FAQ
If you have a question not covered below, or just want some feedback on this group and your place in it, or anything else...the best way to reach me is directly via email at dnadeb@gmail.com Also, have you read the info at the other tabs (background, goals, news, results)? Your answer may be right there!
I joined this group awhile ago, why haven't I heard anything?
You should have gotten a "welcome" email that was sent by FTDNA...if you did not, it might have gone to your "spam folder." Feel free to email me direct after you have joined and let me know that you want to know what's up!
What more do you need from me, other than joining the group?
My access setting as project administrator should be "LIMITED" unless I contacted you personally about changing it to ADVANCED for specific reasons. ( But a few folks have it set to MINIMAL and I'll be blunt...that makes it almost useless for you to be in the project as I cannot view or incorporate your data or matches, so please adjust that.) If you haven't made your results "visible" to the group administrator. please do...since this is a y-dna group, if you have mtdna results it is not essential that I see your coding region markers, but they may provide useful clues.
I also would be delighted to learn whatever you know about your older paternal ancestors...even if you are not sure of places or dates, "family stories" and "rumors" are valuable clues. (That often turn out to be closer to fact than people think!) Some of you who have been in this group for years have already done this, so no worries...it's you newer folks I'm talking to. Not sure if I have your info or not? Email me-- dnadeb@gmail.com
Am I likely to find a named cousin who I then can confirm with a paper trail via this Y-DNA testing?
To be blunt, no. It's possible but not likely. (Although if you have a particular person you THINK is a relative, the DNA test can be a great way to confirm or deny that!) The reason it is not likely otherwise is that via DNA testing, the time to the common ancestor is usually farther back than people's paper trails go. And in many cases, such as with Jews in general and African-American descended from slaves, surnames are not ancient or even hereditary, once you go back more than a few generations. Your matches do give you clues, though, as to your paternal family history. Indeed, you can learn some absolutely awesome things...see next FAQ:
What exactly will I get out of being in this group?
It's already proven to be a wild ride and things are going to get even more fascinating, so buckle your seat belt. First, if you haven't already clicked on the "LINKS" tab, please do so as there are many items there of interest already. Second, as I update our private group chart---this is a chart different than the FTDNA list of results---I post it and send it to members so you can see exactly who you match and how closely and how significantly. Thirdly and most thrilling, from this information I will be creating a phylogeny (group tree) which combines our STR* results, SNP* results, family history information, world history information and the results from recent genetic studies to tell our story of how such a diverse group of people as we are (Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, Arab Muslims, Syrian Christians, French Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics, English, etc.) all connect on a common paternal line that heads deep into the Levant for millennia.
For members in the FGC4992 branch of PF5366, we now can be certain there was an Israelite priest back there as progenitor for most of us, but time will soon tell us more about both this lineage and that of the other branches. For everyone it is going to be an awesome migration story.
(*STR= short tandem repeats, the "12 to 111" variable markers; SNP= single nucleotide polymorphisms, the permanent mutations that mark the starts of new subclade branches)
Should I do more DNA testing now?
The answer varies quite a bit from person to person, so please feel free to email me directly to get an individualized reply.
But in general, for Y-DNA, it is VERY valuable to upgrade to 111 STR markers and/or identify your exact branch on the tree through SNP testing (at FTDNA via the BigY or via other labs that will test individual SNPs when you can make a good "guess" as to your likely branch. Contact me any time for a deeper explanation of options and benefits and my best advice to help you meet your family history goals.
Although we are a Y-DNA group, if you have other questions about DNA testing (mtdna, family finder, Geno 2.0 etc.), email me. I've done almost every test known to man and can guide you!
Deb Katz
Volunteer Administrator, J2a Levant Project
dnadeb@gmail.com
I joined this group awhile ago, why haven't I heard anything?
You should have gotten a "welcome" email that was sent by FTDNA...if you did not, it might have gone to your "spam folder." Feel free to email me direct after you have joined and let me know that you want to know what's up!
What more do you need from me, other than joining the group?
My access setting as project administrator should be "LIMITED" unless I contacted you personally about changing it to ADVANCED for specific reasons. ( But a few folks have it set to MINIMAL and I'll be blunt...that makes it almost useless for you to be in the project as I cannot view or incorporate your data or matches, so please adjust that.) If you haven't made your results "visible" to the group administrator. please do...since this is a y-dna group, if you have mtdna results it is not essential that I see your coding region markers, but they may provide useful clues.
I also would be delighted to learn whatever you know about your older paternal ancestors...even if you are not sure of places or dates, "family stories" and "rumors" are valuable clues. (That often turn out to be closer to fact than people think!) Some of you who have been in this group for years have already done this, so no worries...it's you newer folks I'm talking to. Not sure if I have your info or not? Email me-- dnadeb@gmail.com
Am I likely to find a named cousin who I then can confirm with a paper trail via this Y-DNA testing?
To be blunt, no. It's possible but not likely. (Although if you have a particular person you THINK is a relative, the DNA test can be a great way to confirm or deny that!) The reason it is not likely otherwise is that via DNA testing, the time to the common ancestor is usually farther back than people's paper trails go. And in many cases, such as with Jews in general and African-American descended from slaves, surnames are not ancient or even hereditary, once you go back more than a few generations. Your matches do give you clues, though, as to your paternal family history. Indeed, you can learn some absolutely awesome things...see next FAQ:
What exactly will I get out of being in this group?
It's already proven to be a wild ride and things are going to get even more fascinating, so buckle your seat belt. First, if you haven't already clicked on the "LINKS" tab, please do so as there are many items there of interest already. Second, as I update our private group chart---this is a chart different than the FTDNA list of results---I post it and send it to members so you can see exactly who you match and how closely and how significantly. Thirdly and most thrilling, from this information I will be creating a phylogeny (group tree) which combines our STR* results, SNP* results, family history information, world history information and the results from recent genetic studies to tell our story of how such a diverse group of people as we are (Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, Arab Muslims, Syrian Christians, French Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics, English, etc.) all connect on a common paternal line that heads deep into the Levant for millennia.
For members in the FGC4992 branch of PF5366, we now can be certain there was an Israelite priest back there as progenitor for most of us, but time will soon tell us more about both this lineage and that of the other branches. For everyone it is going to be an awesome migration story.
(*STR= short tandem repeats, the "12 to 111" variable markers; SNP= single nucleotide polymorphisms, the permanent mutations that mark the starts of new subclade branches)
Should I do more DNA testing now?
The answer varies quite a bit from person to person, so please feel free to email me directly to get an individualized reply.
But in general, for Y-DNA, it is VERY valuable to upgrade to 111 STR markers and/or identify your exact branch on the tree through SNP testing (at FTDNA via the BigY or via other labs that will test individual SNPs when you can make a good "guess" as to your likely branch. Contact me any time for a deeper explanation of options and benefits and my best advice to help you meet your family history goals.
Although we are a Y-DNA group, if you have other questions about DNA testing (mtdna, family finder, Geno 2.0 etc.), email me. I've done almost every test known to man and can guide you!
Deb Katz
Volunteer Administrator, J2a Levant Project
dnadeb@gmail.com