Hi Cheri,   I've known about DNA for many years  (from previous jobs in 1980's), but only learned about DNA for genealogy maybe 4-5 yrs. ago.      I am all "British,"   but my now husband is half-Portuguese.      And, I'd like to offer that topic of conversation:   For DNA,  what if a man is, for example,  half-Portuguese (Azores) and half-Irish?     If he took a DNA test,  what kind of results would we see?      And, his sons have a mother whose parents were from Madeira.      So, they are I guess ..  3/4 Portuguese  and  1/4 Irish.         Now he has one Portuguese uncle still alive;   both of his parents came from the Azores.     But, both he,  and us,  are low-income,  and definitely cannot afford to pay for a DNA test.   On my mother's side,  there are "brick-wall" ancestors from the U.K.     No one can find out who their parents were in Ireland from  around 1790 to 1810.      So, I inquired about a DNA test for that surname.     But, my uncle and my male cousin were not interested  at all in helping;   have no interest in genealogy.     But, I was lucky enough to locate a male cousin of my mother, and he was interested.     But, he couldn't afford it either.    But, a researcher helped us with the cost.      Unfortunately,  there are many "matches"  but after about 4-5 months,  none of the matches have the same surname as my mother's cousin.   Betty                   (near Lowell, MA, USA)     FYI for others:      My husband's  late EX-wife had the following names in her extended family: SANTOS, SOUZA,  QUINTAL,  probably all from Madeira.      (Please see my old postings.) And, after 1900 they were in Massachusetts.    I only have basic information on them.   My husband's Azorean grandparents had the following names on their .tree.: PACHECO,  MOURA,  and other names I can't think of at the moment. I have discussed them on the Azores List and Group.

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