DNA

It would be marvellous - but the chances of finding that out are pretty remote, at least for the forseeable future. Ethnicity percentages are extremely unreliable, partly because the databases are skewed. For example, until this year 99% of all the people who had tested with AncestryDNA lived in the US, and the percentage is still likely to be at least 98%.

Have you taken a Family Finder test? It's a LOT cheaper, and whilst their database is smaller, they probably have more Europeans who have tested than ALL the other companies added together.

 

Deb, I'm not sure you've taken into account the higher price that Ancestry charge in Europe? I believe it's £99 plus £20 shipping, which works out at nearly $180, and this means that when you add the $39 unlocking fee it works out at twice the cost of testing with FTDNA. I don't know yet what the costs will be in Australia.

 

I tried to upload to Gedmatch but the server was continually busy - that's why I haven't written about it in the newsletter. Have you found it worthwhile?

 

It is sadly very very common and in the nature of DNA matches that the matches you find have no paper trail. This is often because people take DNA tests to try to fill gaps in paper matches then get frustrated with matches they can't "prove" with paper records.

It's a bit of a catch 22.

 

There's an offer from FMP giving you discount at FTDNA, I think this link will work.

 

I use Gedmatch, and never had a problem. I find it useful but the Family Finder - Chromosome Browser over at FTDNA is excellent.

There is quite a good write up here and well worth the read.

 

Note that the Family Finder price isn't discounted, whilst mtDNA tests are usually a waste of money (unless you are trying to identify Richard III). The Y37 test is worth doing, however, and it's a pretty good discount if you want to take both tests.

 

Trebor, DNA research is a bit like Lost Cousins. It's only going to work if other people get tested or load their ancestors.

So in your case, the test itself won't tell you anything, but, if someone else has taken the test and you have matches with them, then you can start to explore where your ancestors start to converge. More and more people are getting tested so the chances of finding something is improving.

Taking the test may tell you nothing, not taking the test will definitely tell you nothing.

 

Assuming you're talking about your great-grandfather in your direct paternal line, then yes - it's probably the only way you could ever find out who his father was. For example, if you get several matches with people with a particular surname, that could well point to the surname of your unknown ancestor - so the next step would be to look for people of that surname who were in the right place at the right time.

I'd suggest re-reading the DNA articles in my newsletters - they're designed to make the principles underlying DNA tests understandable by any family historian.

 

This newsletter article from my Christmas newsletter has links to the key DNA articles I've published over the last 3 years.

 

It depends how far you've gone back on each line - if you've gone back (say) 7 generations on each of your 128 lines then you're not going to make any surprising discoveries. But if your great-great grandfather was out in India, and there's a rumour that his wife (your great-great grandmother) was partly Indian, then this might well show up.