Having come from a rather late-in-life parenting event (my father was 59, mom was 36 when I was born), I have had to drag every bit of my family history kicking and screaming from old courthouses, libraries, etc, because the people who all knew it were long gone by the time I got interested in it.

As it turns out, I also am descended on both sides from a long line of serial courthouse arsonists, as most places where my forebears stopped suffered staggering losses of vital records following (in some cases, multiple) disastrous courthouse fires.

Technology to the rescue. Last year I did an 'entry level' test at a family history site that basically tells you your 'geographic genealogy' and learned I come, DNA-wise, from Western Europe and Scandinavia (ie, the intersection of White & Bread streets).

My surname is a common Scottish one, and have had no luck getting earlier than 1850, so at Christmas, I submitted a cheek-swab sample to another vendor for a 111 marker y-DNA test.

Anyone else tried this? Successes? Failures? Other thoughts? It is a bit pricey, but the cost is coming down as more vendors enter the marketplace.