About us
When we began this SMEDS Y-DNA Group project, the focus was on connecting male lines who bear the Smeds 'farm name' or family surname Smeds, Smedts, or all other Swedish variants of these two Swede-Finn / Swedish / Scandinavian surnames. Although we keep the group's original name, the updated focus of this group continues to include Smeds male lines, but now also has taken a broader view.
In the case of Smeds, this surname can be either a family surname or a 'farm name.' 'Farm names' -- the family names sometimes taken by people who rented farm land from a local people, such as a Smeds family -- used to take, can mean that unrelated people can share the same family surname, when there is no (recent) blood-line connection. Farm names can cause researchers to believe the possibility of a relationship when there is no DNA to prove that relationship. And, in contrast, when people have moved to other places or married, or been adopted, sometimes real family relationships can become 'hidden' from genealogical and family history researchers.
Male lines which may have a connection to Smeds people from Närpes, may not bear the Smeds surname. Continuing to maintain this group with only people bearing the Smeds name (or, some variant of that name) presented a problem.
By expanding this project beyond the Smeds name, it has been moved beyond testing only Smeds people. Men who believe that their father's family has a connection to the Österbotten / Ostrobothnian region of Finland — and especially any connection to the area around Närpes / Närpiö, Finland — are invited to participate in this project. Perhaps, by opening the project to the male lines from the area, such 'hidden' family connections to the Smeds people may also be uncovered.
The original male members of the group project have all taken the 37-marker Y-DNA test. To join this project, it is necessary for men to also take the 37-marker Y-DNA test.
For men who have already been tested for The Genographic Project, we welcome you to join our project. However, it is necessary that you first upgrade your test to at least 37-markers, before making a request to join this project.
Thanks to the Family Tree DNA 'Family Finder' test, women who wish to participate in this project -- but who are unable to access their Y-DNA from a male family member -- are able and welcome to join this DNA group, using a 'Family Finder test. The 'Family finder ' test is not a requirement for men, but -- along with the 37-marker Y-DNA test, we encourage men to request and add a Family Finder test to their test results. This will allow for even more possible matches for both men and women.
If you have questions about the this Project, send an e-mail with the heading: 'Närpes'
to me, Nicholas Smith, at:
iisentaku (at) gmail (dot) com
IMPORTANT: If you copy this e-mail adddress, to paste it in to your e-mail message address box, it will be necessary to remove the parentheses-- '( )' --or, add the '@' symbol and '.' to the address, before you can send mail to me. By adding the '( )' to the '@' I am purposely not creating a working link, in order to limit the amount of 'harvested' unwanted mail.
In the case of Smeds, this surname can be either a family surname or a 'farm name.' 'Farm names' -- the family names sometimes taken by people who rented farm land from a local people, such as a Smeds family -- used to take, can mean that unrelated people can share the same family surname, when there is no (recent) blood-line connection. Farm names can cause researchers to believe the possibility of a relationship when there is no DNA to prove that relationship. And, in contrast, when people have moved to other places or married, or been adopted, sometimes real family relationships can become 'hidden' from genealogical and family history researchers.
Male lines which may have a connection to Smeds people from Närpes, may not bear the Smeds surname. Continuing to maintain this group with only people bearing the Smeds name (or, some variant of that name) presented a problem.
By expanding this project beyond the Smeds name, it has been moved beyond testing only Smeds people. Men who believe that their father's family has a connection to the Österbotten / Ostrobothnian region of Finland — and especially any connection to the area around Närpes / Närpiö, Finland — are invited to participate in this project. Perhaps, by opening the project to the male lines from the area, such 'hidden' family connections to the Smeds people may also be uncovered.
The original male members of the group project have all taken the 37-marker Y-DNA test. To join this project, it is necessary for men to also take the 37-marker Y-DNA test.
For men who have already been tested for The Genographic Project, we welcome you to join our project. However, it is necessary that you first upgrade your test to at least 37-markers, before making a request to join this project.
Thanks to the Family Tree DNA 'Family Finder' test, women who wish to participate in this project -- but who are unable to access their Y-DNA from a male family member -- are able and welcome to join this DNA group, using a 'Family Finder test. The 'Family finder ' test is not a requirement for men, but -- along with the 37-marker Y-DNA test, we encourage men to request and add a Family Finder test to their test results. This will allow for even more possible matches for both men and women.
If you have questions about the this Project, send an e-mail with the heading: 'Närpes'
to me, Nicholas Smith, at:
iisentaku (at) gmail (dot) com
IMPORTANT: If you copy this e-mail adddress, to paste it in to your e-mail message address box, it will be necessary to remove the parentheses-- '( )' --or, add the '@' symbol and '.' to the address, before you can send mail to me. By adding the '( )' to the '@' I am purposely not creating a working link, in order to limit the amount of 'harvested' unwanted mail.