THE McCUBBIN DNA PROJECT

How could I have been so fortunate to have lived the most exciting time in the history of genealogy, than the last ten years! Genetic Genealogy has changed how we find and view our ancestors. (Lorna McCubbin, McCubbin DNA Project Administrator, Sept, 2010)

The Year 2000
– One woman, a genealogist by hobby, sends query letters to McCubbins around the world, in the hopes of finding clues to her husbands family origins.
– The term Genetic Genealogy is born. The use of DNA testing for Genealogical purposes starts.

The Year 2001
-Two women separated by thousands of miles, each searching for information about two ancestors named Alexander McCubbin, connect via the internet and form The McCubbin Family History Association (McFHA) They use the the query letter answers as well as the internet to begin a database of McCubbin names. Hours are spent in research facilities. The database grows. Family groups begin to take form.
– Bennett Greenspan, an entrepreneur and life-long genealogy enthusiast, founds Family Tree DNA, (FTDNA) turning a hobby into a full-time vocation. He becomes President and CEO. Orders for DNA test sample kits start pouring in. Individuals begin to find matches with others around the world, breaking down brick walls in their research and making family ties.

The Years 2002 to 2006
-McFHA grows. Valuable helpers join, and help connect us with hundreds of McCubbins. The McCubbin database and family groups continue to grow.
– FTDNA continues to develop the science that enables genealogists around the world to advance their family’s research. They work in association with a scientific advisory board and the University of Arizona Research Labs, led by Dr. Michael Hammer, one of the world’s leading authorities in the field of Genetics.

The Years 2007 to 2010
McFHA joins the FTDNA project. Relatives of the two original women who formed the association, send gift test kits to their McCubbin males and find that the original Alexanders theyve been searching for, are related. Cousins are united. Others want test kits. Soon several family groups are joined through DNA results, a male finds a long lost father, four males are surprised to find out that they descend from King Niall of Ireland, an American sets his virtual foot back in Scotland after his ancestor left 350 years earlier, a man describes how he felt when he discovers hes linked to a McCubbin he met on a ski hill 45 years ago…I never met, in all my life, a stranger with whom I felt an instant connection with. He was so much like me! Gregarious and jolly!, he laughs.
FTDNA database grows larger allowing us to verify our genealogy and discover our deep ancestral origins by comparing our results with the largest and robust source in the DNA world.

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