Thursday, May 26, 2011

My Family Finder DNA Kit was Received at ftDNA


I guess the Post Office finally decided to deliver my kit to ftDNA afterall! I got an email yesterday saying that ftDNA had received my DNA kit and results are pending. Expected date of results being posted is July 20, 2011. I can't wait! 

Here's the email I got from ftDNA yesterday telling me my kit had been received: 

From: "noreply@familytreedna.com"

To: grs3275 at yahoo dot com
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:01 PM
Subject: FTDNA Kit Received

Your Family Tree DNA test kit xxxxxx for Ginger R Smith was received today.

You may follow the progress of your test by logging in to your myFTDNA account through our home page, http://www.familytreedna.com, with your kit xxxxxx and password xxxxxx. We recommend recording your kit number and password in a safe place, or keeping this email. You will also be sent additional notices as your test results are posted.

Our help pages have the answers to questions about the DNA testing process and test results.
http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/default.aspx

You may also join the Family Tree DNA community in our forums.
http://forums.familytreedna.com

Follow the link below to access your myFTDNA account.
Your Kit Number is xxxxxx
http://www.familytreedna.com/login.aspx

Thank you for testing at Family Tree DNA,
Family Tree DNA
http://www.FamilyTreeDNA.com
"History Unearthed Daily"
~~~
Visit our Facebook page at http://www.tinyurl.com/ftdna-fb and join by clicking "Like"
The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG):
ISOGG is dedicated to promoting the use of genetics for genealogy. To learn more, visit the ISOGG website at http://www.isogg.org or contact isogg@msn.com.

I then logged in to my newly created account and entered the surnames of my 16 2nd great-grandparents. 





This will enable my matches to identify common surnames between us. The Family Finder test is designed to match you up with 5th cousins but the FAQs say it also allows matching back 5 generations. So I'm a bit confused by this. 5th cousins share the same set of 4th great-grandparents. But 5 generations back share the same 2nd great-grandparents. Either way, so far I added all 16 of my 2nd great-grandparents' surnames. It's a start! 


I can't wait to start seeing my matches!!! This will be a fun summer project :-) Happy Dance!
Posted by Ginger Smith at 1:44 PM
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6 comments:

  1. Amy Coffin, MLISMay 26, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Thank you for the heads up on the delay. I think the backlog may be lifted, as I received confirmation for three outstanding test kits this week. Now the waiting game begins...

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferMay 26, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    How exciting!! I really want to get mine done. I'm looking forward to seeing what matches you might find!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ginger SmithMay 26, 2011 at 11:29 PM

    Hi Amy, yeah, I got confirmation on a cousin's 37 Y test back too, but only 25 markers posted. Kind of bummed because there was a um..."mutation" on one marker. Silly me had told her that her Father's DNA would be a perfect match to my grandfather's. Oops!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ginger SmithMay 26, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Jennifer, I'm really excited. I can't wait. Results aren't due back until 7/20/11 but I'm sure they will come back sooner. I can't believe how popular this Family Finder test has become and how many people are doing it. I would definitely wait until they have a sale though. $289 is way too high!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your Genetic GenealogistJune 1, 2011 at 2:24 AM

    Ginger, It is possible to find 5th cousins (and even further back) using Family Finder, however FTDNA usually only "advertises" 5 generations. This is because once you get past 3rd cousins, the odds of detecting a genetic relationship drop dramatically. About 90% of 3rd cousins will inherit enough DNA to be detectable by FF, but only about 50% of 4th cousins will show a match. You can see the percentages on my blog here: http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/2010/09/known-relative-studies-with-23andme.html
    However, because of the random nature of autosomal inheritance, most of us have been finding that many of our matches are further back than predicted, so to be proactive, you really need to add some more surnames to that list. :-)
    It is a real thrill when you confirm a familial relationship with a DNA match!
    Have fun with it and best of luck,
    CeCe

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ginger SmithJune 1, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    Thanks CeCe! I will be sure to add more distant surnames to my list!

    ReplyDelete

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