The advice Brett gives on his website is really good; when asked I usually advise the same. Start with Ancestry, then 23andMe when you can afford a second test and have time to contact and use your ma

Reply inline. In my opinion that is a huge advantage. As we move back in time, sometimes we don't have a clue about where people might have gone between censuses, etc. Indexes have helped me a lot, as

Hi Edie Mc, 37 markers, etc. describe Y DNA results. Family Tree DNA does all three types of tests - Y, mt, and autosomal. What I submitted for my dad was autosomal, which they call their Family Finde

Yes, that is exactly what I did with my father's Family Tree DNA autosomal results -- uploaded them to Living DNA for free, then once they had processed his raw data, ordered the Viking test, which wa

For those interested in Viking DNA admixture, LivingDNA has a cool new comparison with ancient Viking skeleton DNA. It costs an extra $20 to get it, but the site allows free uploads. Mine is 58%. My d

Try https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/browsemedia.php?mediatypeID=photos or just go to the main site: https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/ Valorie

Hi Edie, I was able to upgrade my father Ted Cowan's kit to Big Y, which was lovely. Confirmed Haplogroup is R-BY3644. His closest match is a Collingwood, who differs on only 4 SNPs, and then a Cowan

There are no guarantees, for sure. And Big Y or any Y testing, or even DNA testing in general, is never a panacea. Genealogy research involves using *all* the tools -- reading history, sociology or wh

Hi Edie, sorry I missed this at the time. Big Y does cost hundreds of dollars, although an upgrade to an existing Y test, especially during sale periods, is less expensive. Still, I have found every d

Oh Josephine, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that this group supports you. {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Valorie ::snip old::

Thanks, Judith! Even if proven wrong, such as the family story that our Disneys were cousins of Walt Disney (nope, not at all), it's interesting to think of why and how such a story came to be told. J

Thomas W. Jones' excellent article is a good reminder to all of us. Skillbuilding: Perils of Source Snobbery: https://bcgcertification.org/skillbuilding-perils-of-source-snobbery/ Valorie

Roberta Estes has a good new blog with screenshots, etc. explaining why and how to join FTDNA groups. How to Join a Project at FamilyTreeDNA – And Why You Want To: https://dna-explained.com/2021/11/09

Hi Bob, you are looking only for Elder in Ancestry.com? That strategy will not get you very far. Most of your matches will not share your surname. My birth surname is Cowan. I just checked Ancestry an

Hi Ken. Reply inline. Me too. It's quite fun. However, autosomal (Family Finder) is a whole different game than Y DNA. With Y, you need to recruit testers, because it really is a team sport. It takes

Thanks so much for your reply, Judy. I would hope every beginner encounters someone like you, rather than Mr. Dog's Breakfast! If we hope to take our genealogical knowledge forward, we must collaborat

Hi Lynne, nice to hear from you. What often works is researching the FAN club of your ancestor - their family, associates and neighbors. When I've done this, it was never a waste of time, because thos

It is not necessary to login to the group to post! Simply email Scots@scotland-genealogy.groups.io and remember to put a good subject line and send. To reply to a previous post, just click reply. Abou

My answer to the problems is to do the best genealogy work possible, using all the tools and records possible, including DNA. And then make sure that it's everywhere; including the FamilySearch Family