SANDIFER DNA Project- Background

Background

It is thought that the SANDIFER surname and it's variant surnames was established in England within a genealogical timeframe and migrated from there in the 1600s and 1700s to other countries such as Barbados, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Different spellings such as SANDIFER, SANDERFER, SANDEFER, SANDEFUR, SANDIFUR, SANDIFORD, SANDERFORD, SANDFORD, SANDIVER, SANDOVAR, etc. have helped make searching early records challenging. After exhausting many early records or finding no records, many of us have hit a brick wall. It is hoped that by capturing the DNA of these early SANDIFER variant surname families, we can discover commonalities in the genetic makeup, find common genetic lines, perhaps give us a hint of a direction to look in, and maybe help establish the area where this migration and establishment of the our surnames began.

The Sandifer DNA Project has established a general fund account with Family Tree DNA. Thus Family Tree DNA holds the general funds for each DNA project and provides a payment process from their Group General Fund Contribution website:

http://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx

To make a donation using the Family Tree DNA order page, select the letter ‘S’ in the left list and scroll down to Sandifer in the right list.  Next write in the amount you wish to donate, a list of any instructions you have, and the type of donation, you can then make your payment by choosing one of the following options:

1. Using your credit card
2. Paying through PayPal
3. Printing a payment form and mailing it to FTDNA with your check
4. Calling FTDNA (713-868-1438) directly and make a donation to the Sandifer DNA Project General Fund. One of our main goals is to increase our project participation from England. 

The Sandifer DNA project needs better samplings to help answer the migration questions in our family histories.  To meet our sampling requirements we need or want to test men from England. Therefore the first use of this general fund will be a free 37 marker test available for any Sandifer (or variant spelling, such as, Sandefur, Sandiver, Sandever) of English citizenship who can accurately trace his ancestry back to 1700 or earlier to a specific location in England. Surnames Sandford and Sanford are excluded from this offer unless it can be shown the surname derived from one of the variants of Sandifer.

If any member wishes to donate for any specific cause other then the one just mentioned that can be accommodated. Please get in touch with one of the Administrators.

Any English applicant who wishes to make use of the fund to pay for his testing should contact the administrator for review. Note also that you do not have to be a member of the project to make a donation, anyone can make a donation to the general fund.

The Sandifer DNA Project appreciates all the donations received to-date by our generous donors.  We look forward to increasing our General Fund so more tests can be ordered.