Bernard E. Gracy Jr. Speaks at Family History Expos
Last weekend, while at the Family History Expos, I was happy to see that at least one lecture was dedicated to DNA testing. Specifically, Ftdna and 23 and Me Compared by Bernard E. Gracy, Jr.
I have recently completed a test and have the results that I am working with and thought it would be interesting to see what I can learn about DNA testing and genealogy. The test I took was by Ancestry.com and was their autosomal test. You can read about my results here.
Bernie talked in great deal about both companies and gave his reasons for liking each company. I only wished he had taken the Ancestry test or had some knowledge of theirs as well. What I did learn has me leaning towards taking the 23 and Me test in the future. It seems that they have a very user-friendly website and I love that they are looking into medical issues that might be something to be concerned about in your future.
The one important thing that I learned is that each company that tests DNA is testing their own specific set of markers, so when you move information to other companies to compare results, you just might need to update your test as well.
The other big learning is that just like researching your family tree and leaving queries out there, you just might wait many years for someone to match your DNA. Be patient and hopefully good things will come to those who wait.
