What is a Surname Project?
Surname Project – A Genetic
Genealogy Y chromosome testing DNA project focused on a family surname and/or
the testing of males who share the same spelling, sounding (e.g. Kerchner and
Kerschner), or similar meaning origin surname (e.g. Zimmerman and Carpenter) to
determine whether those tested share a common recent biological male ancestor
in a time frame of genealogical interest, i.e., since the adoption of surnames.
A surname project could be a simple extended family project conducted within an
extended family or a formal family association in order to verify and confirm
the existing traditional genealogical research or to better link together
members of the extended family for which no precise paper trail exists as to
which branch of descendants certain male lines belong to. Or the project could
be a wider one-name surname project and study formed to see if family lines who
share the same spelling, similar sounding, or similar meaning origin surname
are biologically related via their respective direct male lines to a common
male ancestor who lived in a time frame of relevant genealogical interest, i.e.,
since the adoption of surnames. Source: http://www.geneticgenealogydictionary.org/
Here is a link to an example of a Genetic Genealogy
Surname Project:
http://www.kerchner.com/kerchdna.htm
For an overview of Genetic Genealogy (GG) basics see
this report:
http://www.kerchner.com/dna-info.htm
And for more on GG terminology
see the online glossary in my DNA Testing Information help page. Link
immediately below this paragraph. For more about my GG DNA Testing Dictionary,
see the links below and. http://www.kerchner.com/dna-info.htm
See
an example Surname Project.
For more on tools for sharing results of a Genetic Genealogy Surname Project,
see and example Descent
Tree Chart and Excel spreadsheet prepared for the Kerchner Surname Y-DNA
Project showing the earliest known ancestor (in this case the immigrant
Adam) and the MRCA, i.e., the Most Recent Common Ancestor, in this case
Frederick. Note: The earliest known ancestor and the MRCA is not the same
person and in many cases that is true. In this example the reason they are
different is because the immigrant ancestor had only one son so all male line
descendants lead back first to Frederick Kerchner, i.e.,
the “most recent” common ancestor. The chart also shows the transmission events
as black nodes on the connecting lines down the chart. This is the minimum
number of births required to create the individuals who have been Y-DNA tested
in “the proven to be related from traditional evidence” group or cluster in
your project starting from the MRCA. When preparing a chart like this always
put the sons in each generation in each branch of descent from left to right in
order of birth in their family. That helps others quickly understand and see
the relationships when viewing your chart. You can also fill in the Henry Numbers if you know
them. The Henry Number is a useful tool in surname projects and can be used to
indicate relationships in other charts and reports in your surname project such
as your Excel table used to display the group or cluster Deduced Ancestral
Haplotype and the mutations, if any, observed in descendants tested. See the second link below for and example of
such an Excel table.
Diagrammatic Example of
Counting Unique Transmission Events from the MRCA in a Surname Project
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DNA-Antrhogenealogy/
http://www.ggdictionary.org/
http://www.dnapin.org/
Copyright © 2005
Charles F. Kerchner, Jr.
All Rights Reserved
Created: 25 Nov 2005
Updated: 26 Nov 2005