In 2004, David Francis started the Francis surname project in order to determine whether he and two other men shared common genetic ancestry from Samuel and Ann Francis, who lived in Baltimore, MD, USA in the years following the American Revolution. All three original participants traced their descent from this couple via
Conventional genealogical research.The study proved to be successful at these rather limited aims. Two of the three men, as well as two others recruited later, proved to be genetically descended from this couple, while one of the original participants and two later recruits were discovered not to be.
In the years since then, the number of participants has grown from 3 to 30 individuals who have submitted y-dna. All but one of these individuals tested through Family Tree DNA and all but two have received results. Most newer participants have no reason to believe they are related to the Baltimore group and no particular interest in it.
In 2008, Gregory Francis joined the project as a co-administrator with the intent of tracking a mystery in his own line, making the project more relevant to Francises not related to the Baltimore line, and increasing recruiting. One aspect of that effort was to make the results of the study more available to the participants in a form they could use.
Hence, this paper.