The project will:

• Develop a table of genetic patterns of all Arney Families so that Arney researchers can determine whether theirfamilies have a common ancestor with other Arney families

• Encourage Arney researchers to submit DNA samples.

• Share the results with all participants in the projectand make the results publicly available on the internet withappropriate considerations for privacy of participants

The project useshigh technology DNA analysis to determine whether families share acommon ancestor. The male chromosome is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son. So, two male Arney 7^thcousins would have virtually the same male DNA pattern.This scientific fact is useful in genealogy when one does not havedocumentary records to show a family connection despitecircumstantial evidence that suggest a family connection. If the DNAof the descendants of the branches one is trying to connect do nothave the same DNA pattern, then one knows they are not closelyrelated. If the pattern does match, then there is a common ancestorat some point in the past lineage. The technology can’t pinpointhow many generations back the ancestor is, but it can tell us ifthere is a common ancestor.

Participants joining the project are sent a lab kit inthe mail. The kit includes a “Q” tip or toothbrush type ofinstrument that one rubs along the inside of one’s cheek with for30 to 60 seconds. Then the swab is placed in an envelope and mailedto the lab. That’s all it takes.

A fellow researcher sent the following page thatcontains a list of good resources for genealogists. If you have agood website for that we should list here, let me know.

MYFACTS PAGE - GENEALOGY RESOURCES

Within 6 to 8 weeks, results are available for the sample submitted.When enough samples are collected to make comparisons betweenbranches of the family, a summary sheet will be supplied to eachparticipant indicating which branches were shown to have a commonancestor.

Tohelp the pay the costs of donations FTDNA has funds set up for eachproject. If you would like to help defray the cost of tests for otherpeople go to http://www.familytreedna.com/contribution.html.Be sure to specify the donation is to be given to the “Arney”project. Thank you for your generosity!

ORDERING DNA SAMPLE KITS

TheArney Family DNA project seeks to include data from the various ArneyDNA projects and incorporate their data. Family Tree DNA’s (FTDNA)laboratory is recommended. It is affiliated with Dr. Michael Hammerand the University of Arizona and tests the Y-chromosome for geneticmatches between males. Results are placed in FTDNA's Y-DNA databaseand when 2 people show matching results, the lab will inform bothparties (provided both signed the FTDNA Release Form). Please visitthe FTDNAwebsitefor moreinformation and an explanation of Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA).

Other projects use other labs, but the results cannot beloaded into the FTDNA database. However, if you send us the resultswe will match them with the members data in this project and we willadd the results to our display.

Byordering through FTDNA you receive project group rates, which areless expensive than standard rates. The following Y-chromosome DNAtests are available.  Please see the FTDNAwebsiteforavailability of other types of DNA testing.

The 12 marker testis best at ruling out relatedness with another participant, but is of limited value in genealogy and is not recommended. The BigY is recommended.

Otherkits are available for testing Haplogroups.

Byordering the kit through our project you are agreeing to have yourresults incorporated with other tests and displayed on this site.

DNA EXPLAINED

JohnBlair has an excellent explanation of the DNA process on his BlairSurname Project.Basically there are DNA Markers which are passed from father toson and remain the same generation to generation with an occasionalmutation. This is why only males can do this test. All Y-DNA testsallow you to identify your ethnic and geographic origins(Haplogroup), both recent and far distant on your direct maledescending line. Among others, you will be able to check yourNative-AmericanorAfricanAncestryas well as for the CohanimAncestry.A description of Haplogroups follows this section.

Awonderful set of videos describing DNA testing and how it can helpyou in your genealogy research is provided on the Family Tree DNAwebsite at http://www.familytreedna.com/videoaudio.html.

WHATS A HAPLOGROUP?

FTDNA Y-DNA testsallow you to identify your ethnic and geographic origins(Haplogroups), both recent and far distant. Among other features,this test will also be able to indicate your Native-AmericanAncestry and which of the 5 major groups that settled inthe Americans you are most likely to be descended from.It can also describe AfricanAncestry as well as other ethnic origins.

Y-DNA Haplogroup Descriptions:

The following Haplogroup Descriptions are from theFamilyTreeDNA.com website which was the testing company used todetermine the nearest Haplogroup assigment based on the individual'shaplotype results from the Y-DNA test. These verbatim HaplogroupDescriptions and/or excerpts are copyrighted by FamilyTreeDNA.com andall rights to these descriptions are claimed by FamilyTreeDNA.com.These descriptions have been printed here with the permission ofFamilyTreeDNA.com. These descriptions cannot be used elsewherewithout the written permission of FamilyTreeDNA.com.

Please note that people in different Haplogroups cannotbe related within many thousands of years, and that each male testresult provides a prediction of the Haplogroup currently about 90% ofthe time. If your Y-DNA matches suggest that you belong, for example,to Haplogroup R1b, you may confirm that by ordering a Y-DNA SNP testfor the R1b clade.

In general the following rule of thumb may be used: R1b= Western Europe, R1a = Eastern Europe, I = Nordic, J2 = Semitic, E3b= Semitic, Q3 = Native American.

Haplogroup B is one of the oldest Y-chromosome lineages in humans and is found exclusively in Africa. Thislineage was the first to disperse around Africa. There is currentarchaeological evidence supporting a major population expansion inAfrica approximately 90-130 thousand years ago. It has been proposedthat this event may have spread Haplogroup B throughout Africa.Haplogroup B appears at low frequency all around Africa, but is atits highest frequency in Pygmy populations.

Haplogroup C is found throughout mainland Asia, thesouth Pacific, and at low frequency in Native American populations.Haplogroup C originated in southern Asia and spread in alldirections. This lineage colonized New Guinea, Australia, and northAsia, and currently is found with its highest diversity inpopulations of India.

Haplogroup C3 is believed to have originated insoutheast or central Asia. This lineage then spread into northernAsia, and then into the Americas.

Haplogroup D2 most likely derived from the D lineage inJapan. It is completely restricted to Japan, and is a very diverselineage within the aboriginal Japanese and in the Japanese populationaround Okinawa.

Haplogroup E3a is an Africa lineage. It is currentlyhypothesized that this haplogroup dispersed south from northernAfrica within the last 3,000 years, by the Bantu agriculturalexpansion. E3a is also the most common lineage among AfricanAmericans.

Haplogroup E3b is believed to have evolved in the MiddleEast. It expanded into the Mediterranean during the PleistoceneNeolithic expansion. It is currently distributed around theMediterranean, southern Europe, and in north and east Africa.

Haplogroup G may have originated in India or Pakistan,and has dispersed into central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. TheG2 branch of this lineage (containing the P15 mutation) is found mostoften in Europe and the Middle East.

Haplogroup H is nearly completely restricted to India,Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.  

Haplogroups I, I1, and I1a are nearly completely restricted to northwestern Europe. These would most likely have been common within Viking populations. One lineage of this group extends down into central Europe.

Haplogroup I1b was derived within Viking/Scandinavianpopulations in northwest Europe and has since spread down intosouthern Europe where it is present at low frequencies.

Haplogroup J is found at highest frequencies in MiddleEastern and north African populations where it most likely evolved.This marker has been carried by Middle Eastern traders into Europe,central Asia, India, and Pakistan.

Haplogroup J2 originated in the northern portion of theFertile Crescent where it later spread throughout central Asia, theMediterranean, and south into India. As with other populations withMediterranean ancestry this lineage is found within Jewishpopulations. The Cohen modal lineage is found in Haplogroup J2.

Haplogroup Q is the lineage that links Asia and theAmericas. This lineage is found in North and Central Asianpopulations as well as native Americans. This lineage is believed tohave originated in Central Asia and migrated through the Altai/Baikalregion of northern Eurasia into the Americas.

Haplogroup Q3 is the only lineage strictly associatedwith native American populations. This haplogroup is defined by thepresence of the M3 mutation (also known as SY103). This mutationoccurred on the Q lineage 8-12 thousand years ago as the migrationinto the Americas was underway. There is some debate as to on whichside of the Bering Strait this mutation occurred, but it definitelyhappened in the ancestors of the Native American peoples.

Haplogroup R1a is believed to have originated in theEurasian Steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas. This lineage isbelieved to have originated in a population of the Kurgan culture,known for the domestication of the horse (approximately 3000 B.C.E.).These people were also believed to be the first speakers of theIndo-European language group. This lineage is currently found incentral and western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of EasternEurope.

Haplogroup R1b is the most common Haplogroup in Europeanpopulations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe ashumans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousandyears ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing theAtlantic modal haplotype (HG1).