It is improbable that there is any one blood type that distiguishes the Whitney kindred. Certainly, it is unlikely that any type in the ABO/Rhesus system will be adequate to define the kindred. Type O is the most common of the blood types and it can be expected that most members of the family will have this, but A, B, and AB types should show up in about the same proportions as found in the general population. Since none of us are likely to have high proportions of Whitney blood in us (especially if we are discussing kindreds descending from the early 1600s), most of the blood types will be influenced by the marriage partners of the Whitney line. While there are regional variations--northern European vs Mediterranean, for instance--these should not materially affect the distribution of types in the Whitney kindred. Likewise Rhesus types are about 85 percent positive in the United States and it is unlikely that the Whitney kindred varies from this norm. If one considers the minor blood types: Duffy, Lutheran, etc., etc., the probablility of a distinctive type becomes even smaller. Alas, the only sure clue to descent is good genealogical research. DNA, while fascinating, is exceedingly expensive to examine and which type should one look at and which marker would one use? This is one band wagon that it is fun to speculate about and totally impractical to jump on. Mike Poston Rockville, Maryland

Mike, I don't think that this is a discussion of "jumping on the bandwagon" to prove something to ourselves. I think the fact that we have documented evidence of descent from one couple can provide valuable information for genetics research such as Greg Cote confirmed. Yes it is expensive, but if it is being done by a researcher then the cost would most likely be carried by the institution funding the research. Certainly an interesting concept. Jo Hogle