Graham Family DNA Surname Project
BY KATHI BOBB
I am announcing the beginning of a Graham Family DNA Surname Project.
Let me introduce myself. I am Kathi Bobb. I am descended from a
Graham family who resided in Tennessee and North Carolina in the late
1800s. My ancestor Levi Graham married Mary Searcy in Rutherford
County North Carolina in 1850.
There are many Graham families in the United States. It is one of the
50 most common surnames. This can make tracing your family tree
complex.
There is now a scientific way of determining if branches of the Graham
family have a common ancestor from between through 30 generations. It is
shown with a DNA test using the Y-chromosome. The Y-chromosome is
passed from father to son with few mutations over many generations.
Therefore it is traceable.
The purpose of the project is to determine common ancestors among the
Graham family branches. Qualified candidates are invited to
participate. A qualified candidate is a male who carries the Graham
bloodline from father to son.
The sample for the test is collected by using something similar to a
toothbrush and brushing the inside of the cheek (like high school
biology). Then the sample is mailed to the lab. Results are available in about six weeks. The results come in a series
of 12 or 25 numbers. The numbers are then compared to the other
participants for matches. If there are 25/25 matches share a common
ancestor.
The company I have chosen to do our study is Family Tree DNA. They
have done a good job of making the cost more affordable. We are
saving about $100 per test. The price for the 12 marker test is $99
and the 25 marker test is $169. Both plus $2 shipping. This sounds
like a lot of money, but when compared to the cost of the books,
trips, association fees that we serious genealogists have bought over
the years it is really a bargain.
I have done a similar surname reconstruction project with my Stewart
family. We have about 50 participants so far. I started the Stewart
family DNA project by testing three descendants of three sons of my ancestor
Noah Stewart who was born in 1785 in North Carolina. All three
descendants matched, proving a common ancestor. They were related from
six-to-seven generations back. We then tested a descendant of a supposed
brother to Noah and he matched perfectly to the others, proving our
theory that he was Noah’s brother.
You can look at that site at: www.angelfire.com/nb/stewartdna
The Graham DNA site is at www.angelfire.com/nb2/grahamdna
Also, if you would like more details about the FTDNA testing,
information can be found at: www.familytreedna.com
If you would please pass this along to any Graham family member (including
any variation of spelling) I would greatly appreciate your effort.
Please contact me at bobbkat1@aol.com if you would like more information about the
project.
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