What DO you get someone for Father’s Day during a pandemic?

Perhaps a nice gift that arrives in the mail and that keeps on giving.

A DNA test is a perfect gift and has a wonderful story to tell.

Males carry the Y chromosome that provides genealogical information directly about their paternal, or surname line. Y DNA information is unique and can answer many different genealogy questions.

• Do you match other men with the same surname?

You can easily see who you match by looking at your matches – along with their earliest known ancestor.

• Do you match the ancestral line you think you descend from, or a different one?

Is your genealogy accurate? You can confirm descent from a common ancestor easily using matches and surname projects.

• Where did your ancestral line come from?

By entering the location of your earliest known ancestor, your matches can see where your ancestor is from – and vice versa. Where your matches ancestors’ are from may provide hints, or confirmation, as to where your ancestors are from.

• Can you jump the pond?

If you match someone by the same surname from overseas, the location of your matches ancestors may be the location of your ancestors too. I’ve found several ancestors using this methodology that I could never have found otherwise.

• Do you match a specific group of men who form a clan?

For Scottish clans, you can make this determination by matches and maps. For other groups, such as Native American, Jewish, African, European and Asian, your haplogroup will provide you with a book of historical knowledge.

Y DNA Plus Genealogy = Great Stories!

A wonderful gift for Dad would be a combination of DNA testing and genealogy. Everyone loves a story, especially when the story is about your own family and ancestors.

I like to weave DNA, photos and history into spellbinding stories.

Of course, DNA and genealogy is addictive, so you might want to add an autosomal DNA test, which includes matching and ethnicity for all of your ancestral lines, or mitochondrial DNA which provides information about your Dad’s matrilineal line.

Or, perhaps you can make an additive book, building chapters, adding DNA tests, and ancestors, over time.

Here’s a quick example (with DNA sale prices following.)

Happy Father’s Day!

Hi Dad, and Happy Father’s Day. I’d like to introduce you to a few people you’re going to want to get to know.

This man, William Sterling Estes, is your Dad, of course, who served in both WWI and WWII. You might have heard that he ran away and enlisted in the Army as a teenager with his brother, Joe. That’s all true. Those boys got into a mite of trouble together in boot camp, but we’ll talk about that later.

Have you ever seen a photo of your Dad in a uniform before? He’s handsome and I think he looks just like you!

This man, William George Estes, is your grandfather. He, on the other hand, never got near a uniform. His specialty was bootlegging in Harlan County, Kentucky, up on Black Mountain.

One family member told he was “mean as tiger pee.” He didn’t drive, smoked a pipe and kept bullets in his pocket at all times. One day, a bullet got mixed in with his pipe tobacco on the Greyhound bus on the way to Tazewell, Tennessee. He lit the pipe and bang. He got himself put out on the side of the road and banned from riding the bus ever again.

Tough as nails, he lived to be just shy of 99 and died in 1973 of old age.

His father, your great-grandfather, Lazarus Estes, booted William George right out of Estes Holler down in Claiborne County Tennessee for cheating on your grandmother.

Lazarus drove his team of mules and took his wagon to Knoxville once a month in the summer and fall, selling produce and bringing back supplies for the local folk. He hand-carved all the gravestones of kin in the cemetery, including his children’s and his own mother’s stone stone.

He and his wife died about 3 months apart in 1918, probably victims of the flu pandemic.

His father, your great-great-grandfather, John Y. Estes, fought for the Confederacy during the un-Civil War. Most of the family either fought for or were loyal to the Union. John was taken captive by Union forces and held as a POW. He was eventually released at Rock Island, Illinois, and walked all the way home.

However, all was not well on the home front. A few years later, he left everything, including family, behind in Tennessee, after spending a few months in the clink, and walked to Texas…and back…and then returned to Texas again.

He did this all while limping on a bum leg, using a walking stick. Some say he got shot in the knee in the war, but others say he broke his leg as a child.

I’m telling you, these Estes men are forces to be reckoned with.

His father, John R. Estes fought in the War of 1812, settling in Claiborne County, TN with his young family afterward, living to right around 100.

His father, George Estes, fought in the Revolutionary War out of Halifax County, VA, not once, not twice, but three times – and survived the terrible winter at Valley Forge to tell the story. He lived to be 98 years old. Longevity seems to run in the family.

Our family history tells us that our Estes ancestor was Abraham who arrived on the Virginia shore in 1673 from England.

Your Y DNA test results confirm that that he did sail from England. Not only that, but now we know where too!

You match an Estes gentleman who still lives near Deal, in Kent. After knowing where to look we found marriage records of our Abraham in the church records. His wife and child died before he sailed for the colonies. We found his father too.

Our ancestors in England were fishermen and mariners, trawling the waters of the English channel along the white cliffs of Dover, in the shadow of Deal Castle.

They attended St. Nicholas church in Ringwould where they are buried in the churchyard.

Our earliest known ancestor, Nicholas Ewstes was born in 1495, the same year that Columbus set sail, and died in 1533 in the quaint seaside village of Deal, with a will no less.

Where did we come from before that?

Stay tuned Dad, I’m working on it! I’ve ordered your Big Y-700 test to help answer that question!

Wouldn’t your Dad love a story like this?

Father’s Day Sale Prices

Pretty much everything is on sale for Father’s Day at Family Tree DNA.

Where will Dad’s DNA take you?

To find out, click here to upgrade or order any of the above tests, or click here to go directly to Y DNA tests.

My preference is for the Big Y-700 because it bundles all of the Y DNA products and tools. However, you can order the 37 or 111 marker test and upgrade later.

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

• FamilyTreeDNA – Y, mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing
• MyHeritage DNA – ancestry autosomal DNA only, not health
• MyHeritage DNA plus Health
• MyHeritage FREE DNA file upload – transfer your results from other vendors free
• AncestryDNA – autosomal DNA only
• 23andMe Ancestry – autosomal DNA only, no Health
• 23andMe Ancestry Plus Health
• LivingDNA

Genealogy Products and Services

• MyHeritage FREE Tree Builder – genealogy software for your computer
• MyHeritage Subscription with Free Trial
• Legacy Family Tree Webinars – genealogy and DNA classes, subscription based, some free
• Legacy Family Tree Software – genealogy software for your computer
• Charting Companion – Charts and Reports to use with your genealogy software or FamilySearch

Genealogy Research

• Legacy Tree Genealogists – professional genealogy research