Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Perdue/Pardue DNA Project




The Perdue/Pardue DNA Project


If the male DNA matches up with another male participant possessing the DNA of a participant possessing the same or similar surname, it can confirm or not, whether there is a common ancestor and determine if you are on the right track in your research. However, only documented evidence can provide the degree of kinship to the common ancestor and it can provide a time frame of possibilities of when the common ancestor lived, but it cannot determine the exact relationship - only that there was one.

The Perdue/Pardue DNA Project at http://tinyurl.com/28lqje proves kinship through the P*rdue male line "Y" chromosome and must have a P*rdue surnamed male to prove ancestry. Females researchers should look to brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, and grandfathers, etc. with the P*rdue surname to prove ancestry and males not possessing the P*rdue surname should look to the male line of their closest male kin with the P*rdue surname.

DNA testing of even so small a sampling of the participants in the above link to the project has determined that the P*rdue families early living in the watersheds of the lower Appomattox River area of Colonial Virginia had no kinship with the P*rdue families early living on the Eastern Shore of Colonial Maryland. And other participants in the project bearing the surname(s) or any of its variations show no kinship at all to either of those two larger groups of participants or even to each other.

The following list shows some of the possibilities of what DNA testing can do in the research for your family history:

* - determine if two people are related
* - find out if others with your surname are related
* - determine if two people descended from the same ancestor
     if the paper trail verifies the descent
* - provide an approximate time frame for the common ancestor
* - confirm your family tree
* - find others to whom you are related
* - determine a possible point of origin for your surname
* - prove or disprove a research theory
* - determine if other surnames are variants of your surname
* - for surnames with multiple points of origin, determine the possible points
* - provide clues for further research* - identify a location for further research
* - verify ancestors migration

To help interpret the above chart the following may prove helpful:
Distance Relatedness Explanation:

Tested at 12 markers:
Matches of less than 9/12 – the two participants do not share a common ancestor*
Matches of 9/12 - there is a tiny chance that the participants share a common ancestor. You'll need to test at 37 markers to find a true shared genetic match that starts with such a low match. (The author has not yet seen a 9/12 become an accepted genetic match - but knows of one case.)

Matches of 10/12 – there is a small chance that the participants share a common ancestor. Increase to 25 markers and re-evaluate Matches of 11/12 and 12/12 – an improved chance that the participants share a common ancestor. Increase to 25 markers and re-evaluate CAUTION: a 12/12 match - even with the same surname - can be a random match. If a solid paper trail connects the 12/12 match, you can be reasonably certain of shared ancestry, but without the connecting paper trail - you can only be sure by upgrading to at least 25 markers.
Tested at 25 markers:
Matches of less than 21/25 – the two participants do not share a common ancestor*
Matches of 21/25 & 22/25 – there is a small chance that the participants share a common ancestor. (Consider all of the traditional genealogy insights and try to obtain more participants to represent the affected families.) Upgrade to 37 markers

Matches of 23/25, 24/25 & 25/25 – there is a high probability that participants who share a surname share a common ancestor. If there is no shared paper trail, a comparison at 37 or 67 markers can be useful.

Tested at 37 markers:Matches of less than 31/37 – the two participants do not share a common ancestor*
Matches of 31/37 and 32/37 - the two participants have a small possibility that may share a common ancestor from the early days of surnames. (This is an area with little clear insight.) An upgrade to 67 markers is encouraged


Matches of 33/37 - some researchers consider this to be a match and some don't. (If there is a shared common ancestor - it will be more than a few 100s of years ago.) Upgrade to 67 markers for additional clarity
Matches of 34/37, 35/37, 36/37 & 37/37 - the participants share a recent common ancestor. 


Tested at 67 markers:
Matches of less than 60/67 – the two participants probably do not share a common ancestor*. (This is still being studied - but unless your match is nearly 60/67 and you have some reason to believe there is a shared ancestor since the advent of surnames - you should consider your near miss as "no match" )
Matches of 60/67 and 61/67 - the two participants may share a common ancestor from the early days of surnames. (This is still being studied)

Matches of 62/67 and better - researchers consider these to be a match - indicating a shared common ancestor.


* "We mean a common direct paternal ancestor within the historical period of surnames."


Genealogy is never done, it is always a Work In Progress!