no idea which test to choose.

[rts]

Okay...here is the situation.

I don't know who my father is or anything about that half of me. My Mother got pregnant with me, bailed/ran and never gave the fellow a chance to know he had a son on the way. Moreover, I don't know anything on my Mother's side beyond my Grandmother.

What test (please bring it down to my level, please) should I do to get ALL of the information possible?

What I want to know:
1) Ancestory on Mother's side
2) Ancestory on Father's side
3) **If I can find ANYONE out there that is a relative of mine on my father's side to fill in the blanks**

I'm a father of one (two year old) with another one on the way....I feel I owe it to my children to get them as many answers as possible. Okay, maybe for myself too.

Help!

[bob_allison]

DNA testing is only going to give you very broad information about your family background. It usually allows genealogist to add to their already extensive paper trails. Rarely is it too helpful by itself.

How would this non-specific information satisfy your needs? Only you can know the answer to this question. Only a Y-DNA test has any chance of connecting you with people with whom you share a common ancestor. Even if you are lucky enough to do this it will not indicate an actual person who may be your father.

In addition to whatever you decide to do on the DNA front, my advice to you would be to continue to try via 'traditional' means to seek you ancestors.

Did your mother know who your father was? Might she have told somebody else? Would a relation, like a sister, have known who she was 'seeing' at the time of your conception? Do you have your birth certificate? Since you know who your grandmother was you should be able to use traditional genealogical methods to trace that side of your family. Did she live in a small place? How many males around the same age were around at the time (the internet may allow you to access school class lists)? Your father may be keen to contact you - have you discretely advertised?

If you can compile a list of 'possibles' Y-DNA testing may allow you to cut the shortlist to one or two.

[rts]

It is a complete dead end on finding my father. Mother had a brain anurism...wiped out her memory. She didn't tell anyone about him.....I'm a former Cop....pulled out a lot of favors to no avail. Moreover, my Mother and I aren't talking since I found this out. She hid it from me for 32 years....my birth cert. has a fellow's name on it that she was dating afterwards. Yes, I tracked him down but he doesn't know either. Said she never talked about it. To make it worse, she dated him in Belleville, IL.....next to St Louis....the pool is huge...not possible to sample.

They have a "comprehensive" test that cost $499. Won't that give me the lineage on both sides.....Mother/Father?

AARGGH! I wish there was a way. Surely someone has an idea?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by bob_allison
DNA testing is only going to give you very broad information about your family background. It usually allows genealogist to add to their already extensive paper trails. Rarely is it too helpful by itself.

How would this non-specific information satisfy your needs? Only you can know the answer to this question. Only a Y-DNA test has any chance of connecting you with people with whom you share a common ancestor. Even if you are lucky enough to do this it will not indicate an actual person who may be your father.

In addition to whatever you decide to do on the DNA front, my advice to you would be to continue to try via 'traditional' means to seek you ancestors.

Did your mother know who your father was? Might she have told somebody else? Would a relation, like a sister, have known who she was 'seeing' at the time of your conception? Do you have your birth certificate? Since you know who your grandmother was you should be able to use traditional genealogical methods to trace that side of your family. Did she live in a small place? How many males around the same age were around at the time (the internet may allow you to access school class lists)? Your father may be keen to contact you - have you discretely advertised?

If you can compile a list of 'possibles' Y-DNA testing may allow you to cut the shortlist to one or two.

[bob_allison]

Ha. Sounds like I cannot tell you much about 'detective work'!

I will summarise what each type of test will tell you. There is a lot on the net which describes them better than I can.

There is a test, which FTDNA no longer do but can be done elsewhere, which tests the DNA in the cell which is a mixture of all your ancestors. The result tells you the percentage of ethnic groups of those ancestors, eg 63% Indo-European 20% Sub-Saharan African 17% Native American.

The mtDNA test tests the DNA of the mitochondia, entities which power our cells, which are passed from mothers to their children. The results indicate the origins of the maternal line only ie mother's mother's mother's ... Mutations in this type of DNA are rare so the results indicate ancestry over thousands of years but not recently.

Y-DNA tests test the DNA of the Y-chromosome which is passed from father to sons but not daughters since they have no Y-DNA. The result is a string of 12, 25, 37 numbers (depending on which test you take). With only rare mutations these 'numbers' remain stable over many generations. Broadly speaking, these numbers will be common for a particular surname, since surnames are also passed on. Not all people of the same surname have the same 'numbers' (or haplotype as it is called) but a particular haplotype is often confined to one or two surnames.

Since only a small proportion of the population has been tested you may take the test and not find a match at this time. My advice, after what you have told me, is to take a 37 marker Y-DNA test and see if it links with a surname or two. As more people take the test the likelihood of finding a match rises.

Once you have a surname or two - you are the detective!

All the very best.