Some amazing things are happening right now in our family thanks to several of us taking the AncestryDNA test. We’re on the verge of solving the puzzle of our Whitford family origins (In other words, did we come from Scotland, as was long suggested, or perhaps somewhere else?) — a subject that has mystified many of us for generations!
Without a doubt, I think the Ancestry autosomal test is superior to the one by FamilyTreeDNA. FamilyTreeDNA is still the place to go for Y-DNA and mtDNA testing, no doubt, but if you want a widespread family DNA test that will check for all your grandparents and not just the ones on your direct paternal or maternal line, then AncestryDNA is the way to go. (If you haven’t already tested, here’s a special link that will give you a discount.)
Now that I’ve made my speech about that, let me just say if you do use AncestryDNA or you plan to do so, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE post your tree. Even if you only know back to your grandparents or great-grandparents. If you’re worried about the names of your living relatives (including yourself) showing up, you don’t need to be! If someone is living, Ancestry will automatically hide their information from folks when they are viewing your tree.
Here is a helpful video that will show you exactly how to link to an existing tree if you have one.
Please Note: If someone in your family already has an extensive tree, ask them if they will send you an invitation to be a Contributor to their tree and then you can link yourself to it as long as they have you in it. Make sure they have the settings on the tree so you can see living individuals, though.
If you don’t have an existing tree, just start entering in as much information as you can. If you’re not sure about certain things, don’t let that stop you from putting it in your tree — just note on speculative ancestors that they are NOT VERIFIED and that it’s just a working theory.
You never know. Someone who matches you may have the information that you’re missing.
Have ancestors from Anson County and Haywood County. Trying to verify before posting.