Quote Originally Posted by gilmore View Post
No longer. In the last 5-7 years genetic genealogy has come into its own. By testing a man's Y DNA, which we inherit from our fathers, one can determine one's patrilineal ancestry quite well. Go to www.familytreedna.com and take a look at their FAQ. It's often a very helpful adjunct to traditional genealogical methodology. And often more reliable. A paper trail may contain misrepresentations based on wishful ancestry, but DNA doesn't.
Given that there is contributed DNA it is a wonderful advance. My brother found a distant cousin of ours using a service similar to the one you note. They had both contributed samples and, presto!, a connection. The gaps I was referring to, however, are ancestral and I don't think can yet be filled this way, can they? That is, if I am A and know for certain about ancestors B through L from a paper trail, will DNA testing produce M?