BOWES ONE-NAME STUDY

The question is how many Y chromosome markers you want to order up front to establish your lineage's haplotype and depending on your interests. Your options will be:

$99 for 12 markers,

$124 for 25 markers,

$149 for 37 markers, or

$238 for 67 markers.

For Finding and Comparing Matches within a Genealogical Timeframe (Since Surnames Came into Use)

The cheapest way to start is to order just 12 markers for $99. This is a simple way to find out if you currently have any matches in the project. You can always order additional markers as your results come in and you get an idea of what might be useful. (The company will use your previously submitted sample.) But there are trade-offs to not ordering more markers from start: 1) it will cost more in the long run to order additional markers later, and 2) you will have a longer wait to get the additional information (the first test results take about 3 to 5 weeks to come in, so if you determine that you want additional markers you will be extending that wait to get the additional desired information). We have had participants join at each of the different marker levels, sometimes needing to upgrade and sometimes not, so you should do what feels best under your own circumstances.

If you domatch one or more of our project participants right away: Most who start with 12 markers and have match(es) from the get-go want to order additional markers to clarify the match(es). Ordering additional markers to compare with your matches helps to determine how long ago your common ancestor with those matches lived. Testing as many markers as possible will give you the best information for estimating when you're common ancestor with those match(es) lived. Ideally, to compare matches you will test all 67 or 111 markers, up to as many as your match will also order. But if you start with 12 markers and later determine you need to upgrade to clarify matches, it will cost you an additional $50 compared with ordering all 67 up front (the upgrade price for 12-67 is $189). For this reason, some people choose to order all 67 from the get-go. 

If you do not match one or more of our project participants right away: If you start with 12 markers and have no matches initially, your markers will establish a new subgroup and you won't have to order additional markers for the time being. You will have saved $50 for now. When a new match to you joins the project you will get an e-mail informing you that you have a match and that participant will join your subgroup. Once you have a match, you would want to order the remaining markers at that time to determine when the common ancestor between you and your match lived.

You can get the idea of this on our Y chromosome results page (opening in new window)

The exception of non--paternal matches: Sometimes, whether a participant matches others sharing his surname or not, he can have additional matches to other surnames within a genealogical timeframe. When this occurs there was a “non-paternal event” wherein a son sired by one man was raised by and adopted the surname of another, thus the surname and Y-chromosome don't match. This was not unusual through history, although only a small minority of people in the FTDNA database have discovered this to be true about their past. When such an event occurs, it can be tricky to figure out which of the participants adopted into the other surname line. A subgroup with multiple surnames within a genealogical timeframe can begin to narrow this down as more people match it and through documentary research. If you want to capture any such matches with your first test, then I would recommend at least the 37 marker test. Matches with a different surname at 37 markers indicate a common ancestor within a genealogical timeframe. Matches with a different surname at 25 markers could have a common ancestor before surnames came into use; i.e., they share the same haplogroup and/or subclade….

For Exploring Your Early Pre-Genealogical Roots–Your Haplogroup and Subclade

Some participants are solely interested in finding genetic matches within a genealogical timeframe. Others are also interested in exploring where their patrilineal ancestors may have lived and migrated even before the times surnames came into use. The $99, 12-marker test will be enough to determine your haplogroup, that large evolutionary branch on the human tree that your patrilineal ancestors traveled over many centuries since leaving Africa. Depending on your haplogroup, those 12 markers may be enough to determine which sub-branch of your haplogroup you belong to, further refining the evolutionary path your patrilineal ancestors took. Often though, you could either need all 67 markers and/or what's called a subclade test to refine that information. The cost of a subclade test depends on your particular haplogroup. Here again, you'll save $50 by ordering all 67 markers upfront, but it still may be beneficial to order a subclade test later.