WELCOME to the Y chromosome DNA project for all variations of the surname COLBY! Many Colbys in America are descendants of Anthony (1605-1660) and his wife Susanna (1610-1689). Anthony sailed from England with the Winthrop Fleet to arrive in America in 1630. This line includes a U.S. President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Register of the U.S. Treasury, Governor, Director of the CIA, President of a College and Railroad, high ranking and awarded leaders of the military, a leader of the Sierra Club, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Joseph Smith Jr. the founder of the Mormon Church. These Colbys also had a connection with the Salem Witch Trials. Another line of Colbys descends from John Colby, born circa 1790 in Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Norfolk, England, and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1850. This family settled in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, with descendants migrating to Albany and Buffalo, New York; Kansas; Louisiana; and Texas. HELPFUL INFO: DNA is the carrier of our genetic information and is passed down from generation to generation. A person receives DNA from both their father and mother. We have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Of each pair, one comes from the father and one from the mother. The 23rd chromosome is known as the sex chromosome. The 23rd chromosome from the mother is always an X. From the father, a person either inherits an X chromosome or a Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is only found in men. This makes a Y chromosome test an ideal choice in making a connection with those of the same surname. Females who are interested in the project should test a close male relative. In choosing a male, consider an older relative who may be the last surviving male in your family line and have them tested. TESTS FOR FEMALES: A person's maternal ancestry can be traced using his or her mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. mtDNA is maternally inherited and is passed from a female ancestor to their children of either sex. By continuing a line from a mother back to her mother and so on, it's possible to trace a family tree backward in time based on mitochondrial lineages. This test also allows you to identify your ethnic and geographic origins, both recent and far distant, on your direct maternal line. This test is used for both females and males and is an important tool for genetic analysis and genealogical research. When choosing a mtDNA project, you may want to consider the geographic origin of your maternal line. Join us today and save with a group project rate! Let's discover the origins of Colby families worldwide!