Posted by Bill Burroughs Steve W. started the BURROUGHS DNA project at Family Tree DNA (http://www.familytreedna.com) a little over a year ago. He was curious to see if any of the various BURROUGHS/BURROWS families were closely related. He also wanted to build up a database to help future genealogists who hit brick walls in their research. If you are interested in participating, just go to the following website and request more information. This message is FYI.
Link: The Burroughs Family DNA Project
on 3/4/2006, 11:13 am
213.239.234.49
Hello Everyone!
Are you aware that there is a formal DNA genealogy research project underway to help us tie our family tree together?
So far, descendants from 4 early BURROUGHS immigrants have been tested or are in the process of being tested:
1) John of Enfield, CT (the line of Edgar Rice BURROUGHS of Tarzan)
2) Edward of Jamaica, NY (the line of John BURROUGHS the Naturalist)
3) Rev. George of Salem witch trial fame
4) John of Newtown, NY
Three other BURROUGHS descendants have been tested who can only trace back to about 1800 in PA, NJ, and NC. The DNA results showed that none of these people are closely related.
The test for genealogy is not a complete DNA test like you see on TV. Only the Y-chromosome is studied. No other DNA information is retrieved, and no participant in a genealogy DNA project is going to learn that he has the gene for some terrible disease.
A man's Y-chromosome is passed exactly from father to son, with only an occasional random mutation. This makes it perfect for studying a surname. If two living men have similar Y-chromosomes, then they share a common paternal ancestor within a handful of generations.
The test is simple, painless, and handled by mail. A special tool is used to swab the inside of the cheek and gather a sample that can be tested. The company doing the testing is Family Tree DNA (www.familytreedna.com). They are one of the leaders in the new field of DNA testing for genealogy. They set up surname projects to help people compare results, and Steve is the administrator for the BURROUGHS project.
There are three tests, depending on the number of "markers" on the Y-chromosome that are returned. The current prices are as follows: the 12-marker test costs $101 (99+2 postage), the 25-marker test costs $171, and the 37-marker test costs $221. Steve recommends the 25-marker test. From his experience on two different DNA projects, 12 markers are not always enough to make any definite conclusions, and 37 markers are not worth the extra money unless you are further studying people who have already matched well with 25 markers.
Family Tree DNA claims strict security with the samples they receive. The samples are sent to the University of Arizona, which does the actual testing. The University does not have access to any names. Family Tree DNA keeps the database of names but does not have access to the samples.
It takes about 8 weeks for the results to get back. 25 numbers ("markers" on the Y-chromosome) are returned, which can then be compared with the project's previous results. The closer the match, the fewer the number of generations to a common paternal BURROUGHS ancestor. A match of 24 or 25 out of 25 would almost surely indicate a common ancestor in America.
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