FORREST/FORRESTER SURNAME DNA PROJECT

A Forrest/Forrester surname DNA project has been initiated due to the interest of several people with ties to this surname. Any person with a Forrest/Forrester lineage (or some variant of this name) from anywhere in the world is welcome and encouraged to participate. Given here is a brief description of the project, as well as the procedures you should follow if you wish to participate. Further information about the DNA techniques as they apply to the current study can be found on Page 2.

Since markers on the Y-chromosome are being analyzed in this study, the DNA sample donor must be a male with a direct male Forrest/Forrester lineage. Only males have the Y-chromosome and it is passed directly, virtually unchanged, from father to son, never to or from females. Thus, females interested in obtaining information about their Forrest/Forrester lineage would need to recruit a male relative (father, brother, uncle, a male cousin, etc., from their direct Forrest/Forrester line) to actually supply the sample for analysis. Sample collection is painless; it merely involves rubbing the inside of the cheek with a foam swab.

Initially, one of the goals of the project will be to define how many different Forrest/Forrester lines there are and which ones can be traced to a common ancestor. Finding relationships among various Forrest/Forrester lines is another of the main goals of this project. Since most of those with the Forrest/Forrester surname are probably descended from ancestors who lived in Lowland Scotland, another goal will be to determine how closely related the Forrest/Forrester families are to other families from Lowland Scotland that have different surnames.

The company that is doing the DNA analysis in this study is Family Tree DNA. As a member of our ForrestForrester surname group, the usual cost for a 12 marker Y-chromosomal DNA test (Y-DNA12) by FTDNA is $59, for a 25 marker test (Y-DNA25) is $109, for a 37 marker test (Y-DNA37) is $149 and for a 67 marker test (Y-DNA67) is $248. In addition, there is a $4 postage charge for US residents and $6 for mailing the test kits to foreign addresses. If you initially obtain results for 12, 25 or 37 markers, you can (for a fee) upgrade to more markers at a later date without sending a new test sample since the company stores your original sample for several years. It is strongly recommended that participants in our DNA project choose at least the 37 marker test (Y-DNA37) because the 12 and 25 marker tests are frequently not definitive enough to make distinctions among different lines. However, if cost is not too much of a concern the 67 marker test (Y-DNA67) would be even better.

Each participant is given a personal page on the FTDNA web site where the participant’s test results, and comparisons of the results with others in the FTDNA database, can be viewed when the results become available (typically 4 to 6 weeks after FTDNA receives the test kits back in their facility). Most communication with participants is by email but FTDNA also eventually sends each participant a written report and certificate with that person’s results. From time to time a summary of the results obtained by all members of the group will be posted at this web site. Names of sample donors will not be used in the web reports; the results will be linked only to the earliest known Forrest/Forrester ancestor of each participant. In this way the results become useful since it is by comparing the results of each participant with those of others that meaningful genealogical conclusions can be drawn. That is the reason that we request ancestor information after participants join the project.

Contact Person and Procedures for Participants to Follow

All communication concerning this DNA project should be directed to Gordon Hamilton who has volunteered to be the project coordinator and to oversee all aspects of the study. He can be reached by email (preferable method), by regular mail at 806 McCormick Ave, State College, PA 16801-6527, or by telephone at 814-238-5695. To initiate the process each potential participant should send an email to the coordinator to indicate your interest. He will then send you a Family Tree DNA web address where you can order a test kit on line and pay for it by credit card. When ordered through our Forrest/Forrester surname project the cost for the test will be as given above; if you order the test as an individual, not through a surname project, the cost is greater. After placing the order you whould receive within a few days a test kit from FTDNA along with instructions on how to collect the DNA sample. After collecting the DNA sample you should return the test kit directly to FTDNA.

Eventually each participant should also send to the coordinator a list (or a pedigree chart or Gedcom file) of your direct ForrestForrester line back to your earliest known Forrest ancestor. This information is needed when the results are posted to the web summary. As indicated in the current results compilation, you will not be identified in web reports, only your earliest known Forrest/Forrester ancestors will be associated with the results.

If you have any questions concerning the project that are not covered above do not hesitate to contact the coordinator.

Last updated July 2014