Maurice Gleeson - Which DNA test is best for you?

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• published: 22 Apr 2015
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Many people are interested in doing a DNA test but are not sure what tests are available or what the difference is between the various tests, so this presentation will give a detailed description of the 3 main types of DNA test. It will cover what each test will tell you, and what to do once you get your results. That way you can decide for yourself which test might be best to help answer the questions you have relating to your own family tree research. The presentation will cover how the Y-DNA test can tell you about your deep ancestry, and connect you with relatives, on your direct MALE line (your father's father's father's line). I'll also discuss how Y-DNA is particularly useful for surname projects (because like the surname, the Y-DNA is passed down from father to son in a direct male line). Similarly, I'll discuss how the mitochondrial DNA test can inform you about your deep ancestry, and connect you with relatives, on your direct FEMALE line (your mother's mother's mother's line). Lastly, I will talk about the autosomal DNA test and how it can help you connect with more recent cousins (on all your ancestral lines) who share a common ancestor with you in the last 200 years or so. All of the tests will be illustrated with examples to illustrate just how powerful DNA testing can be. Dr Maurice Gleeson MB MRCPsych - Maurice is a psychiatrist, a pharmaceutical physician, & a genetic genealogist. He did his first DNA test in 2008 and since then has used DNA to good effect in his own family tree research, finding relatives in Australia whose ancestors had left Ireland in 1886, and tracing one line of his family back to the 1600's in Limerick. He is now Project Administrator for the Spearin, Farrell, and Gleason Surname Projects and runs several special interest projects, including the iCARA project, which aims to help people with Caribbean ancestry and Irish surnames find their ancestral homelands and even distant cousins living today. Maurice organises Genetic Genealogy Ireland and speaks about DNA and genealogy at international and national meetings. This lecture was presented at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2015 (Thurs 16th to Sat 18th April 2015, Birmingham, UK). Please note that these videos are copyrighted to the presenter and should only be used for personal study. They are not to be used for any other purpose without the presenters express permission. Also, please note that because this is a rapidly advancing field, the content may quickly become outdated. The lectures were sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA (at www.ftdna.com) and organised by Maurice Gleeson & Debbie Kennett on behalf of ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy at www.isogg.org).