FAQ
1.I Am a New Member of the Vaughan DNA Project. What Do I Do First?
Review and adjust your privacy settings, enter your earliest known ancestor, and upload a pedigree chart.
2.How Do I Set My Privacy Settings?
A.Log onto your FamilyTreeDNA personal home page, then hover your cursor over your name/kit number on the top right hand side of the page and click on "Privacy and Sharing". There are four check boxes and four drop down menus wherein you can adjust your privacy levels. Please review your selections.
One of these is especially critical. Under the section titled "Project Sharing", click the box to select "Opt In To Sharing". Then scroll down to the Save button and click it.
B. Scroll back to the top of the page and click on the "Project Preferences" tab. Then click on "Edit" button to the right of the Vaughan project, then choose "Grant Full Access" from the drop down menu and click "Save." Please make sure all administrators and co-administrators have Full Access.
3.How Do I Enter My Earliest Known Ancestor?
A.This is a very important detail. The more information you give helps other users and your administrators make better use of your information and share back with you. Leaving this blank defeats the purpose of yDNA matching. Log onto your FamilyTreeDNA personal home page, then hover your cursor over your name/kit number on the top right hand side of the page and click on “Profile”. Then click on the Tab “Genealogy”. Enter what you know about each of your earliest known ancestors. Provide as much detail as you can, i.e. William Vaughan, b. 1725, Prince George Co., Va., d. 1800, Warren Co., Ga., m. Susannah Jones. Enter the specific location separately, if you know where it is.
4.How Do I Upload a Pedigree Chart?
This is a very important step. You have spent the money to be tested. If you don’t share your pedigree chart, it will greatly hamper other people collaborating with you. We believe you can get the most out of testing if you upload a pedigree chart. If you had a Family Finder test, you should complete a full pedigree charts to at least eight generations. If you had a yDNA test, you should complete your male to male line back as far as you can.
A.First, you have to have a genealogy program that can create a pedigree chart. There are many programs available both for sale or for free that can accomplish this for you. You should be able to find a suitable one with a basic Internet search.
B.Second, you will need to enter your ancestors information and then create a GEDCOM file. A GEDCOM file is a standardized format that allows you to transfer genealogy data from one program to another or to upload it to FTDNA. Your genealogy software should have instructions on how to create a GEDCOM file.
C. Lastly, upload the GEDCOM file to FTDNA. Go to https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/myftdna-user-guide/pedigrees-gedcoms/
and follow the instructions.
5.I Am a Female or Do Not Have a Direct Male to Male Vaughan Line. However, I Am Very Interested in Y-DNA. What Do I Do?
A.First and foremost, you are most welcome to join the Vaughan DNA Project. We are not here solely for yDNA testing. If you can not take a yDNA test for your Vaughan line yourself, consider having a relative who is a direct male line Vaughan tested. This relative can be a father, brother, uncle, cousin, second cousin, etc.