SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project

SmithConnections NE is a DNA project for descendants of early Smith families from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. The purpose of our study is to prove as many Smith various spellings lines as possible in the NE US prior to the 20th century and to establish genetic family groupings relationships among participants who descend from a common ancestor. We currently have 68 unique Groups of Smith yDNA. The story of human DNA is one of transport out of Africa and across the planet over tens of thousands of years. We continue to relocate and move our genetic heritage today. As a result, we have living members in our project from New England, the Midwest, the Desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest and eastern Canada, but these members all have family research and connections to early Smith families in the Northeastern States.

1. 1. To Join the SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project,

2. 2. Or to order your DNA test kit,

3. 3. Or to transfer your test results from a different DNA testing company

~Click the Join Button on the banner at the top of this page;

~Click on: https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Smith-Northeastern

~Click on: www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=J83140;

~Or contact the administrator at KinCityKitty[at]gmail.com

Completed test results are stored for 25 years, so test upgrades can be ordered at some time in the future.

Test participants must be male Smiths because the genetic characteristic measured the Y chromosome is passed along the male line from father to son. If you are a Smith relative but are female or are male with another surname, you may wish to recruit a male Smith relative-perhaps a cousin, father, brother, or uncle-to participate. Y chromosomes are passed from father to son across the generations relatively unchanged. DNA is anabbreviation for Deoxyribonucleic Acid, the agent inside the cell nucleus that contains the genetic "blueprints" for living organisms to develop.

You may contact the coordinator for this SmithConnectionsproject at KinCityKitty[at]gmail.com for further information or to be enrolled in the study. Or you may use this link: www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=J83140. The DNA test involves a simple cheek swab that is analyzed by a research laboratory. The kit containing the cheek swab materials will be mailed to you, and you will be assigned a kit number and password for accessing your results after they have been analyzed. The process usually takes about 6 to 7 weeks. If your DNA sample matches with another person's, you will be put in touch with that person if both you and he have signed release forms giving permission, so that you can share information.The results are meaningful when compared with those of others in the study. Results are identified by the names of the earliest known Smith ancestor, not by the names of participants. All group participants' identities and contact information are completely private.

So, the question arises: How many markers to start with? With a common name like Smith, our recommendation is to start with 37 markers. But you may choose to start with fewer and upgrade later. Or you may opt for the most precision available, 111 markers. If you are the sponsor of a kit, and someone else is contributing the sample, you can be the main contact. The kit can go to one address and the invoice to another.

Do you have to submit any documentation of your line to us? No. We are not like a genealogical society such as the DAR or SAR. Our research is often a process of trial and error as we try to make progress on our family lines. We would like a little information about your earliest known Smith ancestor to put on these pages. You can change or update your information by contacting the administrator. Sometimes people are concerned that they can be identified from their Y-DNA results. However, only a very small portion of DNA is of interest, only 12 to 111 markers on the Y chromosome. No individual can be identified, just family groups. The haplogroup and numbers for alleles, or markers, on the Y-DNA chromosome identify only a branch of a family, and they are the same or similar for generations of direct-line males going back, which is the appeal of a Y-DNA surname project to participants.

Alleles are genes in the same relative position on related chromosomes. Participants' results are given below in terms of numbers assigned to these alleles in the order in which they occur. DYS means DNA segment; unique numbers are assigned to each.

HAPLOGROUPS are classifications by ethnic and geographic origin. Individuals are divided here by haplogroup. Note that the haplogroup designations have changed recently, in line with the most current scientific thinking. Please see the ISOGG for details.

• E is the most common lineage among African Americans.

• G may have originated in India or Pakistan, and has dispersed into central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

• I is found most frequently within Viking / Scandinavian populations in northwest Europe, and in Central and Eastern Europe.

• J is found at highest frequencies in Middle Eastern and north African populations where it most likely evolved. This marker was carried by Middle Eastern traders into Europe, central Asia, India, and Pakistan.

• N Found in Northern Eurasian populations.

• Q is found in North and Central Asian populations as well as native Americans. Among European populations, Q is found most frequently in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

• R is found in central & western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of Europe. R is the most common haplogroup in European and American populations.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE SCORING SYSTEM: It is"conservative," in that it does not take into account the fact that the markers shown in red mutate at a faster rate than the other markers.**