NALF - LEAVITT DNA PROJECT
By NALF Genealogist Roland Rhoades & Project Administrator Steve Dow
We get so many questions about DNA tests these days, we hope this answers them.
May 2018 update
We get so many questions about DNA tests these days, we hope this answers them.
May 2018 update
UNDERSTANDING THE TYPES OF DNA
There are three types of DNA that can be tested for your ancestry. If you haven’t tested yet, the good news is that, as with most new technology, the prices are going DOWN as volumes and competition go up. Don't pay the retail price. We can advise you when the best sale prices become available. Testing totals are in the millions now with most companies, giving you an excellent chance at finding some dna cousins that you may or may not have already known about. The companies are also fine-tuning their accuracy and what they can find from your sample. These tests really only became commercially affordable and available a decade ago. You should have your family tree online so possible matches can review to find who your common families are.
This is a summary. I won’t re-invent the wheel by telling all there is to know. See the suggested resources and links for that. ALL of these dna tests go on sale a few times per year.
1. Y-DNA is great for our Leavitt Family Project. This is the Paternal test, and is strictly for Males tracing the father’s father’s father etc back through the centuries beyond what can be found via a paper trail. Therefore, if your last name is Leavitt, this test will only be finding Leavitts in your ancestry, your direct ancestors and people descended from a common Leavitt ancestor. See Findings below. This test started in the late 1990s. I have seen Y tests with 12, 25, 37, 67, and 111 markers. 12 & 25 I ignore; all those matches will tell you is that you both came from Europe. Y-37 is enough to generally confirm a match to your surname, but Y-67 is now what is recommended for useful connections, for $200 or so. If you are a Leavitt male, JOIN the Leavitt Project for free FIRST.
2. Mt-DNA is the Maternal test for men or women, and traces only your mother’s mother’s mother etc back centuries, with the surname changing every generation. It is not quite as useful in finding relatives in recent paper-trail times, but does tell your haplogroup and can sometimes be fine-tuned to help get your maternal line extended further. This was the first test that they figured out how to do, back in the 1990s, and has been much refined.
URGENT - TEST YOUR OLDEST RELATIVES NOW WHILE YOU CAN for the autosomal dna.
3. At-DNA Autosomal test - This test is also for everybody and tests all the cousins in the middle between your paternal and maternal lines. The price for this test has been cut in half, and then in half again, currently under $99. This is the only test that is time-sensitive. You inherit pretty much all of your Y-paternal and mt-maternal dna each generation, so it doesn’t matter too much whether you or a parent takes the test. BUT ... Autosomal dna comes 50% from each parent, which means you only get half of each parent’s dna, and they only got half from their parents, diluting in half every generation. Therefore it loses accuracy and ability to find cousins after 4-5 generations. And it also tests for ethnicity percentages.
You really should upload a family tree for potential matches to check to see what family names you might have in common.
3a. X-DNA - This is a little extra find in the autosomal test, to help determine if the chromosome comes from your father or mother. Only FTDNA and 23&me test for this, not Ancestry.
There are many TV shows now using DNA research. “Long Lost Family” helps adoptees find their family, sometimes easily by finding a match to a parent or cousin already in the dna database. “Who Do You Think You Are?” often uses dna tests to help find people’s roots. These shows are usually on the TLC channel. PBS’s “Finding Your Roots” also uses dna testing.
This is a summary. I won’t re-invent the wheel by telling all there is to know. See the suggested resources and links for that. ALL of these dna tests go on sale a few times per year.
1. Y-DNA is great for our Leavitt Family Project. This is the Paternal test, and is strictly for Males tracing the father’s father’s father etc back through the centuries beyond what can be found via a paper trail. Therefore, if your last name is Leavitt, this test will only be finding Leavitts in your ancestry, your direct ancestors and people descended from a common Leavitt ancestor. See Findings below. This test started in the late 1990s. I have seen Y tests with 12, 25, 37, 67, and 111 markers. 12 & 25 I ignore; all those matches will tell you is that you both came from Europe. Y-37 is enough to generally confirm a match to your surname, but Y-67 is now what is recommended for useful connections, for $200 or so. If you are a Leavitt male, JOIN the Leavitt Project for free FIRST.
2. Mt-DNA is the Maternal test for men or women, and traces only your mother’s mother’s mother etc back centuries, with the surname changing every generation. It is not quite as useful in finding relatives in recent paper-trail times, but does tell your haplogroup and can sometimes be fine-tuned to help get your maternal line extended further. This was the first test that they figured out how to do, back in the 1990s, and has been much refined.
URGENT - TEST YOUR OLDEST RELATIVES NOW WHILE YOU CAN for the autosomal dna.
3. At-DNA Autosomal test - This test is also for everybody and tests all the cousins in the middle between your paternal and maternal lines. The price for this test has been cut in half, and then in half again, currently under $99. This is the only test that is time-sensitive. You inherit pretty much all of your Y-paternal and mt-maternal dna each generation, so it doesn’t matter too much whether you or a parent takes the test. BUT ... Autosomal dna comes 50% from each parent, which means you only get half of each parent’s dna, and they only got half from their parents, diluting in half every generation. Therefore it loses accuracy and ability to find cousins after 4-5 generations. And it also tests for ethnicity percentages.
You really should upload a family tree for potential matches to check to see what family names you might have in common.
3a. X-DNA - This is a little extra find in the autosomal test, to help determine if the chromosome comes from your father or mother. Only FTDNA and 23&me test for this, not Ancestry.
There are many TV shows now using DNA research. “Long Lost Family” helps adoptees find their family, sometimes easily by finding a match to a parent or cousin already in the dna database. “Who Do You Think You Are?” often uses dna tests to help find people’s roots. These shows are usually on the TLC channel. PBS’s “Finding Your Roots” also uses dna testing.
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT DNA COMPANIES
FAMILY TREE DNA aka FTDNA started it all off for major dna exploring for genealogy, in 2000 with Y-paternal and Mt-maternal testing. Family Tree DNA is the ONLY company offering paternal or maternal testing that you can match people with. The others only do the autosomal tests, which they do as well, calling it their “Family Finder Test”. Luckily FTDNA saves your sample for upgrading if you want to pay the extra for yourself or even a parent who has since passed on. Online family tree available to enter manually or upload from your computer, for free with no further “subscription” fees. Various sales every few months.
23andME began in 2007, offering the first commercial autosomal dna test. They also offer the option of getting health tests. Their database is over 2 million. No further “subscription” fees for test results or family tree comparisons. You can create a link to any existing online tree you may have, like ancestry or familysearch or wikitree. The 23&me test also tracks neanderthal dna which many Europeans have. 23&me DOES tell you in this one test your paternal and maternal haplogroups which is useful, but not in depth enough for any matches. Ancestry does not at all, and ftdna does not unless you buy those tests.
More sales every few months.
ANCESTRY DNA began in 2012 with its autosomal test. They offer only the autosomal test. Ancestry has by far the largest database, over 6 million now, but for complete access to matches and trees, you must subscribe to their website. Their test is also on sale every few months.
The test kits are simple. FTDNA is a cheek swab, and the other two are a spit test. NOTE that you should not eat or drink for 30 minutes before the test. Gently chew your cheeks to stimulate dna-potent saliva. I personally tested atdna with all 3 companies. The results are not contradictory, but all seem to offer some new tidbit of data or interpretation to make them interesting.
There were and are other testing companies over the years, but what matters is the usefulness and size of their databases to find matches. Oxfordancestors in England was also one of the first, along with National Geographic. A number of new companies are jumping on the bandwagon now, mainly for those who have the money to test with every company. Some require a membership fee to have a tree for matches. But that is where GEDMATCH comes in.
MYHERITAGE.COM only began DNA testing in 2016. They have grown to become a major player, and is recommended.
LIVINGDNA.COM is now also a recommended company. They are based in England and concentrate on narrowing down where your ancestors came from in the British Isles.
GEDMATCH.COM is a free private service run by dna enthusiasts where you can upload your autosomal “dna raw data” to one place from any company and find out if your FTDNA test matches anyone who tested at another company. There are also Facebook User pages to help you understand what you see. If downloading from FTDNA, you will see six choices to choose from - you will want to download the "Build 36 Concatenated" which includes your X chromosome.
You will likely see ads for other companies which are worthless without the background to have matches.
23andME began in 2007, offering the first commercial autosomal dna test. They also offer the option of getting health tests. Their database is over 2 million. No further “subscription” fees for test results or family tree comparisons. You can create a link to any existing online tree you may have, like ancestry or familysearch or wikitree. The 23&me test also tracks neanderthal dna which many Europeans have. 23&me DOES tell you in this one test your paternal and maternal haplogroups which is useful, but not in depth enough for any matches. Ancestry does not at all, and ftdna does not unless you buy those tests.
More sales every few months.
ANCESTRY DNA began in 2012 with its autosomal test. They offer only the autosomal test. Ancestry has by far the largest database, over 6 million now, but for complete access to matches and trees, you must subscribe to their website. Their test is also on sale every few months.
The test kits are simple. FTDNA is a cheek swab, and the other two are a spit test. NOTE that you should not eat or drink for 30 minutes before the test. Gently chew your cheeks to stimulate dna-potent saliva. I personally tested atdna with all 3 companies. The results are not contradictory, but all seem to offer some new tidbit of data or interpretation to make them interesting.
There were and are other testing companies over the years, but what matters is the usefulness and size of their databases to find matches. Oxfordancestors in England was also one of the first, along with National Geographic. A number of new companies are jumping on the bandwagon now, mainly for those who have the money to test with every company. Some require a membership fee to have a tree for matches. But that is where GEDMATCH comes in.
MYHERITAGE.COM only began DNA testing in 2016. They have grown to become a major player, and is recommended.
LIVINGDNA.COM is now also a recommended company. They are based in England and concentrate on narrowing down where your ancestors came from in the British Isles.
GEDMATCH.COM is a free private service run by dna enthusiasts where you can upload your autosomal “dna raw data” to one place from any company and find out if your FTDNA test matches anyone who tested at another company. There are also Facebook User pages to help you understand what you see. If downloading from FTDNA, you will see six choices to choose from - you will want to download the "Build 36 Concatenated" which includes your X chromosome.
You will likely see ads for other companies which are worthless without the background to have matches.
WHAT WE HAVE DISCOVERED
- LEAVITT Y-DNA Project
Our Project was begun in 2007/08 to test male Leavitt descendants of the immigrants John and Thomas, to see if these two lines had a common ancestor. We were surprised to learn that the two branches were not related at all.
We were able to confirm and match a circumstantial tie of our Scarborough Maine Leavitts 300 years ago (Hobbs Leavitt) to the Thomas line. Project now includes many other males with various spellings of the Levitt/Leavitt name, from England, Canada and the U.S. Several other Leavitt lines have now been established, unrelated to the others. Many other families with similar surnames like Lovett have changed their name to Leavitt over the years to confuse our genealogies. We want to test them too to determine who matches whom. We recommend the Y37 or Y67 test if you are a Leavitt male, plus the Family Finder autosomal test.
Q. What about the Y testing that 23&me does?
A. Yes, 23&Me will tell you your Y haplogroup (and your maternal haplogroup) at no additional charge when ordering the inexpensive autosomal test. I tested both places and am glad I did, to get a little extra information and other cousin matches. What is the difference? 23&Me tests SNPs to determine the haplogroup, which does not allow for figuring out matches to other people. FTDNA tests STRs which do allow matching to other people and seeing exactly which markers you match on.
IF YOUR NAME IS LEAVITT, We encourage you to join our Leavitt Project below and order a Y-DNA test for yourself if you are male and/or for your oldest Leavitt relative. NALF Historian Stephen Dow is our Project manager.
Link to our project page is here:
www.familytreedna.com/groups/leavitt/about
Our Project was begun in 2007/08 to test male Leavitt descendants of the immigrants John and Thomas, to see if these two lines had a common ancestor. We were surprised to learn that the two branches were not related at all.
We were able to confirm and match a circumstantial tie of our Scarborough Maine Leavitts 300 years ago (Hobbs Leavitt) to the Thomas line. Project now includes many other males with various spellings of the Levitt/Leavitt name, from England, Canada and the U.S. Several other Leavitt lines have now been established, unrelated to the others. Many other families with similar surnames like Lovett have changed their name to Leavitt over the years to confuse our genealogies. We want to test them too to determine who matches whom. We recommend the Y37 or Y67 test if you are a Leavitt male, plus the Family Finder autosomal test.
Q. What about the Y testing that 23&me does?
A. Yes, 23&Me will tell you your Y haplogroup (and your maternal haplogroup) at no additional charge when ordering the inexpensive autosomal test. I tested both places and am glad I did, to get a little extra information and other cousin matches. What is the difference? 23&Me tests SNPs to determine the haplogroup, which does not allow for figuring out matches to other people. FTDNA tests STRs which do allow matching to other people and seeing exactly which markers you match on.
IF YOUR NAME IS LEAVITT, We encourage you to join our Leavitt Project below and order a Y-DNA test for yourself if you are male and/or for your oldest Leavitt relative. NALF Historian Stephen Dow is our Project manager.
Link to our project page is here:
www.familytreedna.com/groups/leavitt/about
RECOMMENDED READING, Books & Links:
“The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy” [Short source title: “DNA Guide”] by Blaine T Bettinger 2016. Excellent book for beginners or veteran DNA researchers. Explains the different tests and companies available and what you can find. $29.99 cover price, found cheaper various places like Amazon and ebay.
“Stranger in My Genes” by Bill Griffeth. A very interesting book telling how he and a cousin found an “oops” in his ancestry, and the search for his real paternal line. Many people are finding things like this, including myself when FTDNA matched me to Peavey, not Rhoades.
You Tube videos on every genealogy subject imaginable.
Each DNA Company has extensive explanations of dna and questions. Visit their websites at the links above.
Facebook DNA pages.
“Stranger in My Genes” by Bill Griffeth. A very interesting book telling how he and a cousin found an “oops” in his ancestry, and the search for his real paternal line. Many people are finding things like this, including myself when FTDNA matched me to Peavey, not Rhoades.
You Tube videos on every genealogy subject imaginable.
Each DNA Company has extensive explanations of dna and questions. Visit their websites at the links above.
Facebook DNA pages.