Dear Cousins, I recently voiced some concerns about the manner in which DNA testing is being touted and perceived by members of surname groups. I wondered if indeed the testing can provide the answers that some groups are suggesting. I was also worried that DNA testing was being perceived as a new-tech alternative to traditional genealogical investigation and research. Based on your comments, I realized I needed to know more about the subject. At Everton's "Genealogical Helper" http://www.everton.com/ I found two excellent articles DNA Testing Dispels a Genealogical Myth Did You Attach Your Ancestors to the Wrong Tree Root? Each of these holds good answers for the concerns above. Also, there were excellent additional pages suggested on the internet. An almost overwhelmingly complete site is Chris Pomeroy's DNA Portal http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~allpoms/genetics.html which in turn put me on to Mark Jobling's 'In the name of the father: surnames and genetics' Ancestry.com makes straightforward statements about DNA testing that I found refreshing: Prove or disprove specific relationships with living people; Break through previous brick-walls in your research;Find ethnic & geographic clues to help your search; Group surname reconstruction; Database & pedigree matches. Ancestry's tests cost $219 for Paternal, $239 for Maternal and $219 for Native American. Other costs I checked ranged about the same: between $200 and $300 each. Men have both maternal and paternal markers, while women have only maternal. On Ancestry's main page on genetics http://www.ancestry.com/genetics/main.htm there is a clickable page reached which describes in lay terms what you can learn and what you can't. The most important is that you cannot determine any information other than the direct line of your mother (for women,) and/or father (for men). They have a great chart that shows exactly what this means to you. Another important consideration is that unless you have significant numbers of persons for comparison you will not learn much of significant genealogical implication. And if your surname organization has not correctly established the direct lines of the surname, you will likely be dismayed by the results. Even if you find you are indeed related to your first cousin, is it worth $200-$300 to prove it with DNA? The best use of this kind of testing seems to be for the person trying to establish identity, such as an adoptee, seeking to find a genetic imprint where none is known. The testing is interesting, and is a promising tool, but it seems to me the bottom line is that it is best utilized in conjunction with sound genealogical techniques rather than as an alternative to traditional methodology. Love, Your Cousin, Carolyn