Thanks you for that explanation Cheri. I still have some questions: What kind of results can be expected? Will it only find people in your family line who have also taken a DNA test and are in a database? And the ancestors of those who have taken the test and uploaded their Gedcom files? So basically, does it all depend on other's participation? -----Original Message----- From: Cheri Mello [mailto:gfscherim@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 1:06 PM To: prt-madeira@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PT-MADEIRA] DNA Tests Hi Betty, DNA for genealogy has been on the market for about 10 or 11 years now, but it probably took about 5 years to get the word out and to get people to understand it. Or somewhat understand it, I should say. For a half-Portuguese man and his results: It depends on which test he takes. If his surname is Portuguese (or a variation/Anglicized version) and he takes a Y-DNA test, then he will be tracing father's father's father's line. He will get a list of matches with their email addresses. I encourage people to upload their Gedcoms (from their genealogy software program) so the matches can see their line. My dad is half Portuguese on his paternal side. Since his surname is Mello, the Y-DNA test is tracing his father's father's line (back to that Jacome guy). My dad get a list of matches, but they were at the 25 marker level, which means their common ancestor was probably a thousand years ago. A bit too far back for my genealogy. I did not expect my dad to get a genealogy-relevant match on his Y-DNA though. That's because the Azores are 9 islands. Even though my dad's family comes from the largest of the 9 islands, not enough people have yet test from that island, let alone that freguesia. I would think that once more men from Madeira test their Y-DNA, they would be getting matches much, much sooner. Now, for a half-Portuguese (or a quarter or even less), he could take Family Finder. That test has been on the market now for about 1.5 years. I tested my dad's DNA a year ago, and things are starting to fall into place. I think he had maybe 5 or 6 pages of matches (so 50 or 60 people). Now he has 10 pages of matches. They range from the 2nd cousin level to the 5th/Distant cousin level. I know how 5 or so of them fit into the tree. I have about 4 or 5 who I think I know how they should fit, but the match does not have all the research yet done on that line. They email me when they find info. I'm guessing that my dad's matches on Family Finder are probably 2/3 to 3/4 American (ultimately British Isles) type lines, since there are a lot more of those researchers out there. The remainder are Portuguese. And then there are those that I can't tell. Mrs. Jane Doe. I don't know if her maiden name was Portuguese or she's matching on my dad's American side. If I see the Gedcom button, I click it and take a look. If not, I email. This Family Finder test is not a straight shot like the Y-DNA (my father's father's father's line that winds up as a Jacome). This one is a plate full of spaghetti and I have to try to separate it to figure out which line came from where. It's fun and frustrating sometimes. But mostly fun. I have not tested my dad's mtDNA (which is his American side which appears to be something British). It's a brickwall and my paperwork on that only goes to the mid-1800s. Since my dad's DNA will be stored for 25 years or longer, I want to attack that line more with research first. But if I do test it, I will do the whole Full Genetic Test or Full Genome or Full Sequence (they keep marketing it differently). And I may do it when I find another person who thinks that they come from the same ancestor. The Portuguese uncle would be good to test for either Y-DNA and definitely for Family Finder since he's the older generation. Generally speaking, it's usually better to test an older person, if that person's genealogy covers your goals. Expenses: Well, depending on how you look at it, DNA can be expensive. However, with one of my brickwalls, I drove up to the Los Angeles FHC on numerous occasions (gas money), flew to Salt Lake (airfare, hotel, and food), flew to St. Joseph, MO (air, hotel, food again + rent a car), and east Tennessee. I don't even want to think how much money I spent on that line. But I got to see a lot of really neat places and meet some really good people, so I'm not complaining. How that wall was broken? A 2nd cousin took a DNA test and it matched someone whose paper trail left the burnt out east Tennessee and we got a match that way! So far, I've had no rich Portuguese person leave their fortune to my DNA projects. Since FTDNA runs the holiday sale yearly (for the last 5 or 6 years), some people save their money all year long and buy a test at the end of the year. Some find a cousin or two who do genealogy and split the cost. If it's Y-DNA, some buy the lower marker (Y-DNA 12 marker) and upgrade as funds become available. Family Tree DNA does have a layaway plan that they don't advertise. Once the kit is paid off, you can mail in the DNA sample and it will be processed. On your U.K. match, you didn't state how many markers it was or the haplogroup. Or how common the UK surname is. Hope I gave you a few ideas and cleared up a few questions. Cheri Mello Family Tree DNA Admin

Rich, The answer is yes to all your questions. The results are (depending on how many markers you test) a numerical value against a genetic number. Then you can post those numbers and your haplogroup type to the Madeira Y search web side and see if you have matches with the others who have posted. Lou On 11/24/2011 9:58 AM, Rich Gomes wrote: > Thanks you for that explanation Cheri. > > > I still have some questions: > What kind of results can be expected? > Will it only find people in your family line who have also taken a DNA test > and are in a database? > And the ancestors of those who have taken the test and uploaded their Gedcom > files? > > So basically, does it all depend on other's participation? > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Cheri Mello [mailto:gfscherim@gmail.com] > Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 1:06 PM > To: prt-madeira@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [PT-MADEIRA] DNA Tests > > Hi Betty, > > DNA for genealogy has been on the market for about 10 or 11 years now, but > it probably took about 5 years to get the word out and to get people to > understand it. Or somewhat understand it, I should say. > > For a half-Portuguese man and his results: > It depends on which test he takes. If his surname is Portuguese (or a > variation/Anglicized version) and he takes a Y-DNA test, then he will be > tracing father's father's father's line. He will get a list of matches with > their email addresses. I encourage people to upload their Gedcoms (from > their genealogy software program) so the matches can see their line. > My dad is half Portuguese on his paternal side. Since his surname is Mello, > the Y-DNA test is tracing his father's father's line (back to that Jacome > guy). My dad get a list of matches, but they were at the 25 marker level, > which means their common ancestor was probably a thousand years ago. A bit > too far back for my genealogy. I did not expect my dad to get a > genealogy-relevant match on his Y-DNA though. That's because the Azores are > 9 islands. Even though my dad's family comes from the largest of the 9 > islands, not enough people have yet test from that island, let alone that > freguesia. I would think that once more men from Madeira test their Y-DNA, > they would be getting matches much, much sooner. > > Now, for a half-Portuguese (or a quarter or even less), he could take Family > Finder. That test has been on the market now for about 1.5 years. > I tested my dad's DNA a year ago, and things are starting to fall into > place. I think he had maybe 5 or 6 pages of matches (so 50 or 60 people). > Now he has 10 pages of matches. They range from the 2nd cousin level to the > 5th/Distant cousin level. I know how 5 or so of them fit into the tree. I > have about 4 or 5 who I think I know how they should fit, but the match does > not have all the research yet done on that line. They email me when they > find info. I'm guessing that my dad's matches on Family Finder are probably > 2/3 to 3/4 American (ultimately British Isles) type lines, since there are a > lot more of those researchers out there. The remainder are Portuguese. And > then there are those that I can't tell. Mrs. Jane Doe. I don't know if her > maiden name was Portuguese or she's matching on my dad's American side. If > I see the Gedcom button, I click it and take a look. If not, I email. This > Family Finder test is not a straight shot like the Y-DNA (my father's > father's father's line that winds up as a Jacome). This one is a plate full > of spaghetti and I have to try to separate it to figure out which line came > from where. It's fun and frustrating sometimes. But mostly fun. > > I have not tested my dad's mtDNA (which is his American side which appears > to be something British). It's a brickwall and my paperwork on that only > goes to the mid-1800s. Since my dad's DNA will be stored for 25 years or > longer, I want to attack that line more with research first. But if I do > test it, I will do the whole Full Genetic Test or Full Genome or Full > Sequence (they keep marketing it differently). And I may do it when I find > another person who thinks that they come from the same ancestor. > > The Portuguese uncle would be good to test for either Y-DNA and definitely > for Family Finder since he's the older generation. Generally speaking, it's > usually better to test an older person, if that person's genealogy covers > your goals. > > Expenses: Well, depending on how you look at it, DNA can be expensive. > However, with one of my brickwalls, I drove up to the Los Angeles FHC on > numerous occasions (gas money), flew to Salt Lake (airfare, hotel, and > food), flew to St. Joseph, MO (air, hotel, food again + rent a car), and > east Tennessee. I don't even want to think how much money I spent on that > line. But I got to see a lot of really neat places and meet some really > good people, so I'm not complaining. How that wall was broken? A 2nd > cousin took a DNA test and it matched someone whose paper trail left the > burnt out east Tennessee and we got a match that way! > > So far, I've had no rich Portuguese person leave their fortune to my DNA > projects. Since FTDNA runs the holiday sale yearly (for the last 5 or 6 > years), some people save their money all year long and buy a test at the end > of the year. Some find a cousin or two who do genealogy and split the cost. > If it's Y-DNA, some buy the lower marker (Y-DNA 12 marker) and upgrade as > funds become available. Family Tree DNA does have a layaway plan that they > don't advertise. Once the kit is paid off, you can mail in the DNA sample > and it will be processed. > > On your U.K. match, you didn't state how many markers it was or the > haplogroup. Or how common the UK surname is. > > Hope I gave you a few ideas and cleared up a few questions. > > Cheri Mello > Family Tree DNA Admin > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PRT-MADEIRA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Rich, The results depend on the type of DNA test you take. Y-DNA: In addition to a list of matches, your results include a string of numbers. 13-24-11-17-20-18-11-11-12 (if you order a 37 marker, then you have 37 numbers). This string of numbers is compared against every male in the FTDNA database. The people you match are listed in your matches section. mtDNA: In addition to the list of matches, your results include the differences from the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). You get results like 519C, 315.1C, 272T, etc. Those differences are compared to everyone (male or female) who took an mtDNA and those people appear in your matches section. Family Finder: This one is more tricky. You can download the raw data for all 22 pairs of chromosomes and look at it. It's A LOT of data. It has to do with the 4 DNA bases of adenine, guanine, cytocene, and thimine. (Doubt if I spelled them right). At a particular location, you could have AC (A for adenine from one parent and C for cytocene from the other parent). Unless you are into phasing your data, this stuff is completely mindboggling. You'd go to your matches section and see who you match and at what level. The more total centoMorgans (cM - a genetic unit of measure) as well as the longest block will let you you know the strength of that match. Yes, it will find only people who have taken a DNA test and are in the database. Yes, it will find the ancestors of those who have taken the test. Most of the DNA used in these genealogy DNA tests are the "junk" DNA areas. They don't really serve a purpose except to tell about the past. Guess that keeps anthropologists busy. Gedcoms: I try to get people to upload their Gedcoms. I think a lot of people are afraid of them, since you can't see them. Not without re-importing them. I tell people to make a Gedcom, then to make a new family, project, or file and call it "Test" and import that Gedcom into the family you call Test. Then you can see what you've created with your Gedcom and you'll see what the person on the other end will be receiving. I've got a handout and I've developed a lecture (I've only spoken on it once) and I would guess that about 85% of genealogist won't create one. But I keep trying to get the people in my projects to make their Gedcom and upload it to their DNA page. Most people who have tested with FTDNA do participate and correspond. A few don't. It's still a newer tool, so some people are unsure of the results or what they mean. Rich, I'm in California and I have free long distance to America and Canada. I can call you and grant you access to my mom's and dad's pages and you can see what you're getting into. Email your phone number directly to gfscherim at gmail dot com and some good days and times to call. Cheri Mello Family Tree DNA Administrator