Why do a DNA Test for Family History?

DNA testing has become an essential part of family history research because it gives you information that traditional methods cannot provide. It can do many things, including fill in the gaps, validate what you have already done and reveal relatives and origins that would never be found using paper records alone.

Confirm your family tree

DNA can verify whether the relationships you’ve built on paper are biologically accurate.

• Confirms parent–child and sibling relationships Verifies whether two ancestors really share a common line Helps resolve uncertain or conflicting records
• Validating you own research can be immensely satisfying

Discover unknown ancestors or break down brick walls

• If you have an ancestor with one or both parents unknown, DNA testing can identify clusters of matches that point to the missing branch then advanced tools like WATO (What Are The Odds?) and Banyan DNA help by testing hypotheses about where someone fits

Find living relatives

DNA testing can identify:

• cousins you didn’t know existed descendants of siblings who left no paper trail relatives who often  hold photos, stories, or documents you’ve never seen
• entire branches of family lost through migration, adoption, or name changes

Reveal ancestral origins

Autosomal DNA can show:

• regional ancestry (Irish, Scottish, English, Scandinavian, etc.)
• sometimes Indigenous ancestry (e.g., Aboriginal Tasmanian or Māori, if present)
• migration patterns of your genetic lines

This helps contextualize your family story beyond names and dates.

Help identify biological family in cases of adoption or misattributed parentage

If there’s a question about:

• who someone’s father was
• whether siblings are full or half
• whether a family story is true DNA provides clarity that records cannot

Remember what DNA cannot do

It’s important to know the limits:

• It won’t give you names of ancestors directly
• It won’t automatically build your family tree
• It won’t tell you exact villages or counties without matches
• It won’t replace traditional research — but it does complement it

The Hobart Branch has a DNA Interest Group which has met monthly since about 2015.  See details here:

We also provide members with resources to help newcomers decide whether DNA testing is for them (it usually is), who with and how to get started.