The DNA extra edition.....

The October 2006 DNA Extra edition of The Goddard Newsletter has been sent to current members of our society as well as to thousands of folks in the United States and Canada whose surnames are Goddard, Godard, Gossard, Gozzard, Godward or one of several other variations of our name. This special edition of the Newsletter has been dedicated in memory of Mrs. Verna Gail (V.G.) Johnson, who instigated and developed the DNA project and wrote so eloquently about it.

If you would like a copy of this special edition, please contact our executive secretary, Mrs. Anne Goddard Jones, by email at goddardfamilies@gmail.com.

Better yet, if you are interested in joining the Goddard Historical and Genealogical Society, click on the link below to obtain a copy of our membership application form:

A few words from our President, Teresa Goddard.....

Do you ever watch CSI on television? It can be habit forming. Whether you read the newspaper or watch television for news or entertainment it seems that you will find some reference to the use and increasing importance of DNA. It is a fascinating field that has captured the imagination of many of us -- especially our children.

For those who may not know, Knoxville, TN, is home to one of the cutting edge forensic facilities. If you're a Patricia Cornwell fan --The Body Farm is based on the facility here. Perhaps living in this area has made me more aware of such things. But, the science that uses DNA to untangle what we once thought of as mysteries has caught our collective imaginations.

For me, the GH&GS DNA project is a groundbreaking endeavor not just for our association, but for other groups and families like ours.

My 5th great grandfather has been labeled as "Mysterious William". His story before he appeared with his family in Tennessee is just that -- a mystery. I grew up thinking he was of German descent because he lived in a German settlement and some of his sons married German women. But, there was never any "hard" evidence to back up that assumption. Now with the findings of just a few DNA tests, we have a whole new set of theories to consider.

The novelist in me is running rampant with romantic and tragic stories of William's progress to the new world and his adventures that led him to Tennessee to settle down and establish our branch of the family.

The practical side of me realizes that this information, along with the documented genealogy of those other families that the DNA suggests are related, may just give us new clues as to how to untangle the mystery of William.

While this may be personal to my branch of Goddards, it is a real example of how useful this project can be to researching family history. Those "dead-ends" may be given a new life. Only time, persistence and sound research will untangle the mysteries of any of our families. But the DNA project has given us a tool with new and exciting possibilities.

We know it takes more than genetics to make a family real. We've proven at each Goddard Gathering that whether related by genealogy or not, we're all "cousins". We're connected by shared values of what family means and the mutual desire to embrace our extended family. I've seen us welcome family from Canada, England and Australia and treat them with the same affection and kinship that we do those from our family tree, even though we know that they're not related by "blood". The love I feel for and receive from my "GH&GS cousins" has more to do with heart than with bloodlines.

But, I want to turn into our own "CSI Lab" and see what else is uncovered in our DNA project. Consider the possibilities and get your own family involved! What you'll discover will make the fabric of our family story stronger and more interesting and maybe even less mysterious!