Hi Massey researchers: My MASSEY family has been researched back to Richard Massey b/c1696 VA, d/1740 VA, m/Ann Pettypool b/c1698 VA, d/1770 VA (based on research of my cousin T. L. Smith, and others). Since some of you seem to be interested in starting a MASSEY Surname DNA Project, I thought I would tell you about our HILL surname project, which we started about two or three weeks ago. We now have 23 people participating (direct male descendants of the HILL surname). At the risk of this sounding like spam, I will not mention the company we are working with, or the price, however, if anyone is interested, please contact me for that information. To get it started we needed six people to participate, in order to get a discount. Then I was selected to administer the project for our group. Those interested in participating only needed to send me their name, address, phone # and email address. I was provided an online form for ordering DNA kits and administering the project. When we got the kits, we swabbed the insides of our cheeks to collect DNA samples (bucal cells), put the tip of the swab in a container provided in the kit, and sent it in. If our DNA matches someone else, they will also notify that person, provided the proper waiver forms were filled out. As project administrator, I am responsible for reporting the results to the whole group, either by email or by setting up a website. I am currently designing web pages for a website. Numbers, not names, will always used for reporting, thus maintaining privacy. It's that simple. Our HILL List Administrator and another Hill family researcher were a tremendous help in getting this all started. We contacted descendants of the major family groups and encouraged them to participate in order to get a good cross section of DNA for our databank. One person even agreed to sponsor six people to take the test. Our test results will be completed in a few weeks. We are hoping to find matching DNA between some of the family groups, thus indicating a common ancestor... something that has yet to be proven by traditional methods. I also hope to prove who my Gr Gr Gr Grandfather Hill was. Based on years of research, I think I know who he was, but have never been able to prove it by primary sources of data. So, if my DNA matches that of a descendant of this person, I will have the proof I need, based on both my research and on the DNA results. Of course we don't know how successful this is going to be, but there are enough of us excited about it to give it a try. Who knows, maybe it will lead to some new discoveries, since many of us have run out of research alternatives. For some great sources on DNA testing, use the Google search engine and enter the words "DNA Genealogy" in the search window. You will find all kinds of information. Best wishes, E. Ray Hill [email protected] PS. If you want an idea as to how many family surnames are involved in DNA testing, check out this website: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~allpoms/genetics1a.html. It will surprise you.