We now have a total of ELEVEN Fuller males participating in the Colonial Fullers DNA Project! The majority of participants are from southern Fuller lines, but we do have one who is from a northern Fuller line and one who is probably descended from Capt. William Fuller, Colonial Governor of Maryland. I'd like to share the following recommendations from a NSG article and Family Tree DNA's promotions for this month. In the November-December 2003 issue of the National Genealogical Society's News Magazine, pgs 34-36, is an article on DNA testing written by Anita A. Lustenberter, as it relates to genealogy. It contains a very good explanation as to what/who the DNA tests should involve. Excerpts from the article: "The most common error in a study is to compare the Y-chromosome DNA of one descendant of John Smith with that of one descendant of James Smith. If the two do not match, the conclusion is (incorrectly) drawn that John and James could not have been close kin. Good study design requires that descendants of at least two different sons of ancestor John Smith and two different sons of ancestor James Smith be analyzed before any conclusion is drawn. It is essential to obtain the DNA samples from individuals who were as far separated from each other as possible, from different sons of the earliest known ancestor." The article goes on to state "if descendants of John have the same DNA signature then that is taken to be the signature of John Smith" and the same for the descendants of James Smith. "Only then, if the signatures of John and James do not match, is it valid to conclude that John and James were not related." If you're thinking of participating in the Colonial Fullers DNA project, NOW thru Dec 31st would be the IDEAL time to participate! Because... FamilyTreeDNA has just launched a new program called the "General Fund" where people can donate funds to be used for DNA testing. As part of the launch of this program, Family Tree DNA will MATCH funds (up to $200) donated to the General Fund now thru the end of the year, but the testing must be done before 12/31. For more info, http://www.familytreedna.com/contribution.html The Fullers General Fund link is on the Colonial Fullers DNA website: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/fuller/ Please e-mail me for more info on using this feature. Family Tree DNA is also offering a special on their mtDNA tests, which can also be combined for males with the Y-DNA test: http://www.ftdna.com/mtdna_promo.asp Lastly, I'd like say "THANK YOU! to those of you who are participating, and to the female relatives who are promoting participation. ~Katherine Borges Colonial Fullers DNA Project Admin.