Bob wrote:
Can someone fill me in on the details behind this? Sorry, new to
group!
Go to
http://www.ftdna.com and follow the links there to family DNA
projects, to those that begin with "C", to Carpenter. Alternatively,
you can go to the explanation at
familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/a/r/John-R-Carpenter/FILE/0042text.txt
In the initial stages of the study, it is especially important to get
testees who are pretty sure of the paper trail leading back to one of
the "Founders" (e.g., William of Providence or William of Rehoboth).
Comparison of the results for a group of descendants will allow the
reconstruction of the ancestral DNA pattern. Then, the founders'
patterns can be compared to determine whether they were related or not.
If they were NOT related, then the DNA test will provide a quick and
easy diagnostic for any modern Carpenter -- telling at a glance which
founder is your ancestor. If some of the founders WERE related, then
the test will be unable to distinguish their descendants one from
another, but it could still be useful in many cases, since there are
many origins of the name Carpenter. Also, needless to say, the proof
(or disproof) of relatedness of any two founders will be an important
advance in the state of Carpenter genealogy.
John Chandler