John Alan Pennington here: I am very pleased to see the recent discussion of DNA analysis, and am especially grateful for Rod Pennington's helpful postings. It's worth noting that this discussion is occurring at the same time as other discussions on where and how various cousins are blocked in their research by failure to find documentation for a crucial relationship in their line. While DNA won't give us all the answers, it does offer the distinct possibility that many of these blocks might be removed and the entire genealogical endeavor brought to a higher level, giving us a greatly improved picture of the entire Pennington family tree. DNA analysis offers proof of descent that may take us beyond the lack of paper documentation for certain links. Take, for example, my own Family Group 4, Ephriam (1720 NC). No document has been found to link this Ephriam with a father, although it seems apparent that he descends in the line of Ephriams beginning with the Ephriam of Family Group 1 (whose parentage is unknown). Now, if several cousins had analysis of their DNA made, including a cousin with documented descent from the Ephriam of Family Group 1 and one from Family Group 4 (as well as documented descendants from other family groups known to have lived in the same area), we may find they share a common ancestor even though no paper document is ever found. That is, if the known descendant of Family Group 1 is shown to have the same paternal ancestor as a proven descendant of Family Group 4, we can conclude that Family Group 4 is part of Family Group 1 regardless of the lack of paper documentation. It is easy to see that DNA analysis is a very powerful tool that may allow us to resolve many complications. If DNA of several present day English Pennington cousins with proven but different lines of descent were made, we may be able to connect Ephriam and other New World Penningtons with specific ancestors and therefore extend the lines of descent by hundreds of years. DNA analysis is a genealogical tool of unprecedented power. And it is already relatively inexpensive, costing about $225 per blood analysis. In my opinion it is exactly the sort of thing the PRA as an organization ought to utilize in a formal way. We have only to begin. JP