(Home)BEAL SURNAME DNA PROJECT

Pages Revised January 14, 2007

BEAL SURNAME DNA PROJECT

This project is a multi-surname DNA project. The BEAL SURNAME DNA Project

includes the BEAL, BEALS, BEALE, BEALL, BELL, BAILEY, BALES, BAILES, BALE, BEEL SURNAME DNA STUDIES, . Any other possible variants of these surnames will be added, as needed. The BELL DNA STUDY is now the leading surname, because more BELLs are participating!

The project will address the ancestry of these lines by studying the "Y"

Chromosome of living males with ancestry consisting of father, grandfather,

great grandfather, g.g. grandfather, g.g.g. grandfather, etc., up the

surname male line to their first ancestor to be positively identified through

genealogical records and beyond!

Women may paticipate by using male living close relatives with the correct surname as surrogates for the testing. If you are interested in mtDNA testing or using a surrogate relative, please contact the project coordinator.

Genealogy has traditionally used oral history and documentation as a means of

identifying family members and their ancestors. However, researchers have primarily used documents and records to track generations of families by establishing

pedigrees and lines of descent. In genealogy research, the surname is frequently a usable tool to trace descent from one generation to another generation.

As early as 2850 BC, the Chinese found the use of surnames was

practical to identify families and to prevent the intermarriage of close

relatives. There were always questions regarding skin, hair color and other

physical characteristics and people recognized there must be something in

their families that passed these similarities or differences down through

successive generations. There were few answers until genetic science was

There have been questions in each of the project surname's lineages about

parallel lines of descent, with same or similar surnames, which could not be

connected to a common ancestor. Questions were also asked about the origins

of their surnames. Was each surname from the same geographical location,

maybe a county or city in England, Scotland, or elsewhere? Were other

similar surnames from the same origin? From a common ancestor?

Genealogists have examined other surnames spelled much like their own or

that sounded the same in efforts to find ancestors. Names were frequently

misspelled because individuals could not read or write, and clerks spelled the

surnames and gave the families names as they saw them. Ancestors decided to add letters like a, s, l and e to their names; others simply dropped letters out of their family names; while still others took completely new names when they migrated. Records were lost by fire, war and other disasters. Geneaolgy can be a very frustrating, challenging and time consuming endeavor.

A system called Soundex was invented to include whole groups of surnames

in a numbering system, and in that system Beal and Bell are found at the designation B400

However, investigative methods did not always find that elusive ancestor. "Brick Walls" are what the genealogist frequently call the dead ends, where all attempts to find an ancestor failed.

Today, there is a new investigative tool called genetic genealogy.

This is the branch of knowledge arising out of the study of genes first identified in 1909 for identification of inherited physical characteristics. Later, it was found that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was contained in chromosomes and acted as a carrier of genetic information.

Since 1940, the chemical nature of DNA has become a science revealing more and

more of the mysteries that make up the human body. It now has become a science that permits the identification of individuals by the use of DNA.

MtDNA has been demonstrated to be a useful way of tracing relatives. It was successfully used in identifying the daughters and Czarina in the Anastasia case in Russia. It was also used in Argentina in the investigation of murder and kidnapping where children had to be identified.

More recently, the use of the Y-chromosome has been used in family

reconstruction, and Y chromosome haplotypes have been used in male descent

lines to establish common markers for inclusion or exclusion from a family

paternal lines. Haplotypes are a set of markers on the Y chromosome.This is the DNA used in our testing.

The objectives of this Y Chromosome DNA Project are:

1. To establish Y chromosome Ancestral Haplotypes for each of the surnames included in this project.

2. To set up charts of the Y Chromosome DNA, including each DNA sample that has been submitted by the participants.

3. To establish if there are common ancestors for each of the surnames.

4. To determine the commonality, if any, between the participating surnames.

5. To determine any commonality in the origins of the surnames, using the

first ancestral place of origin from each pedigree for each sample.

6. To provide a genetic signature (Ancestral Haplotype) for as many early immigrant colonial ancestors, as possible.

7. To place participants Y-DNA test results in the web pages for this project and a thumbnail migration pattern for each under their name or a coded designation.

We also were one of the pioneer DNA projects, originally mentioned in Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter http://www.eogn.com in 5/24/2001 - Archive Beal Surname DNA Project

Read at:http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=3941

OPERATION OF THE PROJECT

Any individual wanting to be tested can go directly to the email addresses below.

You can furnish your descendants chart or ancestry, addresses and other information as required for participation in the project to me by email at:BealsurnameDNA@aol.com I will sign you up with Family Tree DNA Ltd.(FTDNA).

For sign-up with DNA Heritage (DNAH) furnish the required descendants chart, addresses and other information by email to me at DNAGenealogist@aol.com and I will sign you up with DNAH.

Individuals with little or no recorded ancestry may participate in hopes of making a match to existing haplotypes (genetic signature) that are part of the project or known data bases. This has been done in several cases in the project, see the results & analysis pages.

This is a private project for BEAL, BEALE, BEALS, BEALL, BELL, BALES, BAILEY or other Soundex B400 family genealogists, like myself.

I receive no remuneration of any type for coordinating this project!

I should add, for the squeamish individuals, that the testing will NOT be

done by drawing blood, but it will be done by swabbing the inside of the cheeks

of your mouth(self help)! Kits & instructions will be furnished to each participant for

that purpose. An online video is available at Family Tree DNA, Ltd. (FTDNA) showing the testing process.

If you are interested in being on the cutting edge of this new genealogy tool,

please submit the required information to be tested by either FTDNA or DNAH, as you prefer and send with the descendants chart to the above e-mail addresses.

MY OWN ORIGINS:Can be viewed at one of my genetic "cousins" Sites:

I cannot enter into postal correspondence to respond to questions on this

project at my home, as the postal cost would be prohibitive for me, as I have

no sponsor for this project. I believe any individual will find answers to

their questions by using the sites in my web pages and the provided links

Our web sites will be a focal point for the project and to post the project results. Each participant will be given their individual results and given access to the web site. Each will be identified by a coded number in the charts. None of the participants will be identified nor will their family lineage other than their thumbnail migration pattern from their earliest ancestor, be posted without their permission. Those wishing to be identified for easy contact can express that desire and be posted on our Participant's Page by our webmaster.

We already have over 120 participants in the Project's Studies and many of them have more than 12 generations of male surname ancestry to offer to the studies.Our Migration pages are unique to our project, having developed this technique, recognizing the importance of location and early dating.

As participants encourage other genealogists to participate and as the word of mouth and published word spread. We have already exceeded our initial target goal of 60 participants. We are at the forefront of this new technology, with over 5 years of experience.

I recommend reading a layman's explanation of DNA FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS in a 32 page paperback of the same name by Alan Savin at: http://www.savin.org/dna

Other sites below may be of interest to you and will answer many of your

questions: Advise me if any of these sites cannot be reached.

http://www.duerinck.com/genetic.html (No Adobe Acrobat is

Duerinck Surname DNA Project at http://www.duerinck.com/genetic.html

The Mumma DNA Project at http://www.mumma.org/MummaDNA.pdf (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

at http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/ftdna/TMRCA.html

at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/tcga/ScienceSpectra-pages/SciSpect-14-98.html

WE CAN NOW OFFER A UK FIRM, DNA HERITAGE (DNAH) FOR REASONABLY PRICED TESTING TO POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE UK OR OUTSIDE THE USA, AS WELL AS THE FTDNA TESTING FACILITY

PLEASE CONTACT ME AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS, DNAGenealogist@aol.com FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Thanks for your interest and participation in this project.

OUR DNA TESTING PRICES ARE THE MOST REASONABLE IN THE WORLD FOR PROJECT PARTICIPANTS.

Charles E. Beal, Project Coordinator/Manager

This page and other linked pages were updated on January 14, 2007

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