Saturday, March 5, 2016

DNA tests done!

This morning I finally got around to doing my two DNA tests that I was given as a Christmas present (pretty good Christmas present for a genie!):

  • Family Finder test (Autosomal DNA, or atDNA)
  • mtFull Sequence test (mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA)

The Family Finder test

According to the Family Tree DNA site, the Family Finder test examines autosomal DNA which is inherited by both your mother and father, your four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, etc. This test is recommended for people who are interested in finding out their ethnic makeup and can indicate the regions from the world your ancestors came from. This test can also help you to find living relatives on all of your family tree branches within the last five generations.

This test is described as an Autosomal DNA (atDNA) test:
"Autosomal DNA is DNA from one of our chromosomes located in the cell nucleus. It generally excludes the sex chromosomes. Humans have 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and a pair of sex chromosomes."
Source: https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/faq-items/autosomal-dna-atdna/

The mtFull Sequence test

According to the Family Tree DNA site, the mtFull Sequence test, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test, traces the mother's mother's mother's etc. line. It has the potential to show the direct line of your mother's ancestors, going back thousands of years. Although both men and women have mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), this type of DNA is only passed on by women.

Other types of DNA tests 

Learn more about test types: Our three types of tests (Family Tree DNA)

The company

For about a year, I to-ed and fro-ed about which company to get tested with - but in the end I chose Family Tree DNA. If I had loads and loads of money, I'd probably get tested with all of the DNA companies.


The instructions ...





The process described in a 4 minute video ...

Checking the kit number ...


The swabs






The vials


Packing up all the bits



Ready to post!


And now the waiting begins ...

Thursday, March 3, 2016

What did a convict look like in 1835? Who needs a picture when you have descriptions like these ...

On the boat that my convict ancestor arrived on in 1835, the Lady McNaughten, there were a few interesting looking characters on the ship with him. Here is a description of some of his fellow travellers ...








Source: List of male convicts on the ship, the Lady McNaughten, arrived in Sydney 30 October 1835.