[catfish1957]

I am a genealogy instructor, and can only comment based on my own experiences. My Ancestry matches tend to seem more consistent as far as relationship distance. Again, this is in my own case. However, as I mentioned earlier FTDNA were more pioneers in this field, and I much more trust their Ydna testing.

Have no experience on 23/Me, maybe just because of the bad press they have gotten.

[Hawthorn]

>> My Ancestry matches tend to seem more consistent as far as relationship distance <<

I don’t doubt that they are sometimes very useful. But I’ve heard a lot about Ancestry matches that just weren’t credible. The basic problem seems to be that they don’t give you a “chromosome browser” like you get from FTDNA or 23andMe. So you can’t make your own informed judgment about the relevance of any matching chromosome segments.

>> FTDNA were more pioneers in this field, and I much more trust their Ydna testing <<

Definitely. There was no such thing as DNA genealogy before FTDNA came along. They truly invented it as a hobbyist’s tool

>> Have no experience on 23/Me, maybe just because of the bad press they have gotten <<

They have been very good for genealogy until recently. But now that FDA has finally approved some of their health-related testing, there are signs that 23andMe may in effect abandon the loyal genealogists who gave them tons of business during their FDA-imposed exile from the health field. For more info, check the archives of Roberta Estes’ blog, DNAeXplained.