Project Events Calendar:
5/13/22:
St. Mary's Historical Society Annual Dinner
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The St. Mary's Historical Society hosted its annual dinner on May 13, 2022 in Leonardtown Maryland. The executive Director, Mr. Peter LaPorte, invited Raquel Fleskes to be their keynote speaker and give a talk on the Chesapeake DNA Ancestry Project. The talk provides an overview of the study to date, as well as its connections to other DNA research projects in the Chesapeake region.
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You can find the link to the talk here, or through the St. Mary's Historical Society Website.
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2/29/20:
Informational Study Event!
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Chesapeake DNA Study: Project Update and DNA Testing Results
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Speakers: Raquel Fleskes, Ph.D. Candidate & Dr. Theodore Schurr, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
Date: 29 February 2020
Time: 2:00-4:00 pm
Location: College of Southern Maryland - Leonardtown Campus (Bldg A) [link to directions can be found here: https://www.csmd.edu/about/locations/leonardtown-campus/]
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Event Description: In 2019, we partnered with the St. Mary’s Historical Society to conduct a DNA study of persons tracing their ancestry back to the colonial Chesapeake period. 17th century. We collected 124 samples from participants and subjected them to analysis with the GenoChip 2.0 microarray. Using this approach, we expect to gain a better understanding of the ancestry of contemporary African and European individuals and their possible relatedness to 17th century archeological individuals also being analyzed for genetic diversity as part of this project.
During this presentation, we will discuss various details about the project. We will first discuss the goals of the study, the methods used for DNA analysis, the project timeline, and the anticipated results. Next, we will explain how the genetic ancestry tests work, and discuss their use in genealogical research. Subsequently, we will discuss the GenoChip 2.0 results for study participants, including the mitochondrial DNA, autosomal DNA, and Y-chromosomal DNA data sets. Finally, we will hold a question and answer session about the details of the presentation and DNA testing outcomes.
This event is free and open to the public. Persons who did not participate in the DNA study are welcome to attend.
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This event will also be video recorded, and shared on the study website for persons who cannot attend.
For questions about the event, please contact Peter LaPorte from the St. Mary’s Historical Society
Previous Project Events:
7/1/19:
ENROLLMENT FOR THIS STUDY IS NOW CLOSED.
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Thank you to all who participated in the June 2019 DNA sampling event, hosted by the St. Mary's Historical Society!
We interviewed and enrolled many participants during the two day event, and are very pleased with the turnout.
To read more about the previous DNA Sampling event, please read the event description below:
2/1/19:
DNA SAMPLING EVENT (expired)
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We are collaborating with the St. Mary's Historical Society to investigate 17th century Chesapeake ancestry in living descendent populations. See their website and event advertisement HERE:
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Please see information about the study and how to enroll below:
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DESCRIPTION:
The University of Pennsylvania with assistance from the St Mary's County Historical Society is conducting a Colonial Chesapeake DNA Study. This is a detailed genetic and ethnographic study of descendant populations from 17th century Chesapeake colonies, comprising what are now the states of Virginia and Maryland. To date, there has been no systematic assessment of 17th century populations from the Chesapeake area. Thus, this work will provide insights into the origins and diversity of the European founder populations that settled in the area as well as their influence on people from formerly enslaved populations. The principal investigator for the study is Dr. Theodore G. Schurr, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, and co-principal investigator Ms. Raquel Fleskes, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.
In this study, we will collect two non-invasive DNA buccal (cheek) swabs from each study participant. One DNA sample will be sent to Family Tree DNA to be run on the GenoChip 2.0 genetic ancestry test, and the other will be kept for secondary backup. All DNA samples will be destroyed at the end of the study project, and your privacy will be protected. This study has been approved by The University of Pennsylvania's Institutional Review Board (Protocol #: 825389).
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This information will be used to investigate the genetic diversity of 17th century Chesapeake founder populations. We want to understand where source populations came from, if persons migrated in family groups, and how contemporary genetic diversity compares with archaeological populations.
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ELIGIBILITY:
To qualify for participation in the study, you must be able to trace your personal genealogy back to the 17th century colonies of Virginia or Maryland. The researchers will interview you about your family history so please come prepared. If you have a family tree or other documentation tracing your family back to the 17th century, please bring it. If you do not have family record, the researchers will conduct an in-depth interview with you to ascertain your family's history. It is important that participants be able to establish with reasonable certainty that they are direct or indirect descendants of people living in the area in the 1600s.
There can be only one participant per immediate family. That is, in the case siblings, only one brother or sister may participate. If one or both parents participate, then their children may not. If a child participates, then the child's parents may not.
Each participant will be asked to sign Consent Form fully describing the purpose, methods, and confidentiality of the study.
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WHERE:
St. Mary's Historical Society
Tudor Hall
41680 Tudor Place
Leonardtown, MD 20650
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WHEN:
June 22 and June 23rd, from 8:30am to 4:00pm
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Participants should register for one time slot below:
Saturday June 22
8:30 am
10:45 am
1:00 pm
3:15 pm
Sunday June 23
9:00 am
11:15 am
1:30 pm
3:45 pm
Participants should expect to spend approximately 90 minutes to two hours to complete their family history, attend a short briefing, fill out IRB consent forms, and conduct DNA sampling via non-invasive buccal swabs. You can register for only one of the times above. Each time period is strictly limited to 19 participants.
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COST:
A the time of registration, participants will be charged $25 for the cost of the National Genographic's GenoChip 2.0 commercial genetic ancestry test. Funding from the National Science Foundation (Grant #1825583) will be used to subsidize the rest of the cost per participant. Neither the researchers nor the St Mary's Historical Society financially benefit from the study in any manner. If for some reason you are unable to participate, your payment will be refunded.
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REGISTRATION:
To register, please CLICK ON THIS LINK then click on “Colonial Chesapeake DNA Study”, select your preferred date and time of participation, then click NEXT. On the next page, click on Book My Visit and follow the instructions.
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QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about the study, or are unable to attend but would still like to participant, please contact Raquel Fleskes at rfleskes@sas.upenn.edu or the director of the St. Mary's Historical Society at director@stmaryshistory.org.
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Programs
DNA Sampling Events
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We are working with Historical & Genealogical Societies in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware to recruit 150 study participants with 17th century Chesapeake ancestry for this research project.
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During project events, we will collect DNA samples by having you rub the inside of your cheeks with a cotton swab. This DNA sample will be sent to National Geographic for the GenoChip 2.0 Genetic Ancestry Test. The test is identical to commercially available GenoChip 2.0 test, and you will be given a unique ID code that you can personally use to access test results on the Genographic Project website. We are able to offer participants the GenoChip 2.0 test for a discounted price of $25 for participating in this study.
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With the study results, we will look at ancestry (where you come from) and kinship (how you are related to other people) for the study group. Additionally, the GenoChip 2.0 does not test for any medically relevant information to protect your privacy. We hope that through this study, we will be able to help you understand how genetics may inform your ancestry and genealogical questions.
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​Genetic Ancestry Workshops
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Before DNA sampling events and after the study results are generated, we will hold workshops on genetic ancestry testing. These events will be held to explore how genetics can complement genealogical and historical research, and we will answer any questions you may have about genetic ancestry testing.
Genetic ancestry workshops will include topics such as:
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What is the difference between autosomal, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal tests?
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What will these tests tell you about your ancestry? What won't these tests tell you?
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How can genetic ancestry testing can be used to circumvent issues of the lack of historical documentation, especially for African American communities?
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We hope that by conducting these workshops in conjunction with DNA sampling and the return of study results, we will be able to give study participants the tools to help you understand how genetic ancestry testing works, so you can apply this knowledge to your personal research interests.