The University of Pennsylvania with assistance from the St Mary's County Historical Society is conducting a Colonial Chesapeake DNA Study. This is a detailed genetic and ethnographic study of descendant populations from 17th century Chesapeake colonies, comprising what are now the states of Virginia and Maryland. To date, there has been no systematic assessment of 17th century populations from the Chesapeake area. Thus, this work will provide insights into the origins and diversity of the European founder populations that settled in the area as well as their influence on people from formerly enslaved populations. The principal investigator for the study is Dr. Theodore G. Schurr, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, and co-principal investigator Ms. Raquel Fleskes, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.
ELIGIBILITY
To qualify for participation in the study, you must be able to trace your personal genealogy back to the 17th century colonies of Virginia or Maryland. The researchers will interview you about your family history so come prepared. If you have a family tree or other documentation tracing your family back to the 17th century, please bring it. If you do not have family record, the researchers will conduct an in-depth interview with you to ascertain your family's history. It is important that participants be able to establish with reasonable certainty that they are direct or indirect descendants of people living in the area in the 1600s.
There can be only one participant per immediate family. That is, in the case siblings, only one brother or sister may participate. If one or both parents participate, then their children may not. If a child participates, then the child's parents may not.
Each participant will be asked to sign Consent Form fully describing the purpose, methods, and confidentiality of the study.
DATES, TIMES, LOCATION, & REGISTRATION
Collection of DNA samples (via oral swabs) will take place on Saturday June 22nd and Sunday June 23rd at the St Mary’s County Historical Society - Tudor Hall – 41680 Tudor Place – Leonardtown – MD. Participants should expect to spend approximately 90 minutes to two hours to complete their family history, attend a short briefing, and the collection. Activity will occur throughout the day according to the following schedule:
Saturday June 22
8:30 am
10:45 am
1:00 pm
3:15 pm
Sunday June 23
9:00 am
11:15 am
1:30 pm
3:45 pm
Each time slot is limited to 19 participants. A the time of registration, participants will be charged $25 for the cost of the GenoChip 2.0 materials and analysis. Neither the researchers nor the St Mary's Historical Society financially benefit from the study in any manner If for some reason you are unable to participate, your payment will be refunded.
To register, please CLICK ON THIS LINK then click on “Colonial Chesapeake DNA Study”, select your preferred date and time of participation, then click NEXT. On the next page, click on Book My Visit and follow the instructions.
Out-of-state members of the Historical Society who can trace their ancestery to the Maryland/Virginia areas of the Chespeake may be able to paricipate on request.
Please direct your request to Raquel Fleskes at rfleskes@sas.upenn.edu.
MORE INFORMATION
