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I wanted to make you all aware of a relatively new tool for learning more about your ancestors. First, read this: DNA for the genealogist
Y-chromosome testing is currently the most popular form of testing because the Y chromosome is passed down from father to son relatively unchanged. Starting around the 1500's, surnames in western cultures also were passed down from father to son.
To illustrate how genetic testing is helpful. Let's take the last name of Walker. Now there are many strains of Walkers that are descended from different men who were the first of their respective lines to go by the name of Walker. Genetic testing can not only sort out which Walkers are related, it can also identify branches of closer kin within each related Walker clan. Once you know that your Walkers are related to these other Walkers over here, you can use there traditional genealogy paper trail (census, probates, etc.) to focus your research to find the connection and extend your pedigree back.
Hopefully, that makes sense. But, that is not all! You can also learn your deep ancestry (i.e., whether your ancient male ancestry was Scandinavian, Middle Eastern, Native American, general European, Mediterrarean, etc.) For example, my paper trail goes back to Georg Sigmann who was born in 1563 in a tiny village named Hueffenhardt, in Baden, Germany. But, my Y-chromosome shows that I and Georg are descendants of Scandinavians. So, at some point one or more of my Viking ancestors migrated to southern Germany.
There are several testing agencies, which you can google for. I don't want to violate any posting rules by giving links to commercial services.
For those of you that are short on money, I want you to know that you can get the testing done for free if you take part in a research study. They won't send you your results, but you can use their search engine to find your values. But, it could take a year for your results to show up in their database. Their foundation does not do commercial services: Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
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Oh, I forgot to mention, women can still take part. If you want to learn about your maiden name ancestry, recruit your father, brothers, or male cousins to be tested.
For your mother's maternal ancestry, sons and daughters have the same mitichondrial DNA.
And at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, they are working on developing a vast database to use everyone's autosomal DNA to work out family connections. For that database to be useful nearly everyone would need to submit their DNA.
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