Relevant Websites

(NOTE: Because these websites are the work of others outside Team Liddell, any of them may delete or change the URL [name listing] of their site[s] without our knowledge. Please let our webservant Bill know if any of these links no longer work so we can keep this list of links current.

dThis list is not comprehensive but rather, only a brief compiling of websites, which are relevant to the understanding or use of Y-DNA/mtDNA studies and also a few other topics of importance to Team Liddell et al. In just the past four years--ever since the discovery of the mutation rates for male Y-DNA in 2000 in Berlin--websites devoted to the genealogical uses of these special type of genetic studies have appeared in numbers far too great to list in full here.

However, Team Liddell et al welcomes suggestions for additions to this list. Please write TeamLiddell@Yahoo.com and provide the full address and a brief description. Yes, we will list personal or family websites if the owners are members of our surname cluster. See our opening page for the surnames list we currently believe are mutually related and derived from the ancient Scot borderland place-name, Liddesdale.

FamilyTreeDNA quotes all of its test-kit prices in US dollars. Use this site to convert FTDNA prices into other currencies at current exchange rates. It was recommended to us by FTDNA.

Since the Y-DNA database at FamilyTreeDNA contains only the test results of its male customers, the test results are not present for the customers of the other testing companies. FTDNA is reputed to have a 90 percent share of the current gen-testing market, but the non-FTDNA-tested segment of the market also should be examined by the diligent family genealogist in search of additional matches. The first website listed below this text is sponsored by FTDNA for the convenience of these researchers. Team Liddell et al will automatically post the test results of all our study participants to these sites by using kit-number identities only, and with only Team Liddell et al as the point of public contact. We will serve as an intermediary filter in case a public query is received, and public contact with one of our test participants will be established by the Team only if our participant is interested and willing to respond.

Additionally, whenever the Team finds an appropriately surnamed Y-DNA, or a mtDNA test-results match elsewhere other than in the FTDNA sites, we will import the full report into our charts here at GeoCities, mark it as non-FTDNA, and attempt to contact the non-FTDNA testee on behalf of the Team and any of our variant surname-cluster member families.

duplications with ysearch.org lists) www.ybase.com NOTE: This is a new site not yet functional on 11/10/04!

While mtDNA comparisons for both females and males are provided by FamilyTreeDNA, we are at present have only one public site for non-FTDNA comparisons other than Dr. L. David Roper’s site (see below). What we have listed here was provided by Team member Barbara Good. We will post here any site addresses of this nature that are suggested to us. Send your suggestions to TeamLiddel@Yahoo.com.

This website is filled with a huge collection of tutorials, professional research papers, question-and-answer articles, the various surname studies placed with the company by their administrators, message boards and much more, as befitting the industrial leader. It also has the Team Liddell et al Study page, which can be found in the "T" list. In May 2005, the Team added a low-cost Liddesdale DNA/mtDNA Study page at FTDNA for the benefit of non-USA residents. Both Study addresses are listed immediately below. Both Team-administered sites list the full range of surnames we believe belong to our unique surname cluster.

Our study page at FamilyTreeDNA sets out our purposes and test requirements. Note that we do not accept the 12-marker Y-DNA test and greatly discourage our participants from buying the 25-marker one. We believe that the 37-marker Y-DNA test is by far our best buy, both now and for the future. (Very frankly, we view the 44-45 marker test offered by some companies as a gimmick not worth buying.)

Unlike some genealogy-genetics studies, we have started with a mtDNA study in addition to a Y-DNA study and are encouraging our male Y-DNA study participants to test for mtDNA as well--our reasoning being that the older males may not have any surviving female relatives with their material mtDNA and that these males represent the last opportunity to benchmark their entire Y- and X-chromosomal genetic makeup for the benefit of our descendants.

Our study includes all 90 variant surnames in what we believe is our Liddesdale-derived cluster, and unlike most other family studies, we will poll all test participants for the various spellings present in their records and particularly the earliest forms used by each line and will employ these to try to find additional test-result matches.

Finally, we suggest the invoice and pay-by-check routine for Web-security reasons. For additional information, write TeamLiddell@Yahoo.com.

(See FTDNA addresses listed immediately above for our Study’s project-page address.)

Relative Genetics and GeneTree.com are properties of the Mormon Church, which is based in Provo Utah. That church-related combination and Oxford Ancestors are the other major market leaders currently known to Team Liddell et al other than FamilyTreeDNA. Oxford Ancestors uses only the most basic marker-set and, thus, deals only with a type of “Ancient Ancestry” matters relative to Europeans. Additionally, it was reported in a July 2003 academic paper (Butler, NIST) that Brigham Young University is compiling a database of 100,000 Y-DNA samples with at last four-generation "pedigrees" as well as examining a variety of DNA markers, but it is not known at this writing if that database will be available for public access. www.relativegenetics.com This site has been moved to a new location http://66.235.201.45:8085/relativegenetics/

Want to read up on genetics for genealogy?. Rootsweb.com and Ancestry.com team up to maintain an excellent collection of assorted-subject essays at the first site and a list of all Surname-DNA studies listed with them is at the second site listed immediately following. FamilyTreeDNA also has a deep reference library ranging from introductions to the subject to actual copies of published science papers.

This site is are not for the faint of heart, for it contains the latest musings and models of a math-whiz who is developing techniques to make Y-DNA test results even more exacting. Here are there is his site. (Visit it if you wish, but you have been warned.)

You are here! This site is the excitingly new creation of William "Bill" Liddle of Washington State, and the entire Team is very grateful for his excellent dedication to creating this new tool for us within a mere three weeks of tackling the task. Our purpose for this website is to have a stand-alone, self-explaining "public face" which sets forth our purposes, what we are and our study goals. We believe that Bill has satisfied all these requirements, along with the able contributions of our Team's Editor, Jack Wardlaw of Louisiana who oversaw the editing and production of the various texts behind our array of "click" buttons.

A top-flight collection pf information about the Scot border through the eyes of those who came after our ancestors. The Borders Family History Society's website has a huge array of links and local contact points for literally every aspect of the old Roxburghshire area. Plan to spend several hours at this site.

Blood types

Some believe that blood types have or soon will have a genealogy value. Team Liddell et al is just beginning to look at this issue in December 2004 but it seems to be an interesting subject. Gary Liddell recently wrote: "There is an interesting book ("Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type") that goes into why differing blood types benefit from certain food groups. There is a website, www.dadamo.com, that has some information about the book and author and if you click on the ‘Science’ tab, there are some interesting articles about blood types." Below is a very good general-reference website dealing with blood. It has a large number of links.

This academic has one of the most incredibly rich and understandable websites for Y-DNA and mtDNA studies we've ever found on the Web. He and his site are presented as valued resources by FamilyTreeDNA at the conclusion of one of their tutorials. Visit his site once and you will understand why. Look for the long list of pages he supports within his site and expect to spend several enjoyable hours reading through them. Team Liddell et al has adopted all of his charts as our models for our own website.

James Vance Elliott is a complimentary member of Team Liddell et al and, boy, are we glad to have him around. He has cheerfully and generously allowed us to tap his vast knowledge of genetic testing, which has saved us months of research on our own. His Border Reivers Study now has some 40-50 test participants and is devoted to deciphering the genetic background for the Reivers, a cluster of some 77 families that ruled Liddesdale for nearly a century back during the 1500s and 1600s and were pretty frisky toward their neighbors. Visit his websites and leave a thank-you if you would, please! Otherwise, he might send some Reivers night-riders out looking for us.

Lanarkshire Family History Society

The Lanarkshire Family History Society is important to a large portion of Team Liddell et al because so many of our ancestors came from this shire, Glasgow or nearby. This is one of the most useful site in our entire list of Relevant Websites. Visit it soon and see for yourself. (And check out their tri-mester journal as well.

You need to visit this site just to see the vast array of materials available. --Wow! Planning to tour Scotland any time soon? You ought to plan to go by their Edinburgh office at 15 Victoria Terrace near Edinburgh Castle. (We believe that appointments with the staff are necessary.) For right now, take a look at their catalog on the Web.

This site has nothing at all to do with DNA/mtDNA but it is just like visiting our ancestral home so we thought we toss it in here. Enjoy!

http://DiscoverTheBorders.co.uk (and then click on the Archaeological icon for really ancient Liddesdale material. Hey, the other icons are good, too!)

Reputed to be the original land of Merlin and King Arthur, Liddesdale has ever been a place of legend and myth, and forever a land of the sword and conflict. Whenever neighboring lands were temporarily at peace, the residents of Liddesdale would turn to fighting among themselves. This is where the word "feud" was first coined. The Romans hated the place and built a wall to keep the early residents of Liddesdale out of their Empire. One of the last Roman historians writing in Syria in the early AD 400s described Liddesdale as a place of where civilized men went to die and die quickly in a wild land of utter darkness. (Lidderdale in the site address is a variant spelling.)

This name was deliberately selected to reflect all of the variant surnames in our cluster and expresses our surmised common origins in the Liddesdale borderland of Scotland. These three sites contain the archival holdings of Team Liddell et al consisting of more than 30 megabytes of files, a sizable accumulation which is still growing, We need to recognize the very able and extensive contribution of Gary Liddell in assembling this huge accumulation of files and databases. These resources range from a growing collection of members' genealogy charts and general research reference material on to include tutorials, essays on the castles, towns, history and terrain of Liddesdale, dozens of special-subject essays--some written by Team members, and database analyses and extensive lists of relevant websites pertaining to Scotland, Liddesdale, our respective families and much more. (Whew!) Access is restricted to Team members only. If you are a visitor here and interested in applying for membership in Team Liddell et al, please write TeamLiddell@Yahoo.com for details.

In November 2004, Team Liddell et al established a series of unlisted and restricted-access 20-megabyte digital storage vaults on the Web for its members to protect and permanently store their genealogy files, even on a lifetime basis. The Team has designated several trained moderators to manage and oversee the vaults to insure both continuity and the files' safety far into the distant future. The only persons capable of accessing any collection of files are the moderators and the members who are storing files in each particular site. The Team believes that no one can detect these sites through any type of search-engine efforts. There is no charge for this service. The sites can accommodate all types of files, including digital photographs. (Additionally, for a small at-cost fee and if requested, the Team will "burn" and mail CD copies of stored files to the owner.) The digital storage vaults were established to answer the total file losses and otherwise extreme damage suffered by a number of members during Fall 2004 when hackers and spammers invaded and took control (zombied) of their home computers during an industry-wide, months-long disaster.

There is no limit to the number of files or their size (up to 17meg per file) a member can store in the vaults, and each member can both upload and download files at any time as well as directing that the file(s) be deleted after downloading has been completed should this be desired for any reason. The Team pledges that the files will never be posted to either the public or to the rest of the Team without the owning-member's express permission, but does reserve the right to ensure that all files have a genealogy nature. Each member who stores files in the vault is required to provide the moderators a full name, physical address(es) including phone numbers --for mailing CD copies of the files if the Team ever loses its ability to operate the sites without expense--and the name and address of heir designants for the moderators to use in the case of estate settlements. Write teamliddell@yahoo.com to arrange storage in the Liddesdale Vaults.

This will be our playground website where we post pictures of our smiling selves, tell jokes, swap recipes, message-board to each other, list our websites, and otherwise have a merry old time. The front door is never locked so come on in and kick your shoes off and rest your weary bones. Just leave your swords and firearms in the car, please--and no cussin' in front of the chil'ren! The jug of redeye is under the sink behind the bag of onions in case you're thirsty today. Bill Liddle is again providing us with his excellent website design and construction skills for this site. Please visit http://www.oocities.org/justuscousins to find out what is happening there.