Robert:
One thought comes to mind about establishing a DNA base. Historic St.
Marie's supposedly took some DNA samples from members of the "famous"
Calvert lines in order to establish the identities of those buried in
the lead coffins in the Chapel there. We, however, were not involved
other than to view the coffins etc before they were removed for study.
The logical place might be Historic St. Marie's, but funding would be an
issue. Most historic sites (the non Federal ones, atleast) are always
scrambling for funds. If you were to suggest this, they would ask you
about funding and possibly, put you in charge!
Robert Fillerup wrote:
Some of you may be familiar with Bryan Sykes' book "The Seven Daughters of
Eve." There Sykes postulates that virtually all Europeans are descendants
of only seven "mothers" whoMore importantly, he has established an
organization with a web site where, for a fee, you can a DNA sample and the
organization will determine from which of the seven daughters you descend.
In addition, also for a fee, you can receive a map of England showing where
your acestral surname originated or was concentrated. The web site is:
www.oxfordancestors.com
You can wander around there and see for yourself.
Obvioiusly, many of us on the Calvert list are struggling to find our
lineage. For example, I (and countless others) descend from the William
Calvert - Elizabeth Nodding line. As yet, we have been unable to determine
William Calvert's parentage with any degree of assurance.
I lack the technical knowledge concerning DNA testing. However, I am aware
of the progress that has been made, and the current state of affairs. On the
local TV news yesterday there was a segment about a testing lab in Salt Lake
City which will be doing the bulk of the work on the samples from NY and
Washington to determine to whom which body parts belong.
I've pondered the following: Is there anyone on this list who has the
contacts/connections to explore the possibility that we could set up a
"Calvert" DNA database where we could contribute DNA from each of the lines
and determine how they match up? In other words, we might be able to
determine from whom my William descends, even though we don't have the
documentation. Or, conversely, we might establish for certainty that my
William did not descend from any of the "famous" Calverts.
As an aside, I submit that responses such as "This is a great idea," etc.,
would be ill-advised. This is not my original idea. It has been bantered
around on other discussion lists, etc. It was only because of the DNA
testing to be done on the WTC victims that I again focused on it.
Does anyone know if this is being done on any kind of organized basis for
any particular groups, or lines, or by any domestic companies, etc.? More
importantly, do we have anyone on our list who is qualified enough to give
us some intelligent feedback?
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