Sunday, August 11, 2013

The First Steps

Genealogy has been a hobby for many years now and having exhausted all the usual sources for information, I turned to DNA to help solve some of my family's history.

The first timid step was to submit my brother's DNA to FamilyTreeDNA for testing and join the Mason surname group.  After waiting a few weeks, I excitedly logged in to compare his y-DNA results to those of the Mason group.  I just knew that we would finally find the branch of the Mason family from which we descend and it confirmed my earlier suspicion that our family must have landed from Mars in the early 1800s. 

I am not sure how it is now but at that time FamilyTreeDNA solicited money for more in-depth testing.  Of course, "in for a penny, in for a pound", I dutifully sent them more money and got more results showing nothing except that the Mason family was of Anglo Saxon descent.  By this time I am beginning to become suspicious that my brother is not really a Mason so I let the whole thing drop for a few years.

Then a cousin asked me to send a sample to the 23andMe testing service to help him solve a mystery in another family line, also on my father's side of the family.  This time I sent in my own DNA and it cost less than $100!  Six weeks later, I found out that indeed I am my father's daughter but the jury is still out on my brother.  However, he has a sample pending and I have no doubt that it will be good news but then again, his father may have been from Mars.

~ Becky ~

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