John Riley

Ancestors

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John Riley has Irish ancestors.

John Riley is a descendant of an Acadian

Biography

Descendant of First Nations Germain Doucet.

Scientist (physicist) and educator for many years. In between college and university was stints in the film industry in Boston and San Francisco during the seventies. Presently doing nature video production as a self employed videographer and editor. Commercially rated pilot that flies fixed wing and unmanned aircraft.

I have been interested in my mother's side of the family since the age of eight. I was fascinated with her stories of our Acadian family. Trips through Nova Scotia in 1971 and 1972 brought me in contact with many relatives and family genealogists.

In 2015 (using distant DNA analysis from the National Geographic Genographic Project) I had my paternal and maternal DNA tested for distant ancestry. My father's haplogroup goes back some 2500 years ago to some of the first Celtic peoples to inhabit Wales and Ireland. Again using the distant DNA analysis from the National Geographic Genographic program, I have found my father's DNA came from the Ui Neill clan. The haplogroup of this clan is R-M222 and is allegedly tied to the Niall of the Nine Hostages, one of the kings who united tribes in northern Ireland during the 5th century C.E. Haplogroup R-M222 came from some males in Ireland well before the Nialls.

My mother's haplogroup goes back to the Maghreb region in Morocco and Tunisia. My maternal haplogroup is U6a7a1, it is this haplogroup associated with Acadian ancestry that has proved once and for all that the Lejeune sisters, Catherine and Edmee, had a European mother.

Most importantly, I found my mother had a high percentage of Native American ancestry and my great grandfather, Louis Andre Doucet, was of the paternal haplogroup c-p39. Haplogroup c-p39 is paternally a full Native American.

My distant and fully Native American ancestors are: Germain Doucet 1641 (Doucet-19), Anne Marie Unknown Mi'kmaq 1631 (Unknown-182545), Marie Mi'kmaq 1660 (Mi'kmaq-17), Marie Doucet 1635 (Doucet-33), Marie Abenaki 1610 (Abenaki-9).

There are geneologists who prefer having unnamed Amerindiennes, that were previously named Unknown, given last names that are more easily searched. Giving these people last names that reflect their native ancestry honors that culture, honors the family they helped establish, and honors these previously unknown people as individuals who should be recognized and easily searched on Wikitree.

When researching the plight of exiles I try to imagine what daily life was like? Their needs; of survival, of their health, of their fears, of the births, of the newborns, of the children. What happened when a mother's death happened during this time, or a father's death? The families survive, but in such a devastated condition. We genealogists write down their cold fact biographies. I want to give them a voice. A voice that brings them back to life and expresses those day to day happenings. I only wish we now can give them that voice.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by John Riley at registration.

• La Famille Surette De La Pointe Des Pinkney" provided by Surette family geneologist of the 1970's.
• FamilytreeDNA.Com

• The Mothers of Acadia DNA Project

• Amerindian Ancestry Out of Acadia Project.

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