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From: "hamman" <>
Subject: [MAMIDDLE] Nichols Surname Y-DNA Project
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 08:56:25 -0800


Dear Listers,



Documentation of one's ancestry in Colonial America can be very
sketchy and imperfect. If you have encountered "Brick Walls" there is a new
approach to genealogy: DNA testing.



My family's "Brick Wall" was JOSEPH Nichols born in the early 1700s.
After many years of research, we were only able to conjecture about JOSEPH's
ancestry. Two other men, very likely descendants of the Richard Nichols who
died in Reading Massachusetts in 1674, whose ancestry we believed we shared,
joined with us in getting DNA results. It was a very pleasant surprise
that the three of us have DNA consistent with a common ancestor, and that
none of 7 other Nichols shared these DNA results either with us or even with
each other.



We began this project not only to break through our own brick wall,
but to gain insight into the origin of the Nichols surname. Our project
therefore also includes Nichols whose earliest proven ancestors are found in
the more southern states (e.g., Virginia and the Carolinas) of the original
Colonies, as well a couple from Australia! To gain further insight into the
origin of the Nichols name in the UK area, we hope to soon recruit Nichols
from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. For a list of current
participants and their Nichols genealogies, check out our Nichols Surname
Project Web site:

http://www.geocities.com/nazaja/ResultsForNicholsSurnameProject.htm



The test itself only requires that you are a male Nichols and involves
a simple cotton swab inside the cheek. The regions of the DNA tested are
known as "junk" DNA and indicate nothing about your genes or predisposition
to certain disorders. Your sample and results are kept completely
confidential, except in this very narrow frame of purely ancestral
possibilities. The cost for joining and getting the DNA test is $99, but
we can offer assistance.



For those of you who are stuck at a Nichols in the early 1800s, we have a
large well researched Nichols database, with documented lines of descent on
more than 20 different Nichols men who were in the New England Colonies by
1650 or so. And we have a professional genealogist available for free
consultation. This genealogist is particularly an expert on the genealogies
of early New England Nichols lines, and has good access to most of the
prominent genealogical source material. With your commitment to join our
project, we will use these resources to try to connect to one of the Nichols
immigrants.



Finally, under certain circumstances, financial assistance may be available.



For further details about DNA and testing from the company we use, check out
their website: http://www.familytreedna.com. Hope to hear from you Nichols
researchers, anytime! If you'd like more info or would like to join, please
email me at either or .



Brian D. Hamman, Ph.D.

(mother's maiden name is Nichols)

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