How would on go about determining if ancestor was Metis?

Question

Have heard that one of my ancestors was part Abenaki? How can I trace this if she had an English name and grew up in Quebec? Does a photo of her as old women in braids mean anything?

Answer 1

DNA will NOT help you figure out if an ancestor was Metis, nor will it identify a specific band or tribe. You don't even know whether it was a maternal or paternal lineage that was Abenaki...or even if Abenaki was the correct tribe. You don't even have an idea if you have direct matrilineal DNA to test. I also don't think that a picture of a Victorian woman in braids is indicative of much in Canada.

If you know here parents' names, you would start with the Loiselle Marriage Index and the PRDH and follow the lineage back. The French had their "vital records" kept by the parish priest. So tracking Quebecois and Metis lineage means you have to follow the sacramental registers. Pere Loiselle and the Universite de Montreal were kind enough to copy them all for us and put them in a useful form.

When you get into the records, you'll be looking for an entry with the surname "Savage" or "Sauvage". That was the way the priests noted that a parent was a Native. Once you have that record, you can start identifying tribes. My own G-G-Great Grandfather was Metis and a descended from the Huron tribe. It was his baptismal record that listed his mother as "Henriette Sauvage". There was no marriage record from 1830, but there were sacramental records of her being baptized and buried subsequent to the birth of her fourth child. She was also listed as the wife of _____ and he later remarried and was listed as the widower of Henriette Sauvage. So the marriage record may have disappeared, but the rest of the records helped me narrow things down and I found her records at a reservation in the Georgian bay area. All you can do is follow the records wherever they lead you. The truth won't change, nor will it go away. It's all a matter of having the patience to uncover one generation at a time.

Answer 2

http://www.cyndislist.com/peoples.htm
toward the middle of this page, are a number of resources for Metis families. I was subscribed for a while to the Metis-Gen list for a while, and there were some VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE persons there.
Someone's surname is never proof of their lineage. At the easiest level, all of us have our father's surname, but our mother's heritage is just as much a part of us.
If you are new to research overall, cyndi's site also has numerous tutorials on how to start out.

Answer 3

The only way to be sure is to have a personal DNA test done. It costs around $200 US and shows the areas from which your ancestors came.

Without that, any other information cannot be deemed to be 100%.

Answer 4

Last question: No, it does not. My Mom wore her hair in braids. Many Germans, Netherlanders, Scandinavians, et al, wore their hair in braids. Apaches did not use braids. So, by itself, braids is meaningless.
The only absolutely positive way to find out if your ancestor(s) was/were Metis, Abenake, whatever, is through a DNA test. I used www.familytreedna.com. They sent me a kit (available world wide; they have clients from almost 200 countres!), I swabbed the insides of my cheeks, sent the kit back, in about 3 weeks I received a written report. I also have web access to check on additions.
Other than that, ask your living relatives for as much info as they can provide, and start:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Assuming they emigrated from Europe, start with Ellis Island and the Battery Conservancy sites:
http://www.ellisisland.org
http://www.castlegarden.org


For Scotland, check:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/


For ship’s passenger lists, try:
http://www.immigrantships.net/
www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm
www.geocities.com/Heartland/5978/Emigration.html
www.immigrantstips.net/
www.searchforancestors.com/passengerlists/
www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigration/passenger-arrival.html


For those with native American ancestry, try:
http://www.tribalpages.com/
http://www.cherokee-nc.com/geneology.php...

For a fee, try a DNA test:
When you really want to know where your ancestors came from, try such sites as: www.familytreedna.com, dnatribes.com, dnaancestryproject.com, and, of course, the National Geographics Genotype program, https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/geno...
For Jewish ancestry, try:
www.israelgenealogy.com

For people from India, try:
http://www.fibis.org/

Have a look at these sites these are South African ones,
http://genealogy.about.com/od/south_afri...
http://www.rupert.net/~lkool/page2.html....
http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica/website...
http://southafricanfamilyhistory.wordpre...

Meaning of names:
http://www.winslowtree.com/surname-meani...

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/f...

Here are some general sites with lists of African names:
http://www.swagga.com/fname.htm
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/afr.php
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/ba...

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/...

Military:
www.military.com
http://www.familymilitaryrecords.com/

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/militar...

http://websearch.about.com/od/peoplesear...

http://genealogy.about.com/b/2007/05/24/...

http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ww1/draft/sea...


Finding live people:
Two good places I use are www.zabasearch.com and www.peoplefinder.com

Don't forget, use your local library. Ours (a small one, yet) has www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com, as well as periodicals, books and guidance from an experienced genealogist.

Keep good notes on where you find what: sources are very important.

Good luck!
Other good sites:
www.nationalobituaryarchive.com
http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/
http://zip.langenberg.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welc...
http://www.tedpack.org/obit.html


http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
http://ancestryresearchsitereviews.blogs...
http://www.search-background.com


http://www.birthdatabase.com/
http://www.intelius.com/search-summary-o...
peoplesearch.com
smartpages.com. to get to US Search

http://www.intelius.com/search-summary-o...

Two good places I use are www.zabasearch.com and www.peoplefinder.com
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/-name-mean...
http://www.netsleuth.com/

http://affiliates.reunion.com/ads/ads/la...

http://www.peoplelookup.com/people-searc...

http://people.yahoo.com/

http://www.addresses.com/

http://websearch.about.com/od/wendyssear...

http://www.anywho.com/

http://www.zabasearch.com/

http://www.whowhere.com/

http://www.nola.com/forums/searching/ind...

http://www.77investigators.com/messagebo...

http://www.voy.com/48081/

http://messages.yahoo.com/

http://www.angelfire.com/va3/search/Mess...

http://www.worldvitalrecords.com
http://www.ntis.gov/products/pages/ssa-d...

http://www.search-background.com