Hi Piggott researchers I have read the very informative notes from John Laws but there is one thing I do not understand. D N A is a fairly recent discovery so how can you know that you are on the same or similar numbers as your ancestors from say the early 18 th century. D N A info was certainly not available then. Regards Dennis

Hi Dennis, You are right, DNA testing is a new tool. In fact, it is so new that it has been changing in just the last few months. But the DNA has always been there, just not the ability to test it. We just are figuring out how to use it for genealogical purposes. For your question about the 18th century, in my KNIGHT family example, I found a 'cousin' that I did not know that paper trails back to the same Richard KNIGHT born aft. 1700 in Surry County, VA. Actually, Richard's son is our last common ancestor. Both lines are 'confirmed' as our DNA matches, even though he is our gggg grandfather. If we didn't match, one of us would have had a NPE (non-parental event). One thing DNA testing is uncovering is a rate of about one in eight births involve a NPE. Some families have more and some less. So you may find your paper trail to be wrong. But your Y-DNA isn't. It was passed down from father to son, generation to generation whether they were the husband or not. The good news is that if there is a parental question, you can use the DNA to try and match to others and try and find the missing person. For my Quaker PIGGOTT line going back to PA/Maryland in the 1600's, I hope to find two or three descendants to test. If two descendants are found that meet well back on paper and their DNA matches, then it is the match. If they don't, then try a third person and see if two of them match. What I would then really hope for, is a match from Europe! I have LAWS family traced back to near Ely (Littleport), Cambridgeshire and keep seeing the PIGGOTT name on censuses, etc. and wonder. What would it mean to you to know that the bloodline of your PIGGOTT's are living in a specific area of England? John Laws DENNIS SMITH wrote: > Hi Piggott researchers > I have read the very informative notes from John Laws but there is one thing I do not understand. D N A is a fairly recent discovery so how can you know that you are on the same or similar numbers as your ancestors from say the early 18 th century. D N A info was certainly not available then. > Regards Dennis >