Hello Everyone, I gave the lab a call a short time ago to let them know I had sent some information they requested. Afterwards, I couldn't help but ask for some details and was able to get a quick summary from them on the results. First, she said that this study was very interesting for her as it differs from any other that she's worked on. On the details she provided, it was brief and I tried to take notes as we went, but forgive me if I can't elaborate much on the meaning just yet. She was talking way over my head... Of 23 participants, she said that 5 were distinct and separate from all the others. They have identified two of what they call "ancestral types." One of which is the basis of what she referred to as the "consensus sequence," and identified that participant as the descendant of Isaiah Payne, b. 1735, of Dorchester County, Maryland. That would be me! This was really interesting as I have not found nearly as much evidence for connections with other branches from my Maryland family as I have for other branches. Still, she said that 4 or 5 other participants were "closely related" to this consensus sequence (me). This should prove very exciting as only one other participant, a descendant of Moses Payne and Elizabeth Walker (identified in our study as MP+EW-1706-01) had a known relationship to Isaiah. That leaves 3 or 4 other participants that will connect with Isaiahs line (or from Isaiah to their line as the case may be). They have identified 20 separate lineages out of our 23 participants. However, of the 18 remaining participants (less the 5 distinct participants mentioned), she indicated that we all appear to share a common ancestor. This will get narrowed down more closely in each case as they evaluate the results for the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for each participant. Some of these participants have a more recent common ancestor than others. I take that to mean a range from just prior to immigration from England in the 17th century to a more distant common ancestor at an earlier time. The final results should indicate that time period and hopefully help us to determine who these individuals had been. What does this all mean? It's hard to say before the analysis is complete, but it at least tells us that we are in for several surprises! My last question was how long we'd have to sit on these pins and needles waiting for the final results. She thought another week should do it, but stressed that their goal is to provide us with the best analysis possible, so we should only use that as an estimate. It could be a bit sooner or a bit later. I thought you might want to hear these details as sketchy as they are at this point. It was enough to get me excited though! Regards, Patrick