Last week I used two coupons to order FF for 2nd cousins of the half blood who share a great-grandmother. Both descend from her daughter, one from the daughter's son, the other from the daughter's daughter. Consequently both are on the great-grandmother's X line. This great-grandmother was from Prince George County and loss of records has prevented me from identifying her grandmothers. I'm hoping that X line information from the two half-blood cousins plus my results (I descend from the son of the great grandmother's son) will help me find others related on this line. Later generations of these families frequently married their cousins so I wouldn't be surprised if the parents of this great-grandmother were related. The grandparents of my half-blood cousins were first cousins. I see that FF is a Black Friday special and am considering a test for my first cousin who descends from my father's sister and is also on this great-grandmother's x line. I think buying tests for cousins in the pursuit of elusive ancestors is pure speculation and am not happy about doing it. How much value does the list think the first-cousin comparison would be likely to add? Another question. Ancestry tests are on sale for Black Friday. Is it true that Ancestry sells results to medical researchers and that those who don't subscribe do not get full access to matches or cannot contact their matches? Lost Cousins is promoting Ancestry over FTDNA because of the larger database but if you don't have full access to the database unless you subscribe its size is irrelevant. Furthermore, I don't need 9000 matches many of whom know nothing about their ancestors or have Ancestry trees full of mistakes--I need only a few good matches with sound pedigrees. The main advantage I see at Ancestry is Mt-DNA information which, in this case, could be useful. Lindsey

Your first cousin will certainly have some matches that you don't have. FTDNA doesn't actually use the X for calculating matches but it will display X segments if the match qualifies using autosomal DNA. AncestryDNA doesn't use the X for matching, but includes it in the raw data download, so you can upload it to GEDmatch. 23andMe uses the X data for matching, even if that is the only segment. This URL shows what you do and do not get if you don't subscribe to Ancestry: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/AncestryDNA-with-an- Ancestry-Subscription-US-1460090085520-3160?t=1473352687861 This URL describes what can be shared with third parties. This happens only if you sign an optional consent form, and the data is anonymized and aggregated. https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2017/05/21/setting- the-record-straight-ancestry-and-your-dna/ AncestryDNA does not supply any genealogically useful mtDNA information in its raw data download. 23andMe gives an intermediate level of haplogroup assignment, has the second largest database (over three million), and has useful tools for comparing your matches with each other. Ann Turner On Fri, Nov 24, 2017 at 6:04 AM, Lindsey Britton <[email protected]> wrote: > > Last week I used two coupons to order FF for 2nd cousins of the half > blood who share a great-grandmother. Both descend from her daughter, one > from the daughter's son, the other from the daughter's daughter. > Consequently both are on the great-grandmother's X line. > > This great-grandmother was from Prince George County and loss of records > has prevented me from identifying her grandmothers. I'm hoping that X line > information from the two half-blood cousins plus my results (I descend from > the son of the great grandmother's son) will help me find others related on > this line. > > Later generations of these families frequently married their cousins so I > wouldn't be surprised if the parents of this great-grandmother were > related. The grandparents of my half-blood cousins were first cousins. > > I see that FF is a Black Friday special and am considering a test for my > first cousin who descends from my father's sister and is also on this > great-grandmother's x line. > > I think buying tests for cousins in the pursuit of elusive ancestors is > pure speculation and am not happy about doing it. How much value does the > list think the first-cousin comparison would be likely to add? > > Another question. Ancestry tests are on sale for Black Friday. Is it > true that Ancestry sells results to medical researchers and that those who > don't subscribe do not get full access to matches or cannot contact their > matches? > > Lost Cousins is promoting Ancestry over FTDNA because of the larger > database but if you don't have full access to the database unless you > subscribe its size is irrelevant. Furthermore, I don't need 9000 matches > many of whom know nothing about their ancestors or have Ancestry trees full > of mistakes--I need only a few good matches with sound pedigrees. > > The main advantage I see at Ancestry is Mt-DNA information which, in this > case, could be useful. > > Lindsey > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Lindsay, if you are looking for related descendants from early ancestors you need as many different DNA results from relatives as you can get, particularly if you are looking for connections at the third cousin level and beyond. I personally prefer FTDNA, as it has the widest range of test types, and the invaluable ICW tool, plus the ability to download to GEDmatch to compare with people who have tested elsewhere. The older 23andMe tests would be good, but V5 recent ones are less valuable as, although they can be downloaded to Gedmatch, they can only be used in one-to-one tests there. I tested at 23andMe in the days of V2 tests, and results up to V4 are fine for modern comparisons but I wouldn't recommend new tests there. Ancestry tests are useful, particularly if you are all North American testers, and they are also downloadable to Gedmatch, and FTDNA. Whatever you do, I would suggest you download all tests you have access to, or can influence, to GEDmatch, where you can compare yourself and your relatives to everyone else in that database, plus you have control over default values, which can be very useful if you are looking for distant cousins. Belinda -----Original Message----- From: GENEALOGY-DNA [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lindsey Britton Last week I used two coupons to order FF for 2nd cousins of the half blood who share a great-grandmother. Both descend from her daughter, one from the daughter's son, the other from the daughter's daughter. Consequently both are on the great-grandmother's X line. This great-grandmother was from Prince George County and loss of records has prevented me from identifying her grandmothers. I'm hoping that X line information from the two half-blood cousins plus my results (I descend from the son of the great grandmother's son) will help me find others related on this line. Later generations of these families frequently married their cousins so I wouldn't be surprised if the parents of this great-grandmother were related. The grandparents of my half-blood cousins were first cousins. I see that FF is a Black Friday special and am considering a test for my first cousin who descends from my father's sister and is also on this great-grandmother's x line. I think buying tests for cousins in the pursuit of elusive ancestors is pure speculation and am not happy about doing it. How much value does the list think the first-cousin comparison would be likely to add?

A good explanation. Thank you On Fri, Nov 24, 2017 at 4:43 PM, Belinda Dettmann < [email protected]> wrote: > Lindsay, if you are looking for related descendants from early ancestors > you > need as many different DNA results from relatives as you can get, > particularly if you are looking for connections at the third cousin level > and beyond. I personally prefer FTDNA, as it has the widest range of test > types, and the invaluable ICW tool, plus the ability to download to > GEDmatch > to compare with people who have tested elsewhere. > > The older 23andMe tests would be good, but V5 recent ones are less valuable > as, although they can be downloaded to Gedmatch, they can only be used in > one-to-one tests there. I tested at 23andMe in the days of V2 tests, and > results up to V4 are fine for modern comparisons but I wouldn't recommend > new tests there. > > Ancestry tests are useful, particularly if you are all North American > testers, and they are also downloadable to Gedmatch, and FTDNA. > > Whatever you do, I would suggest you download all tests you have access to, > or can influence, to GEDmatch, where you can compare yourself and your > relatives to everyone else in that database, plus you have control over > default values, which can be very useful if you are looking for distant > cousins. > Belinda > > -----Original Message----- > From: GENEALOGY-DNA [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of > Lindsey Britton > > Last week I used two coupons to order FF for 2nd cousins of the half blood > who share a great-grandmother. Both descend from her daughter, one from > the > daughter's son, the other from the daughter's daughter. Consequently both > are on the great-grandmother's X line. > > This great-grandmother was from Prince George County and loss of records > has > prevented me from identifying her grandmothers. I'm hoping that X line > information from the two half-blood cousins plus my results (I descend from > the son of the great grandmother's son) will help me find others related on > this line. > > Later generations of these families frequently married their cousins so I > wouldn't be surprised if the parents of this great-grandmother were > related. > The grandparents of my half-blood cousins were first cousins. > > I see that FF is a Black Friday special and am considering a test for my > first cousin who descends from my father's sister and is also on this > great-grandmother's x line. > > I think buying tests for cousins in the pursuit of elusive ancestors is > pure > speculation and am not happy about doing it. How much value does the list > think the first-cousin comparison would be likely to add? > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Lindsey, I have tested oh, probably more then 15 people in both my biological family and my adopted family, (since they couldn't have children, I wanted to preserve their dna record, might help other people someday). I've done all my testing at FTDNA, (sale on now). I prefer the cheek swab at FTDNA to the saliva test of ancestryDNA. I feel that more cells are collected with a cheek swab. I've tried to test my oldest living people on my lines, sort of as a gift to their future descendants. Once their gone, the chance to preserve that is also gone. I think the more people who test, and as time goes on, the larger the databases get, the better it will be for all researchers, going forward. FTDNA is not membership based, so no membership fees. They keep some of your dna, should you want to order different tests that they order, later on... so you don't have to do swabs again. I recommend everyone who tests, (at any company) download their raw data, and upload it to http://gedmatch.com, so many people from, I think, up to 4 or 5 different testing companies can compare their results there. Again not a membership based site, you just register, log on and enjoy the community. I refuse to use ancestryDNA, so I'm hoping that many people who do, will upload to gedmatch.com, so that I might have a chance to find my match to them, should there be one. I think that ancestry gets a lot of people to purchase their tests, because of the marketing they do. I hope my thoughts have helped you decide what you need to. If it comes down to how useful first cousin testing can be. I'd say yes it can be very useful now, and as more people test and add themselves to the databases... the better it will become. I've also tested my youngest grandchildren, hopefully the mix of their dna will again help some other people in their quest to find out more. Take care, Tammy BC Canada ~ ~ ~ Webmaster http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cotyroneireland/index.html http://tammymitchell.com [email protected] On 11/24/2017 6:04 AM, Lindsey Britton wrote: > Last week I used two coupons to order FF for 2nd cousins of the half blood who share a great-grandmother. Both descend from her daughter, one from the daughter's son, the other from the daughter's daughter. Consequently both are on the great-grandmother's X line. > > This great-grandmother was from Prince George County and loss of records has prevented me from identifying her grandmothers. I'm hoping that X line information from the two half-blood cousins plus my results (I descend from the son of the great grandmother's son) will help me find others related on this line. > > Later generations of these families frequently married their cousins so I wouldn't be surprised if the parents of this great-grandmother were related. The grandparents of my half-blood cousins were first cousins. > > I see that FF is a Black Friday special and am considering a test for my first cousin who descends from my father's sister and is also on this great-grandmother's x line. > > I think buying tests for cousins in the pursuit of elusive ancestors is pure speculation and am not happy about doing it. How much value does the list think the first-cousin comparison would be likely to add? > > Another question. Ancestry tests are on sale for Black Friday. Is it true that Ancestry sells results to medical researchers and that those who don't subscribe do not get full access to matches or cannot contact their matches? > > Lost Cousins is promoting Ancestry over FTDNA because of the larger database but if you don't have full access to the database unless you subscribe its size is irrelevant. Furthermore, I don't need 9000 matches many of whom know nothing about their ancestors or have Ancestry trees full of mistakes--I need only a few good matches with sound pedigrees. > > The main advantage I see at Ancestry is Mt-DNA information which, in this case, could be useful. > > Lindsey > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message