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About us

Genetic tests can confirm a link to other individuals who have a paper trail to the person you think is your ancestor. It can also give direction to your genealogical research.

But you need to know that there are three different types of DNA testing currently available to the consumer.  And you need to know the different inheritance patterns for each type, so you can choose the type which is appropriate for your research or purpose.  These inheritance patterns are dictated by the "rules" of Mother Nature.   That can work to your advantage, in ruling out other possibilities, but you need to know how to use those patterns to your advantage.  And all the information below pertains to biological lines, not what can be called NPE or "mis-attributed parentage,"  However, DNA testing can be used to break down the brick walls erected by those hidden or unknown events.

The three types of tests available to consumers are:

  1. y-DNA testing, which can only be taken by males, and can only trace direct, unbroken male lines.  It cannot be inherited by or passed through female generations.  Females do not inherit y-DNA from their fathers, or else they would not be female.  They get an X chromosome from their fathers instead of Y-DNA.  That inheritance of either the Y or X from the father is what determines the sex of a child.  Females inherit at-DNA from their fathers, too, but not the Y chromosome.  This is a basic rule of biology.

  2. mt-DNA testing, which can be taken by either sex, but it follows only the maternal line, as all children (male or female) inherit their mother's mt-DNA.  Males cannot pass their mt-DNA to their own children; only females can do that.

  3. at-DNA testing.  FTDNA's Family Finder is an at-DNA test, as is AncestryDNA and 23andMe and MyHeritage.  Everyone has at-DNA from both biological parents, and biological grandparents, and from most ancestors within the last four generations, but the percentage of at-DNA inherited from ancestors goes down the further back in the family tree you travel.  There is not enough room on our chromosomes for all the DNA from all our ancestors.  At conception, a process called random recombination forms the DNA inheritance of each child, and some DNA is discarded then.  Even full siblings share only about 50% of their at-DNA.  Unfortunately, people want to treat all types of DNA like at-DNA, and that is not possible.  It is very difficult to prove a relationship with at-DNA beyond 5-6 generations.

Females can do mt-DNA and at-DNA tests.  Males can do all three types of DNA tests.

This project is primarily a yDNA or surname project.  While this site includes a display page for mt-DNA results, this project will be focused on y-DNA results.  Anyone who tests at FTDNA or who transfers at-DNA data to the site will get a private page on the site which shows all matches for any test  in the system.