Family Tree DNA:
Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) is a
genetic testing service focused on providing genealogist with DNA
analysis to aid them in their genealogy work. They have an
array of products that progressively allow a genealogist to increase
the amount of genetic resolution they want as the need for better
accuracy arises.
They also provide two very large searchable public databases where
people anonymously participate. Finding other individuals in the
database is based upon a marker matching process. If your markers
don't match someone else's within a limited genetic distance, then
the people who don't fit your genetics don't appear. Surname
searches are possible, but the names listed are often for the oldest
know ancestor and may not be the current surname of the matching
data.
When a potentially related person appears in a match listing a code
number is the only method by which contact can be attempted. To
contact a match candidate, FTDNA provides an anonymous email process
that contains the message-text you compose within the anonymous
mailer to the person identified by the code umber. Nowhere in the
process is the person identified unless they wish to lift the veil
of anonymity provided by the blind-email process.
Y-Search & MitoSearch are the two searchable databases that
FTDNA provides for so others may share and compare markers. A glimpse
of them can be seen on each of the following links:
Both of these searchable
databases can accept data from other testing services. By allowing
results testing services to be uploaded into the databases, the rate of growth of the
database is not limited by the rate of testing growth of FTDNA's
capabilities.
Instead, it is determined in part by the total number of people who
get tested at all testing services, and their willingness to be included
in the database. Not everyone
who is tested takes the extra few steps to join these larger
databases, so individual behaviour is an unknown limiting factor. Currently, these databases are slowly being accepted,
because
they show participant growth each week. In time these
databases should be the primary method
of finding people across the globe.
FTDNA also provides an automatic matching service within its
account structure as new people are added to FTDNA's own internal database. FTDNA's internal database is much larger than the public accessible
databases are right now, and may even be the largest database on the
planet. For certain these databases have been one of my primary sources of
information. FTDNA's automatic search-matching notification is a
user-toggled feature that generates an email based upon how many
markers were used to make the match.
There are many other features available to people participating in
their database, but the ones I use most often are listed above or
elsewhere in this web site.
To understand my current
progress, follow this link: DNA in
Genealogy
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