Bob -- If you've got your DNA results in Y-Search, don't wait for them to tell you anything -- you do it yourself. The instructions are on their web page (_http://www.ysearch.org_ (http://www.ysearch.org) ). Also FTDNA won't tell you if your results match someone else -- your DNA-surname group administrator does that. FTDNA just returns your results with an explanation of what they mean. If you don't belong to a DNA-surname group, it's a good idea to do so. Your group administrator can tell you how closely you match other members of the group and an approximation of how far back your Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) is. That way, you can compare your paper trail with those of others in your DNA-surname group, especially those who are close or exact matches with you. Cheers, Jim Gordon Laurel, MD Mine was a bit of a disappointment too Bob, and like you I struggle to understand the finer points. My registration at FamilyTreeDNA permits them to compare my results with everyone else and I've also done the same on Y-Search. That way, if anything does come up they'll tell me. I don't need to stretch my brain cells, which must be a good thing at my age. :-)