SMGF results are in!

I found our SMGF results last night. Dad & I took SMGF's free DNA test last November and our results have only just appeared. Since the test was free, we really don't get much out of it. You can search your results if you found your marker via another test, otherwise you search by surname. I had to search back to my Great-Great Grandmother because some of the individuals are protected for privacy.

Once you find the results, you can compare them to others that pop up. For my mtDNA results, there don't seem to be any close matches for 'Garman' (my GGG-Grandmother):

Dad's yDNA was found by searching for his markers. There are a few close matches:

Then, there's his mtDNA results:

So, I'm not sure that I really got anything out of this - but it's nice to see something finally posted.

DNA Testing

It's been five months since Dad & I sent off a DNA test to the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF). We still haven't received any results back. Since it's a free service they make no guarantees on when you'll receive results, and I've found reviews that state that it can take a year! Even then you only see your results online in comparison to other testers.

Since the government is being nice enough to give us some free money, I decided to use part of my economic stimulus money to take a DNA test. As a female I have two options: 1) take a mtDNA test that follows a straight line of female ancestors or, 2) have a male relative (my dad) take a Y-chromosome test to research a straight line of male ancestors. I decided to go ahead and have my Dad do the test and trace my direct paternal line.

I also had to choose a test company. After some research I decided to go with Family Tree DNA and a 67 marker Y-chromosome test (Y-DNA67). I joined a surname project, which saved me money, but it still cost $271 (down from $349 without joining a group).

I'm supposed to receive the test in a week and the results within about seven weeks.

Both Dad and I took the SMG DNA test and sent them in the mail. (see Nov 2nd for more info). Who knows how long it will be before the results show up on their site. They send off their tests in batches to keep cost down. Eventually though, the results will be viewable on their website and we'll be able to compare our DNA with other folks.

Update: as of April 29, I still have no results

Want to try DNA family genealogy but find it too expensive? Try SMG. Here's some info on a *free* service:

"Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is a non-profit foundation that is creating the world's leading collection of DNA results and corresponding genealogies. We are making the collection available on-line to the public to help in finding new family connections and extending one's genealogy. SMGF is not affiliated with any other commercial organizations, religious institutions, or other DNA testing projects.

Due to the nature of our project, you will not receive your DNA results directly back from SMGF. However, your results and genealogy will be added to the Sorenson database, and you can find them by searching for your surname and looking at related family trees.

Simply go to our Search page and enter your surname of interest. You may also choose to enter known DNA test results or to use default DNA values. See the Help section of the Search page for more information.

The Results of your search will show the values for all participants that match your search criteria. In general, a higher match (e.g. 35/36 instead of 34/36) means a closer genealogical connection. We also provide links to pedigree charts and the Time to Most Common Ancestor (TMRCA) for closely matching results. The TMRCA and Results pages show further information to help with interpretation."

Update: as of April 29, I still have no results