Jane, I agree with you about 99.9%!! I have had the FGS (full genome sequence) of my uncle's mtDNA done (which should match mine; I'm still waiting for my results), and he matches one other man's mtDNA exactly. FTDNA says this is roughly equal to a 37/37 Y-DNA match and we should be able to find our common ancestor. We DON'T have common mutations for this haplogroup. The other man and I have been in correspondence, and we are both stuck in our research around the same time/same place....so probably we connect within a generation or two in there someplace....we just need more research to find our link. However, I would say until many more people do the complete FGS for their mtDNA, it is useless for genealogical purposes. However, like you, I find it fascinating to know more about my ancient ancestors from this test. By the way, if your direct MATERNAL line is Quaker, you are also welcome to join the British Quaker project. We have quite a few mtDNA results posted there, but ! of course the surname on there are useless since they change each generation. I'm hoping to improve the mtDNA part of the site to make it more useful to everyone. Susan Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:44:34 -0400 From: "jane gilbert" Subject: Re: [SC-BUSHRIVERQUAKERS] Surname, welsh, and Quaker projects! If I can just comment on the mtDNA issue a little... mtDNA is all but useless for genealogy except in very specific circumstances where a maternal relationship is suspected, but can't be proven, and qualified donor descendants have been identified. mtDNA doesn't mutate anywhere nearly as readily as Y-DNA, so an exact match with mtDNA even at the high resolution level could mean you have a common maternal ancestor dating back thousands of years. From the Family Tree DNA website on this subject: "A high resolution match occurs when two individuals have exactly the same sequence in both the HVR1 and HVR2. High resolution matches are the ones which are more likely to be related within a genealogical time frame. A high resolution match has about a 50% chance of sharing a common ancestor within the last 28 generations (about 700 years)." That's only a 50/50 chance that you have a common maternal ancestor in 28 generations! I don't know about you, but I'm nowhere close to have my maternal line back 700 years. To make matters worse in my case, I've had the Full Genome Sequence done on my mtDNA (the absolute highest resolution possible), and my mtDNA has not incurred any mutations in an estimated 6000 years. My mtDNA reflects (unchanged) the mtDNA of the H1a "clan mother" who lived about that long ago somewhere in Europe. Her ancestor Helena, the clan mother of the entire H clan, lived about 20,000 years ago in south central France. Bottom line, mtDNA should be considered more of a test to satisfy your curiosity of your deep maternal ancestral roots versus being of any genealogical significance. Jane