Paternal Grandmother DNA?

[dstroebel]

Hello, I am new to this forum and DNA in general. Can I please ask if it is possible for me to make a DNA match with my father's father's mother's side of the family? Can DNA testing accomplish that?

I am talking about going back from 3-5 generations

Thanks, Dave

[KATM]

Yes, autosomal DNA is the appropriate test for your situation. At FTDNA, it is called "Family Finder," and it is currently on sale for $59 through June 18th.

See "4 Kinds of DNA for Genetic Genealogy," by Roberta Estes, for an overview of what is possible with each type of DNA test. Also, see the short informative videos at "Introduction to Molecular Genealogy," (which sounds more complicated than it is) for good descriptions of each type of DNA.

[MoberlyDrake]

Depending on what you are trying to find out, 3-5 generations might be a long shot. I've been trying to use autosomal testing to find a pair of unknown 3rd great-grandparents since 2010 without any luck. Along the way I've helped 3 people unknown parents because I recognized they were related to one of my unknowns. I keep hoping that someone will help me in turn. It appears that autosomal tests are good at close relationships, but not very useful beyond 2nd great-grandparents.

[dstroebel]

I am hoping to match my DNA to any descendent of my great-grandmother's brother's line. He lived from 1854-1902 and had only two daughters. The two daughters had both male and female children. Autosomal DNA can do that?

[MoberlyDrake]

Yes, provided that your great-grandmother's brother has living descendants who have done DNA testing.

It's best to test your parent or grandparent in the line of interest if they are living, because autosomal DNA is halved in each generation. A person gets a random 50% of their DNA from each parent. On the average 25% from each grandparent, but since DNA inheritance is random, a person may get more from one grandparent than another. On the average you get 12.5% from each great-grandparent, etc. You want to test the family member who is likely to have the most DNA from the ancestor you are interested in, or test several.

Also, test at Ancestry too if you can afford it and 23andMe. If one of your great-grandmother's brother's descendants has done a DNA test, there's no guessing which company they chose to do it at, so trying the 3 main ones is a good idea, as is uploading to Gedmatch.

Family Finder is on sale through June 18. So now is a good time to do it!

[dstroebel]

Thanks very much

[MoberlyDrake]

Also, you might want to read "The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy" by Blaine T. Bettinger. It's available from Amazon, but your local library or bookstore may have it.