06 September 2016

Early Texans DNA Project at Texas State GS


TxSGS has formed the Early Texans DNA Project. The goals are to:
  • Study the DNA of descendants of early settlers to discover information that can contribute to Texas history including
    • Determine which admixtures are found in living Texans today
    • Link those admixture results to early colonies or settlements
  • Learn which segments of DNA are shared with other descendants of early settlers of Texas
  • Facilitate applicants for TxSGS certificate programs – DNA matches support claims of descent from a common ancestor and can provide clues as to where to locate documentary evidence
  • Many more exciting projects in the future

Descendants of settlers who arrived in Texas by 19 February 1846 are one focus of the Early Texans DNA Project. Descendants of those who arrived later are also invited to join the project to help us learn more about the DNA of our ancestors who came to Texas.

If you tested at Family Tree DNA please
  • login to your account
  • hover over "Projects" then click "Join a project"
  • scroll down to "Search by Surname"
  • change the "Equals" drop-down box to "Contains"
  • in the search box enter txstategs
  • click on "TXStateGS" under "Matching Projects" when the search results are displayed
  • click on the "Join" button and follow any additional instructions displayed
  • you can include additional information (TxSGS heritage certificate numbers or request for a form to provide the lineage if you do not already have a certificate) with the join request or e-mail it separately as described below

Lineage Information

To send the additional information via e-mail, contact dna@txsgs.org letting me know you wish to have your DNA analyzed as part of the Early Texans DNA Project. If you already have a TxSGS Heritage Certificate (Texas First Families, Gone to Texas Pioneer, West Texas Pioneer, Greer County Texas Pioneer, Descendants of Texas Rangers) please include the certificate type and number so I can access you lineage information.

If you do not have a heritage certificate, use this fillable PDF form for your lineage information. You will need similar proofs to what is required for the certificate programs, but do NOT SEND THE PROOF DOCUMENTS. There is no fee for the DNA Project at this time. The form can be e-mailed to dna@txsgs.org or mailed to Debbie Parker Wayne, PO Box 397, Cushing, TX 75760.




If you took the autosomal test at 23andMe

23andMe instructions for the "new experience" in 2016 will be added at a later date. For pre- and early-2016 experience see this blog post with instructions on how to download your raw atDNA data. If you know how to download your raw data, do so, then follow the instructions on the GEDmatch website to upload that data to GEDmatch.


If you took the autosomal test at AncestryDNA

  1. Login to Ancestry.com
  2. In the top navigation bar, click on "DNA" then "You DNA Results Summary"
  3. On the right, click on "Settings"
  4. Click on "Download Raw DNA Data"







  5. Enter your Ancestry.com password and click that you understand the data files on your computer cannot be protected by Ancestry.






  6. Click the "Confirm" button.






  7. The next screen confirms to which e-mail address your raw data message is being sent.






  8. Once the confirmation message arrives in that e-mail account, click on the "Confirm Data Download" button.







  9. This opens a page on Ancestry (if you are not still logged in, you will need to enter the login information), click "Download raw DNA Data" button.






  10. In the Windows "Save As" popup window, navigate to a folder where you want to save the file. Remember the name of this folder and the file as you will need them later. I have a folder where I save all of the DNA data for all of my family members. I name the file something like AncestryDNA_raw__dna-data_DATE_INITIALSofTestTaker.zip (AncestryDNA_raw__dna-data_20160603_DJP.zip) so I know whose DNA data it is and when I downloaded it.






This has saved your data on your computer from the Ancestry server. Now go to the section titled "Uploading to GEDmatch" to place the data on the server where others can compare to the data.
Uploading to GEDmatch Be aware that once your data is on the GEDmatch server all other GEDmatch users will be able to see the data and compare it to their data. The only way we can use DNA for genealogy is by sharing the data. But if you are concerned about privacy you cn enter an alias as the name of the test-taker. If you are concerned about people seeing your e-mail address you may want to set up a Gmail address (or other e-mail address) you use only for genetic genealogy. Most of us use our real e-mail addresses, but some people prefer not to use their real names. You decide how much infomration you wish to share publicly. For the GEDmatch privacy policy see https://www.gedmatch.com/policy.php.
  1. If you are not yet registered on GEDmatch, click "Not Registered, Click HERE" and follow the instructions to create your free account.
  2. Login to the newly created account.
  3. In the "File uploads" section and the "Raw DNA file uploads" sub-section, click on the "AncestryDNA.com."
  4. In "Name of DNA Donor," insert name of the person who was tested. Enter an "Alias" if you prefer not to display the real name of the test-taker. Select the "Sex of donor" - the gender of the test-taker. Skip the mitochondrial haplogroup or Y haplogroup questions.
  5. Click on "Yes" to allow your data to be used for comparisons.
  6. Click on the "Choose File" link. Navigate to the folder where you saved the raw data file from Ancestry. Selected the filename (such as AncestryDNA_raw__dna-data_20160603_DJP.zip). Click "Upload." It takes up to several seconds for the file to be uploaded, depending on the speed of your connection. A new message is displayed as the file is processed.
  7. DO NOT LEAVE THIS SCREEN until the processing is completed. The processing will likely take 30 minutes or so, depending on the load on the GEDmatch server. A message will tell you when this is complete. Chromosome numbers will change at the bottom of the screen as the data is processed.
  8. Write down the kit number assigned (such as T123456 or A781234). This number is very important so we can find your DNA data to compare to others in the Parker FamGroup 1 project to learn more about our shared ancestry.

After uploaded your data to GEDmatch, please go back and follow the instructions above labelled "Lineage Information" to send us your lineage information for the test-taker back to the Texas settler.

Edited 9 September 2016: fixed link to PDF app and removed instructions to send proof documents with the app.
To cite this blog post: Debbie Parker Wayne, "Early Texans DNA Project at Texas State GS," Deb's Delvings, 6 September 2016 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2016, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved
at

No comments:

Post a Comment