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Greetings Friends and Relatives,

I welcome you to the Gibbs Surname DNA Project web site. For me, like many of you, genealogy has evolved from a hobby to a passion. Over the decades, I've spent countless hours in libraries, courthouses, archives and cemeteries in search of documentation and answers. Another of my hobbies, flying, was in part motivated by my desire to travel in the cause of discovering my roots. Recently, in researching one of my maternal lines, I was amazed by the rapid and extensive progress which had been made using a DNA surname project. Many family researchers had suspected connections among various colonial Americans named Hooper, but no paper documentation had ever been found. Suddenly, the DNA project confirmed a number of relationships and increased the family tree dramatically. This motivated me to be tested and to work with others to start this, THE GIBBS SURNAME PROJECT.

After looking into the various Surname Projects, one company in particular seemed to frequently surface, FamilyTree DNA, Inc. It is a company founded strictly for performing genealogical DNA testing and analysis. They work with Dr. Michael Hammer, a highly respected geneticist from the University of Arizona. Initially the idea of a DNA test was somewhat unsettling to me, but I am satisfied with the provisions FamilyTree DNA has taken to insure privacy. Moreover, the testing of the Y-Chromosome reveals a set of markers, much like a biochemical surname, which I share with hundreds of men in my line who have the name Gibbs. Just as the last name Gibbs reveals very little about me, my Y-Chromosome markers are not unique to me. In any case, I encourage you to read the privacy statement of FamilyTreeDNA and feel free to email them with any concerns or questions you may have.

I also encourage you to watch the videos and listen to the interviews which are available on the FamilyTreeDNA web site, and to visit the web sites of other families whose projects have been up and running for a while. Without a lot of fanfare, we have entered a new era in genealogy. This is doubtless the most important development since the introduction of the census. The tools are now available and reasonably priced, all we need is participation to solve the questions which we all have.

We invite you to inform yourself and join us in this exciting project to discover our Gibbs family history.

Sincerely,

George Gibbs, Project Administrator
The Gibbs Surname DNA Project