(Cross posted to Azores, Madeira, IslandRoutes lists) A few years back (about 2013-2014), Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) did a survey, asking for background information which they then incorporated into their ethnicity estimates. Only 25 people of Portuguese descent answered. That was all. "Portuguese" then had to cover Portugal, Azores, Madeira, and Brazil. Only 25 people! And of course many people did not match those 25 in the population sample. And of course people were disappointed with their ethnicity estimates.
If you would like more accurate results for the Azores, Madeira, Portugal, Brazil (or any other country), NOW is the time. Family Tree DNA has created a new Family Ancestry Survey. You need to have ordered Family Finder, transferred over to FTDNA (from Ancestry, My Heritage, 23 and Me), or you have a Family Finder test on order. 1) Open your genealogy program and have the main person be the same as the test person (I did my dad because he's half Portuguese). It helps as a reference if you are answering for someone else. 2) Log directly into the kit with the kit number and password. 3) Scroll down the left column looking for the survey and click it: [image: image.png] There are only 4 questions. And it's clunky and not intuitive. It asks which ethnicity the test taker's father's father was from. So the test taker's paternal grandfather. If you start typing "Portuguese" it will suggest "Europe - Portuguese." Then it asks for the country. The Azores nor Madeira is a country, so you pick Portugal. Then it asks for other group affiliation details. Here you can put something like "Born in the Azores, Sao Miguel island" or "Born in Madeira." It then repeats the process for the test taker's paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, and maternal grandmother. However, if you have something that's plain old American, it becomes difficult. My dad's maternal half has been in America for a couple of hundred years (at least). So when it wants his maternal grandfather's ethnicity, that would be American. Nope, that was not an option. Neither was Caucasian. I finally picked Europe - English even though he was a blend of the British Isles (English, Irish, Scottish). For his birth place, it allowed United States of America. Then for other group affiliation details, I put "Born in Kansas." So please, Please, PLEASE answer the survey so we can have more accurate results for our corner of the world. Don't let another 5 years (or so) go by! (No, I don't know when the survey will end and they will stop collecting results.) Cheri Mello, Family Tree DNA Admin (volunteer) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_H66%3DTTVV_8TXM1BX%3D_Nka5GXb-%3DYNw6BCFQSPz1xfSvg%40mail.gmail.com.
