Cajun DNA
Of all of the various types of DNA testing that has been made available to members of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project, none has been received with so much enthusiasm, and interest, as the recently introduced “Family Finder” product -- that not only tests participant DNA, but reveals family relationships among participants.
While mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA test results have proven infinitely valuable to Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project participants interested in discovering the earliest origins of ancestors from NovaScotia, Gaspe, Quebec, and the Maritime regions and have given our members new avenues for research of ancestors' earliest histories, the Family Tree DNA Family Finder test digs deep into participant autosomal DNA, discovers matching DNA segments that occur within participant information, and correlates these with second, third, fourth, and fifth-cousin relationships -- that would be difficult, if nearly impossible for most to identify using traditional paper-based genealogy research methods.
While mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA test results have proven infinitely valuable to Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project participants interested in discovering the earliest origins of ancestors from NovaScotia, Gaspe, Quebec, and the Maritime regions and have given our members new avenues for research of ancestors' earliest histories, the Family Tree DNA Family Finder test digs deep into participant autosomal DNA, discovers matching DNA segments that occur within participant information, and correlates these with second, third, fourth, and fifth-cousin relationships -- that would be difficult, if nearly impossible for most to identify using traditional paper-based genealogy research methods.
“Living Legend” Joseph Bernie Wayne ("Bernie") David joined the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project to explore his ancestry through DNA testing. Bernie David, an accomplished Cajun heritage musician and performer in his home state of Louisiana, shares his Acadian-Mi'kmaq heritage, and family lines, with many other members of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project. Just a peek into Bernie's family tree reveals a catalog of prominent Acadian surnames from seventeenth and eighteenth-century Nova Scotia -- a time when the Acadian people called Nova Scotia their home. In addition to the known European surnames, and those Acadian lines that continued in Louisiana following the deportation of the Acadian people from Nova Scotia during the mid-eighteenth century, the names of Mi'kmaq ancestors feature in Bernie's genealogy. Bernie was therefore a natural selection for sponsorship as a Family Finder program participant, and since the “Family Finder” program kicked off, Bernie David has emerged as the “Universal Cousin,” sharing matching DNA segments and cousin relationships with the majority of Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder participants.
Louisiana resident Steve Simon was new to genealogy research, and knew of his Acadian Gautrot ancestry only from the limited amount of information that he had learned from his grandfather and the other relatives he met at family reunions. Steve wanted to learn more so that he could share his complete family history with his children. (Cont'd)
Louisiana resident Steve Simon was new to genealogy research, and knew of his Acadian Gautrot ancestry only from the limited amount of information that he had learned from his grandfather and the other relatives he met at family reunions. Steve wanted to learn more so that he could share his complete family history with his children. (Cont'd)
(Cont'd)...Steve contacted Bernie David who then pointed him in the direction of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project. For Steve's purposes, participating in the Family Finder project was a perfect way to add branches to his family tree and expand his knowledge of shared family lines and so, he joined the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder project, and ordered the Family Finder test, joining other project members who awaited their results.
When Steve received his Family Finder results, with Bernie David appearing in his Family Finder list as a possible fourth cousin, it was about the same time that several other Family Finder results came in for the project, and members were abuzz about the number of third, fourth, and fifth cousins who were showing up among their Family Finder relationships. E-mails, accompanied by pages of family lines, flew back and forth among Family Finder participants looking for common shared ancestors who would account for the relationships reported by Family Finder. Bernie, the project's “Universal Cousin,” his results factoring into the majority of Family Finder participant's third, fourth, and fifth cousin relationships, found himself in the middle of a flood of genealogy information -- greater than he had never seen before. Others were facing similar challenges in researching their Family Finder “cousins,” and the numbers of shared Acadian surnames that feature in the family trees of Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder participants added to the complexity of the task.
To assist the Family Finder project, the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project administrator introduced the idea of the Family Finder “Match Map,” where on a single page, participants graphically charted five generations of maternal and paternal ancestry, starting with themselves and their own two parents. By referencing a participant's Family Finder Match Map, Family Finder participants could visually identify not only shared surnames that existed among family lines, but also at what generations relationships may have occurred, turning proposed Family Finder relationships into honest-to-goodness cousins!
To assist the Family Finder project, the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project administrator introduced the idea of the Family Finder “Match Map,” where on a single page, participants graphically charted five generations of maternal and paternal ancestry, starting with themselves and their own two parents. By referencing a participant's Family Finder Match Map, Family Finder participants could visually identify not only shared surnames that existed among family lines, but also at what generations relationships may have occurred, turning proposed Family Finder relationships into honest-to-goodness cousins!
Bernie David put together his Family Finder Match Map immediately, sharing it with Steve and other members who had added their own. Several members added flair to their Match Maps and the charting of five generations of family ancestry took on new form – one resembling a bird in flight, with the participant at the center, his generations of maternal and paternal grandparents comprising each outstretched wing. By referencing the charts, Family Finder participants located shared surnames easily, along with possible cousin relationships.
Cajun Cousins Bernie David and Steve Simon Discover Shared Heritage, DNA, in the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder Project
Cajun Cousins Bernie David and Steve Simon Discover Shared Heritage, DNA, in the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder Project
.....by Marie Rundquist with
Bernie David and Steve Simon.
Bernie David's Grandmother, Ernestine Broussard Langlinais
GAUTREAU / GAUTREAU Connection:
Steve Simon and Bernie David are related by way of FRANCOIS GAUTREAU'S offspring, through first wife and child, CHARLES GAUTREAU and second wife EDMEE LEJEUNE and child, CLAUDE GAUTREAU, respectively.
SIMON / DAVID Connection:
SIMON and DAVID shared family lines account for another Family Finder connection. SYPHROYEN SIMON ( son of AUGUSTINE TREVILLE SIMON ) married MARIE ARTHEMISE ISTRE (daughter of CELESTIN ISTRE, JR. AND MARIE URANIE ROY). CELESTIN ISTRE, JR. was the son of JOSEPH ISTRE, SR. and MARIE MADELEINE JANNOT. CELESTIN'S wife, MARIE URANIE ROY, was the daughter of JOSEPH ROY and URSULA DAVID.
SIMON / SIMON Connection:
A second SIMON Family Finder connection is by way of ancestor JEAN BAPTISE SIMON, SR., who was the first SIMON to settle the Attakapas District of Louisiana. JEAN BAPTISTE SIMON, SR. arrived on the ship L’Amitie. His descendants factor into Steve Simon and Bernie David's respective family lines:
JEAN BAPTISE SIMON, SR. is the son of RENE SIMON AND SEBASTIENNE MONNIER. He married MAGDELEINE MARIE AUCOIN. Together, they had nine children. The first child was CHARLES SIMON, SR. who married MADELINE HELENE GRANGER (daughter of JEAN BAPTISE GRANGER AND SUSANNE CORMIER).
JEAN BAPTISE SIMON’S fourth child, MARIE FELONISE SIMON (married FREDERCK HEBERT son of JOSEPH AND MARGUERITE TRAHAN).
Steve Simon looks forward to other family relationships that may develop within the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder project, as he investigates other aspects of his ancestry. For more information about the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project, or to request to join our project, please contact the administrator.
Copyright 2013, Marie Rundquist, Bernie David and Steve Simon
Steve Simon and Bernie David are related by way of FRANCOIS GAUTREAU'S offspring, through first wife and child, CHARLES GAUTREAU and second wife EDMEE LEJEUNE and child, CLAUDE GAUTREAU, respectively.
SIMON / DAVID Connection:
SIMON and DAVID shared family lines account for another Family Finder connection. SYPHROYEN SIMON ( son of AUGUSTINE TREVILLE SIMON ) married MARIE ARTHEMISE ISTRE (daughter of CELESTIN ISTRE, JR. AND MARIE URANIE ROY). CELESTIN ISTRE, JR. was the son of JOSEPH ISTRE, SR. and MARIE MADELEINE JANNOT. CELESTIN'S wife, MARIE URANIE ROY, was the daughter of JOSEPH ROY and URSULA DAVID.
SIMON / SIMON Connection:
A second SIMON Family Finder connection is by way of ancestor JEAN BAPTISE SIMON, SR., who was the first SIMON to settle the Attakapas District of Louisiana. JEAN BAPTISTE SIMON, SR. arrived on the ship L’Amitie. His descendants factor into Steve Simon and Bernie David's respective family lines:
JEAN BAPTISE SIMON, SR. is the son of RENE SIMON AND SEBASTIENNE MONNIER. He married MAGDELEINE MARIE AUCOIN. Together, they had nine children. The first child was CHARLES SIMON, SR. who married MADELINE HELENE GRANGER (daughter of JEAN BAPTISE GRANGER AND SUSANNE CORMIER).
JEAN BAPTISE SIMON’S fourth child, MARIE FELONISE SIMON (married FREDERCK HEBERT son of JOSEPH AND MARGUERITE TRAHAN).
Steve Simon looks forward to other family relationships that may develop within the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Finder project, as he investigates other aspects of his ancestry. For more information about the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project, or to request to join our project, please contact the administrator.
Copyright 2013, Marie Rundquist, Bernie David and Steve Simon
Steve Simon's Grandparents, Jean Eddie Gautreau and Eva Lantier Gautreau
Steve Simon's Gautrot ancestry was the primary motive for his interest in genealogy – and for developing Family Finder connections. Steve Simon's Gautrot ancestry also factors into one of three family finder connections with Bernie David, which Steve shares: