A. The first step is to contact me. To get the discounted group
rate on testing ($40-50 off the regular price), the test must be coordinated through the Moody
y-chromosome DNA Project. This will also help prevent two closely-related individuals from
unintentionally signing up. It takes little time to check to be sure your results won't essentially
duplicate another participants and then to order your test kit.
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Q. Is the project only for males with the Moody surname?
A. No. It is important that those with similar surnames participate, such as Moodie, Mooty, and Mudie. Changes in spelling through the years mask the true historical relationships. Including any spelling variations will increase our understanding of the correct relationships.
Return to topQ. What is the purpose of the project?
A. This project hopes to establish a picture of the relationships among the various Moody lines
in the world, and especially those lines which have immigrated to the United States. For
example, in the United States, there are a number of Moody lines which originate in the
Northeastern states and other lines from various Southern states. This includes an
understanding of how the spelling variations of the Moody surname fit into that picture.
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Q. Can the study conclusively prove historical relationships?
A. In short, test results provide supporting evidence of the relationship between two lineages.
It remains important to use other research to establish the feasibility of and to further confirm
any relationships. You cannot tell exactly where the linkage is between the two male
researchers, only that they have a common male ancestor somewhere on their family trees in
the direct male line going back in time.
Q. How does y-chromosome DNA testing work?
A. After sending me the necessary address, etc. information, FamilyTreeDNA will send you a
kit with two small brushes and vials. Two samples are taken to ensure that one will be useable.
Each brush is rubbed against the inside of your cheek to collect buccal cells, placed into a vial,
and then mailed back to the lab. You can see a photo and description of the test kit at FamilyTreeDNA:
Picture of Test Kit
Twenty-five markers on the Y-chromosome are analyzed (up to 67 markers may be tested and the more the better),
and a numeric value is assigned to
each marker. The sets of numbers are then compared to the results from other participants in
the study. The higher the number of matching values, the more likely it is that both subjects
have a common ancestor. The greater the number of matching markers, the more recent the
common ancestor. The comparison actually results in a statistical probability of how many
generations have passed since the most recent common ancestor of any two participants.
If you remember high school biology, in humans the 23rd chromosome is the "sex"
chromosome. Females have two "X" chromosomes and males have an "X" and a "Y"
chromosome. The Y-chromosome is passed from father to son, basically unchanged, from
one generation to the next. Tests of tiny chemical markers in a part of the Y-chromosome that
changes (mutates) slowly over time yield numeric values that are collectively called a
haplotype. This haplotype is compared to haplotypes of other individuals to determine if they
share a common ancestor.
Because this study uses the y-chromosome, we can only use results from male participants. Since most Western societies trace surnames through the male line, it also means that men probably need to have some variation of the Moody surname to participate. The exception would be a man whose natural father was a Moody but who has a different surname because of adoption or some similar situation.
Return to topQ. How many male descendants in a family line should be tested?
A. Normally only one sample is needed from a close family group to establish the
Y-chromosome marker values of that line. However, "non-paternity events" do occur which will
mean finding other members of that particular line to participate. "Non-paternity event" is the
term used for situations where a presumed straight-line descendancy is broken. These
situations would include undocumented adoptions, infidelity, a child born to an unwed young
woman and raised in her family as a "brother," and similar circumstances.
So, if one participant's results don't match any of the other results in the study, he may be descended from an entirely different Moody line or he may have a "non-paternity event" in his lineage. In such cases, another member of his line could be tested to help determine whether a new line is involved or there is a possible non-paternity event. This second participant should be as distantly related as is possible -- testing a first cousin isn't going to reveal a non-paternity event if the event happened earlier than one of their fathers, as they have the same Moody ancestors from their grandfather on back. Finding a third, fourth, or fifth cousin to be the second participant would be more beneficial. There is some value in testing several members of the same ancestral line. Even though a mutation in one measured marker may occur only once every 500 generations, any individual may be that "lucky" man who gets and then passes on the mutation.
Return to topQ. Which y-chromosome DNA test is best?
A. This project is asking that participants use at least the 25-marker test. This avoids time consuming and less cost
effective retesting of 12-marker test results which are not nearly as meaningful as 25-marker or more
results. FamilyTreeDNA offers a 37-marker and a 67-marker test.
Q. What about privacy?
A. It has been estimated that up to 97% of DNA is non-coding or "junk" DNA. Y-DNA falls into
the junk category. It contains no information regarding health issues, hair color, eye color,
stature, intelligence, etc. Only males have the Y-chromosome and it's passed from father to
son, from generation to generation, with little or no change, and that's all it does. Names of
the participants are confidential. Results are displayed using a numbering system.
FamilyTreeDNA has its own privacy policy.
Q. What if I only know a few generations of my family history?
A. The test results may actually help you to focus your research efforts on a particular Moody
line. Depending on how many distinct genetic lines are found among the different lineages
and surnames, testing may show your line has a common ancestor with a documented family.
Q. What's in it for you as the project administrator?
A. As the project administrator, I don't receive any payment, commission, or additional
discount, etc. from FamilyTreeDNA or any other party. All testing fees go directly to
FamilyTreeDNA, not to me. Actually, I'll be donating my own time and a few dollars to keep
the project on track and to maintain the project web site.
Q. Where can I find more information on genealogy and y-chromosome DNA testing?
A. There is an enormous amount of information available and it's growing all the time.
FamilyTreeDNA currently has more than 4,500 family history DNA projects underway. Here
are a very few of the best sites:
FamilyTreeDNA - The FamilyTreeDNA web site which has large amounts of easy-to-understand information about using DNA testing for genealogical purposes. Their service was created for the serious amateur and the professional genealogist who wish to extend their family trees by confirming a link where no conventional source records exist.
Chris Pomery's Rootsweb Site - A sizeable listing of Y-Chromosome DNA Studies being undertaken by Family Historians. Unfortunately, this site has not been updated since January 2003 but it still has useful links to many studies. FamilyTreeDNA's many surname studies can be found at FamilyTreeDNA's surname locator page.
Blair Surname Project - Introduction to DNA - DNA 101 is an attempt to take the extremely complex and confusing subject of Genetics and DNA and simplify it into layman terms. This page addresses DNA only as it applies to Y-Chromosome testing and genealogy. Technical terms are defined in this same context. An excellent and highly recommended site.
http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/ftdna/TMRCA.html (A service of FamilyTreeDNA) - Time to Most Recent Common Ancestry Calculator, Using Genetic Marker Similarity Between Two Individuals. Outstanding information on the interpretation of the matching of two test results. Somewhat technical but thorough.