Important Instructions for Members of British Isles DNA Project

You have joined the British Isles project either because you have a documented direct paternal line ancestor (father, father's father, father's father's father, etc.) or a direct maternal line ancestor (mother, mother's mother, mother's mother's mother, etc.) who resided in the British Isles or because you have a family tradition that your paternal or maternal line originated in a specific county in the British Isles. You have tested either Y-DNA or mtDNA, or both. Your Y-DNA profile will correspond to your direct paternal lineage, since it corresponds to the lineage of your surname. Your mtDNA profile will correspond to your direct maternal lineage, i.e., your mother's maternal line.

Because one of the aims of the project is to plot a haplogroup map of the British Isles, we ask that you provide sufficient information on your earliest known direct paternal line and/or maternal line ancestor, as described above, so that we can accurately plot a location on the map of the British Isles, especially if that individual was born (or was married or died or had offspring, or is recorded by some other life event) in the British Isles. To provide this information, please do as follows.

1. Open your browser and type in the URL www.familytreedna.com Press Enter.

2. On the Family Tree DNA home page, press the "Log into your Account" button in the upper right corner. In the boxes, enter your kit number and password (as issued to you by Family Tree DNA: if you have forgotten these, contact info@familytreedna.com). Click on the LOGIN button below the boxes where you have entered your kit number and password.

3. Your MyFTDNA page will open (identified by your name and kit number above the blue bar near the upper right corner). 

4. On the left side of the page, under the bold heading "My Maps," click on the "Plot Ancestral Locations" box and place the cursor in the box labeled "Paternal Side."

5. Edit the Most Distant Known Paternal Ancestor information, by entering the NAME, DATE (date of birth, death, marriage, etc.) and LOCATION (town or parish, and county) of your earliest known direct paternal line ancestor, as described above. This ancestor will normally have the same surname as you. Please use exactly this format when entering the data.

6. Click on Next Step. This opens the Paternal Location Search dialogue box. If you already know the latitude and longitude IN DECIMAL FORMAT, click on Enter Latitude & Longitude. If not, press Search By Location Name. Save this information.

7. Repeat the same steps For the Most Distant Known Maternal Ancestor, enter the information for your most distant direct maternal ancestor, i.e., your mother's mother's mother's mother's mother, etc.

The information you have entered about your most distant ancestor will now appear in the table of results of any project to which you belong. Most significantly, in the case of the Y-DNA results, it allows the administrators of our project to assign you to the correct county subgroup with in the British Isles DNA project.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you first join the project your Y-DNA profile will appear among the Unassigned Members at the bottom of the project Y-DNA results page (http://www.britishislesdna.com/DNAEtc/B1-Y.htm). Periodically, members whose ancestor information appears in the correct form will be assigned to the appropriate county subgroups within the project. THOSE MEMBERS WHOSE MOST DISTANT DIRECT PATERNAL ANCESTOR INFORMATION IS NOT DISPLAYED ON THE PROJECT Y-DNA RESULTS PAGE, OR WHOSE DIRECT PATERNAL ANCESTOR'S LOCATION IS NOT WITHIN THE BRITISH ISLES, WILL REMAIN IN THE UNASSIGNED SECTION UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED. AT A LATER DATE THE MT-DNA RESULTS WILL ALSO BE SUBGROUPED BY COUNTY.

Please feel free to contact the administrators if you have any questions, or to provide missing information.

Thank you for your participation and for your cooperation. With your continued support, the British Isles project promises to bring new insights into the historical settlement patterns of the British Isles, and to provide helpful clues for genealogists seeking ancestors in the British Isles.

Sincerely,
Roy Keys, Andres Lancaster
Co-Administrators