Dear HANNON & Variant Surname Message Board & Mailing List Participants,

In addition to my duties as moderator of these HANNON & variant RootsWeb Mailing Lists and Message Boards I am very excited to take on the responsibility of adminning the HANNON Family Tree DNA Project. I chose the DNA testing company named Family Tree DNA (or FTDNA) because it is considered to be the leader in genealogy DNA research at this time and it is directly involved in the World GENOGRAPHIC Project, an endeavor which you will also want to join. More about that later, please read on.

DNA research is very promising for family historians in its scope and in its possibilities. My experience with the RootsWeb Lists & Boards tells me that there are many people who share my dilemma. That is to say, we know who our grandparents are and maybe even who our great grandparents were but we are unable to document earlier generations.

Of course, DNA research would be useful to people who are not even sure about their mom & dad.

In my particular case, even though I've had great good luck with my HANNON/HANNAN maternal side, I've been unable to get back past my paternal WATERHOUSE grandfather. Through paper research I can document that my father was baptized HM WATERHOUSE; additionally I have documents showing that his father was named JH WATERHOUSE and that his mother was named Catherine HANNON. I even have handwritten family documents showing that my great grandfather was Charles WATERHOUSE born in the United States ca 1845 with New England roots but I'm brickwalled at that point.

Being unable to authenticate my great grandfather's information leaves me having to face the possibility that my grandfather might have decided to rewrite family history by assuming the name WATERHOUSE. In that case I may not be descended from the WATERHOUSE line at all and I may need to start looking elsewhere.

All of this concern comes after 25 plus years of diligent document research on my part. Although I believe strongly in records research and continue to pursue the paper trail now there is an alternative. We have DNA research. DNA research will take us back to our earliest HANNON/HANNAN roots.

On my HANNAN/HANNON side I recently had the great good fortune to visit my grandmother's home in the County Clare townland where she left for America in 1885. We have that family documented back to around 1820 but beyond that the line blurs. With so many named Mary, Margaret, Michael or John it seems an impossible task to go back much further. If one of my male cousins from Chicago with the surname HANNON/HANNAN gets involved I just might be able to connect with every HANNON/HANNAN or variant on this List & Board.

Traditionally it has always been assumed that those of us with the names HANNON, HANNAN, HANAN, HANNEN, HANNEEN, OHANNAN, OHANNON, OHANNEEN, etc. are most likely connected. I suspect this is mostly true. Some say though that perhaps a branch of a family with another close surname had taken on the HANNON name. Of course these variant surnames have existed in Ireland for many generations.

Additionally, we should be aware that the name HANAN is also an ancient Middle Eastern name. DNA research gives us a way to absolutely determine the facts of our ancestry and of our surname origins.

You can publish your results for everyone's benefit or you can keep them private.

It is a very simple process to have your DNA tested with a "q-tip" swab of the interior of your cheek. The cost is not prohibitive. To participate or to get more info just click on the link below and fill out the accompanying order form. A minimum 25-marker test is recommended although you can take the 12 marker test and upgrade at a future date.

For more information please go to:

http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=U94168&am...

You've known me for several years as the HANNON (and variant surname) List & Board admin. If you click on the "Contact the "HANNON (or variant) Group Administrator" link on the HANNON (or variant) Family Tree DNA page you will see my email address as shown above & below.

This past summer (2005) I ordered the 37 marker test plus the MTDNA test because I am also researching my mother's side of the family. MTDNA is short for mitochondria DNA, which is the DNA, passed down from mother to daughter. My paternal results can be found on the WATERHOUSE Family Tree DNA Project page.

Please join! If you are a male with a HANNON or variant pedigree from anywhere in the world you are of immeasurable value to this effort. Because Y-DNA is only passed from father to son your Y-DNA is in fact HANNON or variant surname DNA. Please get involved. After all, your DNA markers will become the cornerstone of the HANNON & variant DNA Project long into the future. I look forward to the day when we see HANNON/HANNAN and variant surnamed men living in Ireland and around the world step up to join our project.

All this talk about the "male" line sounds sexist and I suppose in a way it is. Since YDNA passes from father to son it follows that YDNA is what we genealogy researchers primarily pursue. This makes sense from a genealogical standpoint because historically the surname is passed from father to children. While mitochondria DNA (MTDNA) is passed from mother to daughter in a similar way, tradition has caused it to lack the credential of the surname.

In other words, Mister MURPHY passes his MURPHY YDNA on to his sons and they pass it on to their sons who carry the MURPHY surname for many generations. But, Mrs MURPHY whose maiden name was actually CLEARY passes her MTDNA on to her daughter who becomes Mrs FLANNERY who passes it on to her daughter who becomes Mrs HANNON who passes it on to her daughter, Margaret HANNON. Margaret carries the MTDNA of her mother which is the same as the MTDNA of her maternal grandmother etc., etc. back to Eve (albeit with some mutations over great periods of time) but there is no single surname to follow.

Not to confuse the subject but Margaret does get to pass her MTDNA to her sons along with her daughters but the sons do not pass their mother's MTDNA to their offspring. Therefore, males can be tested for their mother's MTDNA results but females cannot be tested for their father's YDNA results.

So, the male's YDNA will connect him directly to his true paternal surname roots because YDNA, like the father's surname, is passed down from the father and continues on down through the male line, generation after generation. Documentation claiming to be descended from a particular father can be falsified. DNA cannot.

You can see that males are able to determine their paternal surname roots through their YDNA. Additionally they are able to test for their mother's MTDNA. I have also had my MTDNA tested in order to verify my maternal migratory roots. But if a HANNON daughter wants to trace her HANNON YDNA to follow the ancestral surname line she must enlist the aid of her brother, father, uncle or male close cousin in order to do so.

If you are a female genealogy researcher with a HANNON pedigree and you have a father, brother or a close male HANNON (or variant) cousin who is willing to participate please get them involved. By doing so you will have contributed immeasurably to our success while learning your true relationship to the HANNON clan.

Those of us with variant surnames will finally be able to connect with our roots.

Many of your questions can be answered on the Family Tree DNA web page but as always please feel free to email me with any concerns. I hope to see you on the HANNON, etc, RootsWeb Lists and Boards as well as on the HANNON, etc, Family Tree DNA Project.

My best wishes to all of you in your research!

Bob WATEROUS
HANNON & variant List & Board moderator, HANNON & Variant FTDNA Project Administrator
waterous@televar.com