This project is for mitochondrial DNA only. You inherit your mitochondrial DNA from your mother, and she from her mother, so this project focuses only on the maternal lines of the Cumberland Gap area only. If your yline (paternal line) DNA is from the Cumberland Gap, please join the Cumberland Gap Yline project. The focus of this project is to reconnect the various families whose ancestors settled in the counties surrounding the Cumberland Gap. Please join if either your direct female maternal ancestoral line (your mother, her mother, her mother, up the tree) is associated with Claiborne, Hancock and Hawkins Co., in Tn., Lee, Russell or Scott Counties in Virginia, or Bell or Harlan Counties in Kentucky. Male lines are relatively easy to track as the last names don't change. However, we lose so many females lines due to marriages and last name changes. They are much more difficult to identify, especially when combined with the lack of traditional genealogical records. Therefore, the special focus of this project is to connect our female ancestors through their mitochondrial DNA.

This project is for Y-line (paternal) DNA only. A companion project, the Cumberland Gap mtdna project focuses on the mitochondrial (maternal) DNA lines. View mtDNA here: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cumberlandgap%2Dmtdna/ The focus of this project is to connect the various familys whose ancestors settled in or passed through the counties surrounding the Cumberland Gap. Please join if either your direct male ancestoral line (paternal only - the line of your last name) is associated with Claiborne, Hancock and Hawkins Co., in Tn., Lee, Russell or Scott Counties in Virginia, or Bell or Harlan Counties in Kentucky. Please join the Cumberland Gap DNA and Genealogy Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2409187872743532/

I have set this project up primarily to tie my Kimberling family to the Kimberling family in Mason County West Virginia, but I’m interested in all Kimberling relatives!