The Cheek/Chick DNA Project
Every male human being has a piece of DNA called the
Y-chromosome that he inherits only from his father. Through
the science of DNA testing, the Y-chromosomes from different men
can be compared to determine whether or not those men had a
common male ancestor. The benefit of this technology to
genealogy is obvious!
CURRENT WISH LIST: all are welcome but right now we are particularly interested in these branches of the Cheek family:
Please contact me if you would like to add your branch of the family to this wish list.
If you are direct male-line Cheek or Chick descendant, please
consider participating in our DNA study. We hope that this
study will reveal whether the various families in the United
States with the Cheek and Chick surnames are the descendants of a
common immigrant ancestor. We are especially interested in
the Cheeks who originally lived in Virginia, North Carolina, and
South Carolina, but anyone named Cheek or Chick is welcome to
participate. Not only will you be assisting in Cheek/Chick
genealogy research, you will also obtain valuable information
about your "DNA lineage" such as your male
ancestors' possible ethnic origins. DNA testing cannot
tell you exactly where your ancestors came from, but some genetic
"markers" are more common in certain parts of the world
than others.
First the good news -- DNA testing is easy and painless. The
Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) company will mail you a test kit. You
simply swab the inside of your mouth with a couple of big Q-tips,
put them in some nice little plastic tubes and mail them back to
the company. Testing is done at the University of Arizona and is
state-of-the-art.
Now the bad news -- DNA testing is not free. We strongly
encourage participants to purchase either the 25-marker or 37-marker test. The cost (as of May 2009) is $124 for the 25-marker test, plus shipping, paid to the Family Tree DNA Company. (Price subject to change.) As the administrators, we have no financial interest in the project; we do not receive commissions, "comps," expenses, or any other form of compensation or remuneration from the Family Tree DNA Company.
If you want to participate but money is a concern, please contact the project administrator. Sometimes we can help find researchers in your family line who will chip in for a test.
The Yahoo Group is for anyone who would like to keep apprised
of our progress, whether you can personally participate or
not.
Results of the project will be posted on this webpage. To
protect the confidentiality of the participants, no one will be
identified here by name. Test results, however, will be shared.
If you have specific privacy or confidentiality issues please contact me because we can be totally flexible about what information is posted on the website. I really encourage everyone to share their family trees through grand-parents or great-grandparents, but it is not required to join the project. You also have the option of making your name, email address, and
results available to other participants through the FTDNA website
by signing the waiver form that comes with the test kit. As the
Project Administrators, we have access to the names and addresses
of everyone who has signed up for the project, but we will not
reveal this information unless you authorize us to do so. Please note, we do NOT have access to payment information, credit card numbers, etc. -- payment arrangements are strictly between you and the FTDNA company.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the
Cheek DNA Project Admistrators.
