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Book Review: Roberta Estes's 'The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA'

Roberta J. Estes, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA: Y-DNA, Mitochondrial,

Autosomal and X-DNA. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2024. xv,

247 pages. Glossary. Black and white illustrations. 289 footnotes. ISBN

9780806321288.


In 2000, Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld founded FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), a genetic genealogy company offering three types of services (i.e., Y-DNA, mtDNA, and auDNA) and were the de facto leader in Y-DNA testing technology. The author, Roberta J. Estes, a popular genetic blogger, has written this book to help FTDNA users deal with the company’s interface, which isn’t always intuitive.





Estes has prepared 11 chapters plus a 187-item glossary with some "see references"; however, it’s missing a GD see reference, and there is no Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) entry. Most importantly, it’s missing a back-of-the-book index, which is unfortunate.


More Users Should Test Maternal Lines


After reading Chapter 4 about mitochondrial DNA, I really hope more users will test for their

mother’s line. In Chapter 7, “Ethnicity—My Origins,” the author does a good job of

identifying caveats related to ethnicity estimates, but I expected that as a scientist, she

would go further and point out that there aren’t any nationally referred articles about the

soundness of any company’s DNA methodology. Yes, she does reference their 2021

“white paper,” but it can’t be considered authoritative—because, obviously, it’s not

referred. Perhaps there are no such articles because nobody, including FTDNA, wants

to discuss in any detail their company’s proprietary work using their mathematical and/or

statistical models involved in ethnicity estimation. They all remain confidential

to the company and may contribute to “race essentialism,” meaning that biological

characteristics produce cognitive abilities, personality, or natural talents.


In summary, Estes’s book is a comprehensive resource for both novices and more

experienced researchers, although some readers may find the dense technical content

challenging at times. Overall, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA is an essential

tool for anyone serious about using FamilyTreeDNA to uncover their family history.

Estes’ expertise and clear writing style make this book a valuable addition to any

genealogist’s library.


The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA is available through Genealogical.com and Amazon.


John V. Richardson Jr., PhD is on the SCGS Board of Directors and is a volunteer FTDNA Richardson Surname Administrator.


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