Ancestry.com is offering a Black Friday special on its DNA tests

Are you still searching for that fourth cousin, twice removed? The biggest problem with family trees is that they often amass as many brick walls as new branches. We all have them -- an ancestor who showed up in 1682 on a ship that originated from England or in 1871 from Norway. The problem is that, despite all of the checking that you do in those places, they simply seem to have appeared on that boat out of vapor. 

While our grandparents may have handed us down great information about the family, remember that the data is only as good as the era from which it comes. 

Look at all of the improvements the last hundred years have brought us. Better transportation to get us to libraries and archives; phones, email and messaging tools to contact others; the web to search an ever-increasing trove of data. 

But the biggest research addition, at least right now, is DNA. The genes in our body don’t lie. If we’re related, a simple test can tell. That can be good or bad, depending on the case it’s being used for. 

A large number of people have used Ancestry.com's DNA tests, resulting in an always growing amount of samples in the company’s database.

The larger the number, the better it is for all participants -- making it easier to track down relatives. And it isn’t just about finding missing cousins, it will also tell you where your ancestors came from, right down to the percentage: 46 percent Scottish, for example. (Keep in mind that those numbers are always fluctuating just a bit as additional data gets added.) 

Does that all sound interesting to you? Good news! Ancestry.com, which sells its kits for $99 all year round, is now offering a Black Friday special, allowing you to purchase one or more kits for just $59 each. Why would you want multiple? To give away, they make a good holiday gift.

You can act now by visiting Ancestry. The offer is good until November 24th.