This process (finding male descendants of a proven son) does work very well. As an example, the Dugger line in VA begins before 1717 with the marriage of Daniel Dugger and Mary Scarborough. So far, most Dugger descendants who were in the U.S. by 1750 can be traced to this couple. They had 8 children, 5 boys and 3 girls. Only one line, Richard's, can be proved by paper documentation. By finding a descendant of Richard and comparing his DNA with the DNA of male descendants in the lines of the other boys, we were able to prove that the other four sons were also descendants of Daniel Dugger and Mary Scarborough. Likewise, there was an documented indication (but not proof) in the paper documentation that at least one of the sons of Lydia (a daughter of Daniel and Mary) was the son of a neighboring family, the Cheathams. This also was proved by DNA and verified that her other son was also a Cheatham even though both used the Dugger surname. It did not provide the actual father so we are guessing about whether it was the elder Cheatham, Marmaduke, or one of his sons. Most of us believe that it was Marmaduke because he referred in his will to an inheritance to John Dugger, "the son of Lydia Dugger," and an inheritance to his wife, Susanna, if she would return to live in his house. The phrasing thereby implying that she may have left because of Marmaduke's affair with Lydia. Likewise, DNA shows that the 2 sons of the second daughter of Daniel and Mary, Elizabeth, are McClains. Thus, you can see that DNA has greatly benefited the documentation of the Dugger line. But the effectiveness of DNA depends upon the number of DNA samples. The Dugger line lists 142 samples at http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/dugger/results. In comparison, the Scarborough patriarch page which should have more descendants than the Dugger line lists only 11 samples at http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/scarborough/results. There should be more descendants in the Scarborough line because the earliest known Scarboroughs in the U.S. were there between 1630 and 1650, about 90 years earlier than the Duggers, and because they are at least as prolific as the Duggers. Paper document shows that at a time (c 1730) when there were 9 people using the Dugger surname, there were more than 200 using the Scarborough surname in America. Thus, the lack of data on the Scarboroughs prevents researchers from making connections to each other similar to those found in the Dugger line. Cynthia McDaniel -----Original Message----- From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 7:35 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] DNA Criteria [finding yDNA candidates for testing] Dusty: Your sister's son doesn't work for your father's yDNA direct male line test, because your nephew doesn't carry your father's yDNA. You need to look for the son of your Dad's brother or the son's son's son of your Dad's paternal grandfather, usually of the same surname as your father unless an adoption or some other non-paternity event intervened to change the surname of the direct male line. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html