March 9, 2001
UPDATE ON THE WALKER SURNAME DNA TESTING PROJECT

Plans for the Walker DNA project are progressing rapidly! Family Tree DNA
has been chosen as the laboratory to do the testing. They are affiliated
with Dr. Michael Hammer and the University of Arizona. Their website can be
accessed at: http://www.familytreedna.com/

Since the Y-chromosome is passed down through an unbroken male lineage
(father to son to son, etc.), Family Tree DNA will be comparing and analyzing
12 different markers on the Y-chromosome between male Walkers. (If you are a
female, you could have your brother, uncle, first cousin, etc., who has the
surname of Walker, to be tested for you.) If the Y-chromosomes of two tested
individuals match, that would indicate that they both descend from a common
male Walker ancestor. It will not identify the specific ancestor, just that
you share a common male ancestor.

The actual test consists of the painless use of a swab to collect a small
amount of cells containing DNA from the inside of a person's cheek.

Those participating in the initial test group will receive a group discount
from the posted price on Family Tree DNA's website of $219.00. You can
choose to be tested against the initial test group later, but the discount
may not apply. Please contact us for the discounted price.

If you wish to be a part of this project, please let us know as soon as
possible and we will send you an application form and further instructions.
We will need your home mailing address in order to send the application.
When we receive your application, specimen collection kits will be mailed to
you to be returned to us with your check or money order made payable to
Family Tree DNA. Once we have received all the kits, we will assign privacy
control numbers for each participant and return the kits with payment to
Family Tree DNA.

Since all the kits must be returned to the lab together, it is important that
you respond promptly if want to be included in this group. Approximate
testing time is 6-7 weeks. Family Tree DNA will send individual certificates
and reports to each participant and a database of results will be maintained
by Family Tree DNA for automatic comparison with future Walker test subjects.
Our goal is to have available a growing database of Walker DNA supported
lineages to aid in genealogical research for years to come.

If you know of any Walker researchers who would be interested in joining the
project, please ask them to contact us for information. The larger the
Walker database, the more likely that we will be able to identify specific
family groups.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the following:.

Suzanne Hallstrom: fabercove@aol.com
Barbara Good: BWGood@aol.com