Y-Search Website

Much has happened since Y-DNA testing first became available commercially through Family Tree DNA in February of 2000. Many thousands of people have tested to find family connections as well as family origins. Since then, other labs have entered this market, and the number of tested individuals is growing as the use of DNA is becoming more and more accepted as an important tool for family research, enhancing traditional genealogy research methods.

In order to allow people that have tested with the different companies to make their results available for comparison, Family Tree DNA is offering Ysearch as a free public service.  They have added several tools that allow you to compare side-by-side different users - the YsearchCompare - as well as generate a Genetic Distance™ Report, and many other features, including upload of GEDCOM files.

When looking at the 71 tests that have been ordered as part of the Sykes/Sikes DNA project and have had their results returned, there are only 21 people that have uploaded their Y-Chromosome test results to the YSearch website.  I would recommend that all of our members upload their test results.  Family Tree DNA makes the process very easy as described in the procedure below.  When you put your data up on the website, anyone can see it and people that have been tested with other testing services can compare their data to yours. They can also send you a message using a blind e-mail service that is provided, it’s blind because they are not given your e-mail address.  If you choose to answer them, you can, or if you are not interested, you can just ignore the message.  It’s a good way to find someone that has the same, or very close to your own, Y-Chromosome DNA.  You can remove or edit your test results and other data any time you want.  You have the option to add additional information from your oldest known ancestor to your entire genealogy (ancestors) so others can see it.  They will not post any dates later than 1900 unless you tell them you want them posted.  When you sign up for this free service, they give you a five character code to identify your test results.  It’s a lot like your test kit number; no one can tie it to your name unless you tell them.

Procedure for uploading your DNA data from Family Tree DNA:

R1b     is defined by SNP M343
R1b1    is defined by SNP P25
R1b1c      is defined by SNP M269. 

Our DNA Project reached a milestone this week with the test results of 50
participants being posted on our chart.
<http://sikes-sykesfamilies.rootsweb.com/ss-23aDNA.html>

The project has come a long way in the two and a half years it has been running.  
All but six of the test results fall into seven specific lineage groups 
which are shown in colored highlights on the chart.  Ten tests, either new 
or upgrades are currently being processed.   Ten of our test participants 
have documented their lineage back to England with most of them being in 
the Yorkshire area.   I want to thank David A. Sykes for his work in finding 
and recruiting these English members of our family.  We have several people 
who are working on their lines and exchanging information with others in their 
lineage group as shown on the result chart.  Sharing of research data and working 
together has always been a major goal of our project.

So what have we learned so far?  First we have found, in our 50 tests, many
of the same groups that Bryan Sykes found in his 2000 test and paper in
England using 48 tests.  One of the differences is that his was a random
sampling where ours is not.  We were trying to prove some connections in
documented families, so that is why we have six tests reflecting a single
family.  

Second, we have found a higher mutation rate than predicted, or expected, in
one of the lines.  The line is the Richard Sikes line and the one that I
have spent that last 40 years trying to document.  The people being tested
in this line are in the 10th & 11th generations from Richard Sikes, and can
be as far away as 19-21 transmission events from each other.  That's
counting down one line and back up another.  From the results it appears
that Victory Sikes, my direct ancestor, had a mutation on DYS392 from 14 to
15.  He has three sons and all three lines have been tested and have the
same count in this location.   Besides this, there are many other mutations
in this line so there are hardly any complete matches in this documented
line.  Why is this?   I'm not sure! 

Third, doing a 12 marker test and sometimes a 25 marker test and having a
match or close match doesn't necessary mean you are closing in on a common
ancestor.  An example is test #64888 & #64028 with 25 markers which were off
by just one marker, but when the 37 marker results came in on #64028, it is
now at five or six markers different.  I put these two into a separate group
and we are now testing the uppers markers on #64028.  What would also help
here is to have more of the tests in this group tested to 37 markers.

As always the more you know, there are more questions that can be asked
about what you don't know.  I think that is one thing this project has done.
It has answered some question but has posed many more.  Hopefully, in the
future with the continued work from many, we can learn even more about our
family.

The Sikes/Sykes Families Association had a great meeting in Orlando, Florida
in early February.  One of our main discussion items was the DNA project.
We looked at how far we have come since it start in June 2005, where we are
today, and where we want to go in the future.  

So first a little update on the project, we now have five 12 marker tests,
sixteen 25 marker tests, eleven 37 marker tests, and one 67 marker test
completed.  We have six other tests that have been ordered and we are
waiting for the test kits to be returned or waiting for the lab results to
be returned.  We still have four major Sikes/Sykes family groups of test
results, but we expect to see other groups as new test results come in.

The Association voted to spend some more money on sponsoring tests and/or
subsidizing tests.  We still have not found a person with documented
connections to the John Sikes line of Norfolk, Virginia through his son
Thomas, this is an important family as far as understanding a large group of
similar tested southern Sykes families so we have set aside money for a 25
maker test if we can find someone in this line to be tested.  We also have
money to help in the cost of further testing of Sikes/Sykes lines that have
not been tested yet.  So if you know of someone that has 4-5 or 6
generations of Sykes ancestors but is not part of one of the families
already tested have them get in touch with me and we will see what we can do
to help.

A big new effort has been started in finding and get tested Sykes family
members that have documentation going back to England in the 1840's.  We
have been collecting a large database of early English Sykes records and
want to use them and the DNA results to make the connection between our
families and their English origin.  Two anonymous Association members have
come forward and offered to pay for up to twenty 12 markers DNA test for the
people that meet this requirement.  We have one test sign up already.  So as
you correspond with people let them know about our project.  The
requirements' again are be a male Sikes or Sykes and have documentation that
goes back to pre 1852 in England.

We need to get more genealogical information posted on our web site about
the oldest known ancestor on our test result chart, we have links to four
families so far but it would be great to have the first three or four
generations from all of the oldest know ancestors.  This information can be
very useful to researchers trying to tie into our existing test data.  The
families that have links so far are: Richard Sikes, John Sikes of Norfolk,
VA, Brothers Samson & Arthur Sikes, and John Sikes of  Prince George Co., VA

We now have four 12 marker tests completed, twenty 25 marker tests and eight
37 marker tests completed.  We have several more that are in the process of
being upgraded or waiting on additional markers results.  We have four major
groups of families with the rest being individual examples of family DNA.
See attached test result chart.

Bryan Sykes in his 2000 paper found 13 groups of Sykes families; we have
examples in out results of 6 out of the 13 families, that's 46%.  His test
results of 48 tests was not evenly distributed but concentrated in one major
family and with several other smaller families.  So it you look at the total
number of people that we have match for in out test data its 34 out of 48 or
71%.  I think that it is pretty good in that we have a total of 32 tests
with results so far.  By the time we get to 48 tests that percentage is
going to be even higher.  

Bryan's data was a random sampling in counties in England where Sykes' are
concentrated today.  Ours is far from random, its family that have an
interest in family history, maybe there is a gene for that.  It's just
interesting that we have as many of the families that are present in England
today represented in America, some of these families have moved here before
1700.  I have added high light colors to connect our test data with Bryan's
on the test result chart.


Sikes/Sykes Families Association Meeting

The Sikes/Sykes Families Association is have a Reunion/Meeting in Orlando,
Florida this coming February.  The reunion is going to be Friday February 2
to Sunday February 4 at the Comfort Inn Universal Studios Area of Orlando.
We have secured a group rate for rooms of $89 per night and they have set
aside rooms for use of the Association.  Reservation can be made for the
rooms by calling 407-363-7886 and telling them that you are part of the
Sikes Family Reunion.  This block of rooms will be held no later than Jan 3,
2007 so don't wait to long.  This is a very popular tourist's area so if you
want to come early or stay after the meeting the rates are good for 3 day
before and after the event.  

Our theme for the meeting will be the "Sikes/Sykes DNA Project and our
Southern Sikes/Sykes Families".  A separate fee that will include rental of
a meeting room for the day on Saturday and a banquet Saturday night, this
fee will be $30 per person.  Forms for participating in the meeting will be
in the next issue of the newsletter "Tributaries", and on our web site or
from me.

This is a great chance to come and meet your fellow Sikes/Sykes family
researchers and exchange information.  We hold these meeting every 18 months
all over the country, the last being in Seattle, Washington in the spring of
2005.  You don't have to be an Association member to come to the reunion but
we do encourage membership.  If you need further information you can contact
me or check our web site for updates.

Hope to see you all in Orlando!

Trying to find the DNA of John Sikes bc 1615 of Norfolk, Virginia 1636

I would like to analyze one section of the test result chart and try to
figure out what the DNA of John Sikes of Norfolk, Virginia, who arrived by
1636, is.  We know that John was the earliest known documented Sikes/Sykes
family member to America.  Through some probate and land records we know a
little about the first several generation of this family.  Norfolk, VA in
very close to the boarder to North Carolina so it appears that the family
spread out and the documentation trail got very thin.  Of all the testing
done so far we have only one person that has documentation back to John.
But as expected we have several lines that have been tested that appear to
be part of this family.

The best way to know that you have the earliest ancestor DNA is to test two
or more male line from different sons of the original ancestor.  If you have
good documentation and their DNA matches then you know with some serenity
that you have the correct DNA.  In our case we have no one from the John,
Thomas Sikes line that has been tested that we know of.  So let us look at a
different method and see what we can come up with.

All of the people tested with similar DNA to John's are in the blue high
lighted group on the main chart.  Looking for John's DNA we can eliminate
three tests.  Two tests # 40491 & 64028 where still in England in 1636.  So
any common ancestor to this line would have to be in England before John
came to Norfolk, VA.   Test # 65550 is obvious not a match, that leaves us
with 6 tests to look at in detail.  Now let us assume that all the remaining
test are descendants of John, a big assumption, and that we have a even
distribution of people related to both sons Walter & Thomas, another big
assumption, we end up with all makers being easy to determine except for
marker # 449 where we have a even distribution between two adjoining
numbers, 31 & 32.  We can also observe that Virginia or North Carolina are
the origin of most of these lines.

Now let us examine these results in detail, test # 55545 & 62155 have a 25
marker match to each other, and a 24 marker match to what we think John's
DNA should be, test # 68877 has a 12 marker match (markers 13-25 test
results due in a couple of weeks).  Test # 66528 has a 23 marker match;
marker # 439 (marked more volatile by Family Tree DNA) is off by a count of
one.  Test # 45339 has a one marker difference # 385a but the count is off
by 3 (again more volatile per Family Tree DNA) and the only test that has
documentation back to John.  And lastly test # 64888, this test has two
markers that are different # 390 & # 392 these markers are NOT marked more
volatile per Family Tree DNA.

My conclusion is that there is a pretty good chance that we know John's DNA
except for marker # 449, see attached chart.  If any of these tests points
to an earlier common ancestor than John it is test # 64888.  We have one 37
marker test completed in this group and one other in process of being
upgraded.  Having all the 37 marker test results might help in sorting the
members of this family out.  The best thing that could happen is to find a
documented descendant of the line from John then Thomas.  I have money to
help pay for a person in the John, Thomas line to be tested,  so if you run
across anyone from this line Please let me know.  I would welcome comments
to my conclusions. 

Those of you interested in your DNA may also be interested in a new book by
Bryan Sykes.  Blood of the Isles is the third in a series of books that
continues to explore more about our modern genetic make-up and what it tells
us of our tribal past.  Bryan and his team of researchers have tested over
10,000 volunteers in the British Isles to study the DNA results.  You can
read more about this and place a pre publication order at

http://www.oxfordancestors.com/book_bloodoftheisles.html
<http://www.oxfordancestors.com/book_bloodoftheisles.html> 

I have placed an order for the Sikes/Sykes Families Association's library,
and will report back to everyone once I get a chance to read it.  I'm sure
it will be available in major book stores here in the states very soon, if
you prefer to look it over before you buy it.

The two previous books were The Seven Daughters of Eve and Adams Curse.
They are still available in book stores or on line.  If you have not read
them, I highly recommend them to everyone who is interested in what DNA
research is doing to enhance and some times re-write history and change
genealogical research.

Attached is the latest Sikes/Sykes DNA Project Test Result Chart.  Many of
you are now choosing the 37 marker test and the data is fascinating.

The sign up's and results keep coming in on the Sikes/Sykes DNA Project.
Here is a copy of a posting that I did today on several of the Sikes & Sykes
bulletin Boards to try to encourage more people to participate in the
project.  

With 28 tests ordered, and results from 19 returned, a pattern has developed
that shows four major Sikes/Sykes family groups. Also, four tests do not have
a close match to the others. There are many Sikes/Sykes families in England 
and the southern part of North America that can trace their families back 
4 - 5 - 6 or 7 generations until their documentation trail disappears.  
I think that it is important to get as many of these families tested as possible 
so we can start to try to connect some of these families and put them back together.  
		 
From research it appears that there were at least 10 different Sykes families 
living in Yorkshire, England, the origin of the Sykes family name, in 1379 
when surnames were first passed from father to son in the general population. 
Before this date surnames were typically not passed down, or not used at all.  
So if all of these families survived, which is very unlikely, then at some point 
we would expect to see perhaps ten groupings of Sikes/Sykes families.
		 
Come visit our web site and join our DNA project so all can share in our 
Sikes/Sykes heritage. 
		 
		<http://sikes-sykesfamilies.rootsweb.com/> 

As of today we have 20 completed test results. We also have three new tests
in process and two upgrade tests in process. As you can see by viewing the
attached Test Result Chart most of these test results fall into four groups.
Two of these groups include our two oldest known Sykes emigrant families but
also include newer Sikes emigrants. With more test results we could identify
additional Sikes/Sykes family groups. If you have been thinking about
getting a test done now might be the time to consider putting one on order,
especially if you don't tie into one of the established families with the
documentation that you have found. 
The other thing that I have done is to add a column to the chart, just
before the first marker #939. What this column is for is reporting
Haplogroups. Per Family Tree DNA, the initial haplogroups assignments are
made on the basis of probability. Most of the time tests are "suggested"
results and require a haplogroup test to know for certain. There are three
haplogroups shown (R1a, R1b1, & I) and five where no results were returned.
Family Tree DNA provides the following thumbnail of the different
haplogroups: 
R1a - the R1a lineage is believed to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes
north of the Black and Caspian Seas. This lineage is believed to have
originated in a population of the Kurgan culture, known for the
domestication of the horse. These people were also believed to be the first
speakers of the Indo-European language group. This lineage is currently
found in central and western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of
Eastern Europe. 
R1b - Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup in European populations.
It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized
after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is
also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype. 
I - The I, I1, I1a lineage are nearly completely restricted to northwestern
Europe. These would most likely have been common within Viking populations.
One lineage of this group extended down into central Europe. 
Hopefully more about these groups later as Dave Sykes has been doing some
testing comparing the Sykes results with several other posted results. I
have also added one non-Sykes to the test result chart, Thomas Gledhill. The
ancestral home is the same as many Sykes families and there are just 4
markers, of 25 markers, that are different from the one family closest on
the charts. Oxford Ancestors reports that this Gledhill line is probably of
Celtic origin. 
The last thing that you may have or may not have noticed is that on our web
site we have four of the earliest known Ancestors linked to family histories
elsewhere on our web site. I would like to add additional families plus add
details to the families already on our site. 
In the latest issue of "New England Ancestors" by the New England Historic
Genealogy Society, in an article titled "Interpreting Mutations in Y-DNA
Studies" by Anita Lustenberger, a chart tries to put some limit on the
number of mutations that make sense to continue doing standard genealogical
research. "So how many mutations or mismatches are needed to exclude a
relationship? For a 12 marker test 2 mismatched is borderline, 3 mismatches
exclude genealogical relationships, for a 25 marker test 3 borderline, 4
exclude, and for a 37 marker test 4 or 5 are borderline, 6 exclude."

The test results are now coming back a little ahead of schedule so as of
today we have eighteen tests started.   Of these we are waiting for results
from just three.  Of the eighteen tests there is two 12 marker test, twelve
25 marker tests, three 37 marker tests, and one mtDNA test.  I have been
given test result from two people that had tests done previously and were
willing to share their results.  And we also have the forty eight 4 markers
tests from Bryan Sykes' English Sykes paper.  I have not posted the full 37
marker test results because with just three in different families there is
not a lot to compare them to.

It appears that we have 3 and maybe 4 different southern Sikes/Sykes
families and I'm sure there will be more to come.  I also know of two early
Sikes families one in Maryland and one in Pennsylvania in the early 1800's,
we should try to add these families to the list of tested Sikes families.
I'm really happy about what we have done so far but there is still much to
be done.  

I think that we should try to find some additional family members in the
John Sikes of Norfolk, VA family.  This was the earliest Sikes family here
in America.  He had at least two sons Walter and Thomas; we have no test
done on the Thomas side of the family, that we know of.  If someone could
find a male in this line with documentation to Thomas son of John I have
some money from the Association to help in that testing.  So if you know of
anyone please let me know.  I would also like to get other families members
of the Samson Sikes line of Tennessee tested, test #45600 is the only test
that doesn't match that family group and only by doing more testing can we
resolve this problem.

I want to thank everyone for his or her support and encourage everyone to
get additional test done on your family or other Sikes/Sykes families in
your area.  I know that there are many southern families that have no
documentation to their emigrant ancestor.  This is a chance to help in that
search.  Remember if two or three cousins work together and share the test
cost it will be possible to get additional tests going.  With this
additional information we will be able to understand our Sikes/Sykes family
history better.

Did everyone get a chance to read the paper that David Sykes researched and
wrote Single or Multiple "Original" Sikes/Sykes Founders on the early Sykes
families in England?  If not let me know and I can get a copy of our latest
Newsletter sent to you.

The good news is the test results are now coming back ahead of schedule so
as of today we have fourteen tests going.   Of these we are waiting for
results from just two.  Of the fourteen tests there is one 12 marker test,
ten 25 marker tests, and three 37 marker tests.  We also have been given
test result from two people that had tests done previously and were willing
to share their results.  And we also have the 4 markers tests from Bryan
Sykes' English Sykes paper.  I have not posted the full 37 marker test
results because with just three in different families there is not a lot to
compare them to.

More good news.  We now have two tests completed on sons of John Sykes of VA
born 1750 and the DNA is a match.  This family thinks that they tie back to
a Bernard Sykes of VA, but no documentation has been found so far making
that connection.  A new test was just ordered from a Bernard Sikes family
member to see if this is a match to the John Sykes line to show a connection
between these two families.  

We had a family from Georgia, William H. Sykes b. 1818 that had hit a stone
wall in their documentation.  When the test results came in there was a 24
marker match out of 25 to Arthur Sikes line of Tennessee.   So these two
families have a common ancestor back there some place.  Which is good for
both of these lines as they try to work back another generation.  This is
one of the main reasons for doing these tests.

Now for the other news.   We have two test results that just came in that
did not match  the family that we expected for John of VA bc. 1615.   Test
#42993 & #45600 indicate different families.  They both have a match in
Bryan's 4 marker results, so they are both Sykes families, just not
necessarily descended from John of VA.  The test results from a John Thomas
line could do a lot to resolve the true DNA for this line. 

The next tests are that of brothers Samson & Arthur Sikes of Tennessee,
#45600 & #42993.  These are also different families.  More testing is needed
here to resolve this family.

 Lets talk about some of the reasons that these miss matches may have
occurred.  There are three common possible reasons for a miss match in the
DNA and a fourth that is not common.   

We have some additional data from tests and additional tests in process.  We
now have thirteen DNA test in process or already completed, one 12 marker,
ten 25 marker and two 37 marker tests.  Of these we have two 12 marker test
results, five 25 marker test results and one 37 marker test results back and
posted.  

We have three test results from the Richard Sikes family of Massachusetts,
there are still several markers that we don't know for sure, we will
probably need one more test in the Richard, Increase, Increase or Richard,
Increase, Samuel line to resolve this for sure.  The second Richard, Victory
test [first 12 markers] has one difference and that's marker 439, this is
probably unique to the Richard, Victory, Victory line for it is a marker
with a higher mutation rate.

We have test results from three southern Sykes families; First John Sikes of
Virginia has a match to Bryan's Sykes data for the second most populous
Sykes in England, so I think that is Sykes DNA for sure.  But we have only
one test result with another one more in process though this one has a
common first three generations.  The result from the John, Thomas line
should pin down the DNA from this line, I have been looking for but unable
to find someone from this line that is willing to be tested.

The second Sykes line is that of brothers Samson & Arthur Sikes of
Tennessee.  We have one 12 marker and one 25 marker test results back, they
are a complete match; these two cousins are close so that was to be
expected.  In this case the first four markers don't match any of the data
from Bryan Sykes data, but it is only off by one marker.  Again with only
one of the two brother's test completed we don't know for sure if the
results are correct.  We have one more tests in process for this family that
should add a lot to what we know, this test result is due in mid December. 

Another southern Sykes Family test we have running is that of John Sykes
family, he is believed to be part of a Bernard Sykes family who was in
Virginia by 1680 and probably earlier.   The first test results show no
match to Bryan Sykes data or any of the other families so far tested.  We
have two more tests running on this family one on John, John line which
should firm up the DNA for this line, test results due in mid December.

The last southern family with test running is William Sikes of Georgia.
There is a single test running with results due in late December.  There are
many Sikes/Sykes families in the southern states that have not been able to
trace their families back to an immigrant.  With what looks like three
distinct DNA profiles we should now be able to start to put some of these
families together.  I hope to send out a series of letters and e-mails after
the holiday's to encourage additional testing of some of these dis-connected
southern Sykes families.

Lastly we have two tests of more resent Sykes families to America, John
Sykes of Yorkshire England and Thomas Sykes of Yorkshire England.  Both
families immigrated in the mid 1800's to America.  The first test of John
does match one of the results in Bryan Sykes' data and the second test has
just one marker difference from Bryan's data.  We have the Sikes/Sykes
families living all over the world, but mostly from countries that were part
of the British Empire.  It would be helpful and interesting to get data from
some of these distance cousins.

We have some additional data from tests and additional tests in process.  We
now have ten DNA test in process or already completed.  Of these we have the
25 marker test results back on three of them, and 12 marker results on one.


We have two test results from the Richard Sikes family of Massachusetts,
there are still several markers that we done know for sure but we have an
additional test in process that may resolve these markers but we will
probably need one more test in the Richard, Increase, Increase or Richard,
Increase, Samuel line to resolve this for sure.

We have two test results from two southern Sikes families; First John Sikes
of Virginia has a match to Bryan's Sykes data for the second most populous
Sykes in England, so I think that is Sykes DNA for sure.  But we have only
one test result with another one in process though this second one has a
common first three generations.  What we really need here is someone from
the John, Thomas line to get tested.

The second Sykes line is that of brothers Samson & Arthur.  We have the 12
marker test results with the remainder of the 25 markers due in a couple of
weeks.  In this case the first four markers don't match any of the data from
Bryan Sykes data, but it is only off by one marker.  Again with only one
test completed we don't know for sure if the results are correct.  We have
two more tests in process for this family that should add a lot to what we
know.  One disappointing thing is that it doesn't look like John Sikes of
Virginia is the ancestor of this line.

The last southern test we have running is that of Bernard Sykes, he was in
Virginia by 1680 and probably earlier.  I don't have a test number on this
test because it is being run privately but I have been promised a copy of
the test results and a complete list of ancestors.  It will be interesting
to see if this family test results matches brothers Samson & Arthur.  Right
now I have only one test in this line and would like to get a second test
going.

I think that we have made great progress in the short time this project has
been running and look forward to more tests being run and more results being
returned.

Ever since Bryan Sykes, Professor of Human Genetics at the Oxford
University, published his landmark paper, Surnames and the Y-Chromosome in
2000 the question is how are the Sikes/Sykes emigrants that came to America
in the 1600's related to these English Sykes's.  There are at least two
documented early Sykes families in America in the 1600's, John Sikes of
Virginia, arrived about 1636, and Richard Sikes of Massachusetts, arrived
about 1639.  The other obvious question is how are these two early Sikes
emigrants related to each other if at all?

The first two tests are in on the Richard Sikes line through his son's
Victory and Increase.  Both of these lines match the four markers tested
done by Bryan Sykes (markers 393, 390, 19, & 391) that represent about half
of the Sykes's in England from his report.  These lines also match each
other in 11 out of the first 12 markers; marker 392 is different by one.  On
markers 13-25 there is three additional markers that are different, 464b,
464c, & 464d.  Family Tree's calculation of "Genetic Distance" gives a
distance of 3 between these two lines.  This calculation is very complex and
takes several pages to explain and at this point I'm not sure that I
understand all it complexities, so for now I will take their calculation on
faith.

There are three tests that are in process for southern Sykes families, with
these results we will know how close these family are related if at all.
The plan is to find two more southern families; John Sikes through his son
Thomas and Samson Sikes then we will have two lines from each of these
families.

Visit the Sikes/Sykes Families Association web site for links to several
Sykes related papers on Sykes DNA studies and the latest test results.

<http://sikes-sykesfamilies.rootsweb.com/ss-23-DNA.html> 

As part of the agreement of setting up a Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA
they allow you to set up a web site for information about your DNA testing.
I had already asked Diane about this and she advised that to maintain a web
site could be very time consuming and we have already information on our
Sikes/Sykes Association web site.  It turns out that the web site that they
provide is very limited in that you can add text to 4 areas (Project
Background, Project Goals, Project Results, & Project News) and selection
several other features to show up on the web page.  One thing that they have
is a method to set up a fund for collecting money to fund tests.  They allow
Credit Cards, PayPal or mail in payments and then the group administrator
get to use the money for testing additional Sikes/Sykes members.  

We had talked about setting up a fund and having Brian collect the money and
basically do the same thing, this is more work for Brian and he can't take
Credit Cards and PayPal payments.  I think by using what they have set up we
might get a wider participation and also make it easier for anyone that wants
to contribute.  This also give us two more links to our Association web
site.

Look over what I proposed that we put on the web site and give me your
feedback on how you like this idea.


Family Tree DNA Sykes web site page

Title:	Sikes-Sykes DNA Project

Project background:

Ever since Bryan Sykes, Professor of Human Genetics at the Oxford
University, published his land mark paper, 'Surnames and the Y-Chromosome"
in 2000 the question of how the Sikes/Sykes emigrants that came to America
in the 1600's are related to these English Sykes's.  There are at least two
documented early Sykes families in America in the 1600's, John Sikes of
Virginia, arrived about 1636, Richard Sikes of Massachusetts, arrived about
1639.  The other obvious question is how are these two early Sikes emigrants
related to each other if at all?

Visit the Sikes/Sykes Families Association web site for links to several
Sykes related papers on Sykes DNA studies.
<http://sikes-sykesfamilies.rootsweb.com/ss-23-DNA.html> 

Project Goals:

The goal of this project is to help Sikes and Sykes family researchers
locate common ancestors.   This will be accomplished by providing
Y-Chromosome DNA evidence of individual family lines to compare with other
families who also have a common Sykes ancestor.

Project Results:

As of today there is one 12 marker test results that has been completed by
FamilyTreeDNA, the DNA results matched the most populous group tested by
Bryan Sykes.  See test results:
<http://sikes-sykesfamilies.rootsweb.com/ss-23aDNA.html> 

Project News:

As of September 2005 there are five 25 marker DNA tests have been started
and one 37 marker test.  The first of the test result are due during
September and October 2005. 

A general fund has been set up that allows people interested in helping with
this project to contribute money to help with the testing.  This fund
administrated by FamilyTreeDNA and the group administrator allows Credit
Card, PayPal or mail contributions.  

When there is enough money in the fund to sponsor one test (25 marker
Y-Chromosome) $171, the group administrator will set up and arrange for a
test.  The criteria for selecting test subjects is to find the valid DNA for
a family by testing two members that are descendants of a oldest know
ancestor and having their DNA match, these two test have to be cousins with
a common ancestor as close to the earliest ancestor a possible.  The size of
the family prioritizes the families being selected for testing, the more
members the family has the higher on the list.  Click link for "Contributing
to the general fund." If you would like to help with the Sykes-Sikes testing.

We have three DNA test in progress.  Two from the Richard Sikes line, the
first a Richard b. c1600, Increase, Nathaniel, Joseph line the second a
Richard, Victory, Jonathan, Jonathan line.  The third test is John b. 1812
England, David b. 1858 MA, and Arthur b. 1888 CT, one of our members is
sponsoring his own test on this line.

I have talked to Dennis Maguire about lining up two people from the John
Sikes line of Norfolk, VA.  A John b. c1600, Walter line and a John, Thomas
line.  I have not heard from him as of yet but hope to soon.

I will be calling the editor of the Grand Sikes/Sykes Newsletter and see if
they can help line up two people from brother's Arthur & Samson Sikes of
Steward County, TN.  I had hoped to have Henry Sykes help with these tests
but his death last week make that route not possible.  I know that Henry
would have wanted this project to go forward, he had spent a lot of time
trying to place Arthur & Samson into a Sikes family in North Carolina.
There is a good possibility that this line may tie back to the John Sikes
like of Norfolk, VA.

When these test are all in progress I think it is time to let others know
about our project.  Using the Sikes & Sykes queries boards on Rootsweb &
GenFourm I hope to encourage others to join our project.  The more data that
we collect the better we will understand how the Sikes/Sykes families
interconnect and how and when they migrated to different locations.

It looks like we now have a Sikes/Sykes Family DNA Project.  So we need to
start thinking about a web page for the project and the results, on our web
site.

I just got an e-mail with the access code to the administrators page for the
Sykes Project on FamilyTreeDNA.  

The page allows me to add a new member by placing an order for them, review
results, check on test kit status, family project web site setup, and more.