You answered one of my questions....I don't know much about dna yet, but your explanation that ": DNA can prove you are related, or are not related, and can give an estimate : of the timeframe. Traditional genealogical paper trail has to take over from : there. What DNA cannot do is tell us the name of the common ancestor or his : precise relationship to yours and William's lines" I have been trying to match a "name" in this Webb line and while I can't match that name, I can paper trail (I think) links that place the families back to the point of origin for the first Webb in that dna group. May I ask if I can put the above quote in my database, and your name? Thanks Faye Hays ----- Original Message ----- From: <AWNRDC@aol.com> To: <WEBB-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 9:53 PM Subject: Re: [WEBB] DNA Questions : Dear Dian: : : I will address the "how many DNA Projects" question first. There is ONE : WEBB DNA Project, and its website is _www.webbsurnamedna.org_ : (http://www.webbsurnamedna.org) . We are registered with and have participants at several : different testing companies (all the major ones). We accept testees from any : testing company, any country, any ethnicity -- that is we are open to any WEBB : anywhere in the world, regardless of race, religion, gender, etc. We have both : Y-DNA and mtDNA branches. If there is another WEBB Project, I'm unaware of : it. : : Now to address your other questions... : 1) If William and I were descended from the same immigrant, : would that be provable (or highly probable) by the DNA tests? : : If William and your line of WEBBs are descended from the same immigrant : ancestor, your DNA results should have a high number of matching markers. A : "marker" is a location on the Y-DNA strand, and each has a name (example DYS393). : The more markers on which you match, the more recently you have a common : ancestor, in GENERAL terms. : : As an example, I began this project to see if a George Washington Webb who : was born in GA c. 1825 and first appears in CA c. 1853 was related to my line : of Webbs, which goes back to Elias Webb c. 1785, NC or GA, and who had a son : G W born about 1824, about whom we knew nothing after about 1845. : Traditional paper work had eliminated the other candidate G W Webbs by virtue of : incorrect birth date, known parentage, etc. Either this was Elias's son, or : Elias's son had died. I got my cousin to test, and a descendant of the Geo. : Washington Webb in CA tested. Both took 25 marker tests and matched 25 markers /25 : markers. We subsequently found additional paper trail evidence, and as a : consequence, we are now certain that the CA Geo. Washington Webb is the son of : Elias Webb. : : We have had several matches on DNA since then, and are working on making the : connections between Edward Webb who died in Essex Co, VA in 1749 (24/25 : match), and Jesse Webb who was born in the Isle of Wight Co, VA c 1756 and died : in Franklin Co, NC in 1837 (25/25 match). We need to get additional markers : to narrow the timeframe for the common ancestor. : : DNA can prove you are related, or are not related, and can give an estimate : of the timeframe. Traditional genealogical paper trail has to take over from : there. What DNA cannot do is tell us the name of the common ancestor or his : precise relationship to yours and William's lines-- that is he might be the : father of William's oldest documented ancestor and the grandfather or great : uncle of your line. It does narrow our focus to specific times and locations, : and limit us to the families whose DNA matches ours closely. We can then use : traditional paper trails to eliminate the impossible connections. For : example, we have two 24/25 matches to Elias Webb's line coming from c. 1810-20 TN. : These MUST be some kind of cousin or brother to Elias, as they were born at : the same time Elias was having children in GA. : : 2. Do the lines of numbers need to be an : exact? : In general, the more closely in time you have a common ancestor, the more : markers you will have that are exact matches. However, there are documented : cases of cousins who do not have exact matches. I know of some WEBB third : cousins with mismatches (3 of 37 I think it was). I know of another surname in : which third cousins had 5 mismatches. So there is some "grey area" regarding : the timing of common ancestors and the number of mismatches. : : 3) Is there anything I have missed? : : The more folks of a given surname that test and supply their lines of desc : ent, the easier it is to figure out how the lines are connected. So I would : encourage you to rustle up a willing cousin and get testing done. There are a : variety of options ranging from free but you may have to wait years to be : able to "mine" the results to "everything on the market to date" which will run : several hundred George Washingtons. Please email me offlist for more : details, as specific costs are prohibited on this list, as well as naming specific : companies. : : Anne Webb Nelson : : In a message dated 8/9/2006 7:43:29 P.M. Central Daylight Time, : dianmah@juno.com writes: : : Hello Listers, : : I would like to hear from any of you with your opinions - pro and con for : doing DNA testing. Since I'm a girl I can't participate directly. But : before I go looking for a cousin to ask if they might be interested I : have some questions. : : Since William Webb's family and my Webb line both came from : Northumberland Co. VA. I will use this as an example for my questions. : Bill, I hope you don't mind. : : 1) My brick wall on my Webb family is nine generations back from me. I'm : not sure how many generations William's line would be, but let's say the : John Webb he is documenting is also nine generations back from him. Then : another 2 or 3 generations back to the immigrant ancestor.Since I am : fairly certain I have his line documented to 1647 - that would be about : 350 years back. If William and I were descended from the same immigrant, : would that be provable (or highly probable) by the DNA tests? : : 2) I assume that those getting the test results also get an explanation : of how to read the results. I have been to a couple of web sites reading : about the testing and to some of the sites for Webb DNA projects. I can't : tell who is closely related to who. Do the lines of numbers need to be an : exact? : : 3) Is there more than one DNA project? On message boards and on lists I : have read that there are probably at least two projects. If there are two : or more, can results from the various projects be compared? If they can : be compared, how do you contact the people who have a close match? : : : : 4) Is there anything I have missed? : : Thank You, : : Dian : : : : : : ==== WEBB Mailing List ==== : <<Webb Genealogy; History and Family Traditions >> : To change list modes, leave, or contact list admin : http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/surname/w/webb.html : Use < http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/w/e/WEBB/ > : To connect to your list website and post your web links and family pages : To Webb notes see http://www.wvi.com/~wb : : : : -- : No virus found in this incoming message. : Checked by AVG Free Edition. : Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.10.8/414 - Release Date: 8/9/2006 : :