DNA Testing - Which Company? Part One.

DNA testing for genealogical purposes can be an exciting venture, but it can also be a very costly and confusing one as well.  Many people jump in at the thought of finding lost ancestors, breaking through brick walls, and meeting new cousins around the globe.  But these outcomes are not a guarantee.   The only ancestors you will discover are the ones you already know – unless you are willing to spend a lot of time researching the past to trace into the future (I’ll explain more on this later).  And brick walls can be broken through but again it will take a lot of hard work and determination.  Cousins?  You will meet a few; however, you will discover that their family trees and your own don’t have any noticeable matches and this will leave you feeling confused and oftentimes bewildered.  

So what then?  Should you NOT be DNA tested?  I’m not attempting to steer anyone away from being tested.  I think it is a wonderful opportunity to assist in your genealogical practices: a method of extracting your deeper roots via a genetic code that can be wisely used to match against probable prospects.

I myself have utilized DNA testing in this manner.   As a male I have the opportunity to test for all three available DNA packages on the market: Chromosomal (Y-DNA) which tests the father’s line; the Mitochondrial (mt-DNA) which tests the mother’s line; and the cheapest option, Autosomal DNA which tests everything to include all the in-betweens.

Y-DNA testing will go back many centuries from father to son on up the line.  Similarly, mt-DNA will do the same for the mother’s line.  Both of these tests can be a bit pricey.  And then there is the cheapest option, Autosomal DNA which tests the genetic composition inherited from both sets of parents, thus being able to establish or suggest our ethnicity.

At the time of this writing the following companies offer DNA testing:

23andMe.com

This company, claiming to be the largest DNA ancestry service in the world, sells a single Autosomal DNA test for $99 for which they write, “trace your lineage back 10,000 years and discover your history from over 750 maternal lineages and over 500 paternal lineages.”  They used to offer health-related information based on that genetic composition that suggested probable dis-eases a customer might be prone to but the FDA got involved and shut the marketing of the health information down.  The FDA believed this outcome to be unsubstantiated.  Customers that were grandfathered in were allowed to view their health profiles but new customers will not be given any health-related information.

Personally I think the health information is quite accurate.  For instance I was tested to have an increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Gout, Gallstones, Multiple Sclerosis, High Blood Pressure, Scoliosis, amongst other things.  When I served in the Marines they monitored my blood sugar because I was borderline Diabetic.  I do have (or had) high blood pressure which is now controlled by eating properly and taking certain whole food supplements, and I was discovered to have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) when 13 years of age.  Co-incidence?  I don’t think so.  I think 23andme.com is moving genetic science forward into new territory… and anything new has always been feared and or ridiculed UNTIL it was finally accepted as mainstream science. 

So I fully support 23andMe.com in their foresight and wisdom to launch into new territory.  In my opinion they should be allowed to continue their health investigations, questionnaires, and publishing of possible risk factors WITH a disclaimer to the end-user that these claims are not definite but probable.

My Experience with 23andMe.com

My ethnicity was determined to be 99.9% European with the following breakdown: 18.6% British & Irish; 9.1% French & German; 1.4% Scandinavian; 66.5% Nonspecific Northern European; 4.3% Nonspecific European; and .1% Unassigned.

This composition comes from 31 tested populations worldwide.  Because it is Autosomal it includes DNA inherited from both sides of my family – with no way of telling what percentages I received from what parent.  

If I were to have any complaints with the genetic composition determined by 23andMe.com it is that it is not specific enough.  As you can see there is a large segment (70.8%) that in labeled ‘nonspecific’ European.  I would like to have that segmented percentage broken down.  Certainly there are populations that can be tested in these European countries that can offer a bit more in regards to ethnicity suggestions.  Other testing companies don’t seem to have a problem with this.

23andMe.com matched we with 991 relatives, two 2^nd cousin relationships (which I knew), two 3^rd to 4^th cousin relationships (which I didn’t), and many 3^rd to distant relationships.  A pet peeve of mine, and it has nothing to do with any testing company, is that many testers hide behind a shroud of privacy never revealing their ancestral surnames or even their own name for that matter.  What is the sense in being tested if you don’t plan on making matches with other people?  I’ve introduced myself to many matches only to have my introduction declined or never answered.  I just don’t get it.

Most of my 991 matches (and this number grows constantly as new testers are matched) will NEVER be linked to my family tree.  The surnames they give do not match my own.  And the distance between us could be too great to make any sort of relationship finding useful.

AncestryDNA

A newcomer to the scene of genetic testing is Ancestry.com’s own AncestryDNA.  AncestryDNA offers a full-range of testing: Y-DNA, mt-DNA, and Autosomal DNA.  The Y-DNA test costs either $149 for a 33 Chromosome test or $179 for a 46.  The mtDNA test will cost you $179.  And combined the cost is either $328 or $358.  The Autosomal DNA test is regularly priced at $99.

Personally I don’t feel AncestryDNA’s Y-DNA testing at the 33 and 46 chromosome levels is sufficient to establish any sort of relationship.  In my opinion this low level of testing can establish too many false leads.  I would think this testing should be amped up to either 67 or 111 levels.  This higher level of testing paints an entirely new picture sifting low-level results while keeping only the best.

My wife and I have both been tested through AncestryDNA.  I paid for the mtDNA on myself, manually entered my Y-DNA results from another company, and took the Autosomal DNA test.  My wife only took the Autosomal DNA test.

AncestryDNA’s Autosomal test reveals a bit more than does 23andMe.com.   With AncestryDNA it is estimated that I am 100% European with the following genetic breakdown: 34% Europe West (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein – also found in England, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic); 33% Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales – also found in Ireland, France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy); 16% Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway, Denmark – also found in Great Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, the Baltic States, and Finland); 11% Ireland (Ireland, Wales, Scotland – also found in France and England); 3% Italy/Greece; 2% Finland/Northern Russia; less than 1% Iberian Peninsula; and less than 1% Europe East.

These figures are quite a bit different from that suggested by 23andMe.com.  I think AncestryDNA’s suggestions are closer to the truth.  My father is Dutch.  He comes from a long lineage of Dutch marrying only Dutch.  And my mother’s line does have English, Scottish, and Irish with a bit of German… all which are suggested by AncestryDNA.

Because Ancestry.com is such a large company I have many more matches with varying degrees of confidence that there is a common ancestor we share: some as high as 96%.  And the user testees are much more likely to have an established family tree for comparison.  I like that.  

Unlike 23andMe.com I HAVE found new cousins with proven relationships through Autosomal testing.  And I’ve even been privy to new information learned from these cousins – information I would not have come across on my own.   But I have learned nothing new through either Ancestry.com’s Y-DNA or mtDNA testing.

I think AncestryDNA’s claim to fame is in its Autosomal DNA test.  The other tests have fallen to the wayside.  They are still there, they are still being offered, but they are not as popular.

Why is that?  I think most people take the DNA test hoping to discover their ethnicity.  And only the Autosomal test is able to suggest this.  Plus because the price of the Autosomal test is so low compared to the more exhaustive test, it is in better reach for most people financially.

My wife’s own testing was a bit more generalized than mine.  She descends from Central American native Indians that mixed with the Conquistadors.  She is tall, slender, with high cheekbones, dark hair, and definite “indian” features.  AncestryDNA did account for this Indian composition categorizing it as: 57% Native American (North, Central or South American).  This is NOT specific enough.

It was interesting however to see where the other 43% of her genetic composition derived.  Surprisingly it was not all Iberian Peninsula (Spain).  This only made of 8% of her genetics.  Her breakdown was 10% Italy/Greece, 8% Iberian Peninsula, 7% Great Britain, 3% Asian, 3% Irish, 3% European Jew, and less than 1% each: Finland/Northwest Russia, Europe West, Pacific Islander, and West Asian. 

Because I did not feel that lumping all Native Americans into one category was sufficient enough to establish my wife’s tribal composition I turned to a lesser-known company that specializes in this information.  And I wouldn’t doubt that Ancestry.com one day purchases this company because of the phenomenal job they have done with testing native cultures around the world: information that is valuable for summarizing genetic matches.

DNA Tribes

Found at DNAtribes.com, this company also tests the Autosomal DNA inherited from both parents BUT this company compares that DNA with over 1,200 ethnic groups found in 32 regions around the globe!  But would this test reveal my wife’s Native American tribal composition?  

Soon after testing we received a 10-page PDF report detailing my wife’s genetic profile.  The first 6 pages explained the process with colorized maps showing the various tribal regions.  And they are quite detailed.  The 6^th page explains the scoring methods used by the company to suggest match likelihood with any given native culture.  The final 4 pages were labeled as strictly confidential in nature.  Page 7 shows all alleles tested and their results.  Page 8 shows native population match results with map.  Page 9 shows global population match results with map.  And finally page 10 shows world region match results with map.

According to the report my wife tests high for: 

Otomi (Ixmiquilpan Valley, Mexico); and Hna Hun (Otomi) (Hidalgo, Mexico); Huastec (Hidalgo, Mexico), amongst others.  These are all Mexican native cultures.  But there were also a few Peruvian cultures that matched.

Interesting to say the least.  My wife remembers hearing her father talk about the Huastec culture, how his side was descended from this mountain-dwelling people.  Her father is quite tall, perhaps the mixture with Europeans originated in his lineage.  Her mother is much shorter.  It may be assumed, not proven, that her lineage descends from the Otomi culture.

The Huastec culture is a pre-Columbian culture that constructed cities and step pyramids, carved elaborate sculptures, painted pottery, but wore no clothes.  They were defeated in 1450 by the Aztec armies under Moctezuma and again in 1519-1530 by the Spanish Invaders who quickly converted the natives to Roman Catholicism and/or sold the natives into the Caribbean to be used for slave labor.

Because my wife knew about the Huastecs, to a certain degree, and because DNA Tribes placed the Huastec culture near the top of my wife’s ethnicity, it proves the reliability of this test.  We found the test to be extremely accurate in its predictions.

The test costs either $139.99 for a 22 marker test OR $159.99 for a 26 marker test.  

The one thing I didn’t like about the test results was the way the results were delivered.  Instead of pointing us to their website where we could log-in and view the results, they emailed a PDF report.  This report if lost cannot be reclaimed.  It is lost forever.  I had a hard time finding it for this article.  I have since printed it out.

I feel DNA Tribes is able to give those lumped into “native cultures” by other testing companies a more accurate picture of their genetic composition.  It certainly did for my wife.  She now knows with a near absolute certainty what ancient tribal cultures she descends through.  

FamilyTree DNA

Then finally there is the grand-daddy of them all… FamilyTree DNA.  There is a reason that 90% of all genealogists recommend FamilyTree DNA.  I will be exploring these reasons in Part 2 of this article.

Photo Mystery Solved

I am a trained Screenwriter. One of the first things we are taught, and what separates "good" screenwriting opposed to "novice" or "bad" screenwriting is the adage, "pictures speak louder than words". We write in terms of visuals allowing the pictures to describe the context or subtext.

In Genealogy, pictures hold the same meaning. We can get a lot out of a picture oftentimes breaking through an unidentified picture through visuals contained within: people, place, and setting.

One such picture is the following (resized for web composition).

I scanned this photo in at a 600dpi resolution saving file as a TIFF. The TIFF format is a lossless file type meaning that no information is lost; and saving at 600dpi is a good quality resolution capturing the most pixels from the original photo.

I use both Windows and Mac computers. One program that I really like is PhotoScape. PhotoScape was initially written for Windows PCs but they recently released a Mac version, though the Mac version has fewer features.

PhotoScape allows me to zoom in, play with contrast and brightness, amongst other tweaks. There are many other programs for both Windows and Mac computers that do the same thing, I just use PhotoScape as a matter of preference.

The above photo was found in an inherited collection. It was not identified. We had absolutely no idea where the photo was taken or whose grave monument was pictured. Neither did we know who was pictured facing away from the camera.

I decided to put the photo to the test. First thing I did was to auto-level and auto-context the photo. I then zoomed in on the stone to see if I could read any words thereon. I could see some very light text that I had never seen before: this can't be seen on the photo in its regular square size.

Playing with the brightness and contrast I was able to make out a few words inscribed on the stone:

SARAH WELLS and WM BULL, the latter transcribed twice, both above Sarah's name and beneath it.

I took these names to FindaGrave.com to see if anyone had created a memorial for either name AND to see if perhaps a photo had been taken of the same stone as pictured.

To my luck and amazement... it had! http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=19421740&PIpi=17253609

The stone is taken from about the same point of view. You can see the same markers behind the monument. It is definitely a match.

This monument belongs to William BULL (1689-1755) and his wife, Sarah Wells BULL (1694-1796). They were buried in Hamptonburgh Cemetery, at Orange County, New York.

The monument was erected by William and Sarah BULL'S descendants.

The next thing to determine is the date of the photo. I will contact the Hamptonburgh Cemetery to determine the date of the monument's erection. That might be a clue as to the photo's date. Perhaps, and my best educated guess, the woman pictured in the photo was one of the descendants who donated funds to have the monument erected.

I will post more as I know more. At least I have taken a previously unknown photo, unmarked in any way, and determined who it belongs to. I have posted this photo the memorial page of William and Sarah BULL found at FindaGrave.com.

Seeking Michigan - a Treasure Trove of Resources for Your Michigan-based Ancestors

Family historians with Michigan-based ancestors have something to cheer about... it's called, Seeking Michigan.org.

Seeking Michigan is run by the Michigan Historical Center and it includes Archives of Michigan research guides, indexes, a blog, and other resources all from the Michigan Historical Center and Archives of Michigan staff.

As a genealogist I use this phenomenal website for two main reasons.

MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS 1897-1920

First, Seeking Michigan's most popular online collection is its Michigan Death Records, 1897-1920. With more than a million records, and with new material being added on a regular basis, this database allows the download of death records for your ancestors if they occurred in Michigan AND if that death took place in the time frame given.

There are some records post-1920.

And this is FREE. There is no cost to you. What a wonderful tool! I have personally downloaded hundreds of death records from this Seeking Michigan database. The records for download are high-resolution scans of the actual death certificate, not a transcription.

You can search using an advanced tool that allows you to refine the results by County. If you don't find your ancestor at first, try entering name variations. Here is what I do:

1a) search by known last name
1b) search by known last name and county
2a) search by first name
2b) search by first name and county

I had a recent client who hired me to find her Great Aunt who was rumored to have come to Grand Rapids, Michigan around the early 1900s. No trace could be found of her.

Without much to go on I decided to search Seeking Michigan's Death Record database. Perhaps she died early. It was worth a shot.

I entered her known last name. Nothing.

I then entered her first name which was in Dutch. A few results, but no matches.

I then reran the search but used English variations of her given Dutch name. This time I was successful in finding her. Though there were numerous matches, one stood out from all the others because, fortunately, her maiden name was also inserted on the death certificate.

MICHIGAN 1884 AND 1894 CENSUSES

Another important database that I use frequently is the Seeking Michigan 1884 and 1894 Census.

While the 1890 Federal Census was destroyed leaving a large gap between the Census years of 1880 and 1900, this gap can be overcome with the Michigan 1884 and 1894 Censuses if available: some of the 1894 Michigan Censuses are missing (destroyed).

This database can help the family researcher determine children born and/or deaths during this 20 year gap (1880-1900). I have found so many important clues using this database that I might otherwise never have found.

There are several other databases found on Seeking Michigan but the two mentioned in this article are the two I utilize the most, both for myself and for my clients.

So bookmark SeekingMichigan.org and browse the numerous resources to be found there.

Citing Your Sources

How important is it to cite your sources?

So you do genealogy as a hobby... your family knows you as the 'family historian', how important is it that you cite your sources?

I am always amazed at the number of family trees on Ancestry.com that go unsourced.

When I conduct preliminary searches for information, I rely on sites like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch.  Many people place a lot of information online that is not sourced through Ancestry.com failing to indicate where they get their information.

This makes it harder for the next person that comes along who may want to check/verify the information.

I have found many written reports from ancestors that dabbled in genealogy.  Some offered information that is not found anywhere else.  Perhaps they asked a living relative who knew the facts because they were only one generation removed.  Or perhaps it was hearsay. 

Without proper documentation, citing your sources, it is impossible to duplicate the information. 

I had one relative who had the privilege of asking the last living daughter of our immigrating ancestor questions about that immigrating ancestor.  And she did a wonderful job writing up a brief report concerning the family.  But...

She failed to cite her sources.  I haven't a clue what information was taken from the immigrating ancestor's daughter and what was not.  Furthermore, she states information as if they were facts: information pertaining to the childhood of our immigrating ancestor.  Where did she get this information?  Did she find it in a book?  Did she have privy to a lost document? 

Even documents that I order: birth, death, and marriage certificates, these should be properly sourced on the certificate itself.  This allows any family member either now or after I am dead, to find the same document.

So how do you properly source your information?

The authoritative guide to citing your sources that covers everything offline and online is: Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. 

This hefty volume will assist you in how to properly cite any source.  Then you'll know where you got all your information and so will your family.

Using DNA for Family Research

Have you hit a brick wall in your research?  Has the paper trail brought you to a seeming end?  If so your DNA may hold the answers.

Your gene pool... it is unique.  There is no-one else just like you.  All of the ancestors before you have added to your pool.  And it is from this pool that you have been created: your appearance, your personality, your likes, your dislikes, your genetic makeup.

You are the sum total of all the ancestors that walked before you.

And because of this... it is possible to use your DNA to trace your ancestors, many generations removed.

Modern technology has made it possible to discover the genetic composition of your entire family tree using what is called "Autosomal DNA".  This differs from both Y-DNA and Mitochondrial DNA that follow a single line backward: either the father's or the mother's lineage.  Using Autosomal DNA it is possible to see ALL the in-betweens.

Autosomal (or Nuclear) DNA is clearly the better choice when it comes to defining one's genetic composition but it may be lacking in definition.  Let me explain.

In my own Family Tree I was fairly certain that I was of  100% European ancestry.  Through testing my Autosomal DNA I was able to confirm this percentage with a certain accuracy.  I say 'near' because there were a few differences amongst the various testing companies.

AncestryDNA defined my genetic composition as:

100% European: 34% West Europe; 33% Great Britain; 16% Scandinavia; 11% Ireland; and trace amounts - 3% Italy/Greece; 2% Finland/North Russia; <1% Iberian Peninsula; and <1% Europe East.

23andMe defined my genetic composition a bit differently:

99.9% European: 18.6% British/Irish; 9.1% French/German; 1.4% Scandinavian; 66.5% Nonspecific Northern European; 4.3% Nonspecific European; and .1% Unassigned.

FamilyTree DNA broke away from the 100% European with the following:

93.09% Western European (Orcadian) and 6.91% Middle East (Palestinian/Bedouin/Druze/Jewish/Mozabite).

With all three of these companies I was placed into a database with hundreds (some thousands) of DNA matches which is great.  And the companies can even break it down to whether the matches are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or distant cousins.  

The problem is that there is no way of knowing exactly HOW we are related and along WHAT line.  Some testee matches have placed their family trees online and this simplifies the process in helping to determine possible lines, but these are seldom easy to trace but it is possible.

Autosomal DNA is the cheapest option but I don't feel that it should be a standalone product.  What do I mean by this?

I think Autosomal DNA complements either the Y-DNA test, the Mitochondrial DNA test, or both.  

For what purpose would you use these other two tests?

Y-DNA (see figure) traces one lineage - your father's.  It follows the male chromosome up the line.  Thus, your Y-DNA is virtually the same as that of your grandfather's or your 2nd great grandfathers.  This type of DNA test is available for MALES ONLY.  Women would have to have a brother or male cousin tested on their behalf.

What are Y-DNA uses?

I have used Y-DNA to assist in breaking through a brick wall in my family tree.  Way back across the pond in the year 1765, I had a male descendant born out of wedlock.  There is no paper trail to assist: his parish baptismal record is missing, and his mother's ancestry is not known.  All we have to go on is a single document that tells us he was illegitimate.  

Using my Y-DNA at a 67 level (sufficient for genetic testing), I did not find a single match.  There were several at the lower levels (25/37) but blank at the 67 level.  The Y-DNA test looks at certain areas of the chromosome for short-tandem repeats (STRs) which indicate, if there is a match, relationship.  Testing at the Y-67 level means that I had 67 of these areas defined with no matches.

This does not mean that I give up just because I had zero matches.  With any sort of DNA testing you need to be proactive.  Take the initiative.

I sought out cousins who live in the Netherlands - known relationships to assist me in my efforts.  Looking back through parish and civil records I found a couple possibilities: people who lived in the same areas, with similar names, who might possibly be the father of our ancestor.

So what I did, with the help of my cousins, is trace a potential candidate's lineage forward.  We ran into a dead end when a male heir failed to produce a male descendant.  So we backed up.  We found the father of the possible match and other sons that would carry the same Y-DNA.  We moved a line forward and found a living descendant of this son, brother to our possible match.

Because my Dutch is "niet zo goed", my Dutch-speaking cousins were able to reach out to this male descendant, explaining our situation, proving that we had the right guy, and having him tested for a match.  

We anxiously awaited the result.  This was our best candidate - one that made complete sense: this man was married, his wife was pregnant at the time our ancestor was born, and his surname matched our own (surnames weren't generally defined in the Netherlands until 1811 under a mandate by Napoleon who had ransacked the country).  

He was not a match.  

But he could have been.  And that would have been a remarkable breakthrough in our brick wall.  But now we are back to researching other possible candidates.

And it is very possible that a male heir (distant cousin) of my ancestor's father, some male who possesses the same Y-DNA as my own, will one day be tested.  But sitting around waiting for that to happen... that could take decades.

Mitochondrial DNA works the same way as Y-DNA exact it follows the mother's lineage upwards: from mother to mother.  

I have tested with the three largest companies and must admit that, while I am somewhat suspicious of their findings concerning my genetic composition, they are the absolute best for testing because they offer more than just a standardized autosomal DNA test.  It is no wonder why 80% of the world's genealogists recommend FamilyTree DNA over all other companies.

Their database is the largest.  

I hope I have helped you in your decision to take a DNA test, whether man or woman.  I recommend FamilyTree DNA for combined testing AND AncestryDNA for autosomal DNA genetic composition.