Using ysearch to search the ysearch database

FamilyTreeDNA has a free website called ysearch.org that can be used to search the ysearch database of persons who have had their Y-DNA tested. The ysearch database contains marker values that have been transferred from the FamilyTreeDNA database of test-values. Not all persons who are tested have their marker-values transferred to ysearch. You can use ysearch to search by last name or by genetic matches with a specific ysearch ID.

Search by Last Name

This search can be performed by anyone. You enter the last name and the regions of the world you went tested. The Results page will show the name you searched and in the Name or Variants column a link to all of the records that were found. Click the link and you will get a page with all of the records that were found. Have a little patience, because the search may take a few seconds.

The first column in your results is Compare, and that column has a check box for each record found. Click the check box for all of the records you want to keep (if you want most of the records, click Check All and then click the ones you don't want to keep). When you have selected all of the records that you want to keep, click the name of the column (Compare) which is underlined to show it is a link. Choose if you want to show comparative Y-DNA results or genetic distances. Your report will be created, and you can print it.

Search for Genetic Matches

Enter the ysearch ID of the man who will be the reference for the genetic matches. You will then be asked to enter search parameters. Keep the default that the user tested at least 8 of the markers that were tested for the reference person. Nobody tests less than 12 markers, so all people who were tested should be included in the results. You can specify a maximum for the genetic distances to be reported, or you can specify a maximum genetic distance of 1 per marker. To begin with, choose the second choice of 1 per marker. Choose how you want the last name to limit the search. Choose how you want haplogroups to limit the search, and choose the regions of the world you want included in the search. Then click the Search button.

This search can be performed by anyone who has access to a ysearch ID of a man who had his Y-DNA tested by FamilyTreeDNA. For example, women can use the ID of their husbands or of male relatives to do genetic matches with that man. Have a little patience, because the search may take a few seconds.

The first column in the results is Compare, and that column has a check box for each record found. Click the check box for all of the records you want to keep (if you want most of the records, click Check All and then click the ones you don't want to keep). When you have selected all of the records that you want to keep, click the name of the column (Compare) which is underlined to show it is a link. Select if you want to show comparative Y-DNA results or genetic distances. Your report will be created, and you can print it.

Create a New User

If you have recently had the Y-DNA of a male family member tested by FamilyTreeDNA, you can go to ysearch and click the Create a New User tab to create an account for the person who was tested. Then, you can click a field in that person's account at the FTDNA web site to have his test results (marker values) automatically sent to ysearch. When you first create the account on ysearch, you will be given a ysearch ID, and you can use that ID to perform genetic matches.

Other Tabs

There are a few other tabs in ysearch that you can explore at your leisure.

Uploading your markers to ysearch

Many of you who visit this site had your Y-DNA tested by a company other than FamilyTreeDNA. Yet, you would like to use ysearch to compare your markers with those who were tested by FamilyTreeDNA. It is possible to upload your markers to the ysearch database, and this page gives you the step-by-step procedure. I recommend that you do this to give you access to a larger reservoir of individuals who have been tested.

1. Go to ysearch.org and click the Create a New User link to create your account. This step gives you an empty account on ysearch, that is, an account with no marker-values.
2. Manually enter your Y-DNA values from the company that tested your DNA. Be careful in doing this, because the order of the values in ysearch may not be the same as the order of the values given you by the lab who tested your DNA.
3. Correct certain values as given in the correction page of ysearch. This correction is necessary, because different labs have slightly different ways of testing your DNA.
   
   NOTE: Due to a recent change made by Ancestry, do not subtract 11 from the value for the GATA-H4 marker.

You now have your marker-values uploaded to the ysearch database, and you can use ysearch to compare your values with those of persons who were tested by FamilyTreeDNA. By doing this upload, you will be able to compare your Y-DNA with a much greater range of people.

If you do upload values to ysearch, please email me at genealogy (at) welshleigh (dot) org so I can add your new ysearch ID to the Clearing House.