Quote Originally Posted by davidlpope View Post
Has anyone else had experience with this Y-chromosome mapping stuff? I'm intrigued by it, but just don't know enough yet to justify the expense. I'm all ears.

David
I tested my Y DNA and found the results surprising and extraordinary helpful. www.familytreedna.com has the largest database and is therefore more likely to have matches than the other companies.

Genetic genealogy is in its infancy, and I suspect that it will become more useful in the years and decades to come, as the databases grow larger. Now, it would be wisest to rely on it as an adjunct to primary sources, that is, well-documented research following the paper trail backward in time from yourself and your parents.

It can be especially helpful if you are at a brick wall in narrowing down areas where further research is likely to be helpful, and eliminating areas where it wouldn't. Unfortunately quite a few people test in hopes of riding on some one else's coattails and profiting from research others have done without having done much or any themselves, but that's the way it is.

If you find DNA testing confusing, there are two or three Yahoo groups on it, with members who are very well-informed, if often opinionated, and who are good about answering queries.

The expense of Y DNA testing isn't all that great, I think it's US $100 for a 7 marker test, which won't tell you very much in itself, but if you have matches, you can upgraded to a finer test. Most people get the 25 or 37 marker tests for US $200 or $300 or so.

LDS, as well as Ancestry.com and other online sites are often great sources for authoritative primary sources, such as census records, ships lists, etc, but I would not rely on family trees posted online, as well as those kept by the LDS. They don't do quality control at all, and accept whatever is submitted to them, bad research and all. And mistakes can be repeated there over and over again until they have the appearance of fact.