We now have 17 participants in our Bowles DNA Project. We have results back for many of them, and are seeing some interesting matches. But for our project is to truly be a productive source for information about our Bowles ancestors, we need many more folks to join in. If you have thought about joining us, now is a good time to order your kit. You can order your kit by going to this webpage: [http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=W26816&special=true]. I recommend that you order the Y-DNA 25 marker kit. Remember that to use the Y-DNA test, you (or the person being tested) must be a male Bowles descendent (a male Bowles, who is a son of a male Bowles, etc.). If you haven't visited our website at [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/bowlesdna.html] I urge you to go there and see what lines are presently being tested. If you don't see a line that you think might match yours, don't let that stop you. By adding your line to our project you create the possibility of others also joining who do match with you. The question has also risen: "Someone from my known line has already tested, do I need to test too?" The answer is complicated. However, it is always better for two or more from each known line to test to insure that minor mutations have not crept into the results. There is also the possibility that someone who believes himself to be a Bowles male descendent may find that through adoption or other events his actual line is not Bowles. We may not like to consider this possibility, but having more than one (or even two) to test in a particular line can insure that we are on the right track. We have found that the getting the results back after we return the kits usually takes 8 to 10 weeks or more, depending on the quality of the sample being tested. For this reason, it is important that we have as many testing as soon as possible as we can. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Charlie Hartley Bowles DNA Project Administrator [mailto:hartley@iglou.com]