Welcome to the Loomis surname project. We encourage you to read this as well as the Background, Goals, and other sections of the site—this will give a full view of what we hope to accomplish. This project began as an effort to establish the Y-DNA of Joseph Loomis, who settled in Windsor, Connecticut, via his descendants and to better understand who our antecedents in the Old World were. While these continue to be goals, the project has expanded. Charles A. Hoppin theorized that all with the Loomis surname and its various iterations share a common descent from the first man to assume the surname Lumhalgh in 13th century Lancashire, England. Another goal is to test that theory. This project is open to all male-line descendants of Joseph Loomis. Female descendants of Joseph Loomis may participate by having a father, brother, cousin or other male-line Loomis relative donate a Y-DNA sample to FTDNA and our project. Individuals with the Loomis surname who aren't descended from Joseph Loomis, or don't know if they have that descent, are invited to join the project too. Individuals with name variations such as Lomas, Lomax, Lummus, Lummis, and so on are also encouraged to join. Finally, individuals with unrelated surnames, but who match the Loomis Y-DNA, are also invited to join this project. Those who already have Y-DNA results from FTDNA may simply join the project. For those who have not tested yet, DNA testing can be expensive. We encourage those wishing to join our surname project to purchase the FTDNA test that they are comfortable with financially. However, the more markers tested, the more meaningful the results. Remember that STR (Short Tandem Repeat) testing, even up to Y 111, will only ever give you a predicted haplogroup. Only by doing the Big Y 700 test will you be able to discover your confirmed haplogroup and subclade. Big Y 700 also includes the Y 111 test, so it provides the most information possible and, in the long run, is most cost effective. The Big Y 700 test also provides the information we need to accomplish the goals of this project. We hope that many of you will be willing to order or upgrade to Big Y 700.