Cooper Surname DNA Project

If you have spent any time researching your Cooper family history, you have probably reached a point where you cannot identify earlier ancestors. Perhaps you have documented several generations, but at some point the Cooper trail grows cold. You are not alone! Probably every Cooper researcher, actually every researcher of any family, has reached the same point at one time or another called a "brick wall." The Cooper surname permeates society in America from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, from Canada to Mexico. In fact, the Cooper surname is a worldwide phenomenon. Because of this there is a relentless and endearing effort by professional as well as amateur genealogists to find that Cooper-line that identifies the origin his/her family. In addition, the Internet is permeated with wishful thinking and disinformation in the form of family-trees which have to be identified and, if needed, corrected. Sadly, incorrect family history when detected does not just fade away; it seems to have a history of its own. The advent of DNA and projects such as this one can help dispel much of the erroneous information and should give direction to researchers in their future family history studies. It will go a long way to help correct as well as augment widespread documentation of Cooper-Line origins.

The Male Cooper DNA Group Project was initiated in 2002 by Gary S. Cooper, Lexington, North Carolina, who had the foresight to see it as a useful tool to use in conjunction with other written documentation in genealogy research to help define different Cooper-Lines and validate existing Cooper family history. The Male Cooper Surname Group is designed, because it has presence on the Internet, to gather information about the various Cooper families throughout the world. A lot of research has been done to document Cooper lineages, however, important questions about familial connections and origins remain. This Cooper DNA Project should provide additional answers to those questions, and go a long way to dispel misguided research on Cooper family history as well as learn of new connections, and confirm others. However, DNA testing is not a magic wand that can solve every mystery or answer every question, it is just another tool that can complement our search of written, oral and other records.