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Episode 081-March 1, 2019
This episode looks at joining Y-DNA or mtDNA projects. Denis Beauregard is site administrator or co-administrator for forty-eight projects at FamilyTree DNA. We’ll look at how to interpret the results for a French-Canadian, Acadian, and surname project.
French-Canadian and Acadian DNA Projects
Denis Beauregard and I discussed the following:
Denis is a former software engineer. He decided to do genealogy full time and created the website Genealogy of the French in North America. He adopted about thirty-five projects after the adoption by the EU of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
FamilyTreeDNA Projects
From FamilyTreeDNA’s home page, scroll to the bottom. Under COMMUNITY, click on Group Projects. The projects are divided into various categories: Y-DNA Surname, Y-DNA Geographical, MT Geographical, Dual Geographical, and MT Lineage projects.
Joining a project may help you to validate your paper trail. You also have a group of people who are available to offer help.
You may save $20 on a test by ordering it from within the project.
[This information consists of suggestions only. It is to help you get the most out of your data, but you need to decide what level of privacy you are most comfortable with.]
To join a project
Go to familytreedna.com and sign into your FamilyTreeDNA account.
At the top of the page, click on myPROJECTS – Join A Project.
Decide which type of project you want to join. Click on the project name, then Join.
Click the link to go to that project’s web page. The address for the French Heritage Project is https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/frenchheritage/about.
Website pages
The About section lists the goals of the project.
Under DNA Results, you’ll find pioneer DNA signature charts for both Y-DNA and mtDNA.
A quick look under Surnames will indicate if your family name is present in the project.
You must be a member of a project to view the Photos.
Links include those to other possible projects of interest.
Everyone should read the Code of Conduct and FAQ sections (if present) first.
After you’ve joined a project
Log into your FamilyTreeDNA account.
Go to myPROJECTS – Manage myPROJECTS – Account Settings (After you log in to FTDNA, click on your name in the upper right, then Account Settings.) – Project Preferences.
Find your project and click on the pencil to the right. In the pop-up box, you can indicate the amount of access you wish to give each (co)administrator. Limited is recommended.
Scroll down and decide if you want to opt in to the Group Project Profile and the Coding Region Sharing (for mtDNA only).
It is most beneficial if you also provide a genealogical tree. Go to Account Settings – Genealogy – Surnames. For Y-DNA, enter the surname and location of your Y-DNA line. For mtDNA, enter the surname and location for each female in the maternal line back to the pioneer. Then click on Earliest Known Ancestors and enter the name and country of origin for the direct paternal and maternal pioneer.
Then upload a GEDcom of your family tree to FamilyTreeDNA. To do this, log in to FamilyTreeDNA. Go to the top menu and click on myTREE. Create a GEDcom of your genealogical data, save it on your computer, and Upload GEDCOM.
Color coding
From each project’s home page, click on the Colorized Chart. (The color coding is the same for the Classic Chart and the mtDNA Results.) Each ancestral name has a different background color.
Gold = There is a triangulation for that person. If you click on the link that begins with the letters TR, it will take you to the proof with the participants’ lines.
Gray = There is only one or two lines for that ancestor, and the line has not yet been triangulated.
Blue = If there is a family name without knowing the exact pioneer’s name, that surname is in blue.
The link beginning with the letters GFAN takes you to information about that family in Denis’s database.
Keeping up-to-date
When new signatures are available, Denis publishes them in the DNA Signatures Catalog at https://francogene.com/triangulation. Be sure to check out the links to databases and guides at the bottom of the page.
French Heritage DNA Project
Over 8000 people have joined the French Heritage DNA Project. You must have taken either a Y-DNA or mtDNA test through FamilyTreeDNA to participate in this project. The purpose is to find the DNA signatures of the pioneers. One of the goals of the mtDNA project is to discover the signatures of the Filles du Roi. Acadians are included.
Acadian Heritage DNA Project
If your information is in the Acadian Heritage DNA Project and you’d like it to also be in the French Heritage DNA Project, you must submit it yourself. The administrators cannot transfer it for you.
With the information that Denis has, he has found only a small percentage of French who married Native spouses. See the Metis head of families section of his Genealogy of the French in North America website.
Doucet Surname DNA Project
The Doucet DNA project is very interesting because there are two instances of an NPE (not parent expected). There is also a Native branch. Doucets are also found under the Duquette DNA project.
Final words
It is easier to group these lines if you include a family tree.
The more people who join these projects, the sooner the lines will be triangulated.
You can contact Denis Beauregard at dna [at] francogene [dot] com.
Now you have something to do with your Y- and mtDNA test results!
Resources
Books
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bettinger
Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne
Finding Family by Richard Hill-Make sure you have nothing planned for the next day or two because you will not be able to put this one down.
The Stranger in My Genes: A Memoir by Bill Griffeth
Online
Privacy
The Golden State Killer and DNA by Roberta Estes
Opening the DNA Floodgates by Judy G. Russell
How to find a killer using DNA and genealogy by Kitty Cooper
DNA Basics
DNA Basics with Kitty Cooper
Which DNA Test is Best? by Roberta Estes
GDPR
What is GDPR? Everything you need to know about the new general data protection regulations
What Is General Data Protection Regulation?
Announcements
Podcast support
Big Thank Yous to Kelly from Cape Cod and Camille from Ohio for supporting the podcast!
Review
Again, thanks to FrancoAmerican Gravy for writing a very positive review of the podcast in iTunes!
Raffle winner
The winner of a copy of History of Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts, by Dr. Elizabeth Blood is Paul Allaire from Ontario. Congratulations, Paul!
Journal Rundown
Michigan’s Habitant Heritage from the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan-Volume 40, #1, the January 2019 issue:
Part 2 of Mathias Farnsworth III, aka Claude Mathias Fanef, an English Captive Carried to New France, and the Progenitor of All Phaneufs
Justification of Michel Bisaillon: the Rest of the Story by Suzanne Sommerville
Conclusion of the article Supplement to Louise de Xaintes: a Question of Justice
Part 13 of the 18th Century Engagé Contracts to the Great Lakes and Beyond (excluding Detroit) covering the period from July 7, 1729 to June 2, 1730
Part 26 of the Engagé Contracts to Detroit from June 18, 1751 to March 17, 1752
The Easter 1684 confirmations at Quebec
French-Canadian News
The American-French Genealogical Society
March 3, 1:30 PM: Personal historian Marjorie Turner Hollman will present Interviewing Skills for Family Oral Histories.
Classes are held at the AFGS Library, 78 Earle Street, Woonsocket, RI, and begin at 1:30 PM (unless otherwise noted).
The French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
March 9, 11 AM, at the Mount Clemens Public Library
Annual Get Acquainted Meeting: Bring charts that show your descent from a settler or voyageur in or to Détroit between 1701 and 1721 or an ancestor in New France by 1665.
The Quebec Family History Society
March 30, 1 to 4 PM, at the QFHS Heritage Centre in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
How to use Family Search, Ancestry and Find My Past to find your Ancestors with Gary Schroder and Jackie Billingham.
The French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut
March 13 and March 27, from 6-8 pm
Two Genealogy Workshops: Learn how to begin doing your family genealogy, as well as resources to use.
All classes are free and are held at the FCGSC Library in Tolland.
The Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society
March 2: Mastering Search at AmericanAncestors.org
March 16: Using City Directories to Solve Genealogical Mysteries
March 30: Finding Ancestors Using DNA Networks
Classes run from 10:30 AM until noon and are held at the Vermont Genealogy Library in Colchester, Vermont.
The French-Canadian Heritage Society of California
March 24, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Southern California Genealogical Society and Family Research Library in Burbank, CA
Spring Meeting
The Minnesota Genealogical Society’s Canadian Interest Group
March 16 from 10-1: Canadian Morning
March 30 from 10-4: Minnesota Genealogical Society’s Open House
Meetings are held at the Minnesota Genealogical Center in Mendota Heights.
Podcast Support
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