Y-DNA Results Still a Brick Wall

[rfarrell17084]

I have had Y-DNA tested by FTDNA using Y-DNA 37 and Y-DNA 67. My results are underwhelming. My research efforts to find my great grandfather's family is still a brick wall.

Suggestions. Help?

Besides FTDNA, my DNA is posted at Ancestry, Y-Search, GEDCOM, and Geni.

Is there another site I should explore?

My great grandfather is Thomas Farrell born 1842 +/- 6 years. Possibly born in NY. Lived in New Orleans. Came north during Civil War and married from that point I have records. IT IS Toms's parental line I need to find.

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Rod Farrell
[email protected]

[MoberlyDrake]

You need to do the Family Finder test on one or more of your great-grandfathers descendants, preferably ones having the fewest generations between them and him as possible. Although you will get matches from every branch of their trees, you can sometimes determine which branches the matches are related to especially if you have tested several relatives. You may get lucky and find some very close Farrell relatives.

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[rfarrell17084]

I am the oldest male in my family.

[MoberlyDrake]

You don't have any siblings or cousins? Have you done the Family Finder test?

You don't have to stick to testing relatives in your direct male line with Family Finder. Any descendant of your great grandfather, Thomas Farrell, male or female, will do, but the more closely related to him, the better.

Do the Family Finder test yourself, if you haven't already. Place your order from within your account. Any other family members you test will need separate accounts.

[rfarrell17084]

Family Finder test? Do you mean FTDNA tests?
My DNA is posted at the following sites:
FTDNA – 404565
Ancestry.com - rfarrell17084
Y-Search – WCDJY
GED COM ID – 33141182
GEDCOM Kit # - A955298

[MoberlyDrake]

FTDNA offers several different kinds of DNA tests.

Y-DNA - tests the DNA on your Y-chromosome, which is passed from father to son with few mutations over a few hundred years. Traces father's father's father's, etc. line.

mtDNa - test DNA found in the mitochondria in your cells. A mother passes it on to all her children, but only her daughters pass it on. Traces your mother's mother's mother's line. Not very useful for genealogy as it can remained virtually unchanged for 1000s of years.

atDNA - DNA in all your chromosomes except the Y chromosome. You get a random 50% of your father's DNA and a random 50% of your mother's. If you have siblings who are not identical twins, each sibling got a different random 50%. Your parents got their DNA from their parents, so on the average, you have about 25% from each grandparent, etc. FAMILY FINDER is the name of the test that tests atDNA.

Which tests have you done? Just Y-DNA? or Family Finder too?

[MoberlyDrake]

FTDNA includes the X chromosome in with Family Finder. It has a special inheritance pattern. A man has one X which he passes on two his daughters. A woman has 2 X Chromosomes one of which she got from her father and the other from her mother, but when egg cells are formed, the two X chromosomes usually recombine (swap one or more segments).

Autosomes also recombine.

[dcx4610]

What information are you trying to find? A quick census search on ancestry.com turned up a Thomas Farrell in New Orleans. His wife was Mary McDonald and his parents were born in Ireland.

[JerryS.]

I took an autosomal DNA test through Ancestry and its pretty much useless to accurately use it for Y haplogroups determination....

[MoberlyDrake]

I took an autosomal DNA test through Ancestry and its pretty much useless to accurately use it for Y haplogroups determination....

The Ancestry DNA test is an atDNA test (autosomal). It is totally useless for determining a Y-DNA haplogroup, because atDNA tests do not test the Y chromosome at all.

You need to do a Y-DNA test for that.

[Ric]

As said above, you have to try the Family Finder, or more generally the Autosomal DNA tests, any of those, the more the better. They will not necessarily give you match in your paternal lineage, but they may give you a match that branched off to it not too long ago. It is a trail to follow.

Also, very important : you have to do these autosomal tests in as many companies as you can afford. I am thinking in particular about 23&me which is THE company still mostly used for Europeans, in particular Southern Europeans.
Only a small minority of people who test in a company will upload their results to gedmatch, so you should not expect that being in gedmatch is equivalent as an actual test in another company. Because you don't know where (= in which company he has tested) is the match that could potentially help you to unravel your paternal lineage, and because you don't know if this match will upload in gedmatch, there is no way around it.
To give you an example, out the dozen matchs evaluated to 3rd-4th cousin that I have in 23&me, only one has uploaded to gedmatch.

[ltd-jean-pull]

Y-testing may help find your gt-grandfather's paternal line, but it won't help you track him down via descendants of his sisters, nieces, his aunts, paternal uncles etc.

You might find other descendants of his parents via autosomal testing. It sounds as if you've tested at Ancestry and transferred. Testing at FtDNA with FamilyFinder might find more from that line.

You will have on average one eighth of your autosomal DNA from him. So will your siblings, first cousins, 2nd cousins etc, but they'll have a variety of DNA from him. Have any of them tested?