…and the autosomal, and for many, the mt-DNA also.

The male line y-DNA is the genetic signature of a man’s paternal line. It is only their father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father, etc. (and all of their sons’ sons’ sons); no other ancestors, and they should all have the same family name. The mt-DNA, less useful for genealogy because the last names keep changing, traces a person’s (man’s or woman’s) mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother. Autosomal DNA goes back only several generations but it includes bits and pieces from many or most of a person’s ancestral lines.

TMI – but in a nutshell, what do you want to learn from your testing?

Ok you are a guy you want all three of these tests, (maybe wait for the mt-DNA if on a budget, unless it will answer a specific question) But if you want a man’s surname line confirmed then you must get your y-DNA tested, (or if you are a woman and you want your father’s etc y-DNA to verify your ancestry then you will have him test, or a paternal brother – or another surrogate.

You also want the autosomal test. I might call it the cousin test, it will identify some, not all cousins going back a few generations (more TMI later). If you are specifically wanting to research a male line of y-DNA (and you are not the male of that ancestral line) or if you are a woman, you would want the autosomal test for yourself and you would want the autosomal of the male that will be your surrogate tester for the y-DNA you are wanting.

For the above Knight haplogroup, my father was dead and I have no verified brothers (not yet anyway, there might be a brother out there, but that is another story). My father was an only son, my paternal grandfather was an only son.

My great grandfather had two paternal half brothers and they both have male Knight line descendants alive today. Long research short, my paternal 2nd cousin once removed was tested for both his autosomal and his y-dna. He matched me in autosomal DNA with a correct amount of genes, centiMorgans, to be a 2nd cousin once removed and we could verify he was one of my Knights. Then I could have faith that his y-DNA matched the y-DNA of my late father. And I was able to see in his y-DNA matches many other Knight and McKnight males and learned much more about the ancestry of this male Knight McKnight line. (The McKnight was a surprise)

I continue through my families and as males turn up to test, I can verify more and more of my ancestry for all my ancestral lines

The short answer about identifying any male patriarch is simple. You must have two male line descendants from two sons of any ancestor to verify, to confirm a man from history. So Thomas X had two sons. If you can find male line descendants of both of those sons of the patriarch and they both take y-DNA test and they match then you can know you have the y-DNA genetics of that ancestor. (link not monetized)

Many companies have the test for autosomal. There is one company which gives you something to compare to and work with with y-DNA; that is Family Tree DNA. This link is one of my DNA projects, anyone is welcome to join there and begin their process. If I remain able, I will try to direct you to all the places you and your results can get answers.

Join us if you like to be part of our group, getting the group discounts. My page is not monetized. I do not make anything off of the sales of the project.

https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=FrenchBroadRiverFamilies