Hello Everyone! Most of you I have shown a genetic match to and I was wondering if any of you had actually had any luck with the DNA testing and filling in the blanks in your genealogy research. I would love to hear from all of you. Sherry

Sherry, YES! I was stuck for over two years on my husband's Reeder line back in the early 1700's. I had him do the DNA test and sure enough he matched a Rader of VA. An older couple was the sponsors of Jacob Reeder's children's baptism in a small community in PA and the older couple was coming 30-40 miles to sponsor these baptisms. Well older people coming 30-40 miles in the early 1700's would be for a really good reason but I could not prove any relationship. So when he matched this older gentleman (age 86) who had done the DNA test thinking he would never come up with a match until long after he was dead had done the DNA test for the generations to come after him and he was in shock. He had been doing genealogy since he was 12 years old, had been to Germany and researched the family and could not find proof that Jacob Reeder was actually the son of Michael Rader and wife Barbara Moyer. But with the DNA test we were able to prove that the Reeder and Rader family was one. Everyone believed that Jacob & Michael were son and father but no written proof could be found by numerous researchers even professionals. Well the older gentlemen had published a book on his Rader family but did not add my husband's Reeder line because he could not prove in paper that the Reeder and Rader family was one. My husband connected into his family on the 9th generation. We have since held a family reunion and the older gentleman was not able to attend but his son who has taken over the genealogy was able to. We now know my husband's family line back to the early 1600's in Switzerland. My husband has now had 5 matches to Rader men. My husband is descended from the Brock, Hall, Barnes, Lansdown, Noe, Coldiron, Howe, Howard, etc. families that came through Harlan and surrounding Counties. If you have a chance to have a male in your family donate you the DNA do so before it is too late. My great uncle donated me his DNA and we have had a match. His grandmother never married until after her two sons were born. We are now trying to see who out of the match family would have been in Webster Co. KY in May 1880 because her son was born the next year. It has certainly made for a great adventure and a shock for the match family as it was my Turner great uncle and we matched a McKinlay. My brother donated me his DNA for the Stewart's of NC project and we have had two matches. We knew we would match but had no paper proof. But the first match took over 2 years to happen and it really was beginning to seem like we were from Mars. Good luck, all three DNA tests have be adventureous, exciting, and exhaberating until it finally happens. It has opened all kinds of doors before us. To do it again I would pay double to have it done. I have donated money to some of my other family lines to help pay for a distant cousin to do the test and one disproved entirely that we were not descendants of the famous Ralph Shelton and Mary Crispin line-wasn't even close. I am now thinking I will have a distant cousin donate me his DNA to be able to trace another line which is dying out and only him left. I have got to do it soon or it will be too late. Thanks and good luck, just do it! Brenda Stewart-Reeder -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.11/44 - Release Date: 7/8/2005