Why I Use FamilyTree DNA and You Should Too

Why I Use FamilyTreeDNA (FTdna) and You Should Too ....

But only if you have family mysteries you have been unable to solve! 

Don't we all have such mysteries? Years ago, my father's family had done some family history, then I did some research, and got my dad's Cowan line back to the Borders of Scotland and the tiny village of Yarrow Feus in Selkirshire where they lived before emigrating to Ontario, Canada in 1832. 

However, the records before 1700 are scarce, and so the question remained - did the Cowans always live in the Scottlsh Borders? Were they always sheep herders?

Y DNA testing

When FTdna first introduced Y-DNA testing, I got a kit for my Dad for Father's Day one year. It was thrilling to see matches come in. He had an identical good match at 35 markers, which was what was available at the time. His match Chris Cowan and I compared notes, but his bunch came from Ireland and mine from Scotland. My dad and he both paid for more markers, and they were still a perfect match.

So we both continued to search. The Rootsweb lists were so much help, as people unearthed old documents and posted transcriptions. Eventually one of us found records of the Cowane merchant family of Sterling sending some of the sons off to be part of the Plantation of Ulster (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation_of_Ulster) in the early 1600s, about a hundred years before our paper trails failed us. 

When my father, sister and I visited Scotland, we did go to Sterling where that once-wealthy family had lived, and even endowed a hospital (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowane%27s_Hospital). 

Cowane's Hospital (now Guildhall) by Elisa Rolle CC BY-SA 3.0

I didn't learn about the Hospital soon enough to get us there, but we did find the one block that remains of Cowane Street and take a photo there.

Dad on Cowane Street, Stirling

One of these days I'll buy the Big Y for Daddy's kit, to help out the other Cowan researchers. If Chris and I ever find documentation for our link it will be a miracle, but we know that we *are* related.

So, if you have any mysteries in your father's father's father's line, the Y DNA test may help you solve that puzzle. Women do not have Y DNA, so you will have to find a male in your line of interest to do the testing. FamilyTreeDNA is the only company offering this testing service, although there are other companies doing something comparable to Big Y and specific SNPs.

There is a good Youtube video about Y testing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YN5a5bfM74&feature=youtu.be

Autosomal DNA testing & uploads

FamilyTreeDNA offers autosomal testing as well, which is the same sort of test many of us have already taken. If you have tested elsewhere, they accept uploads: https://www.familytreedna.com/autosomal-transfer . They do not have nearly the size of Ancestry.com or 23andMe, however most of their customer base are researchers, so you are much more likely to get a response from your matches there. If you want to use their "Family Finder" chromosome browser, there is a small one-time charge. 

Mitochondrial DNA testing

Finally, FTdna has mitochondrial DNA testing. Each of us gets mitochondrial DNA from our mothers. Because mtDNA changes much more slowly than Y or autosomal DNA, it is less useful for genealogy research work. However, it can be the only tool that will work in some situations, and it can be fascinating to see your motherline deep ancestry. See Lisa Louise Cooke's article https://lisalouisecooke.com/2016/03/21/mtdna-test-dna-for-genealogy/ for more.

Why NOT FTdna?

Some people choose not to use FamilyTreeDNA having to do with privacy concerns. First, FTdna does not use a messaging system. Instead, you use the email address for any of your matches  - and only your matches, not random people. Some find that exposure of email address unacceptable. I have had my email address public on FTdna for 20 years or so and never gotten any spam as a result. 

Second, they allow uploads of autosomal data, do not restrict police access to police kit matches, and do not atomatically opt people out of that Law Enforcement matching. You can opt out the kits you control if you want to. I personally am fine with LE access to the kits I control.

Finally, FTdna stores your DNA kit. Personally I have found this to be a feature. My dad would not have been able to get an autosomal test if they had not stored his Y sample. Some people are uncomfortable with them retaining the samples, however. They will destroy them if asked to do so of course.

If any of the issues above trouble you, you might read their terms of service here: https://www.familytreedna.com/legal/terms-of-service

If you do test with and/or upload to FamilyTreeDNA, please use their new trees and identify your known tested relatives on it. It is very useful -- if you use it! Also, if you test Y or mitochondrial DNA, please take the time to fill in your earliest-know male or female direct-line ancestor. You'll be glad you did, and so will your matches.

Valorie Cowan Zimmerman