DNA Project Objectives

Objectives:

The principal objective of this Project is to provide insight into the lineages recorded in the Cooper Surname Reconstruction Project.  It entails Y-DNA testing for males with the Cooper surname in order to establish genetic connections with cousins worldwide, prove or disprove genealogical research through genetics, and research various theories of the origin of the Cooper name.  There are several levels of interest in this objective.

    ●    The broadest interest deals with the origins of the Cooper surname, and if all Cooper lineages are linked together by a common ancestor?

    ●    A narrower interest deals with linkages among families, which immigrated to America from Europe or elsewhere 200-300 years ago. This same view would deal with families, which remained in countries of origin of the Cooper family. This is a much closer view than the common ancestor view, which might look back 500-1,000 years or more.

    ●    The more narrow interest deals with possible linkages within the past 5 to 8 generations. A relatively large number of families can trace their history back about 5-generations before the trail turns cold. Perhaps this Project can help those families link up with other lineages to which they might be related.

    ●    Finally, the most narrow interest involves those people who have no information about their ancestors before their grandparents. As the database of test samples grows with this Project, these people may discover connections to earlier Cooper families previously unknown or unsuspected.

Some Goals of the Cooper Surname DNA Project are to:

• Determine who is related

• Prove or disprove theories regarding ancestral research

• Solve brick walls in research

• Validate existing research

• Determine areas for further research

• Develop a DNA database for future researchers

Planning

"If you properly plan your DNA research and usage, it can be very valuable.  If you try to treat it like the lottery, your success will likely be no more satisfying.  It is a frontier.  We are explorers. We can not expect it to give us all the answers.  It is a tool, nothing more.  Use it as such and use it wisely."*

        *Excerpt from email by Orin R. Wells, Wells Family Research Association, P. O. Box 5427, Kent, Washington 98064-5427.
 

Personal Objections**

For those of you who are considering DNA testing, it is recommended that you establish an objective before deciding which test (s) to order. The objective could be to determine who is related, or to prove or disprove the research, or to prove or disprove a theory.

Setting objectives for testing depends on your situation. The first step is to ask yourself: "what do I want to find out?" Some times it is helpful to write down these different questions for which you would like to find an answer. Then select the one or two questions that are most important to you. These are now your objectives.

The next step is to determine which participants you need to test to find the answer to your questions. The participants you select depend on the question and the situation. For example: you have two households in the 1860 census in the same town, and you are a descendent of one household, and the question you want answered is whether the other household is related. You can find the answer to that question by testing direct male descendents from each household.

Establishing testing objectives also makes it easier for you to recruit participants. Most people want to know the who, what, where, when, why. By establishing objectives, you have answers for their questions. People also tend to get involved when they understand the goal, and how it affects them.

Often the objectives may change after testing results are received. This is usually based on the additional information uncovered from the testing. The testing results may also point to more genealogy research being required, or point to a specific area or country to target the research.

Once you set your objective (s) and get started, the testing results will point the direction. For example, you would most likely have different courses of action if the two households in the census mentioned above are related, than if they are not related.

To set your objectives, start by asking yourself: What do I want to find out?

           ** Excerpts from: Copyright 2002, Family Tree DNA, Facts & Genes, http://www.familytreeDNA, September 26, 2002 Volume 1, Issue 3

Using 12 or 25 Markers For Our Tests

For our Project, we have selected Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) of Houston, Texas, to handle our testing. They use a genetics laboratory at the University of Arizona for the laboratory analysis. Presently, FTDNA offers two tests, a 12-marker and a 25-marker.

In the experience of FTDNA, the results of a number of other family projects have shown numerous exact matches in all 12-markers in a 12-marker test. Considering that the primary purpose of genealogy is to link with relatives and ideally, relatives that we can draw some version of a paper trail around increasing the number of markers tested provides more distinction between and among various segments of a family. Statistically, scientists estimate that there is a 50% probability that a perfect match between two people in a 10-marker test would mean that these two had a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) within the past 17.3 generations. As the number of markers increase, the number of generations decrease. For 12-markers it's 14.4 generations, for 21-markers it's 8.3 generations, for 23-markers it's 7.5 generations, and for 44-markers it's 3.9 generations.

What that means is that if two males have the same 8 G-Grandfather they descended from two sons of this man, their 12-marker test may be identical. However, their 25-marker test might show differences.

It appears that using the 25-marker test offers far more useful information than the 12-marker test.

How Samples Are Taken

The testing mentioned above is NOT done by drawing blood. It is done by swabbing the inside of the cheeks of the mouth. Kits are furnished to each participant for that purpose.

Group Administrator

Hiram "Ben" Cooper, has agreed to serve as group administrator. He will assist new participants and maintain a Cooper Group database.

As Group Administrator, Ben will have access to a secure page where our Project's status is updated daily.  FTDNA will distribute legal release forms allowing for the sharing of the test results with him. Test kits and payments will be submitted individually to FTDNA for processing.

Test results are made available to the group administrator as they are received by the FTDNA from their laboratory. Each participant will also receive a certificate and report containing their personal test results.

Data Handling and Privacy

The data on each person tested will remain the property of that person except as permission is given. Of course, to be meaningful, everyone's test results must be compared with the test results of everyone else while still protecting everyone's privacy. A solution is to assign to use the kit number which is unique to each test participant and associate the public test results only with that kit number and the participant's lineage numbers.  The Project will not publish any information on this website that will directly tie any testing results with any living individual. This policy will hold even though there is little to no impact to be found from having these numbers published.  The exception to this rule will be if participants want to voluntarily reveal this information.  At some time in the future, if interest is shown in this area, a standard protocol will be developed.  The Project will publish results with a test kit number, and it will look as follows:

Costs

Since this is a group project, Family Tree DNA provides us with a reduced rate of $99 per person for the 12-marker test and $169 for the 25-marker test.

If a participant decides to buy the 12-marker test at first and then upgrade to the 25-marker test at some future date, the additional cost will be $90. The participant's original sample is used. There is no need to send in another sample.

As indicated by the above costs, buying the 12-marker test and then upgrading to the 25-marker test at a later date is $20 more expensive than buying the 25-marker test in the beginning ($189 vs. $169). This is another reason why we recommend beginning with the 25-marker test.

There is a $2.00 postage fee...$4.00 outside the USA.

NOTE:  The above is not a commercial for FTDNA...I am not an affiliate of FTDNA, but they have given us the best prices on DNA testing in the market today.

Project Announcement

Since the mechanism for testing and analysis has already been set up, all that remains is publicizing the project so that those interested can participate. This publicity effort will probably last for several years and will involve effort in a number of areas.

Initially, Cooper Surname DNA Project participants will be notified of the completion of project testing and of the results of that phase. Participants will be encouraged to seek out male Cooper descendants within their lineages for testing. The results of these tests will be added to the growing database for comparison and analysis. Participants of those lineages can then follow up apparent connections between and among lineages revealed by the test results.

Another area of effort will involve publicizing this Project among Cooper families in potential countries of origin, especially England and Scotland. These families may or may not be represented in Cooper Surname DNA Project lineages. However, test results from these families could be extremely important in linking lineages in other countries to families in these countries of origin.

A similar publicity effort should be directed to Cooper Surname DNA Project families in "destination countries" such as the United States, and other countries not identified, yet. The intent of this publicity is simply to let these families know that the Project exists and to invite their participation.

It is difficult to estimate how many samples should be taken. It would depend largely upon the interest of researchers of the various lineages in securing volunteers to augment the documentation of their lineages. We are excited by the early results of the Project. We believe it likely that most Cooper researchers will be excited about using this new tool to assist them in expanding the knowledge of their ancestry.