The Early California DNA Project has been created to assist genealogists and historians in exploring the history of California, by locating and documenting the pedigrees, as well as the matching DNA sequences, of those families who settled in that specific geographical area prior to statehood in 1850. We will be looking at their family ties, as well as their deep ancestral roots. Potential members must have some reason to believe that they are descendants of a family who settled in California prior to 1850. They must also have a direct line descendant who will be DNA tested at FTDNA.