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Interpreting Your Results |
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Once you receive your results, you can begin the process of comparing with other participants. Initially, some of your closest matches may not even share your surname. Do not get discouraged, this new tool is just taking off and the database is growing daily. We have been adding two to three Pughs every month now for about the past year. If you are a perfect match with someone already in the Pugh Project, congratulations!! Now the fun begins. On your Personal Page at FTDNA, click on the “Y-DNA Matches” tab at the middle of the page. Depending on how many markers you have tested and the selections that you have made on the “User Preferences” page, you will see various categories of matches as you scroll down the page. FTDNA offers a time predictor that will provide an estimate of the time to the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of two matching participants. Look in the right hand column for the symbol which is the FTDNA TiP Comparison icon. Click on the icon to see a table of probabilities that you connect with the matching participant within a certain number of generations. If that person has uploaded their Gedcom, there will be another icon that you can click on to view that information. You will likely have quite a few exact matches at 12 markers and most may not even share your surname. If you happen to be of the R1b ancient haplotype, the list of exact matches at 12 markers can be somewhat overwhelming. If you have tested at a greater number of markers, it may be more productive to focus your analysis on high-quality matches at 25 or 37 markers. Bear in mind that some of the individuals that you match may have only tested at 12 markers. In that case you will not have the data available to compare with your results. If you have only tested at 12 markers and find that you match other Pugh participants at all or nearly all 12 markers, you should strongly consider upgrading to a greater number of markers. In this case, the 37-marker upgrade will likely be your best option. FTDNA has prepared some tables to help guide you in the interpretation of your results. Below are links to that information. Since these links are at FTDNA, you will need to use the “back” feature on your browser to return to this site. 12 Markers 25 Markers 37 Markers 67 Markers The value of your DNA results is greatly enhanced by good paper trail research. If you are in a position to “compare notes” with a matching participant, by all means, do it!! This can be done simply by clicking on the matching participant’s email address and sending them a message. To be most effective, offer as much information on your line as possible to the matching participant. They will generally reply within a reasonable timeframe with their information. Remember that a mutation can occur at any marker at any generation. The time predictor is probability based. Even though the probability of connecting with a certain participant within the last 8 generations is 66% and within the last 12 is 90%, that does not mean that you could not connect with that individual 6 generations ago. The closer connection is less likely but still very possible. One last thing that should be considered is that there is always the possibility of a so called “non-paternity event” occurring within a line or branch. This could be the result of a formal or informal adoption or an out of wedlock situation such as a young daughter’s child being raised by her parents. The occurrence of non-paternity events is actually more common than one might expect. Particularly in the distant past, life was hard and sometimes tragically short. The value of DNA is that it can help researchers discover such situations and, with some hard work and luck, maybe even reveal a story that could not have been discovered through other means. So, the main thing to remember is to be patient. If you do not have a match immediately, it is just a matter of time. If you are fortunate enough to have a match, see what you can do to develop a plan for further research. Daniela and Jeff are always interested in helping participants define their research needs. We can post things here on our site regarding findings and “Most Wanted” participants. Your questions and comments are always welcome.
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Contact us: |
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the Pugh Surname DNA Project |
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expanding our genealogical knowledge through science |
