Pate families in Missouri
The Pate DNA Project has just been established, the first and only one of its kind for the Pate family and its surname variants. If you have any Pate friends or relatives, please make them aware of this opportunity to learn more about their family and its ancestry.
The world's most well-known and respected Pate family genealogists, Jinks Pate Lee of Louisiana and Joel Pate of Florida, have given tirelessly of themselves for decades in helping the extended Pate family fill gaps in their research. They have now both endorsed this Project and have become participants in it.
DNA testing, also called genetic genealogy, is a scientific tool and definitive benchmark for genealogical research. Family memories fade, are often inaccurate, and are lost with each death. Written records and documents, even if they exist at all or can be found, are often unreliable, full of errors, and/or incomplete. Research efforts are often frustrating, and much time and money are wasted.
However, genetic information within each person contains a biological record of their ancestry that cannot be changed or destroyed. Through scientific miracles, this information can now be reconstructed for long-deceased ancestors by testing their living descendants.
Brickwalls in genealogical research, formerly impenetrable, can now be broken through or leaped over by pinpointing Pate relatives on the other side of the wall who were previously unknown, and then discovering the common ancestor in a mutual effort through traditional genealogical research. This is the great opportunity that DNA testing offers to the Pate family.
This project is a wonderful opportunity to personally take part in the greatest development in genealogy since the Internet became widely-used. It is obvious that the more Pates who join the project, the more successful the effort will be and the greater its value to all of us. Any male Pate can be a genetic representative for all the known relatives in his direct family line.
This is a great opportunity and our greatest hope to resolve all the open questions on the Pate family, including some myths and mysteries resulting from faulty research, wishful thinking, and/or misguided conclusions. How many separate family lines are there? Where are our origins? Do all the American Pates have roots in Virginia? What about our migrations from Europe and within the States, and those left behind? Are variants of the Pate name really related?
To participate directly in this project, you should be a male Pate, regardless of your nationality, national origin, or variants in spelling of the surname. However, females, whose birth surname was Pate, are welcome and encouraged to participate indirectly by having a male Pate relative (father, brother, uncle, cousin) join the project. Females with a Pate bloodline are welcome to join the project as well, but should be fully aware of the limitations inherent in mitochondrial DNA testing. These differences between male and female DNA are fully explained on the Project's website (see link below).
Family Tree DNA was selected to do the testing for the Pate DNA Project. This same company was also selected by the National Geographic Society and IBM to provide testing for their monumental Genographic Project. Over 80% of all projects worldwide to date are underway at this same company. The company has offered a substantial discount to all joining the Pate DNA Project. Pricing information can be found on the Project website.
The modest cost of testing becomes even more reasonable when you consider that you could spend much more than that amount on fruitless trips and research, not counting the wasted time and frustration. Through this project, you could save countless hours by eliminating unrelated family lines and focusing on your own direct line.
I urge you all to visit the website for the Pate DNA Project, which is very informative and interesting, and should answer all your immediate questions. The link is: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/pate-dna-projecthttp://www.familytreedna.com/public/pate-dna-project Then, it is my deep hope that you will join with us in this great adventure. The success of this Project literally depends on each of you and your participation. And the success of the Project will be a heritage for all of us and our future generations.
Nothing in this posting should be construed as diminishing the importance of traditional genealogical research. Nor can DNA testing ever replace it. DNA testing is just a scientific tool which can only indicate kinship between two people, but it will take traditional genealogical research and diligence to determine who their common ancestor was. Due to genetics, DNA testing is not definitive for females, so traditional genealogical research will remain the primary resource for tracing maternal family lines.
Genealogical research will only be enhanced by the results of DNA testing. Its effectiveness and value will become even more focused on clearly defining family lines after identifying and discarding false leads and suppositions. Many who have become discouraged in their searches may then return to their research with renewed purpose and focused intensity.
This is strictly a volunteer effort on my part, and no remuneration of any kind from any source is received by me in connection with this project. I have paid exactly the same testing fee as will any other participants. My reward will be derived from the success of the project and the satisfaction we will all feel from the unexpected discoveries waiting for us.
If you have any questions or need further information, please send me an email at [email protected] .
A. J. Pate