Hi Millie and everyone, I hope everyone has a fantastic & blessed Thanksgiving this week! As everyone probably knows, we have had a terrible time trying to separate and identify all the different Smith lines in Fentress County. Recently, I was contacted by Becky Smith who descends from Matthew "Mathie" Smith & Ebba ??? who lived in Dist. 11 of Fentress Co. My g-g-grandfather, George W. Smith and his wife, Judith Garrett also lived in Dist. 11 with their family. Dist. 11 was called the "Olympus" area on the census' that were taken. I strongly believe these two families may have been connected because they don't show up in Oma Smith's book with any amount of mention. Also, because we can't seem to find any records on them - Fentress Co. Courthouse burnt down a couple of times - I believe the only way we can positively identify these and other Smith lines is to ask male Smith family members who have researched their families to participate in a Y-DNA project. My brother, Scott Smith has already taken and has his Y-DNA posted on the Southern Smith's Y-DNA page. There are now well over a hundred other Smith's that have also tested and posted their family trees. I would like to try and organize a 3 county Smith Y-DNA project for males with the SMITH surname that have ancestors from Fentress, Overton, and Pickett counties. If you are trying to research the Smith's from any of these 3 counties, please contact me at: rsmith0127@yahoo.com Please let me know which line you are researching, what county, and who you might have that would be interested in participating. This project would only be for male Smith's because the test only checks the Y-DNA which is carried only by the males of the line. I would suggest a minimum 25 marker test because the 12 marker test really doesn't tell much. Here is the link to the Southern Smith Reconstruction Project: http://www.southernsmiths.org/smithdnaproject.htm If you can't participate, but have a father, uncle, brother, or cousin with the Smith surname, you can submit them if they are willing. You can go to the above link for more info. Also, if you go to the "Test Results" and look in Haplogroup I, you will see Kit #9011 - George W. Smith, Fentress Co., TN - this is my brother, Scott's Y-DNA.