This month, to help you, Karen Evans shares invaluable insights to the information, tips and tactics that she wishes she'd known when she first took a DNA test.
YOUR DNA WORKSHOP
In April 2017 I took my very first DNA test. I was attending ‘Who Do You Think You Are? Live’ at the NEC and saw several DNA companies offering tests at a bargain show price.
I’d always been intrigued by testing because we had a major brick wall in our tree: my paternal grandfather was illegitimate. The only way to find his father was DNA testing.
I walked up to the FamilyTreeDNA stall, and they swabbed my cheek. Little did I know the adventure I was about to embark on!
Approximately four weeks later my results arrived and…I was disappointed.
Where were all the family surnames of my direct ancestors? Why did none of my matches have trees with anyone I knew? Why did lots of my matches have no trees at all? How could most of my matches be from North America? Where was the big ‘X marks the spot’ which pointed to grandad Upton’s biological father? The first month or so I would look at the test and feel I’d wasted my money but slowly and surely the fog began to lift.
Here’s what I wished I known before I took the test and what to do when my results arrived.
Before taking a test
If you are thinking of taking a DNA test it is a good idea to decide what you are hoping to get from it. • Is it, like me, an opportunity to break down a brick wall?
• Maybe you want to validate your hard worked tree with DNA evidence or breakthrough to a next generation where paper records have proved elusive.
• Perhaps you were adopted?
Who is best to test?
This then leads onto who is the best person to test. Usually the best person is the oldest generation available.
I soon learnt that I should have tested my Dad first as he was closer to the missing father. That is because approximately one quarter of my Dad’s DNA was inherited from this missing man whereas I had one eighth.
Equally, I could have tested my paternal aunts as they also shared approximately one quarter of their unknown grandfather’s DNA. In addition, because of recombination, they would each have inherited segments of DNA that my father may not have.
Plot spoiler!
Once I tested Dad and his sisters I was able to break down my brick wall.
Which test should I take?
There are three types of DNA test you can take:
• Autosomal (which is the main one you see advertised and is sold by Ancestry, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and LivingDNA);
• Y-DNA (a test which only men can take);
• and Mt-DNA.
For most people an autosom
