A DNA project has been launched for the Schaff surname, along with any variations such as Schaaf, Shoaf, etc. The project uses testing on the male Y chromosome which is passed directly down the paternal line from father to son making it ideal for investigating surname lineages. The testing can be used to uncover, prove, or disprove connections between various Schaff lines and to also give clues about the deeper origins of the lineages.

Project participation is open to any direct paternal-line male Schaff descendant - i.e., a male whose last name is Schaff (or any variation of the surname) or a male whose biological paternal-line ancestry goes back to a Schaff but whose last name was changed at some point, such as due to adoption. Even if you are not a direct paternal-line male Schaff descendant, you can join the project by sponsoring the testing of a Schaff male from your immediate or extended family, such as a brother, son, father, uncle, male cousin, distant male cousin, etc.

Feel free to visit the Schaaf-Shoaf project website for more details:

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/shoaf/

Also, if you have already had Y-DNA testing done at Family Tree DNA, you can log into your account and use the Join Projects link to join the Schaaf-Shoaf project.

Mike
Project Administrator
Schaaf-Shoaf DNA Project

Hi there,

I'm Daniel Scott Schaff, son(born out of wedlock), of Donna Schaff, grandson of John Schaff and Rufina Braun. I got that information from the ROll Schaff website. The family tree I refer too is the George Schaff Family Chart from http://www.rollintl.com/roll/schaff.htm.

I would like to know more about this DNA thing. My mother had two brothers and two sisters as well.

Thanks,

D. Scott Schaff
Sunnyside, WA

Hello D. Scott -

There are three types of DNA testing that you can use to explore your ancestry. The Y-DNA testing which is used in surname DNA projects, such as the Schaaf-Shoaf project, does testing on the male Y chromosome which is passed down from father to son down the generations generally following the path of the surname. This testing can give insights and connections with others along the direct paternal line. So, if you would like to explore the Schaff ancestry, then one of your mother's brothers or sons of your mother's brothers or any other direct line male Schaff descendant in her family could do the Y-DNA testing. It is recommended that at least a Y-DNA37 test be done as a first test.

If you want to explore your own paternal line, then you could do the Y-DNA testing. I don't know if you know anything about your paternal line, but the testing could give you more insights.

Besides Y-DNA testing, there is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing which is used to explore a person's direct maternal line. A mother passes down her mitochondrial DNA down to all her children, no contribution from father at all. So, you got your mtDNA from your mother who got it from her mother ... etc.

Then there is autosomal testing which does testing over a person's entire 23 pairs of chromosomes. Comparisons with others can uncover matching DNA segments with others indicating a common ancestor somewhere/anywhere in their respective trees. This is the Family Finder testing at Family Tree DNA and the testing offered by 23andMe.

Feel free to let me know of any other questions you might have about the DNA testing.

Mike
Project Administrator
Schaaf-Shoaf DNA Project