mtDNA Test
It has been interesting and good for me to take a test. As you will realise, as I’m female, it isn’t a Y-DNA test but, rather a test of my mitochondrial DNA, passed to me by my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on through aeons.
FTDNA received my request on 10 May and the kit arrived yesterday, 22 May, which is good going for the mail services involved. I fitted in the three separate scrapings of inside my cheek, each 3-4 hours apart, and the phials into which the brushes had to be put will be posted back today.
So, obviously interesting, and good for the project administrator to go through the procedure - I can say from personal experience that it is quite painless, with good detailed instructions to be read before you start.
I am really looking forward to the results. As I have two daughters, one of whom also has a daughter, it will represent their mtDNA too, and the same applies to my sisters and nieces. Really I am taking the test for two main reasons: 1. because I believe that the more people who do so the better: there are many mysteries to be solved about our early ancestors. 2. time is flying and it is way of leaving something of oneself for descendants.
I am not really expecting to find a distant relation through this means, for when I work back through the generations on paper, my maternal line has mainly just one daughter (from whom I am descended) per generation. On the other hand, hope springs eternal …
CONTACTS WANTED
I wrote a few days ago about some of my latest emails bouncing, addresses clearly out of date. Thanks for the help offered - I’m glad to say I have heard from Jan now.