Mr. Hendricks, Don't the 12 marker tests actually prove that the two people are related but that the connection was farther back in time than people who match with the 25 marker test or the 37 marker test? I think it depends on how far back you want to go whether you want to choose a 12 marker test or a 37 marker test. Sometimes we don't want to rule out our relationship to people 10 or even 20 generations back because it helps us to determine family origins and countries of origin. A male cousin recently did the 12 marker test in a Rogers family project. As you can imagine a lot of matches were possible. But what was just helpful as the 4 matches he got were the matches he did not get. We found through this test that we were not related to several families who had come to the same area of Missouri our family had come to. At the same time we did connect to one Rogers family who practically lived "next door" to our ggg grandfather in Missouri and went to the area at the same time he did but then moved on to Texas. The earliest known ancestor of another of our matches was born in South Carolina in the late 1700's just as our ggg grandfather was. The other branch of the family we connected with settled close to where my gg grandfather settled in Arkansas. This family first came to Virginia in the early 1600's from there, they migrated to NC, then some of the family went to TN and SC just as our family had. Perhaps the actual connections are distant. But this test has helped us tremendously to hon our search. Regards, Carol Snow

Dear Carol, I guess I wasted my time and breath writing the story. Some people are never convinced. Sounds like you are listening to the General Line from the Genographic Project. This is their little white lie that suckers people into getting their DNA done. Then people discover they are connected to 100s of people but possibly only a few have their surname. How would you separate people who have 12 markers. More testing. Then they advise you to get a 25 marker test. Again you don't match completely. Then they advise you to get a 37 marker test. Then an SNP test, etc. If you want to do a probability calculation you can but nothing like the real thing DNA markers to DNA markers with family lineages. Anyone who wants to connect to their family does more DNA markers to prove connectivity. Not less. I just got through a deep clades test that took me back to the last ice age in hopes of pinpointing where my family came from in Western Europe. Less testing did not tell me this more testing did and it begins to match you up to other names with confidence of connectivity not less. Less markers tell you less about you. If someone only told you I was 6 feet and weighed 190 pounds could you pick me out of a crowd of similar people? If they told you I had brown hair, green eyes and wore glasses you have better chance. If they told you I was right handed and had an old SC drawl would that not tell you more. Now where on earth did all these characteristics come from? Is less better here? NO! More is better. Same for DNA. People just keep on believing what they want to believe but the data of 12 markers just begins to connect you to your family. The more markers the greater the connectivity. Honest I really don't know how to convince you any better than say go study other people's work. Charles Kerchner is a good example. Put in Kerchner in your browser and look for work by Charles. He has worked every facet of this. Join Genealogy DNA-L. Talk with other DNA Group administrators who have worked their family and have greater than 50 participants. They have the experience and knowledge. Some of the people who have made postings on SC Genealogy sites show their lack of reading and knowledge. I have tried to talk sense to some of them but it is a hard ob to over come misinformation. Anyone with any experience that I have described will tell you exactly what I have posted. My information is from reading, experience and leaning on others who have no financial gain and are only driven by putting out good information not suckering people into getting tested without providing insight into where they are going. Any information is helpful but if you do DNA testing you do it to prove a connection with the greatest confidence you can. 12 markers are a start, 25 markers are better but 37+ markers gives the confidence plus family lineages that you are on the right tract. I would not put any confidence in connecting family members in 12 markers testing. All it generally does is generate false positives. 25 markers improve it but as per my example, read it again, does not a match make in all conditions. Again read: Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree<http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=eV3lrs4Dyv&isbn=1594860068&itm=1> Megan Smolenyak, Ann Turner Then go to Charles Kerchner's web site, order some of his information and read the free articles. oin Genealogy DNA-L and read the posting and ask the questions. Talk with Dale E. Reddick<mailto:dereddi@hargray.com>, a local SC Group Aministrator for the Reddick Project. I have forwarded a look see at his opinion of what I wrote. Become informed broaden your horizion. God Bless. Herb Hendricks Retired NASA Physicist Hendricks DNA Project Group Administrator Secretary Hendricks Family Association Herb_316@MSN.com<mailto:Herb_316@MSN.com> 1210 Long Meadow DR Lynchburg, VA 24502 434 832 7246 Major/Smith/Hendricks http://www.ftdna.com/public/hendricks/<http://www.ftdna.com/public/hendricks/> ----- Original Message ----- From: Csnow108@cs.com<mailto:Csnow108@cs.com> To: SCANDERS-L@rootsweb.com<mailto:SCANDERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 6:23 PM Subject: Re: [SCAnderson] A True DNA Story Mr. Hendricks, Don't the 12 marker tests actually prove that the two people are related but that the connection was farther back in time than people who match with the 25 marker test or the 37 marker test? I think it depends on how far back you want to go whether you want to choose a 12 marker test or a 37 marker test. Sometimes we don't want to rule out our relationship to people 10 or even 20 generations back because it helps us to determine family origins and countries of origin. A male cousin recently did the 12 marker test in a Rogers family project. As you can imagine a lot of matches were possible. But what was just helpful as the 4 matches he got were the matches he did not get. We found through this test that we were not related to several families who had come to the same area of Missouri our family had come to. At the same time we did connect to one Rogers family who practically lived "next door" to our ggg grandfather in Missouri and went to the area at the same time he did but then moved on to Texas. The earliest known ancestor of another of our matches was born in South Carolina in the late 1700's just as our ggg grandfather was. The other branch of the family we connected with settled close to where my gg grandfather settled in Arkansas. This family first came to Virginia in the early 1600's from there, they migrated to NC, then some of the family went to TN and SC just as our family had. Perhaps the actual connections are distant. But this test has helped us tremendously to hon our search. Regards, Carol Snow ==== SCANDERS Mailing List ==== Anderson County, South Carolina SCGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~scander2/index.html<http://www.rootsweb.com/~scander2/index.html> ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx<http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx>