A full restructuring of the DNA pages is pending, but initial steps are underway. Apologies for any oversights.

Family Tree DNA <<**

Your purchase will accrue a small percentage to the Crawford Surname Y-DNA Project, at NO COST to you. This simply sets a cookie in your browser that lasts 1 week. You won’t see any special notice. The use of the funds to help purchase future tests will be determined together by the main project volunteer administrators, following criteria approved by the Clan Crawford Association’s Executive Committee, and there will be a periodic review to ensure proper use of the funds.⁽¹⁾

FTDNA Sales: No sales at present.

Typically, the best sales for Y-DNA testing are around Father’s Day (US), during their summer sale (usually the month of August), or during their sales that start in early/mid November and end in early January. The November sale often ends and almost immediately starts into the Winter sale, which runs through the end of the year. There is often a brief Black Friday sale (day after US Thanksgiving), as well.

… We shall see…

As always, if you’re considering a test:

Click the Crawford Project’s “affiliate link” noted above.
If you are getting the “Big Y” test for a Crawford, the Crawford Project will happily cover $50 of the cost using credits already earned thanks to (1) above & donations… Contact me for logistics (see below).
If you’re a prospective new Crawford Y-DNA tester, and you’re in Scotland or Northern Ireland, or have genealogy that solidly documents your Crawford roots there, you may qualify for an additional discount on a new Y-DNA37 (or higher) test. Contact me to discuss, if interested (see below).

—Dave Nicolson, volunteer admin for the Crawford Surname Y-DNA Project

To discuss the incentives noted above, contact Dave Nicolson for further info!

To see current prices on FTDNA for these and other tests… Check here.

Specific instructions follow for testing (but note incentives above!)…:

1) NEW TESTERS:

We recommend the Y-DNA37 test (regular price via project $119 as of 1/2021) or higher (the 111 test cost more but give more power for matching and grouping in the project; upgrades can be ordered at any time). Big Y-700 is ideal, but expensive, though the cost also includes the Y-DNA111 (!!). You can get any available sales (BUT see above for additional incentives!) AND automatically join the Crawford Y-DNA project if you:

Click the link highlighted above (this one), then close that window (this just sets a browser cookie as noted, it silently benefits the Crawford Y-DNA Project).
Select your test and purchase from this page.

2) CURRENT FTDNA members:

Click the link highlighted above (this one), log into FTDNA (if you have not already done so), then close that window.
If you have not already done so, join the Crawford Surname Y-DNA Project by clicking the “JOIN” button on this page, then close that window.
Select your test and purchase from this page, noting the following:

• If you do not already have a Y-DNA test from FTDNA, please consider the Y-DNA37 (or higher, or even Big Y-700).

• If you have already taken the Y-DNA37 (or higher, especially), you should seriously consider the “Big Y-700.” This doesn’t check specific spots on the Y chromosome (like the Y-DNA37+ do), rather it completely sequences most of the usable parts of the Y chromosome, covering over 10 million locations! It includes almost all known “SNPs” (inheritable markers passed from your male line ancestors) and those never before seen in others (your line’s newer markers!). Big Y-700 prices are lower if you already have Y-STRs tested (e.g., Y-DNA111 or Y-DNA67) since it also includes an upgrade to Y-DNA111 test level. We recognize this test is not cheap, but it can give us a much more reliable view of how you are related to other testers. And note that the regular price dropped significantly in 1/2020.

• If Big Y-700 is simply not an option due to price, please do consider an upgrade to your Y STR test (anything below Y37 should be upgraded to at least that level, and everyone can think about upgrading from any level to Y111, if it is feasible), and consider some targeted SNP testing (please ask for guidance, don’t do this blindly!).

DNA TRANSFERS (autosomal, not Y-DNA):

For those who have been tested by Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, or a couple other laboratories, your DNA results can often be transferred to Family Tree DNA (where they will end up as a “Family Finder” autosomal test) for a minimal or no cost. This will put you into the FTDNA database and allow you to join the Crawford surname project. We will then be able to assist you in finding connections to existing lineages and Y-DNA matches (if you purchase a Y-DNA test).

ALSO, some of these tests include (but may or may not tell you) some limited Y-DNA SNPs that can be valuable to at least place your Y-DNA haplogroup at a basic level. This can inform your further Y-DNA testing choices. 23andMe explicitly reports your Y-DNA haplogroup at a coarse level (e.g., I-Z140, R-M417, etc.). AncestryDNA includes a fairly small number of Y SNPs in their autosomal test (e.g., R-L20, I-Z140, etc.), but they don’t report it; but you can download your raw data and determine the Y-SNPs they tested using a free tool from the genetic genealogy community here (use option #2 at the bottom, and upload your raw data file, the Y-DNA info will be in the first line of the results). Contact the Crawford DNA lead, Dave Nicolson, if you need help, and to report your Y-DNA SNPs. This is valuable information for the project!

(1) – Although the CCA fully supports the goals of the Crawford Y-DNA Project at FTDNA, it has no direct control over how the funds deposited into the Project’s General Fund (held by FTDNA) are spent. However, the CCA will maintain oversight of the use of that General Fund, to ensure there is no abuse or misuse of the funds generated by the purchase of DNA test kits by CCA members, or non-CCA members that would discredit the CCA, its membership, the Project or its volunteer administrators. Please see the August 2017 CCA Newsletter for further information about this arrangement.