The Fogwell/Vogwill & variants Family DNA Project is a Y-DNA genealogy project for people with a direct paternal ancestral line which descends from a member of the Fogwell/Vogwill/Fogwill/Vogwell family which originated in Devon, England (the “Family”). (Paternal line relates to one’s father, one’s father's father, one’s father's father's father,etc. ancestral line.) The earliest known record for a member of the family (a “Family Member”) is in the early 1300s in Devon, England and the earliest known vital records (baptism, marriage or burial) are from the 1600s in Devon. The surnames variants Fogwell, Fogwill, Vogwell and Vogwill have endured from the late1500s to the present.

Since females cannot do the Y-DNA test and therefore provide relevant Y-DNA data, their joining the project won't help them with their genealogy unless they can get one or more male members of their Fogwell, Vogwill, etc. line, even if it is a distant Fogwell, Vogwill, etc. male cousin, both to do a Y-DNA test and to join our project. If you are a female and can get such a family member to do this, then your joining this project would make sense.

The Project will also accept individuals with certain variants of the name if there is a Y-DNA match on a minimum of 37 markers and if, in the view of the Project Administrator, there is a good chance that the family line in question is in fact related by DNA to the Family. Name variants which appear in vital records and census documents of Devon include Foguille, Foggwell, Fagwill, Vogwall,Voggwell, Voghill.

Requesting a DNA Test

How much you want to spend on DNA testing is entirely up to you. Below are our recommendations.

DNA test kits can be ordered at a discount through this Project. If one has not previously tested with FTDNA or is ordering a kit for a person that has not yet tested with FTDNA, kits can be ordered by clicking here. One can order either a Y-DNA test to learn about their direct paternal line, an mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) test to learn about their direct maternal line, and/or a “Family Finder” autosomal test which has some DNA information about all of their lines.

- For testing the male (paternal) line, not every male needs to take the test. A father and son would normally have the same Y-DNA.  It is suggested that you have your living male ancestor on your paternal line (e.g., your grandfather, or if that is not possible, your father; otherwise, you if you are a male) take the Y-DNA test. It is not necessary for that test-taker’s male descendants to take the Y-DNA test.

It is also recommended that you get paternal line male second cousins (second cousins share great grandparents) and third cousins (third cousins share great-great-grandparents) to take the Y-DNA test, as their DNA may be slightly different but very useful in identifying other Family

– It is recommended that you get your oldest living relatives along all ancestral lines on both your father’s side take this test.

For older family members who have no interest in monitoring DNA matches, if they agree,their account can set up so that you are their surrogate – they set up their account so that your contact information is put into the account instead of theirs. The older family members should also consider having you designated as their beneficiary as it relates to their DNA test information (see next paragraph).

Please make sure that whoever takes any of these tests signs the release form so that if the FTDNA matching programfinds a genetic match between them and another person in the database have eachsigned the release form, FTDNA will notify the test taker (or their surrogate) via e-mail of the match. Please also make sure that they designate a beneficiary. A beneficiary can be designated either when the test kit is ordered on line oronline after their account is set up.

Please fill out the form to request to join this project. Your information will be sent to the project's Administrator. If the Administrator agrees that you should be part of this project, you will be sent a "join code" to order. If you would like to order now at the reduced project rates please click here. Ordering from this page will allow you to get started with your test (and get the discount).

If you are interested in joining from other projects and other testing companies, please see the "News" section under "About This Group" above.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

• What’is all this DNA testing stuff all about? And what are these various DNA tests:Y-DNA, mtDNA, autosomal “Family Finder” DNA? 

DNA testing consists of three types: (i) Y-DNA, which is certain DNA transferred exclusively through the paternal line, (ii) mtDNA, which is inherited by both males and females but which is passed on exclusively through the maternal line, and (iii) autosomal DNA, which makes up the vast majority of DNA and is transferred through all lines. (See “Requesting a DNA Test” above.) For this Project, males should take the Y-DNA test, and it is recommended that they also take the autosomal DNA test because the more descendants of an ancestor that take the autosomal DNA test and put the data in this database, the greater the likelihood over time that we will be able to make DNA connections to ancestors farther back than we are able to now.

The DNA tests used for genetic genealogy contain no personal information, and the tests are quite different from those used by forensic scientists in criminalinvestigations and by doctors to identify paternity. Furthermore, the test itself cannot identify a unique individual as close male members of the same family (brothers, uncles, cousins) will in all probability have identical results.

Please see Debbie Kennett’s video DNA for Beginners: The Three Tests (about 1 hour) and/or the video Introduction to Family Tree DNA (about 1 hour).

• Can DNA testing be used for genealogy instead of paper documentation?

No. DNA testing is a tool which is supplemental to paper documentation.

• I am a female so I cannot take a Y-DNA test for the paternal line. What do I do?

Find a male relative who is a direct descendent of your male Fogwell/Vogwill/Fogwill/Vogwell ancestor along the paternal line to take the Y-DNA test.

• Howdoes one take this test? Is it a hassle?

Not at all. Please see the video How to Take the FamilyTree DNA Test .

• I have a close male relative who took the Y-DNA test (close relative could be brother father, male cousin), so there is no reason for me to take the test, right?

Incorrect. They should at least take the “Family Finder” autosomal DNA test (which is one of the least expensive tests) because, as noted above, the more descendants of an ancestor that take the autosomal DNA test and put the data in this database, the greater the likelihood over time that we will be able to make DNA connections to ancestors farther back than we are able to now.

Privacy

The privacy of project members is respected at all times. The project administrator strictly adheres to the Group AdministratorGuidelines for Family Tree DNA Projects. See also the Family Tree DNAPrivacy Policy and Terms of Service and the Learning Center pages on DNA Group Projects.

Disclaimer

The Fogwell/Vogwill & variants Family DNA is an independent genealogical research study run by a volunteer project administrator. The group administrator receives no payment or incentives from Family Tree DNA or from any other organization or institution. The project receives no funding other than any contributions that may be made to the General Fund (see below), and participants are responsible for the costs of their own tests. There is no guarantee that every participant will match anyone in the Fogwell/Vogwill & variants Family DNA Project or in the wider Family Tree DNA database.

Member information and data obtained from the Fogwell/Vogwill & variants Family DNA must be attributed to the project, the administrator andFamily Tree DNA. Please notify the administrator when using data for public or private research.