As off April 1, 2003, we have 11 participants in the Davenport Surname DNA Project. The results are in for seven of them. The most recent was from our first Pamunkey participant. Comparisons are made between individuals by the number of "markers" that match between the two people. A match of 25 out of 25 means they almost certainly had a common ancestor in the last couple hundred years. 24 out of 25 is still pretty good, but when the tests show less than 23 of 25 then the common ancestor may be much further back. There is also a 12 marker test which some have taken. For the Davenport surname it almost has to be an exact match. It doesn't discriminate enough so it could also match other families. Now for Pamunkey. It is between 7 to 9 markers different from the other non-Pamunkey Davenports. However, there is one 12 of 12 match of an unknown origin Davenport who thinks he is from South Carolina. In other words - the Pamunkey line does not look like it has the same ancestor as the other Davenport lines - so far. Doc has speculated this line may have a "bastard beginning". A non-Davenport "became" a Davenport sometime before Davis Davenport (the 1st). This seems to support that. But remember this project is still in the infant stage and future results from other lines could still change everything. I am in the process of comparing these results with other surnames, but this may take a while. We are still looking for more participants. For more information go to > http://www.DavenportDNA.com or email me at [email protected] Any comments? Bill Davenport Davenport Surname DNA Project Administrator [email protected]