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That means it can show matches with ANYONE else who has taken a Family Finder test who is descended from ANY of your 4x great grandparents.

During 2011, I decided to include the Family Finder results of anyone who has Adamthwaites in their ancestry, as part of the Adamthwaite DNA Project. This is an exciting new development, because it could potentially provide evidence about links within and between some of our Adamthwaite lines where we have been unable to identify living male descendants to participate in our yDNA test programme.

When the first sets of results began to arrive, it became clear that as well as confirming the known relationship between myself and a third cousin in my own OLIVE line of Adamthwaites, the two of us ALSO showed distant connections to descendants of other Adamthwaite lines that have tested. These were all between 6.5 and 7.5 generations distance - but still closer than shown in any written records. I am fairly certain that the connections are more to do with the proportion of each of our ancestors that originate in the Ravenstonedale area - so I have now set up a Ravenstonedale DNA Project, and hope to discover whether there are any genetic links between descendants of other early R'dale families - through both yDNA and Family Finder tests. We have already identified connections between our Adamthwaite Family Finder testers and members of a FOTHERGILL line which has been traced back to the Yorkshire Dales.

The Family Finder test currently costs $289 and because of the experimental nature of using this type of DNA test in a surname project, I cannot offer free tests from our extremely stretched General Fund, as we do for men taking the yDNA test (unless of course there is a millionnaire amongst you who would like to sponsor this innovative use of the Family Finder test!!).

However, ftDNA have recently had a sale of these test kits, and I took the opportunity to buy three kits at a really bargain price. So I would be willing to underwrite the cost of the kits to some degree if you would be prepared to make a contribution towards our General Fund.

HOW IT WORKS
You can read more about how the test works and what sort of matches you can expect to find on this page of my personal family history website.

If you are interested in exploring your own ancestry with this test, please go to our Adamthwaite Project page on the Family Tree DNA website and join from there, as this will ensure that your results are included in our Surname Project.

RESULTS
Detailed results spreadsheets showing the linked matches revealed to date are shown in a separate section of this site which is accessible to actual participants of the Family Finder project only (because they necessarily include the full names of the persons who have tested and those of all the people they match with). A summary of the results is shown on the Ravenstonedale DNA Project site.

However, I will update this page with key findings as they are discovered:September 2010 - 3rd cousin match revealed between myself and another member of the OLIVE GREEN line of Adamthwaites - we are both descended from William Adamthwaite and Sarah Mason, who married in Brough in 1841January 2012 - Descendants from three more ADAMTHWAITE lines (BLUE, VIOLET and ORANGE) have now taken Family Finder tests, and even though the only known connection between these lines is that the ORANGE line is believed to be a branch of the VIOLET line which broke away 8 generations ago, all three new test results show matches with each other AND with me and my known third OLIVE line cousin at around 6 - 7 generations distance. I believe this is largely due to the known high levels of intermarriage between Ravenstonedale families two or three centuries ago, which has resulted in a higher concentration of genetic material originating from the pool of R'dale families than would be expected if all branches of our ancestry came from more diverse populations.May 2012 - Partly to test these interesting Family Finder results and partly as a result of a recent research project looking at the intermingling of Ravenstonedale families, I have set up a new Geographical Project for descendants of all early R'dale families. It will collect yDNA and Family Finder results from volunteers with documented records of their ancestry from the parish. You can read more about the project here.July 2012 - results from a descendant of the TURQUOISE line received (which also shows distant matches to the rest of our group), and a set from the PINK line should arrive shortlyAugust 2012 - a second tester recruited from a different branch of the ORANGE line - these results should be available by early Autumn. Also one of our GREY line yDNA testers has agreed to have the Family Finder test done - we will book this as soon as the testing company hold their next 'flash sale'

If there is a YELLOW line or a LIGHT GREEN line descendant out there who would be interested in joining in this Family Finder project, do please contact me.

HOWEVER ... it should be remembered that yDNA testing of male Adamthwaite descendants is still the most reliable method of discovering distant links between our known Adamthwaite lines. I still have four FREE 37 marker test kits available for any male Adamthwaite who belongs to any of the following lines:BLUE lineVIOLET lineORANGE lineTURQUOISE lineLIGHT GREEN line plus a second volunteer from the YELLOW line
(though I am pretty certain that there are no longer any living Adamthwaite males from either the Turquoise or the Light Green lines!)