Anybody done one of these and had good results?
Thinking of tracing my father's lineage as his father died when he was two, and we know very little about that side of the family.

Anybody have a service they used and were happy with?

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Live from Berserkeley, California | Originally from the City of Brotherly Freakin' Love

No, sorry. I'm interested in the same thing, and would be glad to know if anyone here has tried it.

You seem to have confused two different issues in your question.

The services that do DNA analysis will tell you what your probable ethnic/geographical origin/mix is, but will not give you any details about your specific family tree.

If you want to reconstruct your family tree, this is a different matter, and I would recommend starting out with some DIY research before looking into paid researchers.

Ancestry.com offers a free trial membership (one month, I think). You can use that to search their database for census and birth/death records. The strategy is to mine information from these records working backwards step by step from what you do know into the history.

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Janit
You seem to have confused two different issues in your question.

The services that do DNA analysis will tell you what your probable ethnic/geographical origin/mix is, but will not give you any details about your specific family tree.

This is actually what I want to know.

We are unsure my grandfather's ethnicity -- some say he was a German immigrant, others "Native American".

You can see where this is confusing...

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Live from Berserkeley, California | Originally from the City of Brotherly Freakin' Love

In that case, a DNA check would be useful.

Some good records searching would probably yield some details also.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

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Seacrest

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Janit
You seem to have confused two different issues in your question.

The services that do DNA analysis will tell you what your probable ethnic/geographical origin/mix is, but will not give you any details about your specific family tree.

This is actually what I want to know.

We are unsure my grandfather's ethnicity -- some say he was a German immigrant, others "Native American".

You can see where this is confusing...

Ah...

It's still worth looking at the census records, if you have any idea where the family lived during the 10 years before your grandfather's death. Census records ought to have information about origin, ethnicity, etc. Also see what you can find from your father's birth certificate, and from your grandparents' marriage certificate. If your grandfather had any military service, it should be possible to find information from that too.

Family memory being what it is, it's always possible that your great-grandfather was the immigrant, and that your great-grandmother had Native American heritage.

DNA profiles will give you percentages and likelihoods, but not the exact history.

Guinness World Records - a father before the age of two should certainly be in there.

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