ODOM DNA PROJECT

A group of Odom researchers has started a wonderful new genealogy project to assist in our family research.  Helen Odum Harrell, an Odom researcher known by many Odom/Odum researchers, started this project in early 2004. It a genealogy DNA Project with a world-renowned company, Relative Genetics.  Helen and I are inviting you to join us and participate in this exciting genealogical DNA project! 

The Odom Family has a rich heritage as we well know.  The point of the project is to help determine which Odom (whatever the spelling) lines descend from which Odom patriarchs of long ago -- to help narrow down how we all are connected (or aren't!). The Y-chromosome DNA (that determines you're male) is passed down father-to-son, century after century, with only occasional small mutations. There's about an even chance that your DNA pattern ("haplotype") will exactly match that of your male Odom direct paternal line ancestor back roughly in the 1600s, or that there will be one or maybe two small mutations along the way - that might eventually help determine who is or isn't from a particular branch of the family.

Relative Genetics, www.relativegenetics.com in Salt Lake City, does the lab work. They will mail out a kit (swabs, instructions, consent form) to you, then you twirl the swabs vigorously (no pain!) on the inside of your cheek to pick up the loose cells for them to analyze, and mail them back to the lab via normal mail in a protective envelope provided. It will take roughly 4 weeks to get the results once the lab has your sample. The project we are doing is for males with a father named Odom whose father was an Odom, etc… (again, spelling can be different). In fact, we hope to have males from different spelling of Odom/Oldham/Odam/Odum/Oden families participate.

A private project web site is being provided by the Relative Genetics lab. Participants are able to access the site and see their test results and the group progress. You also can elect to be notified by others who are closely related to you from your DNA sample.  This project will be well worth the time and investment.

There now are over 600-800 family projects of this sort underway. Pretty soon we'll have a clear picture of who all are related to whom, and what the DNA pattern of each shared ancestor is. Wherever participants match on any of the 24 Y-chromosome locations studied, pretty firmly establishes that their shared ancestor in recent centuries had the same score ("allele") at that location. We soon will know the haplotype (DNA pattern) of some ancestors from the 1700s - and possibly be able to match up with others around the world who had the same male ancestor hundreds or even a thousand or more years ago! You can see this illustrated by taking a tour at the following internet site:

http://www.relativegenetics.com/servlet/moonshine/goto?page_url=/fmtreeflash.jsp

Or read more at:

http://66.235.201.45:8085/relativegenetics/index.jsp