TUCKER DNA PROJECT

Tucker Surname Project
Tucker Family Tree DNA Website

Please consider this email as a new introduction to you from the project managers [or coordinators] of FTDNA's Tucker Group. Lee M. Tucker and I, Wm. S. "Bill" Tucker, are acquainted with several of you through previous exchanges of emails, or in some cases, exchanges of Tucker research findings by regular mail before the internet became our regular mode of communicating. I have actively researched Tuckers of the U.S. for 25 years. Lee has also been an active researcher for a number of years. He is also the benefactor of a Tucker uncle who was actively researching Tuckers before either of us began. Several of our members are nationally known amongst Tucker researchers. As a group, we have much to offer in assistance to new researchers. Lee is very knowledgeable concerning genetics. He can answer questions any of us may have concerning technical aspects.

As administrators, we have been slow to become as organized as we should be. I have not become acquainted with several members. We intend to mend our deficiencies. Both of us are retired technical persons, but we are not skilled at HTML programming for web pages. Fortunately, we don't have to be, at least not initially. FTDNA provides a basic "plug-in" webpage, which is designated as the public page for our Tucker members. We will expand that page to include data that will be useful to each member. It will also become much more informative to a non-member who may browse that page. Hopefully, our public page's data will motivate visitors to become a member of our Tucker group. Lee and I consider this FTDNA Tucker Group to be an open, worldwide group. It is available for all of Tucker blood that is interested in becoming a member, within established rules.

Lee and I were the first FTDNA Tucker Group participants. Our paper research led us to conclude that we had a common ancestor. Our first Y-DNA test results crushed that illusion. Our group is now about eighteen months old. Initially, we were hoping for several more immediate participants. It didn't happen. We discovered there was a built in reluctance to participate, even from longtime Tucker researchers. Thankfully, participation has greatly increased during the past months. FTDNA has mailed out 30 test kits and 26 have been returned. Of that group, some who initially went with the 12 or 25 marker test have extended their test to 37 markers. At least two members are mtDNA participants. I won't discuss test results now, but the Tucker DNA testing has greatly enhanced the paper research done by some of us.

Our present numbers, and the expectations for much greater growth, dictate that Lee and I become better managers. Privacy is of major interest to all of us. However, Lee and I believe that, as members, we will all benefit if privacy is not taken to the extreme. Most of us are active researchers. Our name, email addresses, etc. are already spread over the Internet. Many of us have our name and email address posted in mailing lists, forums, etc. Our name and other information about us can readily be found by a quick search. We want our public page to be "open" and as beneficial as possible to our members. We also want it to be very informative to potential members.

Please refer to our Tucker public page, http://www.familytreedna.com/public/tucker/. The second column gives the kit number. The third column gives the matching last name. In most cases, it is Tucker. It is our intention for the last name to be expanded by adding the given name of the member. Then the kit number will be used as a key to each member's name, email address and known or believed male lineage [persons born 1900 and later excluded]. It is important to give the year and place, if known, when and where each member's ancestor was born, lived, and died. Other brief information may be added if needed. Ahnentafel format will be used, i.e., the father's number is always doubled for each generation [when used, the mother's number is the father's number plus 1]. You may supply the paper lineage, if not already done, to us in any format you choose.

As an illustration, my personal lineage that will be listed, beginning with my grandfather, follows [The lineage may be expanded to include the spouse of each male also]:

1. John Franklin Tucker b. 17 May 1848 Tippah Co. MS, d. 15 June 1907, Lincoln Co. AR 2. Sanders A. Tucker b. ca 1814 Jasper Co., GA, d. ca 1866 Drew (now Lincoln) Co., AR. 4. Daniel Tucker, b. ca 1783, GA, d.1855, Marion [now Fayette] Co., AL. 8. George Tucker, b. 13 Dec. 1745, Amelia Co., VA, and d 16 Jan. 1852, Marion [now Fayette] Co., AL 16. Thomas Tucker, b. ca 1713 - 1723 and d. ca 1818 - 1828, Jasper Co., GA. 32. Thomas Tucker b. ?, d. ca 1749, Amelia Co., VA.

We have ladies who are sponsoring surrogate male Tucker relatives. We will work with you on how you may wish yourself and or Tucker surrogate to be listed.

Member Joan Tucker Flatt [with her permission] will be used as an example:

#35747, William Wayne Tucker [ The surrogate's email address could also be included] c/o Joan Flatt, joanflatt@yahoo.com.

1. Lineage to begin with selected Tucker male
2.
4. Etc.

Initially, our FTDNA public web page will remain simple but informative. However, we anticipate adding links to other informative and helpful services. For your reference, websites for two sophisticated and informative surname pages follow. Please note that both are also "open" sites. Both sites’ DNA test results page key to a contact person, an email address and the lineage of the participant, which is the format we will use.

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~turnerdna/. The Turner DNA web page is an excellent one. Please click Results on the left side of the home page to see the Y-DNA test results, the links to the members name, lineage and their email address.

2. http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~hjohnson/. The Clark and Johnson web pages are also very good. On the home page, click on the DNA database. Then click either the Clark or Johnson database, which will take you to the DNA Chart, i.e., test results page. Click a File [kit] number and the lineage of the participant is displayed. Click Comments and the email address and the name of the participant are given.

One final comment. Several of our participants, who are also long time Tucker researchers, are members of the Yahoo Tucker mailing list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TUCKERS/. [Please note that this is "TUCKERS" (red) list and not "TUCKER GENES" (pink) list listed on the main page]. Tucker descendant Noel Durham owns the Yahoo list. Participant Rebecca Tucker Morris, whose Y-DNA surrogate is R. Tucker, #42791, is the moderator. The mailing list has valuable Tucker archives. A huge amount of Tucker data has been posted by queries, exchanges, etc. We have an established means available for all to discuss our Y-DNA participation, results, paper research, etc. I highly recommend that each one of you join the Yahoo Tucker mailing list.

Not everything for our public results page is yet cast in stone. We are looking forward to having input and comments from each of you. Thanks.