What test to take
It’s a question that packs an emotional punch, no matter how many times The Legal Genealogist hears it.
And it came up again yesterday from reader Katie.
“Which DNA test do you recommend,” she asked, “if I’m trying to find out who my father is?”
Few of us who grew up in nominally intact homes can honestly say our relationships with our fathers were unconflicted. Some of us who grew up in dysfunctional or broken homes may actually dislike the man who fathered us.
But nobody who grew up knowing something about the person whose name gets entered in the first box on the paternal side of a family tree chart can really understand the power of Katie’s question.
It’s so much more than “who is he?” It’s also “who am I?”
And in Katie’s case, as a single woman wanting to know about her father, there’s only one possible answer: Katie needs to do autosomal testing — and to test as widely and spread her results as broadly as she can.
First off, why autosomal testing?
That’s because of the way the different types of DNA that we use for genetic genealogy — YDNA, mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA — are inherited.
YDNA is the kind of DNA found in the male gender-determinative Y chromosome that only men have.1 It gets passed from a man only to his sons and from his sons only to his grandsons and from his grandsons only to his great grandsons, with few changes down the generations.2 So the line of descent looks like this:
You can see the problem, right? For Katie — a female — the line of descent isn’t going to work. For her, the picture looks like this:
So YDNA testing won’t help when a single woman tries to find her father’s line. It works if she has a known paternal brother or uncle or male cousin. But not when the only person she knows who’s related to her father is herself.
Mitochondrial DNA — mtDNA — is a kind of DNA we all have that serve as energy producers for the cells in our bodies.3 It gets passed from a mother to all of her children — male and female — but only her daughters can pass it on to her grandchildren.4 So the line of descent for Katie looks like this:
And you can see the problem there, too, right? Katie’s not looking for information about those women in red. She’s looking for this guy:
So mtDNA testing isn’t going to help either.
This all leads to autosomal testing. All human beings have 23 pairs of chromosomes — 22 numbered pairs and one gender-determinative pair. The autosomes are those 22 numbered pairs.5 And we get exactly half of our autosomal DNA from our fathers and half from our mothers6 in a pattern that looks like this:
So which test Katie take is a no-brainer. The autosomal DNA test.
The best part about autosomal DNA testing is that almost all of our cousins, out to the fourth or fifth cousin level and sometimes even beyond, are going to share some part of that DNA with us. So anyone who matches us in an autosomal DNA test might be able to provide clues to a missing parent (or grandparent or great grandparent) once we do the hard traditional-genealogy-paper-trail work of figuring out where our common ancestral line is with that match. Even when we don’t know anything about part of our own ancestry, as in Katie’s case, finding matches can help us narrow it down.
If Katie’s mother, or a close relative on her mother’s side, will test at the same time, that will help Katie narrow down her results to her father’s side — anyone who matches her and her mother’s-side relative can pretty much be excluded as a link to her missing father. But those who match her most closely and do not match her mother’s side… oh yeah… those are the matches to focus on. Those are the folks most likely to be her relatives on her father’s side.
So… who to test with? Right now, there are three major companies that offer autosomal DNA testing for genetic genealogy: 23andMe; AncestryDNA; and Family Tree DNA. And Katie needs to test with all three. And use every third party tool available to get her results out there, like GedMatch.com.
Why? Because most people who do DNA testing will test with only one of those companies. And Katie has no way of knowing who might have tested already and who might test in the future who might be the key to finding her father’s identity — and no way of knowing which company that key match might choose.
My advice on how to do that for the least amount of money stays the same as it’s been:7 test with AncestryDNA first (the usual price is $99; a sale is on right now that drops the price to $79); then when you get the results, take that raw data from AncestryDNA and upload it to Family Tree DNA (the transfer price is $39 (corrected!); free if you can get four others to transfer their results); and then test with 23andMe ($99 for the test there).
That gets you into all of the company databases for the lowest possible price — and you can take the raw data and upload it to GedMatch and any other future third-party tools website that allows you to compare your data to the data of others.
Bottom line: finding fathers means autosomal testing for females (add in YDNA testing for males), and spreading the results out as far and wide as you can.
SOURCES
- ISOGG Wiki (http://www.isogg.org/wiki), “Y chromosome,” rev. 23 Apr 2014. ↩
- Ibid., “Y chromosome DNA tests,” rev. 27 Nov 2014. ↩
- “What is mitochondrial DNA?,” Genetics Home Reference Handbook, National Library of Medicine, US Department of Health (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook : accessed 29 Nov 2014). ↩
- ISOGG Wiki (http://www.isogg.org/wiki), “Mitochondrial DNA tests,” rev. 9 July 2014. ↩
- “Definitions: Autosome,” Human Genome Project Information (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov : accessed 29 Nov 2014). ↩
- See Judy G. Russell, “Autosomal DNA testing,” National Genealogical Society Magazine, October-December 2011, 38-43. ↩
- See Judy G. Russell, “2014: Most bang for DNA bucks,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 6 Apr 2014 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 29 Nov 2014). ↩
Should the matches with the mother’s side of the family really be excluded? What if there had been an incest? Thanks for explaining more on that part.
You’re right that in the case of incest between the mother and a relative on the mother’s side, the mother’s side relatives should not be excluded. And if every single match showed a match to both the person and the mother’s side relative, then incest must be suspected.
There is a tool at gedmatch that tests whether your parents are related. So probably start there, if not then elimnate results that are from the maternal relative tested.
Judy. You can probably never write about this topic enough. Your graphics make this easy to follow and understand (along with your talented writing abilities). I find myself having to explain this over and over and over to people. For some reason, many people seem to have a hard time “getting it.” I have shared this article on two genealogy-related sites and one listserve which I manage–with all due credit to you. I hope I am not in violation of any copyright laws by doing so!
Thanks for the kind words, Craig. The graphics in this case are my own.
As for copyright, any time you provide a link to an online article, telling people to go to that link, there’s no copyright concern. It’s only when things are copied that copyright is an issue.
Of course it was a direct link to you, never fear.
I originally tested with 23andMe (when they were also doing the health test). Then I “shared” the results with FamilyTreeDNA. Then, I tried to share with ancestry.com and even had someone there helping me do it manually; but I must have given wrong info since (1) the lady said I was a perfect match to the person they compare with (?) and (2) because my sister then tested with ancestry.com and we don’t match there at all. I added both of us to gedmatch.com and, of course, we match. My question is should I try to re-share my 23andMe results at ancestry, or actually take the ancestry.com test?
thanks,
Kay Cahill
Kay, your only choice is to do a complete new test at AncestryDNA. Its system requires that it analyze the data and it does not accept transfers of data from other companies.
I wondered because when I tried it, the folks there told me it could be done manually. Thanks, I’ll do it.
Once upon a time you could manually enter YDNA or mtDNA results. But this autosomal stuff requires the additional test.
Your explanations and charts/graphs helped me understand so much better what DNA testing is and what it’s all about. THANK YOU!!! Can’t wait to have mine done.
Glad I could help!
My dad refused to participate in my curiosity in genealogy and DNA tests for years. He kept telling me that I would find something I did not want to know. I was thinking ok, he had an ancestor who went to jail or killed someone or maybe someone born out of wedlock, whatever.
I was able to get my mom to test at FTDNA and then I tested at 23andme. I remember telling my mom, who was ok with my doing DNA and genealogy, that I had a very close 2nd cousin match on 23andme with a certain surname. We talked about it and figured it must be on my dads side. The next day my mom calls me and confesses she had an affair while married and that I did not have the father I though I had, she wanted to prevent me from asking about this surname with my dad, the dad I thought was my dad. She told me the name of my “bio” dad, I did a quick Google search and found his telephone number and call him.
Two months later I met him and at age 45, we have a good, mostly telephone and email relationship because we are 3000 miles away. He has shared his DNA and I am working on our family tree together and have made connections on FB and Ancestry with cousins. My “legal” dad, the dad who I thought was my dad still does not know that I know, at least I do not think he does, but I think he had a feeling I might not be “his” but he never treated me like I was not. Was he a good father (whatever that means)? He was there when I was little and not so much growing up as he and mom were divorced and moved away, but I always had a sense that he was much closer to my younger sister, anyway there was something not right, but I never suspected I was not his child. My “bio” dad never tried to find me. My mom kept in touch til I was about 12 and we moved out of state. He says he was not a good father nor good husband, and I do not have big expectations that he is going to be this perfect dad. There is no such thing, but he is what he is and I am grateful to have both of these men in my lives.
I would like to have my bio father on my birth certificate and I in New York (my birthplace) because my mother was married, I have to go through a process that involves contacting the legal father to consent to the change. Does anyone know if this is indeed what has to happen, even for a person in their 40’s? I believe my “bio” dad would have to sign a document stating ownership of his paternity, but I think I have to go to court to file an Order of Filiation.
So if my spirit guides had not awakened my passion for genealogy about 10 years ago, my mom probably would have taken this secret to the grave. Be careful for what you ask for. The people involved on my end took it well, including myself and responded openly, which is good, but not all stories will have a happy ending.
Sorry for rambling. My intent was to suggest testing at the big 3. I am not sure if I would have found my dad using DNA since I was not looking for him, but you never know what you might find.
Great story — and I wish you all the best in what has to be a difficult situation.
You’re so fortunate. About two years ago the only mani knew as a father for 45 years died. A week later I learned he was not my bio father. My mother is not so forthcoming. She has concocted quite a story around my conception- thst she was under the influence and has no recollection whatsoever. Lots of holes in her tale. Bottom line… She’s not going to come clean. Children have a right to know the truth- if for no other reason other than health history! Glad you have the truth. Wish you well.
Katie doesn’t have any brothers she knows of, does she?
I think she’d have mentioned a paternal half-brother, Louis, but the possibility is why I included some of the info that’s there!
Something I’d add. The 23rd chromosome is really important in this case. If she can have her mother or one of her mother’s other children tested, she can isolate which of her X chromosomes came to her from her father. Because her father’s contribution comes nearly intact, she can then search for matches specifically along that specific chromosome. If she can’t have her mother or (half) sibling tested, she still has a more focused place to look because the male contributor to the X chromosome doesn’t change between generations.
The X chromosome analysis will help — but so folks are clear: it’s not a separate test. You get those results along with an autosomal test.
Hi Don – or Judy (great page:))
I have a different biological father to my sisters, based on a brief liaison my mother had. I am looking for information about him. I had an autosomal test done through FTDNA, and was advised that it would be much easier to determine paternal links if I had my mother tested. Fortunately, she agreed.
Her results are in, and my understanding was that if I view the list of people NOT in common with her, they would be paternal. I thought it was that simple. I’m really bamboozled though by the fact that some of the people I do not share in common with mother, share in common with me other people I do in fact have in common with mother!
I am a novice, and am sure I’m going about it all wrong. I wonder if you can shed any light on this for me.
FTDNA has a chromosome browser, and I can see my X chromosome sitting at the bottom of the other 22. Could you perhaps tell me what I need to do with the X Chromosome in order to determine what matches are paternal?
I do want to thank you in advance for any light you can shed 🙂
Louise, not every single match you have that’s not in common with your mother will be paternal; some — in the distant cousin category — may well be what are called false positives (people who match you more because of what part of the world you’re from than because of any shared ancestry). So focus on the people who are not in common with your mother and are closest in terms of relationship. As for the X, it’s not an easy thing because — as a female — you have one X from your father and one X from your mother. So your best candidates for your father’s side are people who (a) are not in common with your mother and share something on the X chromosome with you but do NOT share on the X with your mother (they will likely be from your father’s mother’s side) or (b) are not in common with your mother even if you don’t have any XDNA in common (they will likely be from your father’s father’s side).
Thankyou so much, Judy. That does clarify things for me. My next move is to ask FTDNA for some easy step-by=step instructions for comparing matches that X chromosome, because I haven’t the faintest idea.
I think it’s great that people like you are kind enough to give out this advice – many thanks again 🙂
Hi Don: While randomly ‘netting about, I came across this website, and your comment, among others, which offers me a FASCINATING clue as to how I might be able to trace my biological father. I, and my half-sister (both of us have the same mother) have had DNA testing done through both Ancestry.com and 23andMe. With your comment, I am of course wanting to compare her, and my, 23 chromosomes to see where they differ. I hope I can do this, but find that 23andMe is a very difficult site to work in. Perhaps I’ll do better with Ancestry.com or other service. If you have any comments or observations, I’d sure be grateful!
Those kinds of comparison tools do not exist at Ancestry. They do at Gedmatch (a third party site) and at 23andMe, but not at Ancestry.
Don, Will any person who has matches on my 23 chromosome be a half sibling?
It’s not 100% sure, because of the random way DNA is handed down. For example, there are two chromosome where my half-brother and I essentially share NO segments.
Hi Judy
I hope you won’t mind answering a couple of questions – and once again thankyou for your time in doing so. Further to the answers you gave me last week:
I did a single-parent phasing of my kit with my mother’s at Gedmatch. The result of this appears to be a phased “psuedokit” for my father. I ran his kit through the “One to Many” utility but selected “X” instead of Autosomal. 25 matches on the X appeared. Two women with the same surname are predicted to be one generation away from father, along with me. They share between 15 and 18 Cm on the X with him.
Funnily, only one of them shares on the X with me! They are also not in common with my mother. Certainly, you’ve helped me understand the possibilities, Judy – such as what side of father’s tree they might be on. Just a little clarification:
Could this mean anything significant? Also, if they are actually closely related, I wonder why they don’t share any autosomal DNA with father or me?
Lastly, just how reliable is phased paternal pseudodata for throwing up paternal matches?
Cheers 🙂
The pseudo-phasing will accurately disclose the 50% of your ancestry that came from your father but, I suspect, may suggest that matches are closer than they really are. As for only sharing XDNA, without a corresponding autosomal match, the relationship (if real and not a false positive) is likely to be much more distant.
Thanks very much, Judy 🙂
can a maternal haplogroup of j2ala and a paternal group R1b1b2a1l1d show father daughter incest
These two are apples and oranges — one (the mtDNA haplogroup) tells you only about the mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s line; the other (the paternal YDNA haplogroup) tells you only about the father’s father’s father’s father’s line. So there is nothing about the two in combination that rules incest in or out as a possibility. Autosomal DNA testing would likely produce evidence to support or refute the hypothesis, but not these haplogroups by themselves.
Judy, I have been struggling with my DNA results since I received them this past spring. My mother has kept the true information about my father from me all of my life. The man named on my BC is not him; she didn’t want to lose me. I think I found a hint as to my father’s line. This article was the best written explanation of connections daughters can make without a related male donor. Thank you so very much.
Glad I could help.
“A daughter out of nowhere” per AncestryDNA. Their results show high prob of a daughter match. Should I take this as an absolute before corresponding with her. I am 71yo man and perplexed to say the least. Do I have legal responsibiliity to this 52 yo ? Tossing and turning.
The chances of a mismatch in the DNA with a high probability of parent-child are essentially nil. It’s going to prove to be a very close relative, for sure, and given the ages it isn’t likely to be anything other than parent-child. There isn’t any legal responsibility at this point, no. You don’t owe back child support; you can still leave a will that leaves all your property to a home for wayward cats if you choose to. You don’t owe this woman anything except the truth and whatever answers you can give her. Not because of anything legal, but simply because of the biology… a different kind of responsibility, for sure.
My husband does not know who his father is. His mom told him she does not remember who the guy was. Will doing these testings help find him? He would just like to know where he came from.
Thanks
If anyone else from his father’s family has tested, then yes, the tests will help identify his father. They will also reliably give him information about his overall continental background (Europe vs. Asia vs. Africa) and some information, though far less reliable, about smaller geographic regions.
I am 64. At age 5 I started getting vibes that my dad, whom I loved, was not my dad. I didn’t look like siblings. Comments from family friends indicated others thought so too. Mom died in ’88 and dad in ’90. Then a family friend told me the truth. Mom and her boyfriend parted ways. She was pregnant and married someone else in haste.
I searched but with no name I stopped. In 9/16 I bought Ancestry’s DNA test in hopes of learning nationalties. Long story/short. A first cousin unknown to me led to my farher, alive. Celebrated his birthday this week. Finally finding me when I found him.
Congratulations on finally getting the answers you needed!
Hello, I could use some help by being steered in the correct direction, So my Wife lost her mother the closest person/friend that she had, By a drunk driver on Nov 28th,2009 my wife was 19 at the time. She grew up quick with a rough childhood, at the age of 10 she found out that her dad wasn’t her real dad. But never asked questions and just let it be. Well, she has this feeling of emptiness/void and I know she would love to find her Biological father considering she never really had a father in her life the guy who raised her left and really had nothing to do with her. The biggest issue is we have no name she knows absolutely nothing only an area he may be located and that’s the Dallas/Fort Worth area and he has no clue about her. Is there a really good site for this or any suggestion on how to start finding him, this is something I have wanted to do for my wife for a long time. Many blessing and thanks for reading.
Unknown parentage cases are hard but not impossible. Testing both your wife and her closest maternal relative (an aunt or uncle or maternal first cousin) will help her identify which of her matches are on the maternal side and you’d then subtract those out and focus on the top matches that are on the other side — which should be her unknown father. She can get some help and education about the methodology at DNAAdoption.com and in the Facebook group DNA Detectives.
Ok I’m new to this and so confused. I do not know my father nor does my mom. I’ve done AncestryDNA and the other just not 23and me. My mom did the one with me so it shows all her side. All my brothers and sister have different fathers. Could I get my uncle to take this and it will help or I need someone of the unknown father side to help?
If you subtract out all the matches you and your mother share at AncestryDNA, all of the other top matches should be on your father’s side and you can work to see what they have in common.
Hello. I have done the FTDNA and 23&me. My mom doesn’t know who her dad is and my grandma died 15 years ago. Is there anyway I could potentially find him through my DNA or will I need to test my moms. I would love to surprise her. Thank you for taking time to answer our questions.
It isn’t impossible to find your grandfather’s family without testing your Mom, but it will be much easier if you do and if you can test one of her maternal relatives as well (a cousin on your grandmother’s side, for example). That way you can begin to divide matches into her maternal and non-maternal sides and concentrate on the matches who may be on that unknown father’s side.
Hi, thank you so much for posting this. I would have never known where to start if it wasn’t for this post. I am an only child born from a mother who has no idea who my father is. I have access to her DNA, cousins, uncle, husband and my own children (boys included). My question is who of these relieves would be the best to test at the same time as me to find my father?
You and your mother would be a great team to start with. Any match who matches you only and not both you and your mother is a candidate for being a relative on your unknown father’s side.
Start with yourself. If your mother is willing to be tested, or a biological cousin on your mom’s side, will come in handy. You will have to eliminate your mom’s genetic connection to know if any dna connections are on your biological side and not your father’s side.
There is one note to consider. If you were conceived due to your mother having had intercourse with a biological relative, such as her cousin, uncle, father etc, a cousin will not eliminate dna matches from your mother’s side of the family. It happens, and is sometimes the reason mother’s say they do not know the father. It could have been a party where she had had too much to drink, a rape, or a family member. Mom’s had no idea DNA testing would be invented.
If you can handle this, go ahead and find out. I suspect you can. Just knowing, no matter the outcome, is far better than never knowing. Good luck!
Thank you for your help. I know the circumstances of my conception just didn’t want to post it. But my father doesn’t know he has a child and it is someone my mom didn’t know. I’ve had a desire to find my father my whole life but never could have conceived that the possibility would become a reality in this life. I am an only child and the thought that I could have a sibling or cousins makes me very excited. And I think it will be worth whatever pain I have to go through to find out.
I agree! If you can handle rejection, and it sounds like you can, pursue this. I try to tell myself, don’t waste energy worrying about something, until there is something to worry about!
Today, I met up with one of my 24 new cousins. He introduced me to some of his family. What I have come to realize is that those who take DNA tests are excited what might come out of it. My new cousin said, that though I am a totally unexpected outcome, he welcomes me completely.
The only other idea is that you might consider someone to speak to whomever you find, especially if you are delaying any contact. Since I found a cousin, I gently contacted him. If it had been a father, or half sibling, I might have had someone else be an intermediary.
So I’m trying to find my daughters father by her asking to find him I have no clue where to begIn the search as I don’t have enough information on him to find him like you normally would.Can you please tell me if you know where I can start my search.I was going to try to run her DNA through a test through a company to try and find him that way but I don’t know of a company that does that. Do you know of anything I can do to try and find him by just running her DNA
DNA testing works by matching a test-taker’s results against the results of all others in the testing company’s database. If your daughter tests, she will be matched with others who share her DNA. You will have to work to identify those who are on her maternal side and those who are on her paternal side, and there’s quite a methodology involved. There are websites that can help you learn (try dnaadoption.com) and Facebook groups like DNA Detectives.
Want to know who my father is. Mom will not speak of, no full line cousins,any way possible without.and blood line?
Doing DNA testing on yourself and then weeding out any matches that are on your maternal side will help you identify your paternal family.
Hi Judy,
This article was so helpful regarding DNA testing. At 59, I find myself yearning to know who my father was. My Mom told me the story when I was 17,and he was already deceased. Through investigation over the years I have found out about three half sisters. My dilemma is how to approach them. All I want is a picture of my father, to gain siblings would be an added bonus, but understand how this may not be possible. What is the best way to approach the subject? How did you initiate contact with all your new cousins? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the great article, I will be testing my DNA soon.
There are groups on Facebook that specialize in researching unknown parentage cases, and they deal all the time and can surely help with the issue of how to approach the siblings when you find them. One in particular to look at is DNA Detectives. Good luck.
As clearly laid out as this article is, I am still having difficulty finding the best path. My mother never met her father but was given a name. Autosomal testing has shown that none of the “cousins” in that line is related to me–different father. Has anyone else been on the same path and know what direction to take? Thank you so much.
You may find some help in the post Help with DNA for adoptees. (The same help is available for anyone with an unknown parentage situation, not just adoptees.)
WHAT IF YOUR FATHER SUPPOSE TO HAD DIED AND HE HAVE OTHER KIDS,
BUT I HAVE NO NAMES NO LAST KNOWN HOUSES NOTHING IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR 10 YEARS
Read the post Help with DNA for adoptees and see if the resources there are of use to you.
HOW DO I GO ABOUT FINDING MY DAUGHTERS FATHER?
Follow the suggestions in the blog post. And carefully work through the matches.
I used Ancestry as it has by far the largest database. You do not need to join Ancestry. If you don’t have a close match, join DD Social on FB. Ask for a Search Angel. They are volunteers who will help you take your closest match, build a tree until it intersects your tree and you find your parent. They will also suggest that you take your raw data and load it to FTDNA and GedMatch where you could find even more family.
I want to find my daughters father
The suggested steps are outlined in the post.
This article is very helpful. My mom is in her late 60s and never knew her father. All of her siblings had different unknown fathers. Over the last few years, she’s mentioned wanting to know her father. Someone gave her a name and said he died years ago. I convinced my mom to join me on 23andMe, and she asked my brother to do it too. I misunderstood DNA and thought my brother being a male would carry my maternal grandfather’s DNA. After reading this article, I told my mom that she should ask one of her 2 remaining siblings to be tested so she can separate matches from her mother’s side. Her said he would said he would do it, which is great. We’ll see what happens.
We are African American. Based on my mom’s 30% European results, I believe her father was mixed. Also, her relative matches on 23andMe, besides her children, are white. I sent connection requests to some second cousins that are pending. I’m excited to see where this goes.
Glad you found this helpful, and good luck!
Another idea: join DNA Detective and DD Social on FB. Share her results and if unclear, ask for a Search Angel. They are volunteers who will help sort the results.
If you know a cousin in the results and they are a child of your mom’s siblings, then you do not necessarily need anyone else to test. On Ancestry you can separate out your results from mom’s side. Please consider having her test with Ancestry. There are millions more testing there.