This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Reed Reid Read Rieth Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/4BC.2ACI/2165 Message Board Post: A DNA study for those males having the surname of Reed, Reid, or any other spelling variation thereof, is currently being sponsored by of Family Tree DNA, the largest y-marker DNA testing company in the United States at this time. Participation in this study is strongly encouraged as it can tremedously, and scientifically, aid your genealogical research. What started as a DNA study to help identify possible distant relatives of the Reed ancestor that both I and the site coordinator happen to share, quickly (and fortunately) "morphed" into a study to include Reed test participants of all Reed family lines and surname spelling variations. And given that surname spelling variations in the public record have long detoured many a family historian's efforts over the centuries, this study's results should also help "weed out" those having true kinship to your line, from those having no recent kinship at all, which is really what most are looking to establish with this study. So, again, any male bearing the Reed surname (or any Reed surname spelling variation thereof ~ e.g., Reid, Read, Reade, etc.) that you may know are obviously invited to participate, and should, indeed, be encouraged to do so. One thing to keep in mind is, that as the list of other DNA/surname studies continue to grow worldwide, study participants can also benefit by comparing their results with not only those in the "Reed" y-DNA databases worldwide, but also to those included in any other surname study databases worldwide by means of an interactive, database search engine. This would, in turn, help a given participant in the study to either verify or disprove their ancestral connections to a particular immigrant Reed?Reid/Read family, etc., or possible connection to yet another family/surname altogether (yikes!). In turn, the study can also aid a participant in either confirming or denying decades, or possibly centuries of, hearsay, long-held assumptions and/or family lore regarding potential familial connections with other early (Reed) immigrants, pioneers, etc. - yet another beneficial by-product of this study. Further, for those concerned with any aspect of confidentiality with regard to test results, you can access the appropriate associated link on the Family Tree DNA web site, as there is a confidentiality disclosure agreement posted there. Again, the link associated with our particular (Reed) study can be found at this website: http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=V51815&special=True. Any other links mentioned in my previous web posting should also be helpful as well. Sould you have any further questions or concerns concerning any aspect of this study, please feel free to contact either myself, or better yet, the project coordinator (Lisa Alther), as either of us would be happy to respond. Hope you can participate, Bob