How To Participate in the Rowland Xref Project

We encourage all males with a Rowland/Roland (and other variants) surname to participate in the Rowland Xref Project. Here are the steps you need to take with the three different websites that are involved. FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) handles the DNA testing and reporting. WikiTree provides the collaborative genealogical tree building and documentation tools. Then here at the RowlandGenealogy site, we put the two together to build the Xref (cross-reference) list and help resolve any discrepancies. The goal is to help ensure that the Rowland profiles on WikiTree are interconnected in a manner that is consistent with FTDNA’s Y-DNA testing. Note: Your DNA will remain securely at FTDNA. Neither WIkiTree nor RowlandGenealogy get your DNA.

Steps to take at FamilyTreeDNA.com

1. Take a Y-DNA Test at FamilyTreeDNA.com (FTDNA). We recommend the Big Y-700 test but realize that may not be in everyone’s budget. Take the largest numerical test you can afford, as the company offers discounts on future upgrades (usually without having to submit a new sample). Look for FTDNA sales promotions that often occur around holidays (especially Father’s Day). We are not affiliated with FTDNA and receive no compensation for recommending it.
2. On your FTDNA profile page, be sure to include your email address and the name and dates of your earliest known Rowland ancestor. This will be used in the “Paternal Ancestor Name” in the project reports. Additionally, please add your ancestor’s birth and death year, and location information (state and county if possible).
3. Join the Rowland Project at FTDNA. Where it asks you to select the level of Group Administrator Access, we recommend you choose the “Accept Project Preferences” option , which is the same as “Limited”.
4. When you receive your DNA collection kit, follow the instructions to collect your sample and return it to FTDNA. This step will take multiple weeks.
5. You will be notified when your results are ready. The Rowland Project Administrator will also be notified and will add you to the project results page.
6. While you are waiting, you can upload (for free) your AncestryDNA test results (or other test company) into the FTDNA Family Finder area of the website. Note: these are autosomal DNA tests and are not a substitute for taking a Y-DNA test.
7. Also while waiting on your test results, you can get started on the WikiTree steps.

Steps to take at WikiTree.com

1. Join WikiTree and add your profile. Everything on the site is 100% free, although you will need to register and sign the honor code.
2. Add/connect your father to your profile, then add his father.
3. Keep adding successive generations until you reach one that is already in WikiTree. Note: before adding a new profile, WikiTree automatically checks the birth and death years of the profile you are adding and provides a list of potential profiles that are already in WikiTree.
4. We recommend that all profiles you enter for non-living people have their privacy level set to “Open.” Living people are prevented from having an “Open” profile. There are 7 levels of Privacy settings, and for your own profile we recommend the “Private with Public Biography and Family Tree” setting as the best way to connect to and verify other Rowland project members.
5. Once you receive your DNA results from FTDNA, go your DNA Test page and add your FTDNA Kit #. You can also add your autosomal DNA test results at this location.
6. It will take 24 hours, but then the profiles of your appropriate ancestors will be automatically updated to show your DNA connection.

Steps to take here at RowlandGenealogy.com

1. Contact us with your FTDNA Kits # and your WikiTree profile #, and we will add your information to the Xref database.
2. Boom — at this point you have completed the steps to participate in the Rowland Xref Project. Congratulations.
3. Note: To protect your privacy, we only publish your anonymous FTDNA Kit # and your pre-1900 born Rowland ancestor.
4. If you do not know your Rowland line back to 1900, then we will try to help. However, we only have access to public records, and the US has only released census records up through 1950, so we may not be able to help for your closer generations.
5. Subscribe to the Rowland Genealogy Newsletter to keep abreast of the research.

——