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PowerEt Al DNA and History Project Frequently Asked Questions

1. How is the Power Et Al DNA and History Project going to protect my privacy?
   Ans. Your name will never be shown on the webpage. Your DNA marker numbers, your FamilyTreeDNA kit number, your Ysearch.org number, and a new membership number for our group will be shown but no living person's name will be  listed without your permission.

2. If I find a matching DNA marker string on the webpage, how do I contact this DNA participant?
   Ans. Send us an email that includes your intentions and the participants identifying number. We will forward YOUR email address to the participant. This participant then has an option of replying to your request, or ignoring your email. Ideally, everyone will reply, but it is possible that the participant may want to maintain confidentiality. In other words, you and other participants like you will actually be the ones to make the final decision about sharing further information with each other.

3. I have relatives who may want to take part in this project, what should I do?
   Ans. Send your name and the relative's name (and email address if possible) to the coordinator's email address. We will take it from there. However, remember that the potential participant must be a living male Power/Powers/Poor/de la Poer/Powys descendant.

4. Is there more information about DNA on the Internet?
   Ans. Yes, a very large amount. You might go to the search engine "Google" to find these websites. Use "Genealogy + DNA" as the search criteria.

5. Why is it that you insist on male members of the Power et al clans?
   Ans. It is necessary to test the Y-DNA chromosome that gets passed virtually unchanged from father to son.  This chromosome allows us to track a paternal lineage by comparing the data markers between several males.  If a female cousin wishes to participate, it is helpful to find a male relate to "sample."

6. Do the tested Y-DNA markers contain personal information related to a person's health or inheritance of disease-related genes?
   Ans. No, they do not really do anything except pass from one male to the next. In other words, they do not identify hair color, IQ, health related issues, intellectual ability, etc. The very small sample of markers (loci) reported in the Y chromosome DNA analysis represents a tiny part of the complete DNA "fingerprint," therefore, no one could identify you specifically from the Y chromosome sample even if they wanted to.

7. If my DNA participant family tree has an error or omission regarding my ancestors' names, dates, or migration pattern, can it be corrected?
   Ans. We know that there may be some errors in reporting these generations, so your help will be appreciated. If you send an email to one of the co-ordinators with the proposed changes please try to give a primary source for the proposed change.

8. If participants from the same genealogical lineage have entirely different DNA marker patterns, what could be the cause?
   Ans. It could be that a Power et al ancestor adopted a boy from outside the clan. Other causes would involve "non-paternity issues" (infidelity, step-children, etc.) And lastly, the subject participants may not actually belong in the same line because of errors in family traditions or family records.

9. Your participant pages show space for more than 67 markers or loci. Why?
   Ans. A 25/25 match gives you a 50% probability of having a most common recent ancestor (MCRA) within 7 generations (some say 3.5 generations). The additional markers (loci) would narrow the search.

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