Through the National Geographic, its pretty cheap to find out your
geographical roots through your DNA. I am going to do it. I wish my
dad was still alive so I can submit his DNA but he is dead and he was
cremated so no such luck there. I am thinking of asking my cousins if
they would. However, there is no Cuzners to ask in my family. As far
as I know no immediate family.

Renee

Tracing Your Ancestry Through DNA
Popularized in recent years by its use in high-profile criminal
investigations and paternity cases, DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is
most commonly used to prove a relationship to an individual. New
tests created in recent years, however, have also turned DNA into a
popular tool for determining ancestry. As DNA is passed down from one
generation to the next, some parts remain almost unchanged, while
other parts change greatly. This creates an unbreakable link between
generations and it can be of great help in reconstructing our family
histories.
While it can't provide you with your entire family tree or tell you
who your ancestors are, DNA testing can:

Determine if two people are related
Determine if two people descend from the same ancestor
Find out if you are related to others with the same surname
Prove or disprove your family tree research
Provide clues about your ethnic origin
DNA tests have been around for many years, but it is only recently
that the cost of genetic testing has finally come down into the realm
of possibility for the average individual interested in tracing their
roots. Home DNA test kits can be ordered through the mail or over the
Internet at a cost of less than $300 per test and usually come with a
swab or mouthwash to easily collect a sample of cells from the inside
of your mouth. You send back the sample through the mail and within a
month or two you receive the results - a series of numbers that
represent key chemical "markers" within your DNA. These numbers can
then be compared to results from other individuals to help you
determine your ancestry.

There are two basic types of DNA tests available for genealogical
testing:

mtDNA Tests - Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is contained in the cytoplasm
of the cell, rather than the nucleus. This type of DNA is passed by a
mother to both male and female offspring without any mixing, so your
mtDNA is the same as your mother's mtDNA, which is the same as her
mother's mtDNA. mtDNA changes very slowly so it cannot determine
close relationships as well as it can determine general relatedness.
If two people have an exact match in their mtDNA, then there is a
very good chance they share a common maternal ancestor, but it is
hard to determine if this is a recent ancestor or one who lived
hundreds of years ago. It is important to keep in mind with this test
that a male's mtDNA comes only from his mother and is not passed on
to his offspring.
Example: The DNA tests that identified the bodies of the Romanovs,
the Russian imperial family, utilized mtDNA from a sample provided by
Prince Philip, who shares the same maternal line from Queen Victoria.


Y Line Tests - More recently, the Y chromosome in the nuclear DNA is
being used to establish family ties. The Y chromosomal DNA test
(usually referred to as Y DNA or Y-Line DNA) is only available for
males, since the Y chromosome is only passed down the male line from
father to son. Tiny chemical markers on the Y chromosome create a
distinctive pattern, known as a haplotype, that distinguishes one
male lineage from another. Shared markers can indicate relatedness
between two men, though not the exact degree of the relationship. Y
chromosome testing is most often used by individuals with the same
last name to learn if they share a common ancestor.
Example: The DNA tests supporting the probability that Thomas
Jefferson fathered the last child of Sally Hemmings were based on Y-
chromosome DNA samples from male descendants of Thomas Jefferson's
paternal uncle, since there were no surviving male descendants from
Jefferson's marriage.

Markers on both mtDNA and Y chromosome tests can also be used to
determine an individual's haplogroup, a grouping of individuals with
the same genetic characteristics. This test may provide you with
interesting information about the deep ancestral lineage of your
paternal and/or maternal lines.

What You Can and Can't Learn From DNA Testing
Since Y-chromosome DNA is found only within the all-male patrilineal
line and mtDNA only provides matches to the all-female matrilineal
line, DNA testing is only applicable to lines going back through two
of our eight great-grandparents - our father's paternal grandfather
and our mother's maternal grandmother. If you want to use DNA to
determine ancestry through any of your other six great-grandparents
you will need to convince an aunt, uncle, or cousin who descends
through an all-male or all-female line to provide a DNA sample.
Additionally, since women don't carry the Y-chromosome, their
paternal male line can only be traced through the DNA of a father or
brother.
DNA tests can be used by genealogists to:

Link specific individuals - e.g. test to see whether you and a person
you think may be a cousin descend from a common ancestor

Prove or disprove the ancestry of people sharing the same last name -
e.g. test to see if males carrying the CRISP surname are related to
each other

Map the genetic orgins of large population groups - e.g. test to see
whether you have European or African American ancestry
What is your goal?
To best use DNA testing to learn about your ancestry you should start
by narrowing down a question you are trying to answer and then select
the people to test based on the question. For example, you may wish
to know if the Tennessee CRISP families are related to the North
Carolina CRISP families. To answer this question with DNA testing,
you would then need to select several male CRISP descendants from
each of the lines and compare the results of their DNA tests. A match
would prove that the two lines descend from a common ancestor, though
would not be able to determine which ancestor. The common ancestor
could be their father, or it could be a male from over a thousand
years ago. This common ancestor can be further narrowed down by
testing additional people and/or additional markers.

Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)
When you submit a DNA sample for testing an exact match in the
results between you and another individual indicates that you share a
common ancestor somewhere back in your family tree. This ancestor is
referred to as your Most Recent Common Ancestor or MRCA. The results
on their own will not be able to indicate who this specific ancestor
is, but may be able to help you narrow it down to within a few
generations.

What can I learn from my results?
An individual's DNA test provides little information on its own. It
is not possible to take these numbers, plug them into a formula, and
find out who your ancestors are. The marker numbers provided in your
DNA test results only begin to take on genealogical significance when
you compare your results with other people and population studies. If
you don't have a group of potential relatives interested in pursuing
DNA testing with you, your only real option is to input your DNA test
results into the many DNA databases starting to spring up on the Net,
in the hopes of finding a match with someone who has already been
tested. Many DNA testing companies will also let you know if your DNA
markers are a match with other results in their database, provided
that both you and the other individual have given written permission
to release these results.

Understanding the Results of Your Y-Chromosome DNA Test (Y-Line):
Your DNA sample will be tested at a number of different data points
called loci or markers and analyzed for the number of repeats at each
of those locations. These repeats are known as STRs (Short Tandem
Repeats). These special markers are given names like DYS391 or
DYS455. Each of the numbers that you get back in your Y-chromosome
test result refers to how many times a pattern is repeated at one of
those markers. The number of repeats is referred to by geneticists as
the alleles of a marker.
What is the effect of adding more markers?
Adding additional markers increases the precision of DNA test
results, providing a greater degree of probability that a MRCA (most
recent common ancestor) can be identified within a lower number of
generations. For example, if two individuals match exactly at all
loci in a 12 marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within
the last 14 generations. If they exactly match at all loci in a 21
marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within the last 8
generations. There is a fairly dramatic improvement in going from 12
to 21 markers but, after that point, the precision starts to level
off making the expense of testing additional markers less useful.

Understanding the Results of Your Mitochondrial DNA Test (mtDNA):
Your mtDNA will be tested on a sequence of two separate regions on
your mtDNA inherited from your mother. The first region is called
Hyper-Variable Region 1 (HVR-1 or HVS-I) and sequences 470
nucleotides (positions 16100 through 16569). The second region is
called Hyper-Variable Region 2 (HVR-2 or HVS-II) and sequences 290
nucleotides (positions 1 though 290). This DNA sequence is then
compared to a reference sequence, the Cambridge Reference Sequence,
and any differences are reported.

The two most interesting uses of mtDNA sequences are comparing your
results with others and determining your haplogroup. An exact match
between two individuals indicates that they share a common ancestor,
but because mtDNA mutates extremely slowly this common ancestor could
have lived thousands of years ago. Matches which are similar are
further classified into broad groups, known as haplogroups. A mtDNA
test will provide you with information about your specific haplogroup
which may provide information on distant family origins and ethnic
backgrounds

Organizing a DNA Surname Study
If you're like me and have spent many years corresponding and working
with fellow researchers in an attempt to prove surname connections,
it may have crossed your mind that a DNA Surname Study could help to
fill in some of the missing holes.
The best way of organizing and managing a DNA Surname Study is very
much a matter of personal preference. There are, however, several
basic goals which need to be met:

Create a Working Hypothesis - A DNA Surname Study is not likely to
provide any meaningful results unless you first determine what you
are trying to accomplish for your family surname. Your goal can be
very broad (how are all the CRISP families in the world related) or
very specific (do the CRISP families of eastern NC all descend from
William CRISP).

Choose a Testing Center - Once you've determined your goal you should
have a better idea of what type of DNA testing services you will
require. Several DNA Laboratories, such as Family Tree DNA or
Relative Genetics, will also assist you with setting up and
organizing your surname study. Costs per test can also be reduced if
you get a large group to particpate at one time.
DNA Genealogy Testing Centers

Recruite Participants - If you are already working together with a
group of people on a particular surname then you may find it
relatively easy to recruit participants from the group for a DNA
Surname Study. If you have not been in touch with other researchers
of your surname, however, you will need to track down several
established lineages for your surname and obtain participants from
each of these lines. Outside of direct contact, you may wish to turn
to surname mailing lists and family organizations to promote your DNA
Surname Study. Creating a Web site with information about your DNA
Surname Study is also an excellent method for attracting
participants. As you correspond with potential participants, remember
that DNA is a very personal subject, and you will need to be prepared
to answer many questions. Education is the key to acceptance.

Manage the Project - Managing a DNA Surname Study is a big job. The
key to success is in organizing the project in an efficient manner
and keeping participants informed of progress and results. Creating
and maintaining a Web site or mailing list specifically for project
participants can be of great assistance. As mentioned above, some DNA
testing labs will also provide assistance with organizing and
managing your DNA surname project. It should go without saying, but
it is also important to honor any privacy restrictions made by your
participants.
The best way to figure out what works is to look at examples of other
DNA Surname Studies. Here are several to get you started:

Pomeroy DNA Project
Wells Family DNA Project
Walker Surname DNA Project
In conclusion, it is vitally important to keep in mind that DNA
testing for the purposes of proving ancestry is NOT a substitute for
traditional family history research. Instead, it is a tool to be used
in conjunction with family history research to aid in proving or
disproving suspected family relationships. It is definitely an
exciting new tool to add to your genealogy toolbox! If you're
interested in more specific information on DNA testing for
genealogical purposes, including details on haplotypes, haplogroups,
and analyzing test results, then check out the resources listed at
Genetic Genealogy on the Web.