It does sound like your William has an "NPE," a "non-paternal event" (i.e., a hidden adoption or illicit paternity) in his patrilineal line. But, as long as you aren't crushed by finding out you're not a BROWN, you're actually lucky. It's going to be much easier to discover your ancestry as a MAXWELL or a RAMSEY than it would be as a BROWN. Obviously, either the MAXWELL or the RAMSEY has an NPE in his lineage, too. You may be interested in the resolution of some NPE's from my projects: http://dgmweb.net/genealogy/DNA/General/NPE_Resolutions.shtml And who knows? In the end, all the MAXWELLs and RAMSEYs could turn out to be BROWNs! Good hunting, Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: brown-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of FBrown726@aol.com > Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 12:07 PM > To: brown@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [BROWN] All DNA testees > > FamilyTreeDNA is the place where my study was done in the Brown > DNA project. I did a 37 marker test and had several 25/25 and > 37/37 matches. The higher the markers tested the more Ramsey > and Maxwell people there are. I cannot locate my information to > access the site right now so cannot be more specific. Perhaps my > 2nd. great grandfather was a traveling man, who knows? His > name was William Brown which is of little help pinning him down. > Might as well be John Jones. > > Frank Brown > Kansas City >