DNA Testing Plea
We would like to encourage descendants of this surname to participate in some type of DNA project.There is a Jean project at Family Tree DNA (http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/jean/home ) and Ancestry.com (http://groups.ancestry.com/site/35460022/ ), or if money is an issue consider http://www.smgf.org/http://www.smgf.org/.I know times are tough for a lot of people right now, but we are past the point of where a 12 marker test will adequately help.We really need you to consider at least the second level of testing.If times aren’t tough for you, or you are from a female line, maybe you would consider donating to the general fund at FTDNA to help someone pay for a test, you can even specify an individual or a specific line if you want to (just let us know).
The two projects linked to above are not inclusive to the “Jean” surname.We just can’t do that, as there are many possible variant spellings.To date we have found the name as Gains, Gayn, Gean, Geanes, Geans, Geen, Geenes, Geens, Jains, Jane, Janes, Jayne, Jaynes, Jean, Jeanes, and Jeans. Plus, at least one Gheen line became Jean/Jeans, so it can’t be discounted either.
Current dna testing is starting to dispel some of the published genealogies of these lines.Some know there are errors in their own lines, but cling to previously published genealogies as gospel.Some have also begun to disregard (or maybe have not read the full context of) portions of Rev. Frederic Janes where he says: “suppose”, “possibly”, “if” or “might be”.Instead they are publishing those links as fact.Information from his book is being published in county history books, and becoming even more “fact”, even though the original author had his own doubts about some of the things in his book.
As to date…we have CT & NY lines who don’t match a known Cornwall line (one that has nothing to do with Rev Frederic Janes line) – so that doesn’t agree with the book on Geogry de Janes of Botalock, Cornwall.There is at least one line, which is supposed to descend from the CT line, but is not matching up.And we have at least one line, which we thought should match up to the Orange Co., NY Jane/Jayne(s), which matches the Cornwall line.I don’t know what to say…except WE NEED MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THE DNA PROJECT.We could have just had illegitimacy (or an adoption) ten to twenty generations ago, and that is what is causing the issue, but we won’t know for sure until we start getting more dna information to analyze.
Please feel free to check out our website if you would like more information at http://www.gean-ealogy.com/dna_project.htmhttp://www.gean-ealogy.com/dna_project.htm
Gean-ealogy.com site and dna project coordinators,
Mel Harman and Renee Newman