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"Sizzling Summer Sale" at FTDNA extended to 9-30-08
 

Worden DNA Surname Project

For researchers of Worden, Warden, Werden, Werding, Wharton and similar surnames

 NEWS ALERT: Special Sale on DNA Tests. Limited Time Offer. See "Order" page for details.

NEWS! Family Tree DNA is offering substantially reduced prices to persons who have tested with certain other companies and who join an existing project. If you or anyone you know has done DNA testing with Relative Genetics, DNA Heritage, Ancestry, Oxford Ancestors, or Genebase and is interested in transferring to FTDNA – in order to upgrade to more markers or to have expanded testing done or simply to learn more about how your results can help you advance your own genealogy – you are invited to join our Surname Project. To take advantage of this special offer, please be sure to contact the project administrator to obtain a special order form: Worden Project Administrator.  Note that if you tested with the National Geographic/Genographic project, you may join this project at FTDNA at no cost because FTDNA does the lab processing for NG/G.  

NEWS! Be sure to visit our Results and Miscellaneous pages for the latest DNA findings and the Patriarchs page for new pedigrees. 

Results Analyses

Project Conclusions

After consultation with experts in the field of genetic genealogy, I am pleased to announce that our project results for haplogroup J2 men are well within the norms for mutation rates based on the latest findings, which point to mutation rates being 2-3 times the values ascribed to them in the early days of testing. As evidence, see http://www.kerchner.com/cgi-kerchner/ystrmutationrate.cgi. Toward the middle of the page, you will see the Worden project data that was submitted. Then go to http://www.kerchner.com/ystrmutationratelogdata.pdf to see the YSTR Average Mutation Rate Log. Scroll down to see the Worden entry and how it compares to others. The nine participants who represent this project were chosen because they have a fairly firm paper trail to the MRCA, Dr. Samuel Worden, and have tested at least 25 markers. As other project members are able to extend their traditional genealogy, we will be able to update this log and recalculate the various measures.

It is gratifying to have received confirmation from four disinterested parties, all experts in genetic genealogy, that our DNA test results definitely confirm our descent from Peter Worden or his ancestral line. More Worden men are urged to join the project and to be tested. Project members are encouraged to upgrade to 67 markers. Eventually, mutations should begin to form clusters that will align with the four sons of Dr. Samuel and/or establish relationships with ancestral lines in England.

Why DNA Testing?

Surname DNA testing is the newest tool available to genealogists. These tests help genealogists verify their paternal ancestry (father's father's father, etc.) in a quick and easy way. It saves time, prevents mistakes, and provides invaluable data that can be obtained in no other way. The only cost is for the testing itself. We project administrators are volunteers who hope to gain knowledge about our own heritage.  We receive no compensation or incentives from Family Tree DNA or any other entity. Note that only a male with any of the subject surnames may participate but, if you have Worden, Warden or similar ancestry, you can be represented by even a distant cousin whose name is Worden, Warden, etc. Note that only a male with any of the subject surnames may participate but, if you have Worden ancestry, you can be represented by even a distant cousin. 

Why Should You Become Involved?

Reading the news, watching specials on Public Television, seeing the many articles popping up in all the major news magazines … Doesn’t it make you wonder how modern science, and DNA testing in particular, can help solve some of your genealogical puzzles? After spending years rummaging through courthouses, libraries, family papers, cemeteries and the internet, aren’t you ready to use the latest tool to find your roots, once and for all?

How does it work? Scientists mapping the human genome in 2000 found it consisted of about 3 billion pairs of DNA chemicals or "letters," and that those letters were 99.9 percent similar from one person to the next. It's within that 0.1 percent difference that the science of genetic genealogy was born. Just like notations in an old Bible or census records, family history is recorded in our genes. A father's Y chromosome DNA is passed down virtually unchanged to his sons while mothers pass down their mitochondrial DNA to their sons and daughters. While MtDNA can help us find our earliest roots, long before surnames came into existence, it is the Y-DNA that only males carry that holds the secret for genealogical purposes. And Ladies, don’t feel left out. Just find a male cousin – even a distant one – and he can represent your line.

As a Worden descendant who has done my share of “rummaging,” I decided to make science work for me and all the other Worden researchers out there who have “holes” in their paper trail or want to extend their research to:

 * Eliminate or confirm relationships.
 * Focus research towards related families.
 * Direct research into a geographical area.
 * Direct research into a specific timeframe.
 * Establish country or region of origin.
 * Confirm variant surnames are the same family.
 * Learn about our family's pre-surname migration.
 * Strengthen weak paper trails.
 * Avoid pursuing false connections.

Few of us are entirely comfortable with the research we and others before us have done. Virtually all our findings have words like “probably,” “could,” “may,” “perhaps,” and “assuming” liberally scattered throughout.  Let’s get to the bottom line. We’ve exhausted all the traditional research tools. It’s time to let a simple, painless DNA test provide the answers. The cost is a few tanksful of gas or probably no more than a research trip to a nearby town. Think about gas, tolls, parking fees, copying costs, meals, possibly an overnight stay – all sometimes yielding little or no new information. Instead, you could simply swab the inside of your cheek a few times in the comfort of your home. Then sit back and wait about six weeks. You will receive a handsome certificate displaying your genetic profile, a series of numbers that are meaningless by themselves. But they hold the key to your paternal ancestry and, when matched against the profiles of others, can yield information that can be obtained in no other way. Those numbers will be compared against the ever-growing database at Family Tree DNA and at other universal databases and you will likely find other testees whose results match yours, if not immediately then in future years. You will be notified as new matches occur.

As you can see on the Results page at this website, we have so far identified at least three Worden/Warden lines. For some, the results are not surprising because the traditional genealogies have pointed to them all along, but now the proof is indisputable. For others, the results suggest some clear research avenues to pursue. For still others, there may be a nonpaternal event in some distant generation, such as an unknown adoption, and there may be an opportunity to find a heretofore unsuspected genealogy. Or no clear match emerges, in which case the testee can expect a future match as more men are tested.

This Family Project is intended to:

1. Help researchers on common or related families work together to find their common heritage  (See the Patriarch Page)

2. Identify the DNA of the ancestor families and compile them and their lost branches into distinct genetic lineages through DNA matches

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see the Discussion Page for a list of FAQs.

Useful Links:

Family Tree DNA websites:

    Family Tree DNA Home Page

    Family Tree Worden Home Page 

Project Administrator's website:

    Doris Wheeler's Home Page

Worden Genealogy:

   Worden Family Association  

Mailing Lists: Worden and Worden-DNA

Click here to order a DNA test now

Disclaimer, Conditions and Agreement

The Worden Surname DNA Project or its project administrators have no commercial affiliation with any profit-making organization and receive no compensation for services or expenses involved with the project. This webpage is maintained for posting DNA results and pedigrees of participants who choose to make their information available.

Although the Worden Project offers discounts at FTDNA, that by no means suggests a business partnership or other relationship between the Project and the Laboratory. All funds are payable only and directly to the Laboratory. The Worden Project will not be the recipient or steward of any DNA samples and has no responsibility for their care, handling or return to participant, nor duty to act on behalf of a Participant in mediation of any dispute between the Participant and the Laboratory.

While a match between two participants may suggest that they share a common male ancestor, it will not identify the specific ancestor and there is no guarantee that every participant will match anyone in this project or in any public database.

By participation in the project, the participant agrees to all conditions of the Project.