The Beginning...
This DNA project attempts to establish connections between men in the tangle of Kauffman/Coffman families in North America, and reaching back into Europe. It is hoped that the project will prove to be a valuable tool for future genealogical reasearch. For those who cannot trace their family back more than a few generations, the project might provide clues and direction for future research.
There is no "Kauffman Family Organization" to give oversight and coordination of the project. Each project has a "administrator" within the FamilyTreeDNA framework. There is no group funding, each participant pays his own way. Fifty-three men have been tested so far and the number keeps growing. Please join us in our pursuit of Kauffman/Coffman connections.
Surnames in the Project
The Kauffman surname is German in origin. Research shows that Kaufmann families originated in Switzerland and Germany. At time of immigration many Kauffman families were living in the areas along the Rhine River; in Bavaria, the Palatinate, and Wurttemburg on the German side and in the Alsace-Lorraine and Montbelliard areas of France. One branch of the family immigrated from Ukraine.
Through the generations variations in the spelling of the surname has been recorded in legal documents. In some families changes in the spelling between generations have complicated the research. With DNA testing we hope to establish the degree of relationship between apparently unrelated people with similar surnames. This project wants contributors with all spellings of the name. To date we have tested the following surnames:
Caufman, Coffman, Kauffman, Kaufman, Kaufmann, Koffman, Caughman
DNA Testing Provided by FamilyTreeDNA
The project uses the facilities of "FamilyTreeDNA", an online company which is based in Houston, Texas. Samples are collected by FTDNA and assigned a "kit number". The coded samples are then sent to a lab at the University of Arizona, where they are studied and then stored for twenty-five years. Test results are sent back to FTDNA, and those tested receive reports of the outcomes. If a match is found, indicating a common ancestor, the two who match exchange information to determine the commopn ancestor.
