The story goes that the parents of Joseph Francis were carrying him across a frozen lake or river in the Virginia/Maryland area in the 1740s when the ice broke. Joseph was saved by strangers and his parents were never found. Joseph was probably married at least twice and had numerous children, many subsequently moving to Ohio. He had as many as 10 sons. Several surnames including Vance, Jacobs, and Lawson, are matches to the Francis Y-DNA haplogroup E-M35, likely due to NPEs in the 1800s The goal of this project is to determine the true origins of Joseph Francis and his parentage. We welcome anyone who is a descendant of Joseph Francis or one of his sons, who has taken a Y-DNA test, to join our group. To be most effective in determining Joseph's origins, you should upgrade to the Big-Y test if possible, but we will accept anyone who has taken a Y-DNA test at 25 markers or higher. This includes surnames Francis, Vance, Lawson, Jacobs, and any others who may be a descendant of Joseph Francis in the E-M35 haplogroup.