USEFUL LINKS
We are looking forward to further DNA test results in the next couple of weeks. The first link shown below has been revised, so please make a note of it.
FTDNA Canton Profile Page
http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_det.aspx?group=Canton
This is the one which enables you to apply to take a test under the aegis of the CSP. Because of all the usual internet problems, it’s necessary to check that applications are bona fide. More about this below.
FTDNA Canton Surname Project Webpage
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/CantonSurnameProject/
This is where you can read current results - I hope you will check it regularly as it is the most efficient way for me to communicate with you!
Canton One-Name Study Guild Profile
http://www.one-name.org/profiles/canton.html
Background information about the One-Name Study.
Canton Blog
http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/canton/
This one is for informal news about Canton research and DNA updates.
FTDNA page with useful information, Power Point display, etc:
http://www.familytreedna.com/dna101.html
APPLYING FOR A Y-DNA TEST From now on, you will see on the application for purchasing a test kit a section in which you have to provide some details about your direct male ancestry. This is a precaution taken by many surname projects as, inevitably over time, there may be ’rogue’ applications - it has been known for people to join groups for the discount, then not share their results. Another factor is that, as time goes on, more people will be attracted at random and it’s important that the administrator should be able, say, to advise a brother (or other very close relation) of an existing participant that his prospective test is unnecessary.Please don’t let this put you off if you are genuinely interested. For many people who have been writing to me, it’s only necessary to put, e.g., ’see earlier correspondence’. For new people, please complete what you can. For example: Father: Albert Canton; Grandfather: Bertram Canton; Great-grandfather: Cuthbert Canton; and so on, as far back as you can . Outline dates will help - post-1900 dates (and names) are not published, but I need them to sort lines out. Places of residence will also help but we need most for the project the place where your oldest known ancestor lived (a parish, a county, a country, in that order of preference). No need to provide wives’ names, unless you wish to do so.
DISCOUNTS If you apply for a Family Tree DNA test outside the Project, it will cost you $259 for 37-markers. By joining the Project the price is immediately reduced to $189. At the time of writing, there are further $30 discounts available from the Project, meant chiefly for the first applicant from a new, previously untested line - that’s a total discount of $100.
Discounts are not available for 12- or 25-markers, as these tests are not specific enough to help the Project.
COMMENTS on this blog: I suppose it was only to be expected but I get large numbers of junk comments now, from people trying to sell everything under the sun. I get to see them first, so it’s just a nuisance more than anything (30 today alone). My concern is accidentally deleting a genuine contribution, as I zap most on sight. Genuine comments are very welcome. If you decide to write one, please make it clear you are a bona fide Canton descendant - I don’t mind nicknames or abbreviated names at all, but give some clue as to who you are in the text. A good example is the comment received on CSP: Progress So Far, posted originally on 9 Dec 2007. There, someone who had not been in touch for several years could be instantly recognised.
Later (after posting): Some very weird comments have been posted again by peddlers of various things. I’m tired of them so now, alas, no-one can comment unless I have registered them - in other words, I’ll set the page to accept comments from e-mail addresses I know.
EVEN MORE LINKS
Clear information for the family historian, explaining technical terms in an accessible way:
http://blairdna.com/dna101.html
Chris Pomery’s DNA Portal
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~allpoms/genetics.html
Worth reading for many reasons. Follow his link to the Mumma website to see some amazing results for Y DNA.
FURTHER READING
Family History in the Genes, by Chris Pomery* is aimed very much at newcomers to the field of genetic genealogy, with clearly written chapters on the background, how DNA tests work, the different types of test available, fascinating ’success stories’, how to find or run a project, and finally what the future holds. There is also a glossary of all those technical terms and useful lists of web links and further reading.
The subtitle is ‘Trace your DNA and grow your family tree’, which could be a motto for this or any other surname project! It’s a small book, pocket-sized, not much more than 6″x 4″, which I didn’t originally care for, but I have read and re-read the book so its convenience has been of great practical value. As TNA is publishing several titles in this chunky size, it must be popular. This book is to be thoroughly recommended for its content to everyone who has questions about genetic genealogy.
*The National Archives, 2007, 246pp, £7.99 ISBN 978-1-905615-12-4. Available from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.