I agree with Jim and Lannie and I believe that most of you realize that DNA testing is a useful tool that goes hand-in-hand with your manual research. In a nut shell, the test that we use runs a series of tests on the Y-chromosome which passes from father to son. Not withstanding mutations, which occur randomly, the results are pretty consistent through many generations. When you match someone ,with the same surname, this tells you that you have a common ancestor with that person. In the two groups where I am the project coordinator (Scott and Chase Families) we share information and try to find out who that common ancestor might be. I believe everyone has a right to what they think, but I can tell you, manual research and DNA testing is better than just manual research. The best is proven research, but even then, DNA testing gives you that opportunity to match someone that has proven research back farther than you. I have seen the number of DNA test takers grow from 3000 to over 40,000 in the past three years. Some people must think it's an useful tool! These figures are just with the company that runs our tests. The results are kept for 20 years and you are notified when there is a match. You can imagine how large the base will be by then. I want to thank all of you that responded to my inquiries about the Scott Family DNA project. If I can help you in the future, let me know. Charlie Scott, Scott Family DNA project coordinator PS: We are non-profit and we are not connected with the testing company in any way. We use the company that we use because they are excellent to work with and they offer an excellent product at a fair price. They are number one in the field of DNA testing for genealogical purposes.