HAM DNA Project

HAM Surname DNA Project

Research through Genetics

Home Contacts GEDCOMS Links Queries Wills & Estates HAM DNA  Project

Welcome to the HAM Surname DNA Project

When the paper trail ends and the brick wall begins, we have a new tool to help us find our elusive ancestors. We now have Genetic Genealogy. I am pleased to welcome you to the HAM Surname DNA Project. It is now possible to confirm a link where no conventional source records exist.

Through Y-DNA genetic sequencing, a painless cheek scraping is used to obtain DNA that can help accurately determine a relationship with either a 99.9% probability of YES or a 100% certainty that no near term relationship existed.  The primary test attempts to determine if 2 people thought to be unrelated actually had a common ancestor. A match is best done by testing a known male member of your biological family, (brother, father or first cousin), against the potential male relative.

With appropriate analysis, we can now get a pretty good idea of who our genetic ancestor was. One of our goals is to find the time to the most recent common ancestor. Scientists have calulated that this is based on the observed number of mutations by which two Y chromosomes differ. This is because mutations occur at random and can provide a probability distribution function.

The approach for the HAM Surname DNA Project will be to group matching DNA sequences and cross referencing that information against the oldest known ancestor.

With over 2,000 Surname Projects, Family Tree DNA is the only organization in the field of Genetic Genealogy that has consistently offered the emerging science that enables genealogists around the world to advance their research. They have developed a commercial application of what until then was only available for academic and scientific research. Family Tree DNA has been associated with Arizona Research Labs and Dr. Michael Hammer, head of the Genomics Analysis and Technology Core at the University of Arizona, as well as some of the world's leading authorities in the fields of Genetics and Anthropology.

 - Dave Hamm
 HAM Surname DNA Project Administrator

  • Back to HAM Country