There had been French settlers in the Virginia colony from the earliest days of its colonization, but it was a Jesse DeForest, a Belgian Huguenot, who prepared a colonization petition which was presented by the British Ambassador in Holland to the British government in 1621. He had enlisted 56 heads of families, about 300 persons in all, Walloons and French Protestants. They requested a ship to take them to Virginia. (From Huguenot Refugees in the Settling of Colonial America, The Huguenot Society of America, New York, NY
The goal of this project is to identify the DNA signature of Jesse DeForest (France), Michel de Forest (Acadia/Nova Scotia)and any other deForests by comparing the results of documented and undocumented descendants of Jesse, Michel, and other DeForests.
The project will include all with this surname and the surname varations shown. It is our hope to be able to identify the genetic markers of these important historical figures. We also hope to act as a clearinghouse for all the variations of the surnames.

SEE REUNION INFORMATION UNDER "NEWS" !
SEE MODAL HAPLOTYPES FOR JESSE DEFOREST AND MICHEL DE FOREST UNDER "RESULTS". WHO DO YOU MATCH?