Hi Laura As I understand it there are two main possibilities. One is to trace a direct male line, the Y-DNA; the other is a direct female line, the Mitochondrial DNA. The lines must be direct. I had my Y-DNA tested but in a group in conjunction with a number of other people with the same surname. We have managed to find some close [in DNA terms] relatives and in my case one of them had sufficient information that we were able to determine where and roughly when we last had a common ancestor. However I still have a gap of about 100-200 years which we have not yet been able to fill - though we live in hopes as more and more people are persuaded to join in our 'Group'. Eventually we hope that the missing links will appear. I joined the Oliver group and we used http://www.FamilyTreeDNA.com. I cannot remember exactly how much it cost though I am certain it was a lot less than $293! - there was a group rate too of course. We went step by step - getting 'marker matches'. In my case 12, then slowly up to 67 marker matches. The closer the number of matches the closer the relationship with the other person. You pay a bit more each time but you can estimate the likelihood of that extra step being successful from the match you have and the relationships that throws up. I assume, but dont know, that the Mitochondrial DNA works in a similar way. Unfortunately we do not have an unbroken female line There was a discussion on DNA in 2006 on caribbean-rootsweb which I kept and can forward if you like. In my case I would say its be very useful but not earth shattering! though it was earth shattering for someone in my group who thought he had come from Italy whereas it turned out to be Scotland. It will give you the main grouping[s] from which you come but it does not tell you about your exact racial mix I dont think. Your best bet I guess would be to contact FamilyTreeDNA, or whoever, and ask them directly. Do remember there has to be an unbroken direct line. And to get names as such you are better in a group which is likely to be more useful. If you want to read up on the theory etc I can you send you more links but the FamilyTreeDNA site gives one a lot of info. They were efficient and it was very easy but it did take a while to get the results - BTW you can look at mine if you wish? kind regards Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: <lalderson@nc.rr.com> To: "Caribbean List" <caribbean@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 3:21 PM Subject: [Carib] DNA question > Speaking of tracing one's name, I wonder if someone can help me > understand DNA's use in genealogy. For example, Ancestry.com charges > $239 for the most expensive DNA testing, but I don't get what it will > tell us. (This is for males, by the way, and my St. Croix heritage is > the female line). Is there a DNA project for West Indies, by any > chance? > > Cheers, > Laura > > > > *************************** > The Caribbean List now has a Resources Page at Historic Antigua and > Barbuda http://www.rootsweb.com/~atgwgw/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CARIBBEAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message