About us
The Beckman surname and its derivatives have apparently originated in multiple places across Europe. The DNA evidence gathered so far on Beckman descendants suggests that the name most likely arose in Germany and England, with other origins also being possible. Ancestry.com has identified the "source" (meaning) of the name as English: topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, from northern Middle English bekke 'stream' (Old Norse bekkr) + man 'man'. Swedish (Bäckman): ornamental name composed of the elements bäck 'stream' + man 'man'. Respelling of German Beckmann. If the name arose from a geographical description, it's quite likely that several Beckman lines arose independently of the others.
The BECKMAN project has been imagined to help trace the various Beckman, et al, family lines back to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) that we can discern for all of the project participants. The best and most direct way to do that - and the basis for the organization of this project - is to collect and compare Y-DNA results between the participants.
All who feel that they have some connection to a Beckman, et al, family line are welcome to join the project if you feel that it will assist you in your research. However, it is unlikely that the project will provide much meaningful information in your search unless you participate by submitting a Y-DNA test! The project does provide both Y-DNA and MtDNA reporting results, but since women's surnames typically change when they marry, only the Y-DNA reporting is meaningful within the BECKMAN (et al) surname. The project does *NOT* provide any autosomal DNA reporting; if you are looking for a Beckman cousin (eg, you have taken a Family Finder test), those potential matches are best pursued either directly through FTDNA or a 3rd-party assessment application such as GEDMatch.com.
The following background / guidelines are provided to maximize the value you may get from joining this project:
2. To join this project, click on JOIN in the graphic banner at the top of this page and login with your FTDNA account kit number and password.
3. Update your FTDNA account by going to MANAGE PERSONAL INFORMATION. This is critical to finding potential relatives and origins. We must share data to be successful. I recommend using the tested person's last name as the Contact Last Name. If the kit owner is different than the tester, please use the First Name field to include "c/o" and the kit owner's full name (for mailing purposes).
3A. Go to PRIVACY & SHARING to check the below settings or you will not be a part of analyses.
Matching Preferences/Y DNA - All Levels
Origin Sharing - Opt in to Sharing
Project Sharing/Group Profile - Opt in to Sharing
3B. Go to PROJECT PREFERENCES to check Advanced or Limited Access for the project administrators. We can't help you if not granted at least Limited Access. Don't forget to check the box for future administrators too.
3C. Go to GENEALOGY to update your Paternal Ancestor. Enter only information that is not speculative. Example: “James Welch, b.c.1812, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland”. Enter your COUNTRY or leave blank if you don't know. Do not enter "U.S." unless truly of Native American paternal lineage. Please try to be specific if UNITED KINGDOM; pick either ENGLAND, IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, SCOTLAND or WALES. Use current country borders so use NORTHERN IRELAND if accurate even if the ancestor predated its formation. Update the map location.
3D. Go to ACCOUNT INFORMATION to check your Contact information. Please add a backup email address and a beneficiary. Talk to your beneficiary.
4. If you have not yet tested at the level of 111 Y STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) please upgrade. Our subclades are young so extended STRs are helpful to discern between subgroups potential relatives. Even if you have very few matches, upgrading occasionally picks up missing matches as well as refines matches. Testing more STRs is a good investment in the matching database, and Y111 has become the de-facto gold standard for meaningful matches. To learn more, read www.familytreedna.com/learn/y-dna-testing/y-str/upgrading-markers-improve-information/
5. Move forward with an Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) testing plan so your subclade can be identified and haplogroup updated. Having a confirmed haplotype (which comes only from SNP testing) greatly enhances the value of evaluating STR matches. If you are unable to immediately sign up for the Big Y700 test (which you will ultimately need to do to maximize your research), clear patterns or STR signatures among your best matches may help you decide what SNPs or SNP Packs to buy. The project administrator can provide some advice in identifying the most useful SNP packs based on your signature STRs.
SNPs can also be ordered one at a time from FTDNA from your account by selecting the blue UPGRADES button and then scrolling down to the ADVANCED TESTS box and the BUY NOW button.
6. Big Y-700 is the preferred test. It is probably the most important test you can take. It is a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) test that discovers new SNPs by scanning over 10 million locations on the Y chromosome. A tremendous benefit is you will discover SNPs not just for your paternal lineage, but also ancient SNPs that will help map the migratory history of your line. Big Y has the ability to discover SNPs that are pertinent to the genealogical timeframe (eg, the last couple of hundred years). The Big Y learning web site has more details. www.familytreedna.com/learn/y-dna-testing/big-y/. You may also be interested in reading the Lewis and Clark Expedition analogy for Big Y exploration on the FAQ page.www.familytreedna.com/groups/r-1b/faq/
Also note that the Y111 STR test is included in Big Y500. If you have a true interest in genetic genealogy and breaking beyond the brick walls of your genealogical records, please strongly consider Big Y500 to determine your haplogroup down to a very recent timeframe so that you can refine your close-in family and surname mutation history tree