* DNA research question

[Robert Jacobs]

My son’s maternal ancestry looks like this:

My son (known)
His mother (known)
His grandfather (known but deceased)
His great-grandfather (known but deceased)
His great-grandfather (known but deceased)
His 2g grandfather, 1827-1881 ((known but deceased)
His 3g grandfather (unknown and driving me crazy after nearly 20 years of research)

Some facts are known: the man’s surname, his Vermont birth, his connection to a Mayflower emigrant, his wife’s
New York State birth. The family are extensive, having arrived in North America aboard the Mayflower on both sides of my son’s maternal ancestry. So far as is known, the chart above includes all descendants of the unknown 3g grandfather before the present generation.

I could enlist either my son or his mother — or both — to provide a DNA sample.

Which test(s) would best show relationships to cousins with the same surname as his maternal grandparents? The FH7 DNA chart showing autosomal relationships seemed promising, but I don’t know enough about it to proceed.

If site rules permit I’’d also appreciate a recommendation for a company from which to purchase the test.

Advice gratefully received.

Robert

[jelv]

You might find https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters ... asterclass a useful read.

An extract from it:

Which test should you choose?
Don’t make your decision based on price; although all of the main DNA tests on offer are technically similar, what you're looking for is to get as many matches with genetic cousins as possible. Ancestry have by far the biggest database, with around 23 million users, and the only way to get access to that database is to buy the Ancestry test.

[Robert Jacobs]

Thanks, John. They're on my list — and I'll check out that citation.

Robert

[Gowermick]

Whilst what John said about size of Ancestry database is true, (I bought mine from there), you can extend your matching capabilities by copying your DNA results from Ancestry, and pasting them to other sites, such as Gedmatch and FamilytreeDNA.
The main drawback with Ancestry, is the limited information they give regarding your matches.
If they were to be a bit more specific, and include which chromosome(s) your matches occured on, it would greatly help with your research.

[Robert Jacobs]

Thank you, Mike. I assume the autosomal test is the one I need. Does it make a difference, given the little chart I provided in the OP, whether I get the sample from my son or his mother?

[jelv]

Definitely his mother first. The son will only have half maternal line genes and half paternal line genes so you will get approximately half the matches from the maternal line. The matches from the mother's test will obviously be all maternal line which is what you are seeking.