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Having served as the Co-Administrator of the Bowers DNA Project for just over a year now, I thought it was time for an annual accounting.
We currently have 17 participants in our project. Of these, 2 participants were only interested in whether they were immediate relatives, leaving 15 participants interested in their lineage and making connections with other lineages. Of these 15 participants, the results were helpful in some way for 10 participants, leaving only 5 that thus far have not learned anything new about their lineage. Even those 5 received a consolation prize in that their deep ancestral roots have been identified, which is helpful in determining, for example, whether their line was German or English. That means that 2/3 of the participants who joined for genealogy reasons learned something that would help in their research, which I think is a very good success rate.
Of the 10 participants who have benefited, there are 3 pairs of matches: Lineage I for Giles Bowers of the Isle of Wight, VA; Lineage II, whose patriarch is still to be identified; and Lineage III for Henry Bowers Sr. of Berkeley Co., VA/WV. The participants from Lineage I pretty much expected a match. The participants from Lineage II had not previously even tentatively connected with each other. As to Lineage III, this is my line and although I had spent years building a credible circumstantial case that I was descended from Henry Bowers Sr, I am the first to admit the case was not conclusive and in fact at times required a leap of faith. It was very satisfying to see my research corroborated by the DNA results.
The remaining 4 participants who have had success had success of a different kind, i.e., matches were expected but not obtained. While I'm sure these participants were disappointed, at least they are now able to redirect their research. The earlier you learn you are following the wrong trail, the better.
How about you? Wouldn't you like to be one of the success stories? Have you spent as much time trying to find a living male descendant of your line as you have trying to break through your personal brick wall? There's no question finding a living male descendant is often very difficult. I know, because I spent the entire summer tracking down potential participants for several of my other lines. Yet, I was ultimately successful in every case, so it can be done. [As an aside, besides my participation (through my cousin) in the Bowers Project, I have found and sponsored participants in six other surname projects. In each case, my research has been advanced and in at least three cases the immigrant ancestor has been identified. Yes, I'm a believer in DNA projects!]
I hope to double our participation in the coming year. Please consider joining or finding a representative of your line to join.
Robert Strong
Bowers DNA Project: http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/b/bowers/index.html
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