What I’ve Learned from DNA Testing

The January 10, 2018 issue of our local newspaper (The Courier Tribune) contained an article on DNA and genealogy (The Skinny on DNA Testing, by Greg Newlin) This article skimmed across the topic. Unfortunately, it also promoted the opinion that DNA testing is too commercialized.  [Note: Article may be behind a paywall.]

Thanks to Blaine Bettinger, Marty Flanagan, and many, many other genealogists that have shared their knowledge of DNA testing in a variety of ways, my knowledge of this field has grown tremendously.

Wanting my small community to have an understanding of the benefits of DNA testing, I wrote a letter to the editor which was published in the Jan 16, 2018 paper. Below is my letter:

What I’ve Learned from DNA Testing

I am writing in response to the article “The Skinny on DNA Testing” by Greg Newlin in last week’s Courier Tribune. Although I agree that there is a lot of commercialization of DNA testing, particularly at Christmas time, I felt the article fell short when discussing the benefits of DNA testing. Thus, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned over the past few years about DNA testing.

My experience with DNA testing began a few years ago when I spit in a test tube to have my DNA tested. Since the bulk of my genealogy research was on Ancestry, I purchased my kit thru Ancestry. Since that time, I’ve had my brothers and mother tested on Ancestry.

When I first submitted my saliva, I was hoping to prove two things. First, I wanted to prove that my father’s (Crawford) family was related to another Crawford family that lived in the same area and followed the same migration path over 100 years. Second, I wanted to prove that my grandmother’s grandfather, Hiram Currey of Leavenworth was a grandson of Hiram M. Currey, who was the treasurer of Ohio in 1819.

My experiences with DNA have taught me the following:

1. There are three kinds of DNA tests: autosomal, mitochondrial and yDNA. Autosomal testing evaluates the information on the 22 pairs of non-sex chromosomes and the X (female sex) chromosome. According to genetic genealogists, this test is most accurate for identifying the sixteen family lines of my great-great grandparents. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test uses DNA found in the mitochondria (energy storehouse) of cells. The mtDNA test is used to discover female lines in a family tree. The yDNA test evaluates the information on the Y (male sex) chromosome and helps unravel male lines. Since one of my goals was to learn more about my dad’s (Crawford) heritage, I asked one of my brothers to do a yDNA test.
2. Even though Ancestry has the largest pool of DNA data, it isn’t the only company doing autosomal DNA testing. The growing list of companies doing this type of testing includes: 23andMe, My Heritage, and Family Tree DNA. A list of companies and services provided can be found on the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) wiki at https://isogg.org/wiki/List_of_DNA_testing_companies
3. DNA tests go on sale at various times throughout the year. The Black Friday / Christmas sales are the most popular, but tests also go on sale for DNA day and usually for holidays like Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
4. I could download my data from Ancestry and upload it for free to MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA.
5. Gedmatch is a free tool that will show matches with other Gedmatch users who tested at other companies. Gedmatch also includes a chromosome browser that helps in identifying matches.
6. A lot of adoptees are using DNA to find their birth families, including some of my matches. Many of the leaders in the field of genetic genealogy are adoptees. The purpose of the Facebook Group, The DNA Detectives, is to help use DNA results in this quest.
7. DNA inheritance is random. My brother’s and I share some DNA but our DNA isn’t exactly alike.
8. The Ethnicity reports were interesting but not why I took the test. However, Ancestry’s newer “DNA Story” screens are helpful to track the migration paths of my ancestors. See http://heartlandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/my-dna-story.html
9. With (currently) over 928 pages of matches for just me, I have more DNA matches than I can manage.
10. I’m finding other 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th cousins and sharing information, including photographs, with them.
11. With the ‘shared matches’ tool on Ancestry, I can locate more ‘cousins’ that descend from an ancestor and contact them.
12. Ancestry’s DNA Circles tool is valuable in linking me to cousins that don’t share DNA with me but do share DNA with other descendants from the same ancestor.
13. My DNA matches verified my circumstantial evidence that Hiram M. Currey of Leavenworth is descended from Hiram M. Currey of Ohio.
14. My DNA did not match the descendant of the other Crawford line. However, we both match another Crawford line. At this point, none of us know how we are related, but our research continues to look for proof of the relationship.
15. Surname Projects are utilizing the yDNA results of members to figure out the family tree for that surname. Since participation only requires a yDNA test on FamilyTreeDNA, my brother is part of the Crawford project. By participating in the project, I’ve verified that my Crawford line goes back to Scotland.
16. There are a lot of ways to learn more about DNA, including Facebook groups, YouTube videos, and area genealogical societies.

For me, DNA has been a valuable tool in my genealogical research.

Marcia Philbrick