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Hadley DNA Project 2^nd Anniversary Newsletter: html      Acrobat PDF

What's this all about?
What does it cost?
Who can participate?
How do I participate?        
What might the results tell us?
Test Results so far

What's this all about? DNA testing can be a valuable tool in genealogical research when it is combined with conventional research. Test results can be used to confirm a suspected connection between two families or disprove a connection. Although it is impossible to pinpoint a common ancestor from the test results alone, with a proper paper trail you may be able to do so.

Several Hadley researchers, representing different Hadley lines, have decided to start a Worldwide Hadley DNA project. We believe that this project can greatly enhance our research and the research of other Hadley researchers. We believe that DNA testing is now available, reliable, confidential, and affordable.

Don't let the scientific terminology scare you off. You don't need to know the buzz words: Genetic testing, genotyping, mutation, polymorphism, Cohanim, DNA testing, PCR, MtDNA, Y-Chromosome, genetree, dnaprint, ancestrybydna, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), Short Tandem Repeat (STR), Allele, genotyping, Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA), HAPLOTYPE, etc.

After checking out several DNA testing services, we have selected Family Tree DNA as our testing service. They are used by a large, and growing, number of family genealogy groups, have a good reputation according to these groups, and meet all our requirements for results, price, support, etc. And there is no blood involved. Samples are gathered by scraping the inside of your mouth with a toothbrush-looking thing that is provided as part of the process.

For more background information, go to the Family Tree DNA web site and the DNA-101 writeup at the Blair Genealogy site (one of Family Tree DNA's participants).

The more potentially-related people that participate the more useful the results are for all of us. We want you to participate if you meet both of these criteria:

• You are a male Hadley. The y-chromosome is passed from father to son, pretty much unchanged from generation to generation. While there are some other tests that work with females, the Hadley DNA Project isn't using these.
• You have at least started your genealogical research using conventional means. Starting your research with a DNA test is not usually a good idea. When you register for the project, we will ask you to send us a list of your Hadley ancestory, starting with yourself, and giving the birth year and location (to the best of your knowledge) for each generation. This will help us identify DNA patterns for the various Hadley lines.

What's it cost? As part of a "Surname Project" we get a substantial discount compared to the list prices. There are two y-chromosome tests available. One examines 12 "markers" on the chromosome; the other measures a total of 25 markers (the same 12 as the other test plus 13 additional). When there is an exact match in the 12-marker test, FTDNA recommends "upgrading" to the 25-markers to better tune the results. The 25 markers narrows down the range of generations between common ancestors.

Important: After you have read the background information and decided you want to participate, please send an email to the Hadley Project administrator, Brad Hadley. Include your name, what you know of your ancestry, and any other information you consider important. The Project occasionally has special offers for new participants who match very specific requirements. This could reduce the cost of your DNA test kit.

FamilyTreeDNA has recently added a 37-marker test, which one of our participants has gotten. We will keep an eye on how these results prove useful.

For the Hadley project, we will accept either the 12 or 25-marker tests (or the 37). We encourage you to get the 25-marker kit (Y-DNAPlus) for $169, plus $2 shipping in the US. (Non-US shipping is slightly more. Eg. UK shipping is $4). If you prefer, you can go with the 12-marker kit for $99 (Y-DNA) plus shipping. As I said, the 12-marker kit will give us useful results, especially if we get a lot of them. And you can always upgrade later if the results show that you are likely linked to a particular Hadley line.

To "upgrade" from the 12-marker results to 25 markers you don't need to resubmit the DNA sample; They keep your original sample on ice. But, it is a little less expensive to get the 25-marker test from the start. The upgrade is called "Y-DNARefine" and costs $100. So your total cost is $199 to do it in two steps. It is $169 to do 25-markers right off the bat, saving $30.

I want to participate. What do I do next?

1. Read through the background info at Family Tree DNA and DNA-101
2. Send an email to bhadley@nc.rr.com. Include your name and Hadley ancestors going back as far as you can. Include each Hadley ancestor's birth year and place if you know it.
3. Save up the $169 (or $99). (It is a fine holiday gift!)

Brad will email instructions for ordering your test kit.

Or, if you prefer to just go ahead and order your test kit, click here. This will take you to the special Hadley DNA Project ordering site.

Be sure to send Brad your Hadley ancestry info.

There's a lot of missing information related to our Hadley families that we think DNA information can help us find. Some of our initial thoughts:

• How many distinct Hadley lines are there?
• Is there a connection between the Simon, George, Dennis, and Joseph Hadley lines?
• If we can get some participants from England, are there linkages between the current UK lines and the US lines.
• How are Hadleys in other countries related?
• ... and much more!