For yDNA and mtDNA testing, you need to go to FTDNA. At this time, only FTDNA offers comprehensive, wide-ranging DNA testing that encompasses all types of DNA. And the gold standard of this testing is going to set you back much more than $99. 23andMe will give you a mt haplogroup with your atDNA test.

While the value in Ancestry DNA is the access to the family trees of your matches, it is helpful to understand that those who test have widely differing motives. Some folks just want the ethnicity prediction, and those folks may or may not understand that just as there are different testing companies, each of those companies are using different methodologies to determine ethnicity. These are the folks that are probably trying to determine if they really do have a Native American princess 3rd great grandmother and may not necessarily have a tree to share.

The private trees, in my experience, likely belong to folks that have been working on family history for decades. They are old school. They've traveled to courthouses and cemeteries and spent a great deal of money and time building their trees and are guarding their research as the investment they made and are simply unwilling to share their blood, sweat and tears. Some folks with private trees, are compiling research trees that are works in progress and are not necessarily accurate. These folks do not want to promote inaccurate or incomplete information, which has a tendency to spread like a virus from clickologist to clickologist. I have had contact with people unsure of their ancestry and are keeping their tree private while they discover their family history; however, they've shared invitations to their trees. Always reach out to private trees if you think they will help your research. Some people don't log on to Ancestry as often as others, so you may have to wait for replies, but I find that most of the folks I've contacted will reply and most will give you guest access to their tree if it is private.

There are newbies as well. They are just learning how to research and organize information. They may be focused on one particular line, and have not yet built an informative tree while they try to organize information. I've run into a lot of folks who have said, "I'm just starting out..."

Others may be focusing on one particular line, which may keep their tree small. Still others simply haven't yet found or added the information you would find valuable.

With over 2 million subscribers, the motives for being an Ancestry member can vary widely. The same an be said about those who take a DNA test. It might be helpful to remember that people take tests everyday, and your pool of matches can only grow.

If you were only interested in haplogroups and such, then unfortunately, due diligence wasn't performed before investing in the Ancestry test. If, however, you are interested in making connections to cousins far and wide, your best bet is to participate in all services an expand your pool of matches.

It is recommended that you participate in some free utilities that will aid your research. For Ancestry, the Jeff Snavely Chrome Extension is a must so you can search and download the ancestors of your matches. GenomeMate is a database utility that organizes matches across all platforms and GedMatch provides several different analyses, including a chromosome browser,

Good luck on your DNA research - don't give up on Ancestry just yet. While there are still a great deal of improvements that could be made, it is really just one tool of the many necessary to conduct comprehensive genetic genealogical research.