Surnames in this Project
Our project is open to any male of any of the listed surnames or to any man believing that he is descended from a variant surname. Participants are sought from all parts of the USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Oceania -- anywhere the surname may be found.
Project Discussion
The DNA information is to be used in conjunction with historical and traditional research. DNA results do not often “prove” a relationship, but can be quite helpful in guiding research. If a DNA profile does not match traditional genealogy, a hypothesized relationship may be incorrect. At other times DNA results may point to an unknown adoption in the family, or some other so-called non-paternity event.
Since a Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname, and females (a) do not carry their father's Y-DNA, and (b) acquire a new surname by the way of marriage, in order to be relevant to the Surname Project, the tested individual must be a male who wants to check his paternal line (father's father's father's...). The test to be ordered is either the Y-DNA67, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA25 or Y-DNA12, and females should look for a brother or cousin with that surname to be tested.
Females can also order a test for themselves, which will be the mtDNA or mtDNAPlus, but the results of their test cannot be tied to the Surname Project.
About Projects at Family Tree DNA
Some of you may be aware that projects exist at Family Tree DNA for categories other than surname. One in particular pertains to haplogroups, and I should like to recommend that everyone join the haplogroup project which matches the haplogroup assigned by FTDNA, especially if you have any interest in your "deep roots." For example, W-3 is a member of the Haplogroup J Project, which is administered by a very knowledgeable pair of experts in the field. They analyze results in light of the latest scientific findings and contribute greatly to our knowledge of the migratory paths our distant ancestors followed. Perhaps someday they will be able to determine the likely origins of our Worden ancestors who settled in England.
There are four categories of projects: Surname (ours is Worden), Y Geographical (most of you would probably belong in British Isles I if you know your most distant ancestor came from Britain), Dual Geographical (British Isles 2 if you do not know where your ancestor came from), and Y Haplogroup (J Y-Haplogroup, the one I recommend).
To join a second project, simply go to your page at FTDNA. At the top you will see a box with the word "Join" in it. Click on that word and scroll down to see a list of all the projects available. Simply click on your selection. Of course you may always change it.
About the J2 Haplogroup
The following is an article that was submitted to Wordens Past:
How Curious are we About our Ancestry?
We are all genealogists – those who read Wordens Past and other family publications and those who have their DNA tested to substantiate or clarify their existing knowledge. As such, we seek to know more about our origins. How much more can be learned is the subject of this article.
The field of genetic genealogy – only six years old – is experiencing explosive growth. In addition to biogenetics, it encompasses anthropology, archaeology, paleontology, linguistics, geography, climatology and so much more. All these disciplines are brought to bear in an effort to answer the question, “Where do we come from?”
The National Geographic Society and IBM have an intensive study underway that will continue until the year 2010. Called the Genographic Project, it is an extraordinary effort to “assemble the most comprehensive database of human genetic variation that has ever existed.” Some of us have contributed our DNA to this project. The cost is just $15 if you have already tested with Family Tree DNA because FTDNA does the testing for the National Geographic project. Likewise, if you have already tested with the National Geographic project, you may join the Worden (or other surname) project at FTDNA for $15. If you have done neither, please consider joining the Worden DNA Project by clicking on the link below that will take you directly to Family Tree DNA to order a test. You may also visit www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic to learn more and to order a test by buying a Participation Kit.
Since so many of our Worden participants – all descendants of Dr. Samuel b. 1646 – share the J2 haplogroup (probably J2e1 which may become J2b if proposed scientific changes to the phylogenetic tree are adopted), it might be interesting to trace the path our earliest ancestors traveled. The following excerpt is taken from the book, The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, by Spencer Wells, Director of the Genographic Project:
"Genetic “Adam” Males all over the world have a set of markers, particular letters in the four-letter genetic alphabet, on their Y-chromosomes. Once a particular marker appears by mutation in a man, all of his descendants will also carry that marker. If we compile information on a large set of markers and project them back in time using computer algorithms, we find that the trail of mutations coalesces in a single Y-chromosome whose owner lived, according to the genetic dating, some 60,000 years ago. This man has been dubbed “Genetic Adam,” though this is a misnomer since he was certainly not the first male modern human. There were also many other males living at the same time, but they did not carry the same mutation and none of the male lines from them survived down to the present. Genetic Adam lived in Africa."
For those who would like to relate the following to the Worden line specifically, please refer to the Results table at this website
The ancestral line of the J2 haplogroup from “Adam,” who lived just 2000 generations ago, is defined by the markers M168 to M89 to M304 to M172, all of which are carried today in living males who belong to this haplogroup. The excerpts that follow are taken from Spencer Wells’ most recent book, Deep Ancestry:
"All of Adam’s descendants except those in Haplogroups A and B where we find ancient cultures still surviving in Africa carry the marker M168. M89 first appeared around 45,000 years ago in northeastern Africa or the Middle East and is found today in more than 90 percent of all non-African men. The first people who left Africa likely followed a coastal route that eventually ended in Australia, but some appear to have followed the grasslands and plentiful game from eastern Africa to the Middle East and beyond. They were part of the second great wave of migration out of Africa.
"The patriarch of haplogroup J was born around 15,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, a region today that includes Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Today the M304 marker appears at its highest frequencies in the Middle East, North Africa and Ethiopia. In Europe it is seen only in the Mediterranean region. The early farming successes of the J lineages spawned population booms and encouraged migration throughout much of the Mediterranean world. Both haplogroup J and its subgroup J2 are found at a combined frequency of around 30 percent among Jewish individuals.
"The M172 marker defines a major subset of haplogroup J, which arose from the M89 lineage. Haplogroup J2 is found today in North Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. According to The Journey of Man, this marker arose about 10,000 years ago."
This website now contains a list of resources (on the Misc. page), both books and websites, that provide far greater detail if you are interested.
As always, please contact the project administrator Doris Wheeler doriswh@gmail.com with questions.
Click here to place an order for a DNA test at Family Tree DNA
What are the specifics?
The test is a simple cheek swab. The kit will arrive and leave your house by mail. You simply rub the inside of your cheek a number of times with a special scraper, put the kit back into the envelope, and put it in the mail.
If you are interested in participating, please contact one of the Project Administrators listed below and submit your pedigree.
Click here to send your pedigree Info for the Patriarch Page
What do I do if I have questions?
Please check all the pages at this website (use the navigation bar across the top of the page). If you still have questions, please contact one of the Project Administrators listed below. We are family researchers first and foremost and are anxious to help you. We can point you to others who have already taken the test and have volunteered to share their experience.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
1. Confidentiality is assured. The only DNA that is tested is “junk DNA.” Its only value is in carrying the male genetic identity through successive generations, father to son to son. As a result, it is useful to ascertain a lineage (but not a parent-child relationship). You are given a special ID which is the only information that accompanies your sample through the testing process. Your name is never revealed.
2. The procedure is painless and private. A kit is sent to your home by the lab, and you simply swab your cheek several times with a soft miniature toothbrush-like device, insert the device in the tube containing a special solution and mail it back with a signed release to have your results matched against an ever-growing database.
3. The results are displayed as a series of numbers, meaningless in themselves. Only after they are compared to others and a reasonable match occurs are you provided with an email address for the person whom you match. You will then have an opportunity to compare notes with that person (or persons). If you do not wish to have your email address included in the matching process, you may request that the Project Administrator’s address be used for this purpose. She (I) can then serve as an intermediary.
4. The matching process is not restricted to members of our Worden Project. The database against which your results are compared presently consists of 59,000+ Y-DNA records. There is also a universal database designed to hold the test results of everyone who has ever had a genealogical DNA test performed at any lab anywhere. You may upload your results to this database for additional matching.
5. DNA testing does not replace traditional genealogical research. It serves as an additional tool and can confirm or deny the results of that research. It can provide an element of proof that cannot be obtained in any other way.
6. The only cost you incur is for the testing itself, and you enjoy reduced costs for being part of a project. My role as project administrator is purely voluntary, and I receive no compensation – only the satisfaction of hopefully resolving some of my own questions regarding my Worden line.
Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by. The best test subject is the oldest living male in a Worden family. With each generation, there is an opportunity for mutations to occur, and these can cloud the past (although they play an essential role in determining where lines have split off from the originating male ancestor). Samples are retained for 25 years so, as new technological advances occur, you and your descendants can benefit from newly acquired knowledge.
The test will be conducted by Family Tree DNA, of Houston TX, the world's leading testing company for surname DNA projects. The cost per participant is dependent on the number of markers tested, but all tests include (1) your haplotype, or genetic profile, which is useful in finding others who may share your genealogy and (2) an estimate of your haplogroup (an indication of deep ancestry). You may order the entry level 12-marker test, but we find that most serious researchers eventually upgrade to 37 or 67 markers -- if they don't start there. Either the 25 or 37 marker test can be useful in identifying other families that share a common ancestor.
