Project Goals

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PROJECT GOALS

Our overall goal is to discover the truth about our ARTERBURN ancestors--who they were, where they lived, and where they ultimately came from. Art and Jan Arterburn laid invaluable foundations for this goal with their groundbreaking research and book, The Arterburn Cousins. This effort will attempt to build on their work and also take advantage of new research and new resources. Whatever our findings, the respect and gratitude we owe our ancestors should not be diminished. Rich or poor, high or low, they were family and have bequeathed to us, their descendants, the greatest of all earthly treasures, life itself.


Our more immediate goals are:

1. To determine whether ARTERBERRY, ARTHABER, EDEBURN, OTTERBEIN, or OTTERBURN family names/lines share a common ancestor with ARTERBURN. This current phase of testing has been completed, and none of the participants tested thus far are related to ARTERBURN. Much has been learned, though, in the process (See "Y Results" and "Results," above). As funding becomes available, our next phase of testing may include a second OTTERBURN participant in England to validate the family line, and also an ATTERBORN if we can find a willing participant in Europe.

2. To determine more definitively the genetic branch, or Haplogroup, of the human family tree represented in ARTERBURN DNA, which may help eventually to further illuminate the geographic origin and subsequent migrations of our distant ancestors. This test has been completed, and our Haplogroup has been confirmed: R1a1 (aka R-M198). The ARTERBURN Haplogroup will not change, although its nomenclature may change as it becomes more clearly defined with new genetic testing and research. Information about the worldwide distribution of this group will also continue to grow and evolve. We will share any new findings from FTDNA here on the Project website, as they are discovered and reported.

3. The ARTERBURN DNA profile has been upgraded to 37 markers, and also validated by the matching test results of a second ARTERBURN descendant. We will continue to watch for any significant matches with future FTDNA and Ysearch (a worldwide database) participants, which could then be analyzed for possible clues about the origin of the ARTERBURN family/surname. Any future matches will be reported as they occur.

4. To assist and supplement the traditional work of researchers of the ARTERBURN family toward the goal of progressively completing, as far as is possible, an accurate historical and genealogical portrait of the earliest generations of our ancestors.

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TO LEARN MORE

For more information about DNA testing for genealogical purposes and its uses, click on the links below. Use your browser's "Back" button to return to this website. Please report broken links:


Frequently Asked Questions

Genetic Genealogy Tutorials

FTDNA Forum

National Geographic Society: Genographic Project

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Copyright 2007-2009, Charles R. Arterburn. All rights reserved. Commercial use is not allowed without specific written permission. The above information is free for personal users and family researchers. Attribution is expected in derivative works and a share-alike license applies. All works cited and/or hyperlinked as reference sources are also under copyright protection.

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{Last Updated: June 1, 2009}