DNA testing is the new "thing" in genealogy.

I thought I would provide some information. I am not suggesting that you undertake a DNA analysis Far from it. I have tested my yDNA at 37 markers and results are inconclusive as matches I know about when you get to 37 are not exact and are all off by some genetic distance which means our common ancestor is several generations ago - my calculation was perhaps 600 years. These are people of other surnames. As far as I can tell LANKSHEAR was a surname that took a while to get to that spelling and was a label placed on people from Lancashire in England and they could have had another surname before that. So DNA and surname does not come into it. Any LANKSHEAR's reading this who are interested in DNA please contact me. I now have more cousins but I don't think we will ever establish an actual tree linkage.

It may tell you all manner of things about your genetic makeup but it may not help to break down brickwalls and of course the results are a new science that you have to get your head around....... Great for anthropology.
Well I am Haplogroup R1b1b2
Place of highest frequency= Western Europe
Most prevalent ancient ethnic group = Italo-Celto-Anatolian
That is from Eupedia : Geographic spread and ethnic origins of European haplogroups

What I gather from all the people suggesting you take part in a DNA study of a surname is that these studies are for males of that surname. I suppose it then proves that you are a male of the same line as the other males who took part in the testing. If there is a discrepancy then I am not sure about who it proves what. Except see Owsley below. But then perhaps I have not got my head around the stuff either.

This appears to a good article on what it is all about

http://www.technologyreview.com/BioTech/wtr_16421,312,p1.html

Detailed stuff about African American research http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/about.html

These people offer a free service http://www.ysearch.org/ and http://smgf.org/

http://www.jogg.info/ Journal of Genetic Genealogy

http://www.worldfamilies.net/ World Families Network

DNA research possible for LANKSHEAR
Andrew Lancaster has asked any of us who are interested to take part in a DNA study.
see LANCASTER surname Genealogy however my results show I do not have ank known LANCASTER as an ancestor which is what I expected. If any LANKSHEAR males want to test then do contact me

Some of the research coming out of DNA is interesting

Example Myths of British Ancestry by Stephen Oppenheimer

and THE OWSLEY SURNAME DNA PROJECT has an example of something that folk may not want to know - one ancestor was not a biological son of his supposed father