Cockerhams first came to Virginia in the early 1600s, either to Surry County or King William County. Since that time they have multiplied and spread throughout the states with Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia having the highest concentration of Cockerhams today. A genealogical study of the family becomes even more difficult with the variations of the Cockerham surname spelling to include Cochran, Cockerham, Cockern, Cockram, Cockran, Cockren, Cockrum. In an attempt to connect these surname lines and trace them back to early Virginia, many of us have gone up too many blind alleys and run into too many brick walls following false leads. We have exhausted many of the traditional sources and now is the time to employ a different tactic to achieve our goal. Many of us agree with Ann as she says, "Do the easy stuff first, then check to see if a DNA test could guide your research, before you spend lots of money on death certificates or lots of hours scrolling through microfilm records." It may well be that taking a DNA test will become the first step for many genealogical searches. Lorris & Vernon Cockerham are coordinating a DNA survey project, enabling us to establish linage and connections for the surname lines listed above and maybe even tracking the lines into England. If you are interested in adding new information to our family tree, get in touch with Lorris or Vernon "Butch ASAP at the following addresses: Dr. Lorris G. Cockerham ([email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ) Vernon R. Cockerham ([email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ) Thanks! Lorris G. Cockerham, Ph.D. 3006 Hinson Road Little Rock, AR 72212-2712 501-227-4224