• DNA websites like FTDNA, GEDmatch, Ancestry, My Heritage and 23 and me have help centers with information you can read.

• ·     Similarly, many DNA websites have webinars and there are several DNA tutorials and You Tube videos available online.

• ·     If you are a Stiles MALE (last name Stiles) and have not yet done a DNA test, please consider taking the Y DNA test at FTDNA and joining the Stiles Surname Project at FTDNA.

• ·      Autosomal DNA looks at all your lineages. If you have not yet taken the test, consider doing the Family Finder test at FTDNA and joining the Stiles Autosomal DNA projects at FTDNA (Stiles Autosomal) and GEDmatch.

• ·     Some additional recommended sources for those interested in the use of DNA testing in Genealogy:

Explanation of DNA, and tests, Roberta Estes

• Concepts– “Who To Test?” Series | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy (dna-explained.com)

• Concepts– Calculating Ethnicity Percentages | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy(dna-explained.com)

•Concepts – CentiMorgans, SNPs and Pickin’ Crab | DNAeXplained – GeneticGenealogy (dna-explained.com)

Some info about RootsTech 2021 Well worth looking atwhat you can view for FREE Forget about the title, it is everything involvingDNA

• Y-700 |DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy (dna-explained.com)

Some other sources that may be of interest

If you or a family member have previously tested your autosomal DNA elsewhere, you will most likely be able to transfer you results results to FamilyTreeDNA by uploading your raw data file. Most autosomal testing companies like 23andMe©, AncestryDNA™, or My Heritage™, have instructions on their websites about how to download your raw DNA file and save it to your computer. 

You can then follow the instructions at FamilyTreeDNA to upload your DNA files to your account at FTDNA, one of the world’s largest genetic genealogy databases.

When you transfer, for free, you will receive alist of your autosomal matches from our database and have access to our Family Finder– Matrix. The Matrix feature allows you to select and compare the autosomal DNA relationship between up to ten of your matches at one time.

Note: Family Finder is the name of our autosomal DNA test.

After transferring, you can unlock all Family Finder features, which include the Chromosome Browser, my Origins, and ancient Origins for only $19.

·     Why don't I match my second cousin once removed?

Your chance of matching close relatives all the way through the degree of first cousins (1C) is virtually certain. If they are second cousins (2C), the likelihood of a match is still better than 99%. At relationship degrees beyond 2C, the likelihood of a match to a known relative starts to drop more steeply. At third cousins (3C),the likelihood of a match is greater than 90%. If you were to test ten known third cousins, and they were not related to you in other ways, there is a good chance that one of them will not match. At fourth cousins (4C), the likelihood of a match is greater than 50%. If you were to test ten known fourth cousins, and they were not related to you in other ways, there is a good chance that five of them will not match. At fifth cousins (5C), the likelihood of a matchis greater than 10%. If you were to test ten known fifth cousins, and they were not related to you in other ways, there is a good chance that only one of those ten will match and the remaining nine will not. There is more information on the probability that you and your known relative share enough DNA to match. Search “matching probability” at  https://learn.familytreedna.com/ 

·     John Doe and I match at Ancestry but we do not match here inFTDNA. Why?

o  It depends on matching algorithms used by different laboratories, minimum centiMorgan threshold, longest blocks, and how fragmented your DNA segments are among your total shared centiMorgans.

o  Family Tree DNA: 9 cM minimal size block, or longest block of 7.69 cMs with a shared total of minimum 20 cMs.

o  Ancestry.com: 8 cMs shared minimum(formerly 6cMs; revised August 2020).

o  23AndMe: 7 cMs minimal size block.

o  My Heritage: 8 cMs shared minimum(formerly 12 cMs; revised January 2018).