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DNA analysis may be the only way to separate these McCorkle families into discreet units because so many documents are lacking in the paper trail. In ordinary genealogical research, you start with what you know and go toward what you don't know. In research to accompany DNA analysis, you start back at the beginning and work forward until you get to living male descendants whose DNA can answer many of our questions.
All men and only men have a Y chromosome. This biological fact allows us to trace back in time a direct, largely unchanged genetic line of inheritance from father to son.
The second thing that makes the Y chromosome unique is that the information carried on Y chromosomes is inherited largely intact over time. Unlike other chromosomes, the genetic material on the Y chromosome is not mixed with each new generation. The information carried on the Y chromosome travels from father to son as a nearly exact copy of itself.
Occasionally, during the DNA copying process, small changes or mutations occur, and it is these mutational differences that allow us to distinguish the Y chromosome of an individual from his ancestor's. Thus, an actual genetic record of the male line going back through time exists -- as clear a marker of paternal heritage as a father's family name.
A tangible timekeeper of history, the Y chromosome allows us to trace human evolution, track migration patterns and relatedness in groups of people, and answer paternity questions going back generations. Through testing of the Y chromosome, we begin to unravel some fascinating stories about our own origins.
Only direct male McCorkle descendants can take the Y DNA test. Only males carry the Y chromosome that is used in the test. (The part of the Y chromosome that is tested is considered “junk” material; however, it is passed from generation to generation in exact duplication from father to son for thousands of years. It only mutates slightly every 500 generations or so.) We need three or four direct male descendants from each Norman line. If you are a female, you must get a father, brother, or male cousin or distant cousin, who is a direct line Norman, to take the test for you.