Understanding Basic DNA
Presenter: Cheri Mello, Family Tree DNA Administrator
kinklector@gmail.com
3 types of DNA for Genealogy
Y-DNA: A male carrying the surname that you wish trace will be taking this type of DNA test.
Traces the testee’s father’s father’s father’s line or the top of his pedigree chart. The testee’s strict
paternal line. All males, all the way. Male Jones, Father Jones, Grandfather Jones, GreatGrandfather Jones, etc. The more markers, the better (with Family Tree DNA, that’s a 37 or 67
marker test).
mtDNA: Either a male or female can take this type of DNA test. Traces the testee’s mother’s
mother’s mother’s line or the bottom of the pedigree chart. The testee’s strict maternal line. All
females, all the way. The testee, Mother Smith, Grandmother Smith, Great-grandmother Smith, etc.
Generally, gives more anthropological information than genealogical. Best used in conjunction
with another researcher testing a hypothesis. The best mtDNA test to yield somewhat genealogical
data is Family Tree DNA’s Full Genomic Sequence or mtFull Sequence.
Autosomal DNA (Family Finder): Either a male or female can take this type of DNA test. Traces
ALL lines of the testee back approximately 200 years. (i.e. if you were born in the 1930s, you may
have matches to a common ancestor born in the 1730s/1740s time period). A fairly documented
pedigree with limited brick walls along with patience to tease apart the different lines is needed to
make this succeed. This test also includes the Population Finder, which includes a broad ethnic
ancestry (European, Asian, Middle Eastern, African).
Testee will have 50% of parents, 25% of grands, 12.5% of greats, 6.25% of the great-greats.
However, that may not be the same 6.25% that you inherited, therefore, Family Finder can detect
99+% of your 2nd cousins, 90+% of your 3rd cousins, 50+% of your 4th cousins, 10+% of your 5th
cousins, and usually less than 2% of your 6th or more distant cousins.
Books
Aulicino, Emily A. Genetic Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond. December, 2013
Fitzpatrick, Colleen and Yeiser, Andrew. DNA & Genealogy. November, 2005
Smolenyak, Megan Smolenyak and Turner, Ann. Trace Your Roots with DNA. 2004
Adoptee Information
The ALMA Society - http://www.almasociety.org/
The DNA Testing Advisor (Richard Hill) - http://www.dna-testing-adviser.com/
Type in “adoptee” for the surname at FTDNA
Sources for Reverse Genealogy
Presenter: Cheri Mello
kinklector@gmail.com
Death Indices:
http://www.ancestry.com (subscription site) (Social Security)
http://www.deathindexes.com (Index of the 50 states)
http://www.findagrave.com (Find-A-Grave)
Living People Search:
www.zabasearch.com
www.whitepages.com (Online phone book)
Online Genealogy Database:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness:
http://www.raogk.org/ or
http://raogk.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Acts_of_Genealogical_Kindness_Wiki
U.S. Census
www.ancestry.com (subscription)
http://www.census-online.com/links/ (free)
http://www.lapl.org (Heritage Quest is free with a Los Angeles Public Library Card)
US GenWeb Project for State and County Resources: (check for the local
historical/genealogical society and for the local library)
http://usgenweb.org/
Vital Records:
http://vitalsearch-worldwide.com (main site for AL, CA, FL, GA, KY, OR, TX, WA,
WI); some free and some subscription based
http://www.vitalsearch-ca.com (direct link for CA; some databases are free)
Pre-1905 CA Death records:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cabf1905/
Old Telephone Exchange Names: Los Angeles County
http://www.laalmanac.com/communications/cm01e.htm