Sandy, Thanks for your insight. This new DNA technology has created the dawn of a new era in genealogical research. It is so new that even the "experts" are still debating some of aspects of it, such as how often a mutation occurs in the y-DNA passed down through the male line. The traditional thinking was that it only occurs randomly about every 500 generations, but they have recently found that it varies in different families. Since my posting on several different forums a few days ago, I have already heard from several different sources, that DNA testing has blown away everything they thought they knew about their ancestry. Such was the case with me, 4 generations back. My mistake was in copying a census file which had 2 James R. Dukes born the same year in Muhlenberg Co KY. It turned out my gggrandfather James R Dukes was the third James R. born the same year, in an adjoining county, Ohio Co KY, although he spent his entire life, after age 17, in Muhlenberg Co. This is a good example of making a logical assumption, which turns out to be incorrect. There will be many more surprises, to many of us, in the genealogical world to come. We will have to be big enough to admit we were wrong, and swallow our pride. The DNA does not lie. PS. I haven't heard from any of the NC Duke male descendants. Does anyone know if there are some still around in the Warren, Franklin, Orange Co area? Kevin Dukes -----Original Message----- From: Sandy [mailto:teylu@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 1:46 PM To: Dukes, Kevin Cc: NCWARREN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NCWARREN-L] Duke family DNA testers wanted Kevin, At the risk of being slightly "off-topic," I wanted to say "thanks" for sharing this with all of us. I think DNA testing is likely to become far more widespread in the coming years, and may well refute much of what many of us "think we know." Indeed, when it comes to compilations and narratives of an historical nature, (including genealogy), what we have is not so much what we "know" as what we "think" we know. ;-) "Why" we think we know it is critically important. We "think we know" based upon a variety of evidence which we must record in the event contradictory evidence surfaces (as it inevitably will). Through documentation, we are able to re-examine the "how and why" of our previous conclusions. Perhaps more importantly, future researchers will be able to do the same. I happen to be aware that through your own documentation, you're already able to identify a likely point at which your research went down the "wrong branch," so-to-speak. By example, you've reminded us that our research is not an exact or precise science. From hereon, DNA testing may prove any or all of us wrong - but it won't tell us where we *went* wrong. Only our own meticulous documentation and continued questioning will enable us - or those who follow - to identify where errors likely occurred and to "get it right." Best of luck as you continue your research. Please keep us posted. -Sandy On Tuesday, March 9, 2004, at 05:21 PM, Dukes, Kevin wrote: > There is some new DNA technology available for genealogical research. I > recently had my DNA tested and the results show that I am not related to > the Col.Henry- Capt.Henry- William Duke-Samuel Duke family from NC that > spread throughout the South. > This is in conflict with the book I wrote on my family > history, and takes me back to square one, where I was at 3 years ago > regarding my family history. <snip>