Having a DNA Plan in Place

Do you want to test more relatives? Do you want to incorporate DNA into your research project? If you said yes to any of these questions, it's time to start creating a plan.

Like all great plans, start with a great question. Ask yourself this question: What is your goal or research problem?   For example, you could ask the following: Who is the father of William Jackson? Once you have your goal or question, it's officially time to say: "What DNA Test Should I (or relative) Take?"



Here is a reminder of the 3 types of DNA tested:

Y-DNA- Direct paternal line. Pass down Y Chromosome from father to son.

Mitochondrial DNA- Direct maternal line. Mt Chromosone passed down to daughter and son. But stops at the son.

Autosomal DNA- DNA passed down from all lines. Each generation will pass less and less DNA and eventually will be zero.



The BIG 5 DNA companies offer the following DNA tests:



Autosomal DNA

Primarily a British and Irish Database

Y-DNA and mtDNA






Now, we need to find the candidate or individual(s) to take a test. Depending on the question you have will affect the DNA test chosen. If you want to find out who the father of William Jackson is, you need to find a living descendant(s) of the ancestor and chose the DNA test that will be helpful.


In an upcoming post, I will use a worked example from my own research to share with you.


Thanks for reading,