Some clarification about the DavenportDNA project. First I believe the confusion is due to a typo in Teri's original message -"I am in way affiliated with the Davenport DNA project.". I believe it was supposed to be "I am in no way". Teri has a link to the DavenportDNA project and I appreciate that. We also have links in a few other Davenport websites. One of the ways to attract viewers to a website is to have others link to it. Search engines, (such as google), use a number of formulas to determine the order a website will appear in a search listing. One is by the number of other sites that link to it. If you do a search on google for "davenport dna" you will notice DavenportDNA will be at the top - but you will also notice a few other sites that link to it are also listed. We all help each other this way. ---------- The Y-DNA test we use can tell us if two people have a common ancestor. If the two individuals have the same surname (Davenport or Devenport) and the test have a pretty close match (23, 24, or 25 out of 25) - then there is a good chance they have a common ancestor. But we don't know when. That's where genealogical research kicks in. Find out if the two families ever lived in the same area at the same time. The DNA test can also tell us if two individuals are not related. The Y-DNA is passed down from father to son virtually unchanged for generations. So If they shared a common ancestor 400 years ago - it is likely they would still have a 24/25 or 25/25 match. If they have anything less than a 23/25 match then it is unlikely they have a common ancestor - at least in the normal genealogy context - the last several hundred to over 1000 years ago. At the moment our results show we have Davenport lines that are not related: The Thomas of Dorchester and Albemarle lines are close enough to believe they had a common ancestor. We also have an individual Davenport with unknown ancestry that probably belongs in this group. The Pamunkey, Newberry, and Humphrey lines all seem to be unrelated. They are not even close to each other. We also have several individuals that don't fit in with the tested lines so far. Some are uncertain if they are Davenports. Several more results should be coming in any day now including a Rev. John (New Haven). So they may still find a Davenport connection. --------- The DNA project is still young and ongoing. As more lines, and branches of those lines, are tested we should be able to get a better idea of what is happening. If anything it should give us additional clues where to look. Bill Davenport [email protected] Davenport Surname DNA Project Administrator