Langton Lineage
No need to buy a 24, 36, 43, 67, or even more, marker test
I've written this article in responce to people contacting LostLangtons asking for advice on DNA testing. Hopefully this article will answer your questions, but if not, then please get in contact and we will be happy to offer our assistance.
Several tests have become available over the years, but this article focuses on the Y chromosome tests. The reason why is that the Y Chromosome is passed from Father to Son, down the generations. So I have the same Y chromosome as my father, and the same as my grandfather, and great grandfather and so on, all the way back many many generations. In fact, a descendant of William the Conquerer, if alive today, would carry the same Y chromosome as William did back in 1066 when he invaded England from Normandy. If we had Williams Y chromosome we could compare it to people living today to see if he has any living descendants. I should stress that over the many centuries a small amount of Y chromosome mutation would have occured, and the two profiles would not match exactly, but they would still be very close, perfectly close enough to prove descent. If only we had a sample of Williams DNA.
Now, forget about William for a moment, and lets look at an example closer to our own interests. We dont have the DNA of our ancient ancestors either, so how can our DNA results be useful? Well, there are three ways in which it can be useful:
1. Your DNA Y chromosome results can be compared to other living Langtons anywhere in the world. Any which match, or are very close will be related. If its an exact match, then your common ancestor will be only a handful of generations ago, if there is a slight mismatch then that shows a small amount of mutation has crept in since your two lines split at the common ancestor, and that shows that your common ancestor was more distant. Depending on the level of mutation, your common ancestor could be 50 or even 100 generations ago.
If your results were very different from another Langton, then that would show that there is no relation, meaning that you originate from different Langton villages.
If your results are not what you expected (for example, if you believe you are a Lancashire Langton descendant but your DNA does not match other Lancashire Langtons DNA. Don't go concluding 'great great granny had an affair and I'm descended from Fred bloggs'. Send in your result. It is almost certainly genuine even if you think it isn't. We have reason to believe most counties have more than one Langton origin; your DNA will help us prove it.
Finally, if you want you list your DNA anonymously that is fine, just let us know and we wont list your name.
2. Taking point 1 further, if you are unsure of your Langton origin (which Langton village your ancestors came from and took their surname from) by matching with another Langton with the same DNA results as you, if they know their origin, or at least part of their ancestry, then this will also be yours! So, for example, my own ancestry is traced back to Newbury, Berkshire in 1679. I don't know my Langton origin yet. Stephen Langton has also had his DNA tested and given his family research, Lancashire is almost certainly his Langton origin, through the Langton barons of Lancashire who came from the Langton villages in Leicestershire.
So, if your DNA matches Stephens, then you are probably from Lancashire and before that Leicestershire - specifically the Langton villages of West and East Langton in Leicestershire (though its possible there is another Langton origin in Lancashire, through the village of Lanton - originally called Langton).
If your DNA matches mine, then you either descend through Newbury, Berkshire, or our ancestors join up in the earlier period about 1250-1679 and then go back through joint ancestors in a common line to the same Langton village.
More to the point though, as more and more of us Langtons have our DNA tested, there will be more results to compare against, each match bringing fresh shared information to that group of matches.
If your still confused, don't worry. Just get your DNA tested and we will help you with the interpretation!
3. Many DNA tests provide a haplogroup which can give a general picture of your more distant ancestry, giving an idea of which European/asian tribal group you came from. If you want to know more, google it, or send me an email and i will tell you more.
These tests only look at a very small subsection, of one specific chromosome in your DNA. You have 46 chromosomes, and 45 of these are ignored completely. It is not the same as a DNA test carried out by the police when they suspect someone of a crime. Those tells are far more detailed. Neither could your test results be used to produce clones, or any other you might see in a sci-fi film. Put simply, these DNA tests are looking at such a tiny tiny segment of your DNA that it is useless for anything other than your family history research.
Companies supplying these Y chromosome tests provide different levels of tests, the main difference being the number of markers tested. Obviously, the more markers you have tested the more the test costs. The companies who supply these tests will recommend the more expensive tests - obviously. But you don't need them. Read below for why.
Nope. Not much more useful at all. The reason is this:
Your goal is to ascertain which Langton family you originate from, as well as which Langtons you are related to, and in so doing, find out which Langton village your ancestors came from, and which family lines (living and dead) you are related to. Now, there are only a maximum of a dozen Langton surname origins (there are slightly more Langton villages in existence, but not all gave rise to a surname), and each origin will have a unique Y chromosome. The chances of them being the same, or even close to one and other, are not even worth calculating. So when you get 12 markers tested, when you compare your results you will get one of two things:
i. A very high number of matches (10-12/12) showing you are 99% certain to be related.
ii. A couple of matches (1-5/12) in which case you are not related. Its as simple as that.
If your still not sure, then bare in mind that most companies will sell you the cheaper test and allow you to upgrade for the price difference at a later date. So if you decide later that you want the other markers tested you can do that, and it shouldn't cost you more. If you can afford it and want to, then by all means get the more expensive test with more markers in it. Some companies also do special offers wherby the higher marker tests are sometimes cheaper than less markers from a rival company.
Not only can you split the cost with other relatives, but its not that expensive if you think about what you are getting, and its a one-off cost that covers all your male Langton relatives. You never need to pay to have it replaced, it wont wear out. It costs a lot more to have the brakes changed on your car, or your boiler fixed, or perhaps even a large grocery shop. So when you think about it, its fairly good value for money.
Lots of companies do. LostLangtons does not have any affiliation with any of them. But we will point you to the cheapest we have seen, and the alternative, more expensive tests. This way you can make your own, informed decision.
Genebase provide the cheapest test, for $119 + shipping for a 20 marker test. They do accept international orders. Their website: www.genebase.com
The next cheapest is from DNA Heritage, who will do a 24 marker test for $137.77. But they also have a special offer, so that if you are from the UK you can have a 43 marker test done for $129.99 (~80 pounds). This is arguably the best deal if you are in the UK. Their website: www.dnaheritage.com
We haven't used these site ourselves, but they appear to be genuine, and if paying by credit card, your credit card company covers you against any risk, and they take orders from all over the world, so it should be perfectly safe to proceed. There are other alternatives below.
www.dnatribes.com - from 139.99 dollars
www.familytreedna.com - from 169.99 dollars
www.oxfordancestors.com (this is who we had our test with) - from 180 pounds
www.igenea.com - from 299 EUROS
www.dna.ancestry.com - from 149 dollars
www.genetree.com - from 179 dollars
www.dna-worldwide.com - from 129 pounds
www.easydna.net - from 169 pounds
www.ibdna.com - from 139 pounds
No. Just one person needs to take the test. So if you are one of four brothers for example, then you could split the cost between you, but only one of you needs to do the cheek swab and send it off. This is because you all carry the exact same Y chromosome.
It must be a male who takes the test, as only men carry a Y chromosome.
If you have results already then PLEASE get in contact and share your results.
If you want to take a test but want to know more about it, then we can give you information about the tests available. We dont sell any ourselves, but we can tell you who does and which tests are best and why. PLEASE get in contact!
Click HERE for The Langton DNA Project page.