The Everett Generations Newsletter, and its co-editor, Craig A. Everett, were instrumental in organizing the first steps to begin collecting DNA samples and recruiting participants in 2002 to form this Project. The Project has worked closely, from the beginning, with the FamilyTreeDNA program in Houston, Texas. The processing of the DNA and laboratory work is conducted at the University of Arizona. The primary goal has been to help family researchers establish and document direct biological ties through the many identified Everett-related surnames. While the initial goals were to focus on these family lines in the United States, the Project quickly became an international one with interest from England, Australia and Canada.

As family researchers, we have all heard the stories of three or more Everett brothers who came from Great Britain together to settle in America as early as the 1600's. While there has been very little definitive evidence to support this assumption, these stories nevertheless appear in many published family histories. Now techniques used in genetic and evolutionary biology may be able to help us answer not only this core research question about our origins in the U.S., but also many other genealogical questions. It has become clear over the past couple of years that the cutting edge of family history and genealogical research is moving from the libraries and courthouses to biological laboratories. As DNA identification has become more efficient and affordable, family researchers are beginning to use this method of tracking intergenerational ties to answer questions that historical documents have left unanswered.

Using the unique DNA "signature" from the male's Y chromosome, it is possible to determine if biological links are present between any family line over multiple generations. The DNA in each of the Y chromosomes is passed, essentially unchanged, from fathers to sons over each generation. By comparing the sequence of values that define each individual's DNA pattern, we can determine not only whether two or more individuals are descended from a common ancestor, but we can also estimate the approximate time frame in which the individuals may be related. The fact that these DNA "signatures" remain unchanged and are transmitted from male to male provides definitive biological evidence about our present "cousins" as well as our early links to other family lines.

For example, if you have been corresponding with another Everett who was doing family research several states away and you wondered if the two of you were descended from the same common Everett ancestor several generations earlier, the comparison of each of your DNA patterns would tell you if you were biologically related. If the DNA data showed that you were not related, you could compare your DNA profile with the others in our Project and perhaps find a link to another family line.
We have been fortunate to meet many enthusiastic DNA participants and as of August, 2005 we have 55 DNA Profiles. These profiles represent surnames that include Everett, Everitt, Everette, Evered, and Everard. The data has already established a number of clear family lines that have been traced back to the 1600s in New England, New York, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. We have also identified a number of other family lines from throughout the United States that have yet to be linked to the earliest arriving families.
In my on family line we had identified a link to the family of Nathaniel Everett who arrived in eastern North Carolina by about 1700. We had met and corresponded with a number of other researchers who had identified their link to this same family. The documents used to do this were not always definitive but by tracking the migrations of the various family members we were perhaps 75% sure that they were all from the same family. One of our earliest DNA volunteers had also tracked his ancestry from a different branch of the same Nathaniel Everett family. His branch of the family had essentially remained in eastern North Carolina, while my line had migrated to eastern Georgia and eventually into Mississippi. When he and I compared our DNA patterns early in our Project a clear link was confirmed. Since that early discovery we have found four other DNA volunteers from this same line.

We can say now, with scientific confidence, that we have identified the specific DNA configurations for Nathaniel Everett and all of his male descendents to the present. In addition to this finding, we found that a DNA volunteer (an Evered) from Australia, whose family line is from southeastern England, was a close match to ours. Today we have begun an international research project between the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. to determine if those of us from Nathaniel Everett's line had our earlier origins with this family from Suffolk, England.
The DNA data has answered many questions, but it has also created a number of surprises and puzzling findings. As a result, we have a research group differentiating the two (and possibly three) earliest Richard Everetts in Massachusetts and Long Island, New York. Another group of researchers from our DNA Project, who have found 6 closely related profiles, but no clearly documented links or common early ancestor, is working to sort out several Midwestern Everett families.
We hope many of you will consider volunteering. Remember, to participate you must be a direct male descendent of one of the Everett surnames. If you are a female Everett researcher, you can identify a brother, cousin, uncle or other male to participate, even if they are not interested in your family research. There are DNA tests that can trace maternal family lines, but they are not as helpful is specific genealogy research. All they need to do is take the test. The procedure is simple and confidential. In addition, a number of female researchers have contributed financially to "scholarships" that we have been able to use for Everett volunteers who could not afford the test.

How Does the Test Work?
Collecting the DNA sample is simple and painless. It is completed by mail and involves only two steps:
1) Swabbing the inside of your mouth with a swab that is provided in the mailer you will receive;
2) Placing the swab in a vial provided in the mailer and returning this in the mail.
Participants are asked to sign a release so that their results may be shared with the Project Coordinator, who organizes and publishes the data. The program that we are using for this project, Family Tree DNA, is the pioneer in the use of genetics in genealogy: www.familytreedna.com You can click on this link to read more helpful information at their website. Your DNA and profile are handled confidentially and are immediately coded upon receipt. The sample is sent to the nationally recognized lab for processing at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
The FamilyTreeDNA program provides us with a webpage for the EVERETT DNA PROJECT where you can view the project data. You will be notified by email with your results, usually in about 5 to 6 weeks. In addition, you will receive a certificate in the mail identifying your DNA profile and you will receive a code number and password to access your own personal website. On this site you can discover other information about the typologies of your DNA profile and even read about its earliest origins. You will also be able to compare your profile with all of the others in our Project and use a built-in calculator to estimate the time differences to the most recent common ancestors between profiles. If you wish, you may upload your data to the FamilyTreeDNA's unique resource, YSearch, whereby you can compare your DNA profile with all of the others in their database that now includes over 2000 surname projects and 13,000 specific surnames.
The cost to analyze each sample will be $99 plus $2 shipping. Other family groups who have already begun this process have found that many family reunion associations have volunteered to pay the cost for one or two representatives from their family line to participate in the research.

Privacy and Confidentiality. As I speak to groups and reunions, many have asked if their contribution of the DNA can be used in any way to invade their privacy. The answer is no! As indicated above, the actual samples are coded upon receipt and the lab only has the kit numbers identified. However, the specific DNA used in these genealogical analysis is so minute that it would be hard to make much of it except perhaps the haplogroup in which one would be assigned.
The popular criminal investigation television shows display a common and often casual use of DNA in their pursuit of collecting evidence in criminal matters. These forensic DNA tests use 13 markers. However, the markers used here are on chromosomes other than the Y and are identified in pairs, representing the one inherited from the mother and the one inherited from the father. In other words, the marker used are entirely different than the ones used for genealogy and what they represent is much more complex than the profiles that we analyze.
It is important that all of our Everett DNA samples be identified by the laboratory properly so the results can be coordinated effectively. To order a kit, or if you would like more information about participating, please contact Craig A. Everett, Project Administrator, everett5@mindspring.com. Checks for the processing fee should be mailed directly to the laboratory when you return the sample.

Craig A. Everett
August, 19, 2005