The Skillman DNA Project has general goals as stated below, however we suggest contacting us to discuss your individual goals. This will help you decide the test kit that is best for you, prior to ordering.  

John Skillmans words:

THE SKILLMAN DNA PROJECT has two goals:

1) To verify through Y-DNA all descendants of Thomas-1 Skillman, who arrived in this country in 1664 from Portsmouth, England, as a soldier and/or musician under Col. Nicolls in the Duke of York's expedition to seize New Amsterdam from the Dutch. The Dutch surrendered without a fight and Thomas settled in Newtown (now Elmhurst), Queens, NY, under a patent from Col. Nicolls. He married Sara Petit (Pettit) in 1669 and they had three daughters and one son, Thomas-2, born in 1671, who married Annetje Aten in 1693. In addition to four daughters, Thomas-2 and Annetje had seven sons, namely Peter-3, Jan(John)-3, Abraham-3, Isaac-3, Jacob-3, Benjamin-3 and Joseph-3, from whom all Skillmans in America are thought to be descended (with the likely exception of African-Americans whose ancestors adopted the Skillman surname). Peter-3 died young and the only son of Abraham-3 never married and allegedly died at sea. However, the other five sons of Thomas-2 propagated 6084 known descendants with the Skillman surname, many of whom are living today. Are you one of them?

For a history and extensive genealogy of the Skillmans in America, go to the SKILLMAN GENEALOGY WEBSITE at http://skillmansofamerica.com/index.htm. On this site you can trace your ancestry back to Thomas-1, the first Skillman in America, and find out other interesting Skillman facts. Did you know that both New Jersey and Kentucky have towns named Skillman?

2) To determine if Skillmans in other countries are related to each other and/or to the Skillmans in America. For a history of the Skillmans in England go to http://www.mkskillman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

If you are a Skillman in America, seemingly valid records or family tradition may suggest that you are a descendant of the first Thomas, but the only way to know with certainty is through a Y-chromosome DNA test. We have begun to see a pattern of certain Y-DNA markers that differentiate the several Skillman ancestral lines, but we need many additional Skillmans in our Project to confirm this. Please click on JOIN REQUEST and select Option B to join the Skillman DNA Project and order your Y-DNA37 or Y-DNA67 test kit today!