Hi! I am a Johnson, Pulaski, Massac, and Pope County researcher working on the names WARD, HAZEL, MORSE, LEDBETTER, HILL, EDWARDS, BEGGS, MC GEE, COPLAND / COPELAND, STEVENSON / STEPHENSON and MORROW in those counties. In addition, I am the y-DNA administrator or co-administrator for the following surname groups: MORSE-2, WARD, HAZEL, and CONN, so I think I can answer your questions. In addition, you can visit the FTDNA site at: http://www.familytreedna.com/description.html In simple terms y-DNA is passed only from father to son, father to son, father to son, and so on. Males in our test groups take the y-DNA test by swabbing the inside of their cheek and sending the sample back to the lab. After 6 weeks the sample's markers are released. These markers are useless when examined by themselves. The value is in comparing them to other men of the same surname who have taken the y-DNA test. Their test results would match any other male of the same surname with whom you share a common male ancestor. For example, if you have reached a dead end in your research like I have (I'm back to Jonathan WARD who married in Barren County, KY 1804, Rosie McGEE - their family later lived between Karnak and Grand Chain), I hope to find a participant whose y-DNA matches that of my WARD cousin. (Because I am female, I do not have y-DNA so I asked my WARD first cousin to represent me.) Once I find someone whose y-DNA matches my cousin's, I will compare paper t! rails with him to see where our common ancestor is. I am guessing it would lead me to Virginia and/or Ireland. As group administrator or co-administrator for 4 y-DNA groups, I have seen amazing genealogical discoveries because of this new tool. Not only does y-DNA show you who IS related, it also shows you who is NOT related. Sometimes the supposed negative results can be very revealing, as they show you where NOT to look for your ancestor. For example, if I thought my Jonathan WARD was related to John Doe WARD and there were valid y-DNA participants to represent both lines and their y-DNA markers did not match, then I would know I should not waste time looking at the genealogical background of John Doe WARD. Some men will match 37 out of 37 markers, but you can still be related if you don't match at all 37 markers. Mutations occur over a period of time, some in fast-moving markers (those shown in red numbers) and some in slow moving markers. The ones in red are more likely to mutate at a faster rate, so less "weight" is placed on their match. FTDNA has charts that show the likelihood of relatedness within a given number of generations based on the number of markers that match, and if they are fast or slow moving. The administrator of any of the surname groups would be your guide, plus the folks at FTDNA are very accommodating and I have always found them to answer e-mails within 24 hours. Of course, extra-marital events and adoption through the centuries will cause a certain number of markers to not be representative of a particular surname. Somewhere on FTDNA's page they address this issue and its percent of occurrence. One way to get around this is to test as many living male representatives from a particular ancestor as possible. This worked in the MORSE-2 test. Ebenezer MORSE was born about 1746 in Virginia and had many sons. (Many of his descendents were in the Johnson / Massac County area as early as 1823.) We found decendents from as many of his sons as possible and had them tested. They all matched, meaning that those participants were proven to be: A.) on the correct paper trail. B.) decendents of Ebenezer Morse without adoption or extra-marital events involved. This is as good as actually checking the y-DNA of Ebenezer Morse by digging up his grave in order to sample his y-DNA! Further, this groups' markers match those of descendents of a 1600s Morse in New Hampshire. Now we know we need to look for a link between the Virginia and New Hampshire lines, which hopefully will lead us the the father of Ebenezer Morse, b1746. Don't want to bore you with the history of another line, but thought the illustration might help. Matching y-DNA can obviously be a useful tool as well in tracing ancestry when an extra-marital event or adoption has occurred somewhere along the line. If y-DNA matches and the individuals tested can see that their ancestors lived in the same place in the same time period, it can be a tremendous lead. Yes, FTDNA will put you in touch with anyone who has matching y-DNA. They are the largest genealogy-based DNA group. Their home page gives the number of participants as well as the surnames they represent. There is a space where you can enter the surname you are working on and it will show if a group has been started for that surname. There is the occassional person who requests that their markers not be shared. FTDNA honors those requests. However, I want to stress that this kind of testing is useless for genealogical purposes unless the markers are shared. Each participant makes that choice when they fill out the FTDNA registration that accompanies each test kit. The television shows to which you refer are not genealogy based, but rather anthropology based. I have participated in some of these studies through an LDS DNA group that passed through Chicago several years ago. FTDNA can do anthropological testing too, but for genealogical purposes, most of us are trying to go back 300 years, not 3,000 years - not yet, anyway. As time goes on, scientists will learn more about y-DNA and the samples will be able to tell us more and more. They keep the samples in the lab so they can be used for testing down the road. So, for example, you could have an elderly grandfather y-DNA tested now and his samples would be available for testing 10 years from now even if he has passed on by that time. By the way, I have no financial interest in FTDNA. I'm just a volunteer trying to help other researchers and myself make some progress on stalled lines. Please let me know if I can help further. Sincerely, Debbie Ward McArdle WARD & CONN y-DNA Group Administrator HAZEL & MORSE-2 y-DNA Co-Administrator ----- Original Message ----- From: Bbfritch@aol.com To: ILJOHNSO-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 6:24 AM Subject: [ILJOHNSO] DNA What does the DNA testing do for you? Do, at least some of the test sites, give you names of people you’re related to? I read about a man finding people in Europe to whom he was related. A while back I went to the genealogy DNA testing site and didn't get the answers. I saw a TV show where Natl Geo. and IBM are doing DNA testing and you can see which group of the ancient ancestors are related to you. Then there’s the mitochondrial and male aspects. Also another TV show about chimera – people having two DNA’s! I’m all confused about it. Do you know of a site that explains it all? Or maybe someone who has had it done can tell me?? I have free phone calls on weekends if it's too lengthy to type. Betty ==== ILJOHNSO Mailing List ==== Do not send Virus warnings to this list. "Problems with Johnson Co IL Mail List email Tim Casey" timcasey1@verizon.net