Cliff I think DNA testing has great value, and you are correct in stating that the Companies offering these tests do some marketing. They have to. Has it found me an ancestor, no, but it has told me who I am not related to. When a person is searching for their ancestors, they tend to form strong opinions and ideas as to whom they might be related to, or where that brickwall probably came from. Even when they are told by others that it might be this other person or IS this other person, I have seen researchers refuse to accept it! Their idea or opinion is where they devote their entire search. Did, I find an ancestor using DNA, NO, but what I did find out, is that I am not related to two different and major names in early colonial history, Isaac Cummings of Ipswich, and John Cummings of Woburn. Both of these individuals have extensive written genealogical history, proven both through records, and DNA connecting to thousands and thousands of individuals. I also discovered that I was related to several others who had traced their lines to 1790's New York, and lost the trail. Had the DNA testing results came years earlier, they might have helped, but I already had discovered the trail. What DNA did for me though, was to validate the direction I had been taking.. It also helped me in the future, as at anytime that I found I might be looking at a descendant of either of these individuals as a relative, I dropped the research immediately. The elimination and inclusion process is greatly enhanced with DNA. You might want to revist the process, as just the fact that your friend did not match anyone with your surname is actually a boon to him, and a definitive genealogical answer. He can now eliminate their lines as possible connecting ancestors, and if possible obtain copies of these other individual proven trees and histories which he can then use as points not to search. The other thing that comes to mind is the accuracy of the trees that some individuals turn in on the DNA test. I helped with a tree that under scrutiny fell apart in the 4th generation. The person was not related to anyone in the area of DNA in which he had submitted his name. Why, there had been just enough of a name misspelling occurance to make a major difference in the name researched. There are just to many good reasons for it, especially in the ealier periods where records are scarce. I could go on and on. There is one negative! The Expense! You just have to grit your teeth and choke the bill down, knowing that good things are on the way. Patrick Cummings ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cliff Lamere" <clifflamere@nycap.rr.com> To: <NYRENSSE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 2:11 PM Subject: [NYRENSSE] Is DNA testing worthwhile? >I have long been skeptical about the benefits of having a DNA test done > for myself. > > Few genealogists understand much about DNA testing. I taught science for > 27 years, but I could not understand how a DNA test would help me with > my family tree. I read the websites of many testing companies, but their > claims were vague and never mentioned that they would help me identify > whether or not I had correctly chosen my 4th greatgrandfather. I phoned > Family Tree DNA, but the owner could not assure me that the test could > find any ancestors for me. > > I decided that I would be wasting my money. Later, a genealogy friend > brought up the subject after he had participated in a DNA surname study > with the same company. After the test was completed, he wrote to me > saying the following. > > "I Hope you haven't been tempted to get one of those DNA tests to show > your ancestoral matches. One of my old [surname deleted] correspondents > did so. They paid $200 for it and had me send in saliva samples for > comparative analysis. Not one person of my surname turned up as a match. > My genes and theirs show up in every country in the world! It appears > all of the matches are prehistoric. They keep sending readouts of "new" > data with a handful of surnames but still no family matches. It may be > scientific but I believe they're guilty of deception." > > Take a look at the results of the surname study in which my friend > participated. > > ------------------ > > "An exact 12 marker match has been found between you and another person > in the Family Tree DNA database. > > You and the other person match in all 12 loci. If you share the same > surname or variant, this means that there is a 99% likelihood that you > share a common ancestor in a genealogical time frame. If you match > another person without the same surname or variant, you still probably > share a common ancestor, but this ancestor most likely lived in the time > before surnames were adopted. > > The link below will take you to your Family Tree DNA Login. From there, > click on the "Y-DNA Matches" tab to see a list of your matches. Newer > matches will be at the top of the list. Additional emails will be sent > to you as we find new matches between you and your "genetic cousins."" > > ------------------ > > That is apparently what you get for your money. Everyone on this mailing > list is probably related. Any two of us are probably "genetic cousins" > because we are both related to some unnamed person born in Europe a > thousand or ten thousand years ago or to someone in prehistoric times. > If you and I both took the test, we might learn that. Is it worth > spending money to find that out? > > The Times Union, Albany's newspaper had an article today ("Relative > Connections") that described the experience of one person who learned > about the ancient migration route of some unnamed person. He also quoted > someone who said that the mtDNA test detects only one of thousands of > ancestors. Since it tests the female line, and surnames change with > every marriage, it can't tell you a surname. If I understand correctly, > the test will not help you add anyone to your family tree. The article > will be online for seven days before you have to pay to read it. > > http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=703086&category=LIFE&newsdate=7/14/2008 > > If you have had some experience with the DNA testing, please tell us if > it helped you identify any relatives or not. > > Cliff Lamere > > > ====NY-RENSSE Mailing List==== > Check out the mailing list's website at: > http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYRensse/ > Don't forget the Rensselaer County Message Board: > http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.rensselaer/mb.ashx > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NYRENSSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message