The Family Historian

Mary Alice Dell

 

DNA - Is it Hype or a Useful Tool for Genealogists?

 

The answer to that depends on how the testing company advertises their services!  Those who promise you will discover if you are related to a famous personality, or from a certain tribe in Africa, by simply having your DNA tested are definitely hype.

 

But don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. DNA can be a helpful tool to the family historian.  Reputable companies will explain what is involved beyond submitting your DNA sample for testing in order for you to use the results in to your genealogical research.

 

DNA testing does not replace the basic research of tracing your line, generation by generation, back in time.  You still need birth, death and marriage records and other documents that link generations.  You will still want to collect deeds, wills, military, school, employment, and church records, newspaper articles etc. in order to learn as much about each ancestor as possible. 

 

Proving a Pedigree with DNA

 

So why bother with DNA?  One of the primary reasons is to prove a line when there is no documented proof, only indirect evidence.   My Richard Willis died in 1840 in Gallatin Co. IL, apparently leaving no will (many records of that period were destroyed in Ohio River floods that filled Shawneetown, the county seat.).  A few scraps of paper in a probate box were all that remained.  Unfortunately, my ancestor Moses Willis was not named in any of these, and in no other documents created by his probable father, Richard.  I knew a great deal about Moses and Jonathan, a proven son of Richard, who I suspected was Moses’ brother. But I could not prove the relationship until the DNA of Mark Willis, my first half cousin one generation removed, matched that of Nick, a descendant of Jonathan.  Since Nick’s line had been proven to Richard, and the DNA matched, this validated the indirect evidence, proving Moses’ relationship to Richard. 

 

The common brick wall of not knowing which family branch you belong to, i.e., the Northern or Southern Willis branch, may be solved by DNA matching.  It may give clues as to what state to look in for more records.  It may prove or disprove a disputed family relationship.

 

“Paternity Events” may be revealed when a match is not made when one expected it to do so.  Before legal adoptions were common, sons of a previous marriage would sometimes take the surname of their new step-father.  Children born out of wedlock might also have taken the maiden name of their mother, or a later husband.   Adoptees may find DNA matching helpful in determining their true surname.

 

Only Males Can Be Tested for the yDNA

 

How is the DNA tested?  First a few basics - 0ur bodies are made of chromosomes which carry the codes that decide our sex, how we look, and how our bodies function.  The Y chromosome, that determines whether the new life will be a male, is carried only by males; and passed only from father to son, generation after generation. (yDNA follows the surname).  Over hundreds of years, there are slight mutations, making it possible to differentiate between branches of the same surname.  

 

The yDNA test requires a sample of a man’s DNA.  Women do not carry the Y chromosome, so if they wish to use DNA testing as a genealogical tool, they need to recruit a brother, father, cousin, uncle etc. with whom they share a common ancestor to donate his DNA.  

 

Both men and women can be tested for the mtDNA which was passed to them from their mother, but the results will reveal only the person’s maternal line.  The results reveal the mtDNA line of their mother, maternal grandmother, maternal great-grandmother etc., and changing surnames each generation.  Men do not pass their mother’s mtDNA to their children, only women pass the mtDNA.  So while men can be tested for both their father’s paternal line and their mother’s maternal line, women can only be tested for the latter.  Yeah, I know gals, it isn’t fair!

 

DNA testing does not require drawing blood, but is done by swiping the inside of the cheek with a swab.  The Y chromosome markers used for testing do not carry the information needed for medical purposes, criminal investigation or paternity suits.   For more information on DNA testing visit www.worldfamilies.net

 

Family Tree DNA, one of the earliest and highly respected testing companies, has compiled a large database of matching DNAs in surname projects.  Volunteer Project Administrators (of which I am one for the Newsom(e) Project) post results, family pedigrees, and other information for public viewing.  The names of the Patriarch (earliest known ancestor) are posted with marker results so that matching DNA can be grouped together.  Privacy is not an issue as the person who has submitted his DNA may choose to reveal his name to other members of the project, or may have the Project Administrator serve as his contact for everyone. For more information on FTDNA projects go to www.familytreedna.com and search for your surname, or better yet, order a test kit. 

 

Published in the Boerne Star & Recorder Dec 21., 2007 and reprinted here with their permission.