Hi ALL, We have previously discussed the possibility of dna genealogy, referring to, and posting articles suggesting a future capability for, dna testing to determine family connections. Well, it can now be argued that the future has arrived. Ancestry.com has now put together a dna home testing kit, at a cost of about $200, for which a person can apparently be tested (by a cotton swab in the mouth) and by which your dna fingerprint will be reported to you, and perhaps a bit more, as you can see by the short blurb below: you will also be informed of exact matches or near matches with other samples in the database and have access to future database matches and web features for the next 12 months. While it isnt totally clear, I gather that dna results, in addition to being reported to you, will also be used to compare to others. If anyone is planning to take advantage of this service, please contact me so we can plan to report (anonymously if you wish - I will tell no one w/o approval from you), on the information gathered, benefits, problems, potential, etc. Specific dna testing for Virginia Dare & Pocahontas While this is addressed to all my hosted Lists, and to others to which I belong, Im sure it is no secret to many of you that I host Dare-L and Pocahontas-L. One of the possible theories that has been advanced over the past 400+ years is that this countrys first anglo citizen Virginia Dare, daughter of Ananias Dare md Eleanor White, d/o Expedition leader John White, could possibly been taken and raised by a NA (Native American) tribe, and, under unusual but possible circumstances, have been the mother of Pocahontas. It is relatively clear that we have a number of Dares w/quite early ancestors that belong to our Dare-L List, and also many Poca-L members that believe they are related to the known descendants of Poca, with strong supporting evidence, as can be viewed in the Archives of our Lists, where you can OneClick join and browse & search the Archives: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/surname/d/dare.html http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Native/POCAHONTAS.html While it would be somewhat preferable to have a sample of the actual dna of Pocahontas for testing, it is almost as, perhaps even equally as, effective to have the samples of known descendants of her descendants. At the level of todays science, as I understand it, if samples of dna, as could apparently be tested by a kit such as this one, were taken from true descendants of Va Dare & of Poca, it would be 99+% proof whether Va was (or was not) Pocas mother (or possibly otherwise related, or not related, depending on the results). It is known that Poca was buried in GravesEnd church in the London area, although there is also evidence that her and others graves were moved to allow expansion of the church. At one point, it was reported that Wayne Newton was negotiating/ discussing w/UK governmental officials for recovery to the US of one of its initial heroes/heroines, although I have heard nothing new about this - if anyone has, please advise. There is a potential coalescing event, the Jamestown 400th anniversary, set for big time celebration in 2007. Any good news from our efforts could be of interest to attendees at this event, which itself could also be beneficial to efforts to repatriate Poca. Let us know what you think, and please let me know (private unless you say otherwise) if you are thinking about such testing, and particularly if you have undergone such testing). Best, Barry Wetherington List Host Pocahontas-L, Dare-L, and others La Jolla California cbarrywether@hotmail.com Ancestry.com http://shops.ancestry.com/product.asp?productid=2637 "GenetiKit Genealogy Paternal Ancestry Signature (Y-Chromosome haplotype) Item #2637 Sale Price: $197.95 Retail Price:$219.95 [also avail other dna kits, useful by either sex. bw 2/9/02] GenetiKit Genealogy Paternal Ancestry Signature The Surname test analyzes the DNA on your Y-chromosome (only males have the Y-chromosome) and reveals your Paternal Ancestry Signature that was inherited from your father who inherited it from his father, etc. (your Surname line). Your signature is formatted into 23 numbers associated with the 23 markers (the highest resolution commercial Y-chromosome test in the world!). This test is collected by using Ancestry's GenetiKit. The GenetiKit is a home collection kit that comes with a swab to painlessly and easily collect a sample of cells from the inside of your cheek, which is then returned to the laboratory where DNA testing is completed within a few weeks. When you receive your Paternal Ancestry Signature, you will also be informed of exact matches or near matches with other samples in the database and have access to future database matches and web features for the next 12 months." D:\Data\DatFmMic\PERSONAL\GENEALGY\RESEARCH\DNA\HomeKit.wpd 2/9/02 _________________________________________________________________ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com