If you are interested either in DNA genealogy or in Brown family research for the southern states of the USA, please read on! My cousins and I are seeking Brown-surnamed males whose Brown ancestors lived in early Warren Co TN or St Clair Co AL, or whose Brown ancestors may have had a link to any St Clair or Warren County Browns -- for example, many Brown families from western NC and the SC upcountry. The latter category includes especially the descendants of William Brown, the Rev War vet from Augusta Co VA and the Waxhaws region of SC-NC, whose sons Robert and Thomas Brown migrated to Warren Co TN ca. 1808. Ditto for Browns with St Clair Co AL roots or possible connections. There were a number of Brown males there in the 1820s, men whose possible relations to my GGGgrandfather David Brown we would like very much to clarify. Among these "mystery men" in early St Clair Co about whom we'd like to know a lot more: Guion Brown, Alexander Brown, William Brown, two other David Browns, John Brown (a Cherokee leader?) -- and maybe others. I am a descendant of the Creek War veteran, David Brown, who lived in Warren Co TN from about 1808 until sometime between 1814 and 1819, and who then lived in St Clair Co AL until his death in 1868. I am also a participant in a DNA-based genealogical research effort that uses Y-chromosome genetic markers in an attempt to delineate relations between and among various Brown family lines. As some readers already know, the Y-chromosome is passed virtually unchanged from father to son, and it changes only very slowly over the course of hundreds of years. So yDNA is practically "made to order" for surname studies. (Note: Women do not carry the Y-chromosome. So the absence of women in "Y" surname studies is not sexist or discriminatory: It is just a fact of genetic life. As the science of DNA advances, it may in the future be possible to do useful DNA surname studies with female subjects. But unfortunately, not yet.) I recently got the exciting news that I have an exact DNA match with Victor "Vic" Brown of Denison TX. Vic's earliest known Brown ancestor was Alexander Brown, who lived near my ancestor David Brown in Warren Co TN in the early 1800s. Vic and I did not previously think our Brown lines were related, given the total absence of documentary evidence or other reliable proof. But now we think Vic's Alexander and my David Brown were close cousins or even brothers. So I am now firmly convinced of the impressive power of DNA in genealogical research! Vic thinks Alexander Brown is probably a descendant of Rev War vet William Brown of Augusta Co VA and Waxhaws SC-NC, but proof again is lacking. And if his Alexander is related to William, Robert, and Thomas Brown, then my David is also related. To help establish -- or, equally important, to disprove -- such a relationship, we fervently hope to find more Brown-surnamed males willing to submit DNA samples. The DNA samples Vic and I submitted involve an entirely painless and non-obtrusive series of gentle swabs inside the cheek, and the costs are modest ($99.00 per sample sent to the lab). The company that conducts the tests, Family Tree DNA, Inc., is fully ethical and is highly respected in its scientific field. If any readers of this message are Brown-surnamed males interested in knowing more details, or if you have a close male relative surnamed "Brown" who might be willing to submit a DNA sample, please Email me directly at <A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A>. Moreover, if you know anyone else who might be interested, we would appreciate your spreading the word by forwarding this message to them. Jim Brown <A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> Arlington VA