Woody DNA Project
(Including Wooddy, Woodey, Woodie, deWoody, etc.)



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Alert - FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) has announced end-of-the-year promotional pricing for many of their DNA tests. The sale price for the Y-DNA37 test is $119 (regular price $149). Other tests are similarly discounted. Orders for these tests must be placed and paid for by December 31, 2009 to receive the sale price.

The computer and the internet have revolutionized genealogy and family history research. These inventions provided tools that earlier generations of researchers never even dreamed about. The discovery of DNA and the widespread use of DNA testing and analysis have provided the modern family historian with yet another powerful research tool. However, the result of an individual genealogical DNA test is almost meaningless by itself: This result must be compared with other individual's DNA results to be useful. The Woody DNA Project was created to provide a place where individual yDNA results can be organized, posted and compared with other results. yDNA testing and this project help Woody genealogists and family historians verify their paternal ancestry (father's father) in a quick and easy way. This saves time, prevents mistakes, and provides invaluable data that can be obtained in no other way.

It is very important to known that DNA "marker" suites/groupings have not been standardized or agreed on by the various DNA testing companies. That is, different companies test for different markers. In DNA analysis, the more comparable markers, the better; however, incomparable markers are completely useless, no matter how many of them are tested. Our project accepts yDNA results from any testing company, but before you order testing, check the number of comparable markers that you are paying for. Do not hesitate about contacting us for more information on this subject.


The Goals of the Woody DNA Project are to::

        1. Help researchers of all Woody families work together to find their common heritage. We do this by posting the abbreviated lineages that Woody descendants send us. To view these lineages, click on the Patriarchs link above. We do not post any information about people born after 1910. To add your lineage to these pedigrees, just email us your abbreviated pedigree. If you would like your name and/or your email to be displayed, please tell us. You do not have to be a yDNA test participant to add your family pedigree.

        2. Identify the DNA of the ancestor families and compile them and their branches into distinct genetic lineages through DNA analysis and matches. DNA analysis is used to determine the common ancestors of different branches of related Woody lines. This analysis is also useful in extending Woody lines that have reached a "dead end" utilizing conventional research. Unless a participant asks to be identified, the Woody DNA Project does post the name of any member; only their yDNA results and the patriarch of their line. The different lines are grouped by patriarch. Click on the Results link above to see our progress.

The Woody DNA project is ongoing, with much more to learn. The project was initiated in late June of 2007 and participation has grown steadily. As of November, 2009, Family Tree DNA was tracking 5,643 DNA surname projects. The average number of participants per project was about 24.3; however, the median number was 9. This means that the great majority of projects never achieve any momentum and simply languish with one or two participants. We are totally committed to making our project a complete success and with the help of Woody descendants and friends, our participation has surpassed both the median and the average. So far, we have project members from seventeen states: They hail from the heartland to both coasts and both borders. To view the member distribution map for the project, click here. We have achieved some success, but to sustain this momentum we obviously need your help. With regard to our above mentioned goals, we have made significant progress and we expect to continue this trend. 

Project Successes - yDNA analysis has shown that:

        1. Our Woody men make up at least three completely unrelated lineages (families with separate ancestors). Two of these lines have deep ancestral roots in Western Europe; the other in Scandinavia.

        2. All of the descendants tested, with ancestors from the Piedmont and Blue Ridge regions of Virginia, share a common ancestor.

        3. "Dead end" pedigrees can be connected to a known lineage. Because a lineage connection provides a family and locality to focus on, most of these these pedigrees have been extended, some very significantly.

Our project is open to any male Woody or man believing that he is the son of a Woody male. yDNA is passed from father to son, but not from father to daughter. So any line that includes a female link cannot be proven or disproven using yDNA. Female Woody descendants can help by strongly encouraging their male Woody relatives to join the project. To-date, all of the project participants have come from the USA, but we hope that Woodys from all over the world will join us. In particular, we are would like participation from the British Isles, the assumed source of our name and original ancestors.

If you would like to make a donation to the Woody DNA Project General Fund click here. The Project Administrator uses this fund to share testing costs with those individuals having very limited means.   

In addition, the line leaders provide research assistance to novice family historians. Along the way, we have also helped several folks extend their known lineages, some significantly. We have focused others on the best locations to continue their search. 

The DNA testing company for the project is Family Tree DNA. The FTDNA and WorldFamilies.net  websites both have detailed information on DNA and DNA testing. A test ordered from FTDNA, as part of this project, receives a substantial discount. The Woody DNA Project has no financial interest in Family Tree DNA and the project administrator and line leaders receive nothing but satisfaction for their volunteer efforts. The total testing fee goes to the testing company.

Click here to join the Woody DNA Project and order a discounted yDNA test. Y-DNA37 is the preferred test.