealogist blog a few years ago provided charts to show the
directions the X takes and which ancestral positions did not provide any
X.

There are blogs which explain the different tests and how to interpret
results:
DNA eXplained (Roberta Estes)
The Legal Genealogist (Judy Russell)
The Genetic Genealogist (Blaine Bettinger)
Your Genetic Genealogist (CeCe Moore)

Some blogs also explain how to transfer data from 23andMe to GEDmatch.com
(free) and FTDNA (for a fee). This is another way to maximize the number
of potential matches, since different people tend to test at different
companies.

Some people test at more than one company. I tested myself at 23andMe
because I wanted the medical information and the xDNA result. I tested a
male relative for my paternal grandfather's yDNA line and another male
relative for my maternal grandfather's yDNA line. I also tested one of the
men for minimal mtDNA. I am transferring data as appropriate to FTDNA and
to GEDmatch when it accepts data again. I administer the test results for
the 2 men, and they can remain anonymous.

Hope this helps.

--Ida Skarson McCormick, [log in to unmask], Seattle
Member of the Seattle Genealogical Society's DNA Interest Group

-------------------
Paula Dennison wrote 6-7-13:
I am interested in the what the Best DNA Ancestry tests are that are on
the market. <snip> Perhaps you know of a specialist in this area of DNA
Ancestry testing or site that could give me information.

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