DNA Project – FAQ

See also the Oxfordshire Surnames Project FAQ.

Who can be part of the Oxfordshire DNA project?

We accept DNA from people who can trace their Oxfordshire ancestry back before 1880 and ideally with at least 3 generations in Oxfordshire. We include the parts of Oxfordshire that were formerly in Berkshire. We don’t mind if your 19th/20th century ancestors moved elsewhere from Oxfordshire but we don’t want those who lived in Oxfordshire only in modern times. If you have poor paper research to connect your family to Oxfordshire but believe you may have Oxfordshire origins, please contact us first to discuss at dna@ofhs.uk

The Oxfordshire project takes DNA from both males and females and accepts all 3 test types: Y-DNA (males); autosomal DNA (both genders); and maternal DNA (both genders).

Do I need to be a member of OFHS to join the DNA project?

No, anyone who has qualifying ancestry in Oxfordshire can be part of the DNA project. However, you will find that if you are a member of OFHS, you will see more articles and updates in the OFHS journal and Members-Only Area of the website. To join the Society go to join.us

How do I transfer my DNA test from other vendors to FamilyTreeDNA?

If you have been tested by Ancestry, 23andMe, MyHeritage or Genographic 2.0 you can transfer your results to FamilyTreeDNA. See the Family Tree DNA page on autosomal transfer.

The initial transfer is free; however you will need to pay a small upgrade fee to benefit from all the features of FTDNA.

Once you have transferred you can join our Oxfordshire project.

How do I join the Oxfordshire project?

In FTDNA you can join any number of DNA projects run by volunteers, like our Oxfordshire project, or those based on individual surnames. Before you join the Oxfordshire project, check your eligibility (see above – “Who can be part…?”). You can join the Oxfordshire project by ordering a new test, or by linking existing test results (from a FTDNA test or from a transfer from another vendor) to our project. To join the Oxfordshire project:

Please sign on with your ID and password first.

Go to our Oxfordshire DNA Project page and click on the ‘join’ button.

If you have not had a test before, select the option to buy a new test and follow the instructions. If you buy a test from a project page, then you will have joined that project and bought the test in one step. Otherwise sign in with your kit id and password.

Be sure you fill in your profile data (accessible from your account settings area in the top right of your screen) including oldest known ancestors and surnames in Oxfordshire with dates and places. It will help us enormously to process your results.

How do I get help?

If you are a member of the Oxfordshire DNA project and need help in interpreting your results or in understanding which test to take, please contact us via dna@ofhs.uk