New Big Y results added to the Big Tree

Recently three people from Lineage II did the Big Y test (members 438976, 402306, & 86192). This brings to 9 the number of people who have undertaken Big Y testing in Lineage II (the North Tipperary Gleeson's).

The results of these new Big Y tests have trickled in over the past three weeks or so and have been sent to Alex Williamson and Nigel McCarthy for further analysis. Alex and Nigel are two shining stars in the genetic genealogy firmament, and I'd like to explain a little why they are so important to the Gleason/Gleeson DNA Project. I'll talk about Alex in this blog post and Nigel in the next one.

www.tree.net 

Alex Williamson & The Big Tree

Alex is a Project Administrator for two projects: the R-L21 Walk Through the Y Project and the R-S424 Project (also known as the Little Scottish Cluster Project). The Walk through the Y project started in 2009 and was the pioneering project that established many of the SNP markers downstream of marker L21. Thus Alex has been involved with SNP data analysis for the last 8 years and is one of the great experts in the field. He also runs the R-S424 Project which studies a group of men whose terminal SNP marker is S424 and who share a common ancestor about 1000 to 1500 years ago. There are many different surnames in the project but most members trace their ancestry to southern Scotland, where the common ancestor is believed to have lived.

But perhaps Alex's most famous contribution to the field of genetic genealogy is his incredible website The Big Tree. This is a draft phylogenetic tree for the R-P312 Y-DNA haplogroup and all its downstream SNP markers. It uses data from NGS Tests (Next Generation Sequencing), namely the Big Y test from FTDNA, the 2 NGS tests from FGC, and data from the 1000 Genomes Project. Most importantly, it is easy to navigate, has lots of additional features, and is probably the most user-friendly of any of the draft phylogenetic trees currently available. 

Alex's tree is particularly important for us Gleason's because the terminal SNP markers of three of our current lineages within the Gleason/Gleeson DNA Project fall within Alex's portion of the human evolutionary tree (i.e. from SNP marker P312 downstream).

To illustrate this, here is the abbreviated SNP progression for Lineages I to III in the Gleason/Gleeson DNA Project. The start of Alex's portion of the tree (P312) is highlighted within the progression and clicking on the terminal SNP will take you to that portion of Alex's tree:

Lineage I

R … > M269 > L150 > L23 > L51 > L151 > P311 > P312 > ZZ11 > DF27 > ZZ12 > ZZ19/20 > Z31644 > Z37492

Lineage II

R … > M269 > L150 > L23 > L51 > L151 > P311 > P312 > L21 > DF13 > ZZ10 > Z255 > Z16437/9 > Z16438 > BY2852/3/4 > A5629

Lineage III

R … > M269 > L150 > L23 > L51 > L151 > P311 > P312 > L21 > DF13 > ZZ10 > Z253 > Z2534 > L226 ... and then most probably* FGC5660 > Z17669 > ZZ31 > FGC5628 > FGC5659 ... and then maybe YFS231286, which appears to be an O'Brien genetic signature

New Data, New Tree

Alex has been analysing the new Gleason Big Y data and only yesterday added it to his tree. This has caused some major changes in the Lineage II portion of the human evolutionary tree!

It is worthwhile reviewing the progression of changes in our portion of the tree over time. Back in July 2015, 4 members had been tested on the Big Y and here is what the tree looked like as a result. Two brothers sit on one branch and my Dad and Mr Little sit on another. We all share in common the A5628 block of SNPs (5 SNPs altogether) but the brothers share 6 unique SNPs that the rest of us do not, and my Dad and Mr Little share a single unique SNP that the brothers do not - the single SNP does not have a name at this stage, and so is expressed as a position, namely 17349992 ... wherever that is.

Our nearest neighbours are a chap called Carroll, and more distantly a Pendergast and Phelps, and further out still a Creamer & a Miller, with a Mr Blake being over the hill and far away.

The Gleason bit, July 2015

By October 2015, two new sets of results are in. The 6 members now form 3 branches below what was the A5628 SNP block, but this had to be renamed the A5629 SNP block, because the A5628 SNP is not shared by new member Mr Glisson (411177) - he shares all the other 4 SNPs in the block but not A5628. As a result, he sits all alone, on his own branch, separate from the rest of the group. (Don't worry, it won't last long - he'll have company soon).

The other 5 members all share SNP A5628 (now also known as Y17112, just to confuse us), and below this are two branches - one branch (the brothers) is characterised by the 6 SNPs in the A660 SNP block, and the other (my Dad, Mr Little, & Mr New Member) is characterised by a block of 3 SNPs, the first of which now has a name (Y16880) instead of a position. The other two SNPs just have positions ... for the time being.

The Gleason bit, Oct 2015

Which brings us up to today, February 2016, and the addition of 3 new sets of Big Y results. This latest diagram is a lot busier than the previous ones because the neighbours are expanding like wildfire. Mr Carroll has been joined by another family member, Pendergast and Phelps remain a cosy duo (sounds like an accounting firm), Creamer and Miller have gone their separate ways, the former running off with a McCarthy, the latter with a Treacy, and the Blakes are still over the hills and far away but on the other side. It's all systems go. And not a child in the house washed!

The Gleason's & their neighbours, Feb 2016

But the biggest surprise is in our own little portion of the tree - firstly, Mr Glisson (411177) has been joined by his closest SNP cousin, a Gleason (86192), and secondly, an entirely new branch has been formed, consisting of 2 Gleeson's. So now there are 4 branches in the Gleeson tree, and the 3 new additions have had no effect at all on the first two branches that were present back in July 2015. 

New Branches, New Connections

We know that everyone in Lineage II goes back to an origin in North Tipperary, but over time, as more people join the project and do SNP testing, it may be possible to associate certain branches with specific locations or townlands. Let's take a closer look at the newer branches and see what we can glean from the available data. First off, the "Glisson" branch (411177). 

Mr Glisson's MDKA goes back to Georgia in 1816 - he has no documentary record of a link to Ireland. However his DNA clearly links him to the North Tipperary Gleeson's so we can be 99% positive that his ancestors came from this area. The new member (86192) is in fact an old member, one of the first to join the project, and was assigned the project ID number G-05 (initials RLG). He also has the following MDKA: Martin Gleason b c1836 Ireland; d 22 Mar 1918 Chester County, Pennsylvania. I've highlighted the birth location as this could potentially give us some real clues as to this branch's origin but unfortunately in this case it does not. It only tells us that there is a link to Ireland for this particular family. We can assume with a reasonable degree of confidence that if documentary evidence existed and we were able to find it, it would lead back to somewhere in North Tipperary. But at this stage we can't narrow down the location any further than that.

Incidentally, this is a very good example of the importance of supplying your MDKA information (and updating it with any new discoveries you might make). The most valuable information for those with Irish MDKAs is the location of birth, the family nickname (if there was one), and any rare forenames that occurred throughout the generations. All three pieces of information can be crucial in establishing links between different families, and all project members are encouraged to fill out an MDKA Profile that can be published to the website.

The new branch consists of members 438976 (G-71, JRG) and 402306 (G-66, JMG). The MDKAs  for these two members are as follows:

• G-71: James Gleeson b c1789 Garryard, Silvermines, Tipperary, Ireland; d 1869 Nenagh, Tipperary
• G-66: Thomas Gleeson b c1822 County Tipperary, Ireland; d 23 Feb 1887 Kilemakill, Tipperary (possibly born in Boherlahan)

If we look for these locations on Google Maps, we experience several of the pitfalls encountered when trying to decipher Irish place names. Firstly, we don't know if these names refer to a townland, a parish, a registration district, or some other category of place. Secondly, Kilemakill does not turn up in a search on the map, but a google search reveals that it may be near to Ballymoreen. So there is no guarantee we have found the right place. Thirdly, several places may have the same or similar names - Garryard is a townland south of Birdhill, but Garryard East & West are townlands just west of Silvermines, and it is probably here that G-71's MDKA was born. This confusion emphasises the value of local knowledge which may be required to steer us onto the right path. Thank goodness we have such knowledge within the group.

Birth & death locations for G-66 and G-71

Based on this brief analysis of the new branch, it does not appear that the MDKAs for G-71 and G-66 lived close to each other. But nevertheless, in this particular example, we can say that this branch is rooted in Tipperary. Maybe there are other pieces of genealogical evidence that can help us find a link between these two families, and maybe we can get clues from their close matches based on their STR results. 

We'll explore this and other topics in subsequent blog posts:

• We'll also look at the actual SNP data and the unique SNPs that each of the 9 members shares. 
• We'll look at what happens when we add STR data into the mix. 
• We'll be looking at how closely related each of these 4 branches are to each other, and how far back are the common ancestors that sit at each of the branching points in this Gleason portion of the human evolutionary tree.
• And finally, we'll generate the next version of our own Lineage II-specific Mutation History Tree and see what changes occur compared to our first version (below).

Lineage II Mutation History Tree
(for best viewing, click to enlarge, then right-click to download ...
or download a pdf version here)

Thank you, Alex

So I think you'll agree that Alex provides a great service to our particular surname project and I for one am hugely grateful for his incredible contribution, all of which is done on a voluntary basis as a service to the community. No wonder he has won awards for his work! 

Instructions for sharing your Big Y results with Alex can be found on his Instructions page. And be sure to check out his Frequently Asked Questions page - this is hugely informative.

Maurice Gleeson

Feb 2016

* these downstream SNPs are estimated from the terminal SNPs of close STR matches of members in Lineage III

Postscript:

And of course no sooner had I published the post than Michael Gleeson found the true whereabouts of Kilemakill, spelt without the 'e' in the middle ... another peril of Irish place names: different spellings of the same thing. It's about 5 miles east-north-east of Thurles, not too far from Ballymoreen. Here it is (marked by a yellow marker) on the revised map ...

MDKA Profile – Thomas Gleeson 1834-1916 (G-54, 334030)

Summary

Name of MDKA                                   THOMAS GLEESON

Date & location of birth:                      c1834-1843        NENAGH, TIPPERARY, IRELAND

Date & location of death:                     24 SEPTEMBER 1916    NEW LYNN, AUCKLAND, NZ

Residence(s) based on birth, baptism, & marriage records:    

NENAGH, TIPPERARY - IRELAND

ONEHUNGA;    THAMES;    AUCKLAND  – NEW ZEALAND

Occupation:                                          SOLDIER/PRIVATE, DAIRYMAN, MILKMAN, FARMER 

Other family occupations:                    (SON) BLACKSMITH, SOLDIER/TROOPER, FARMER

Religion:                                               ROMAN CATHOLIC

Wife's name:                                         CATHERINE JACKSON

Date & location of wife's birth:            c1850   INDIA

Date & location of wife's death:           23 APRIL 1933    BAYSWATER, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

When & where married:                       5 MAY 1867         WAIUKU, NEW ZEALAND

Sponsors at wedding:

Children's birth order:   

1.   ANNIE CATHERINE (Thomas’s mother’s and wife’s name)

2.     ELIZABETH JANE     (Thomas’s wife’s mother/grandmother’s names)

3.     PATRICK              (Thomas’s father’s name?)   

4.     MARY

5.     CAROLINE AGNES    (Thomas’s wife’s sister's names)

6.     JAMES THOMAS      (James is Thomas’s wife’s father’s name)

7.     WINIFRED                                        (died in infancy)

8.     THOMAS WILLIAM                      (died in infancy)

9.     JOHN EDWARD JOSEPH           (died in infancy)

10.  KATHLEEN ELEANOR

Possible name of father & mother           PATRICK and CATHERINE (O’NEILL)

Sponsors at children' baptisms (numbered, and in order of children's birth):

TO BE COMPLETED

DNA kit number(s):         334030   YDNA 111

                                         333401   MtDNA and FF

Project ID number(s):      G-54

DNA tests taken:              SEE KIT NUMBERS ABOVE

Terminal Y-SNP sequence:

Closest match(es) ID No (with Genetic Distance in brackets): 

G73 (6); G51 (6); G39 (6); G57 (7); G55 (8); G66 (9)

Place on the Lineage II tree:   BRANCH 10

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE DOCUMENTATION (click here for digital copies)

Name of MDKA                    Army Attestation Record ¹ Marriage Certificate ² Death Certificate ³ and Children’s birth records⁴

Date & location of birth:               Army Attestation Record¹, Marriage ² and Death Certificates ³

Date & location of death:             Death Certificate ³                             

Residence(s):                                Marriage record ²  Children’s birth records ⁴        

Occupation:                                  Army attestation record ¹. Children’s birth records⁴ Electoral Rolls ⁵

Other family occupations:            Army enlistment ⁶, Electoral Rolls⁷

Wife's name:                                 Marriage record ²

Date & location of wife's birth:    Her Death Certificate ⁸

Date & location of wife's death:   Her Death Certificate ⁸

When & where married:               Marriage certificate ²

Order of children's birth:              NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, official Birth Deaths and Marriage records ⁹

Possible name of father & mother   His Death Certificate ³

Closest match(es) ID No (with Genetic Distance in brackets):    FTDNA results (Dec 2015)

Happy New Year!

I think we can still just about get away with saying that.

And as we start 2016, the Y-DNA results of two new members have just been posted (see the previous blog post). Four additional members tested their Y-DNA over Christmas and we can expect these results to trickle in over the course of the next several weeks. Four of these six new members have Irish ancestry and therefore are likely to belong to Lineage II or III, and two have New England ancestry and therefore likely to belong to Lineage I. But who knows? Maybe we will discover an entirely new Lineage and some of the singletons in the "Ungrouped" cluster will suddenly be paired up with a new genetic cousin in their very own new lineage. Time will tell.

There is something else to look forward to. Thanks to the FTDNA Christmas Sale, several members ordered the Big Y test - from both Lineage I and Lineage II, so we have 3 new sets of results to look forward to, bringing the grand total to 9 in Lineage II and 3 in Lineage I. This may reveal the origins of Lineage I and will help further delineate the branching pattern in Lineage II. Even as I write the first two sets of results have come in, earlier than expected!

In addition, some members have upgraded their results to 67 or 111 markers. This will add a degree of detail to their Y-DNA profile which may very well help delineate their relative position on the Mutation History Tree for Lineage II.

So all in all, we are going to have a very busy and a very exciting start to 2016.

Further down the line, from August 19-24, we are having a Gleeson Clan Gathering in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Everyone is welcome, whether you're a Gleason, Gleeson, Glisson, or simply want to be. Several people from Lineage I and Lineage II have already signed up. We have a mixture of lectures, tours, excursions, & social gatherings, so if you ever wanted to visit Ireland, now would be an excellent time to go. The Gathering has its own dedicated website so feel free to take a look around and be sure to book early as there are limited spaces available. Please note that the focus of the Gathering will be on the Gleeson's of Irish origin but everyone and anyone is welcome to attend.

Here's to a prosperous and productive New Year, everyone!

Judith Claassen

Maurice Gleeson

Jan 2016

New Members, Lineage II - B78262 & 446153

Two sets of new results were recently posted to the project (on January 16th), both of which are matches to those in Lineage II (the North Tipperary Gleeson's).

Member B78262

The first set are those of new member B78262 and he has tested out to 67 markers. His ancestry is from Ireland and his MDKA is Peter Gleeson born c1841 in Bruree, Co. Limerick and died in 1901 in Chicago. We hope to have his Gleeson pedigree up on the Patriarch Page of the website shortly and we are awaiting some additional information about his ancestry, including the family nickname (if known). I will update this post in due course to reflect this new information.

Many of you in Lineage II will have B78262 as a match among your list of matches, but some of you will not (if the Genetic Distance between you and him is greater than 4 mismatches out of 37 markers ... or 7/67, or 10/111). However, as Admins, Judy and I can see how closely each member is related to everyone else, including those beyond the 4/37 level. And so, below is the GD of B78262 to everyone in the group: 

You will see that he has a GD of 4/37 or less to 8 of the Lineage II members, 5/37 to 7 of them and 6/37 to 1. These last 8 members of Lineage II will not show up as a match to B78262. Interestingly, he matches all project members who have tested higher than 37 markers. (Note: n/a means not applicable, in other words you can only compare 37 marker data with 37, and 67 with 67, and 111 with 111. You cannot compare 37 with 111, for example).

Based on these values for Genetic Distance, it would appear that B78262 is most closely related to members 60393 & 411177. But a closer examination of the nature of the mutations and the markers in which they occur, suggests that he is more closely related to 60393.

TMRCA calculations place the common ancestor between B78262 and 60393 at about 11 generations back (90% range 5-20 generations) which gives a crude birth year of about 1630 (range 1360-1800). This also places him as an offshoot of Branch 2 in the current Mutation History Tree. And therefore other close cousins include 338070 and N74958 with corresponding TMRCA's of 13 generations back (90% range 6-23) and 15 (90% range 7-24+).

Member 446153

The second set of results belong to new member 446153. He has tested out to 37 markers and also has Irish ancestry. His MDKA is Denis GLEESON born c1844 Silvermines, died 1875 Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. We will post his pedigree shortly on the Patriarch's Page but here it is for information (note that Denis' father may have been Jeremiah):

1. Denis GLEESON b. c1844 Silvermines, Co. Tipperary, d. 14 May 1875, Bendigo, VIC, Australia, m. Ann GRACE 15 Aug 1865, Silvermines, Co Tipperary.
2. Jeremiah GLEESON b. 7 Feb 1870, Preston Vale (Bendigo) VIC, Australia, d. 2 Dec 1929, Mayfield NSW, Australia, m. Alice Ada BENNETT, 19 AUG 1899, Newcastle NSW, Australia.
3. Gordon Charles GLEESON b 19 Mar 1902, Merewether NSW Australia, m. Daisy BRAMLEY, 10 Dec 1932, Mayfield NSW, Australia.
4. Member 446153

At first glance, 446153 does not match anyone in the Gleason/Gleeson DNA Project. He only has 2 matches at the 37 marker level and neither of them are a Gleeson - one is a Hamilton, the other a McLachlan. However, this latter match gives us a very big clue ... Mr McLachlan's terminal SNP is Z16438 and this is an "upstream SNP" to those in Lineage II. And on closer inspection, 446153 does in fact match EVERYONE in Lineage II. And this means that his particular Gleeson branch is genetically related to the North Tipperary Gleeson’s.

The reason why none of the Lineage II Gleeson’s turn up on his matches page is that the cutoff for declaring a match is 4/37 (i.e. 4 mismatches out of 37 markers, also know as a Genetic Distance or GD of 4/37) and none of the Lineage II Gleeson's have a GD compared to him of 4/37 or less. Most people within the group are not exact matches to each other but rather differ by a few mutations. These are expressed as genetic distance - an exact match would be 0/37 or 0/67 for example and a difference of 4 would be 4/37. You can read more about it here ...

A Brief Tour of the Project

Chromosomes, Markers & Evolutionary Trees

However, as Admins, Judy and I can see how closely each member is related to everyone else, including those beyond the 4/37 level. And so, below is the GD between 446153 and everyone else in the Lineage II group. You will see from the table below, that most of his mismatches are 5/37, and therefore just miss the cut-off for being declared as a “match” to him.

So, 446153 is a match to everyone in Lineage II of the Gleeson DNA Project, confirming that his Gleeson genetic origins are North Tipperary as indicated by his documentary evidence. 

There are 16 other people in Lineage II so far and new people are joining all the time. Some (like 446153) have tested to 37 markers, others have tested to 67 markers, and others to 111 markers. The n/a (not applicable) in the table above is because he has only tested to the 37 marker level and therefore we cannot compare his data to other members’ data above this level. I suspect that if he did test to 67 or 111 markers, he would find that a lot of people in Lineage II would then turn up in his list of matches (i.e. they would then fall within the thresholds for declaring a match, which would be up to 7/67, and up to 10/111 respectively).

His closest matches are the first 7 people in the table above (all with a GD of 5/37). I will have to take a close look at our current Mutation History Tree to see where he most likely fits within its current branching pattern (and therefore who in actuality is his closest relative). I will update this post in due course with that additional information.

Further results

Several additional results are expected in the next few weeks. Once the rest of the new results come in, they will all be added to the Lineage II Mutation History Tree. The updated tree will be the subject of a future post.

Mutation History Tree for Lineage II

What are Mutation History Trees?

These trees are like family history trees but the "family" part has been replaced with "mutations", or rather, has been augmented with mutations. In other words, when the known ancestors run out, DNA mutations still allow us to keep on going back in time and thus identify the branching pattern within the overall group for each Lineage. It also allows us to estimate when the different branching points between group members occurred. This helps you see where you sit in the overall group and who is most closely related to you. And this in turn helps foster collaboration between project members which will hopefully lead to breakthroughs in your genealogical research.

Copies of Older Versions will be archived so that we can keep track of the evolution of the trees over time as more people join the project and upgrade their tests.

Lineage II (North Tipperary group)

Below is the Mutation History Tree for Lineage II (version 1). You can view it or download it as a high-quality pdf document via this Dropbox link. The tree will be constantly updated as more project members join. You can click on the image to enlarge it and then right click again and "Open in a New Window" (Mac) to make it even larger. Alternatively, you may find it easier to download the image (simply right click on the image and choose download). Or a pdf version of the tree is available in our Facebook group here - this has the added advantage that it is searchable.

But first, you will probably need some explanation of what you are looking at.

• Starting at the top, it follows the mutations in STR markers from subclade Z255 (characterised by the Z255 mutation which formed about 4300 years ago [1]) down in time through various subclades (Z16437/Z16439 and Z16438, both formed about 1500 years ago) to the Gleeson MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor of Lineage II) and then down to the modern day Gleeson males who have tested in Lineage II.
• The tree is based on both SNP and STR data. SNPs are cut & pasted from Alex Williamson's Big Tree. STRs are extracted from our project's DNA Results page. 
• Fluxes software was used to create an initial STR-based branching pattern. SNPs were added and helped to anchor the upper reaches of the tree.
• Branching points have time estimates in generations back from the present. Allowing 30 years per generation gives a good indication of the number of years back to a particular branching point from the testers date of birth (usually between 1930-1950).
• STR mutations are written as: marker number, old value - new value
• Back Mutations are highlighted in yellow. Parallel Mutations are written in red text.
• Branches have been numbered (in bold royal blue).
• The number of Markers Tested by each participant is indicated as 25, 37, 67 or 111. BY stands for the Big Y test.
• FTDNA Kit numbers, Project G-numbers, and initials represent each of the participants.
• Country of present residence indicates the extent of the Gleeson diaspora.
• Gleeson Ancestral Lines are indicated for each participant by the green boxes with a crude timeline to the side.
• MDKA Profiles list possible MPRs (Markers of Potential Relatedness) which may be particularly useful information for collaboration between project members (especially birth location, family nickname or agnomen, & occasional other major distinguishing features).

Lineage II Mutation History Tree Nov 2015 (version 1)
Download a pdf version here

You can watch a video of the Journey of Discovery I took in creating this tree below.

What does it tell us? 

The current starting point for Lineage II is estimated to be more than 25 generations ago. That's about  750 years before the average tester's date of birth. If we assume that to be 1950, and allowing 30 years per generation, then we are looking at an origin for Lineage II about 1200 AD. This estimate may change as more people join the project.

The Glisson branch (G-68, 411177) is an ancient branch, going back about 21 generations ago = 630 yrs = 1300 AD.

The most closely related branches are 8, 5, 4, & 12. These members are actively exploring their connection using traditional genealogical records.

As regards the process of building this MHT ...

• The 37 marker test (Y-DNA-37) is sufficient to allocate new participants to Lineage II, but is not adequate for giving accurate estimates of TMRCAs  (and hence branching points)
• 67 or 111 STR markers are needed for more accurate dating of the branching points
• STRs better define the branching pattern than SNPs. Thus far, SNP markers appear to be more useful for defining the more upstream branches of the tree and STR markers the more downstream branches. This may change over time.
• In order to improve the accuracy of this MHT, we need a) more people to test; b) more people to upgrade to 111 markers; and c) more people to SNP test
• In due course, it is hoped that a Lineage II-Specific SNP Marker Panel will be developed (for about $120). This will hopefully save new members money on SNP testing.

A series of blog posts will follow in due course exploring the various steps involved in this creation process in greater depth.

Maurice Gleeson

Dec 2015

Sources:

[1] estimates carry a wide margin of error. Current estimates are found here - http://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z255/ 

Making Yourself Visible

Some people have been surprised to find that they don't appear on the DNA Results pages even when they have joined the project. Why is this?? The explanation is quite simple.

FamilyTreeDNA changed their privacy settings during the past year and the result has been that customers have to set the Privacy settings themselves. However, not everyone knows about this so some people are inadvertently hiding themselves from view when they don't mean to do so.

Here is an example of the DNA Results page for Lineage II a) when I am signed out of my FTDNA account and b) when I am signed in. 

In the first view, 5 people are missing. These are indicated by the red arrows in the second view. These participants are probably unaware that their Privacy settings are such that they cannot be seen in the project by anyone from outside the project (and they can only see themselves if they are signed in to their account).

The problem with this is that it may inadvertently stop new potential recruits from testing. Would you be less inclined to sign up to a project if there were only 11 members instead of 16? I think so. Bigger projects look more impressive. There is more of a chance that you might find a match. Also, supposing the new recruit was called Glisson, they would not see that there is already a Glisson in the project. Or if their ancestor came from Boherlahan - they would not see that there was already someone there with ancestry from exactly the same area. In both these situations, the prospective tester might have been encouraged to take the test if he had seen this information.

The good news is that it is easy to fix. Just follow these simple steps:

• Sign in to your FTDNA account
• Hover over your Name in the top right
• Click on Account Settings, then the Privacy & Sharing tab at the end of the menu bar above
• Then simply change the settings under My DNA Results by clicking on the words "Project Members" at the end, and on the next screen checking the box beside "Make my mtDNA & Y-DNA data public". Then press Save.

Before the change

After the change

For comparison, this is what my own Privacy Settings look like:

If you need any help with this, please don't hesitate to email me and I can do it for you in 2 minutes.

Here's hoping someone will see your details on the DNA Results page and will decide to join the project simply because they like something they see there.

Every little helps.

Maurice Gleeson

Dec 2015