Traditional mitochondrial DNA research of known matrilineal lines of descent from an earliest ancestor, Marie Rouensa, takes on a new dimension as autosomal DNA matches among descendants, shared segment triangulations, and most recent common ancestors are identified.

The subject of Marie Rouensa's fascinating history, and the C4c1 haplogroup finding first discovered for Rusty Petitjean, along with his matrilineal line of descent from Marie Rouensa, in November of 2020 by our Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project, were topics of conversation among the St. Landry Smith genealogy group members.  The St. Landry Smith project had been started by Amy Meyer, a known descendant of Marie Rouensa.  Deadra Doucet Bourke, who also participates in the group, shared the news about the discovery of Rusty Petitjean's matrilineal line of descent, since proven, from ancestor Marie Rouensa nearly two years ago.

While Amy had formed the Smith project to research a Smith surname lineage from St. Landry, Deadra's story about mtDNA matches among matrilineal descendants of Marie Rouensa piqued her interest. Amy wanted to know more about the C4c1 mtDNA haplogroup subclade identified by Full Sequence mitochondrial (mtDNA) test results of two of her descendants, Robert Franklin and Rusty Petitjean. 

As Deadra explained  project findings, Amy began to wonder if her mtDNA test results would qualify her as a member of the same C4c1 mtDNA haplogroup subclade to which Rusty and Robert belonged. Amy knew about her genealogical line of descent from Marie Rouensa, as did Robert Franklin before he had his mtDNA test. What would her Family Tree DNA Full Sequence mtDNA test results reveal?

Unable to contain her excitement, Amy announced that she too was a descendant of Marie Rouensa!  Pleasantly surprised, Deadra immediately shared a link about Rusty's line of descent from Marie Rouensa. (See: https://familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/rouensa-dna for the initial article and project updates).

After reviewing the article, and scanning the lines that were posted for Marie Rouensa's matrilineal DNA descendants, Rusty and Robert, Amy was confident that her Full Sequence mtDNA test results would be in line with Rusty's and Robert's, and she has since been proven correct. All three Marie Rouensa matrilineal descendants belong to the C4c1 subclade and are exact matches with one another. Matching mitochondrial (mtDNA) test results for Amy, Robert, and Rusty may be referenced in the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project. (See: https://www.familytreedna.com/public/AcadianAmerIndian?iframe=mtresults).

Amy had already established her genealogy leading to Marie Rouensa through her own research, information contributed by a cousin, and Father Vidrine's tireless efforts in the realm of Marie Rouensa's family history, and had the Full Sequence mtDNA test and joined our project to honor and acknowledge the part that Marie Rouensa plays in her genetic makeup.  

Amy Meyer's genealogy, as follows, has been researched, scrutinized, and qualified so that other matrilineal descendants of Marie Rouensa may confidently connect to her line of descent:

1.   Amy (C4c1) Singleton Meyer
2.   Mother  (C4c1)  / Father
3.   Edna (C4c1) Manuel / Hubert Paul Smith
4.   Hermance (C4c1) Veillon / Leo Manuel
5.   Edna (C4c1) Attale / Michael Veillon
6.   Marie Ida (C4c1) Tate / Homer "Henry" Attales
7.   Onesima (C4c1) Tate / William Tate
8.   Eugenie (C4c1) Fontenot /Hilaire "Elie" Tate
9.   Eugenie (C4c1) Soileau / Henri "dit Bellevue" Fontenot
10. Marie Jean "Marianne" (C4c1) Vidrine / Jean Baptiste "Richaume" Soileau
11. Elizabeth (C4c1) de Moncharvaux / Capt. Jean Baptiste de Vidrine
12. Marie Agnes (C4c1) du Chassin / Capt Jean Francois Tiserant de Moncharvaux (most recent common ancestor (MRCA))
13. Anges (C4c1) "dite Philippe" Estienne / Nicolas Michel du Chassin
14. Marie (C4c1) "Ouacanteoua" Rouensa / Capt Michel "dit Philippe" Estienne
15. Marie Jeanne (C4c1) Indigenous Woman / Chief Francois-Xavier "Mamenthousena" Rouensa (earliest mtDNA-proven ancestor)

Comment from co-author Deadra Doucet Bourke: Robert and  Amy's ancestry comes together with Eugenie Soileau and Henri Fontenot (generation 9), Robert's through daughter Josephine, while Amy is through daughter Eugenie. All three come together on Marie Agnes du Chassin and Captain Jean Francois Tiserant de Moncharvaux (generation 12).

Comment from co-author Marie Rundquist: Research continues to highlight the matching, and genetic relationships that may be derived by comparing members' mtDNA and autosomal DNA test results.  Autosomal DNA comparisons will therefore continue to feature in our mtDNA project research.

Comparisons among Amy's, Robert's and Rusty's autosomal DNA results, at a minimum of 5 cm, have yielded the following findings (Note: Amy had submitted her mother's autosomal DNA test results (from the same matrilineal line) used in this comparison):

Comparisons of Amy's and Robert's autosomal DNA test results at a minimum of 5 cm

Largest segment = 16.3 cM            
Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 36.1cM (1.006 Pct)            
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 4.3                
4 shared segments found for this comparison.                        
178930 SNPs used for this comparison.                        
50.653 Pct SNPs are full identical    

Comparisons of Amy and Rusty's autosomal DNA test results at a minimum of 5 cm

Largest segment = 6.3 cM            
Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 27.4cM (0.765 Pct)            
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 6.5            
5 shared segments found for this comparison.            
146089 SNPs used for this comparison.            
52.184 Pct SNPs are full identical    

Comparisons of Rusty and Robert's autosomal DNA test results at a minimum of 5 cm

Largest segment = 11.1 cM            
Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 76.2cM (2.123 Pct)            
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.8            
12 shared segments found for this comparison.            
422218 SNPs used for this comparison.            
70.215 Pct SNPs are full identical                    
        
From the ISOGG.org Wiki, we read, "In autosomal DNA testing the term triangulation is most commonly used to describe the process of reviewing the pedigree charts of clusters of shared matches/in common with matches in order to identify a common ancestor or ancestral couple. This process is sometimes also known as tree triangulation." (See: https://isogg.org/wiki/Triangulation).

In a near-perfect demonstration of the definition of triangulation, a comparison of Amy's, Rusty's and Robert's autosomal DNA yield a triangulated, 5.1 cm, shared segment, on Chromosome 1.

Since hearing about the Marie Rouensa story, and the descendants who have had DNA tests to prove their lines that lead to her, Amy's cousin wants to find out more about the project and the journey of discovery that comprises the DNA test results, genealogies, and family histories that are needed to validate an ancestral line.  

The Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project co-administrators invite all matrilineal descendants of Marie Rouensa to have the Full Mitochondrial Sequence mtDNA test from Family Tree DNA and to join our project!

Click https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/acadian-amerindian/about to join!

-- by Marie Rundquist, Deadra Doucet Bourke, with Amy Meyer
Link to: https://dna-genealogy-history.com
Link to: https://familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/rouensa-dna
Link to: Rundquist, M., Bourke, D.D. (2020, November 1). Full Article: https://dna-genealogy-history.com/uploads/3/4/0/9/34098671/petitjean-serendipitous_c4c1_mtdna_finding-final.pdf

One of the most rewarding aspects of first publishing an article about how a mitochondrial DNA test result helped a descendant uncover a long-forgotten Native grandmother is to have the pleasure of watching the story "grow" as other descendants who read the article have mitochondrial DNA tests, and come to discover, through their own genealogy research, that they too share the same exact matrilineal ancestor, traced from mother-to-mother.

By publishing the once-serendipitous finding of a Native American mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, C4c1, attained by Rusty Petitjean, and sharing his documented line, traced from mother-to-mother to Marie Ouacanteous Rouensa b. 1677 and d. 1725, co-authors Deadra Doucet Bourke and Marie Rundquist attracted the  attention of Marie Rouensa descendant Robert Franklin.  Knowing about his matrilineal line of descent, which had also been traced from mother to mother, from Native grandmother, Marie Rouensa, to himself, and about how mitochondrial DNA is passed, by way of inheritance, from a mother to her offspring, all the way down the line, Robert read the article and wondered if his full mitochondrial sequence DNA test results would show the same haplogroup as Rusty's (C4c1). Would their mtDNA test results match?

Robert would soon learn the answer to his question -- when his full mitochondrial DNA sequence test results came in and proved to be a match with Rusty's!  By comparing mitochondrial DNA test results and family genealogies, Rusty and Robert learned that they did indeed belong to the same C4c1 mitochondrial DNA haplogroup and that they both shared the same earliest Native American grandmother, Marie Rouensa, traced from mother-to-mother!

Born and raised in Texas, Texas Tech University graduate Robert Franklin was no stranger to the topic of genealogy.  Along with his love of the outdoors and enjoyment of time spent hiking and biking the many trails surrounding his home in Conroe, Robert Franklin possessed an intense interest in his own family history, sparked by his grandmother, "Mema," who lamented how little she knew about her mother, Agnes Bordelon Daire.  Agnes was Robert's great grandmother, and she had died, tragically, when "Mema" was only a year old.

Robert received an Ancestry membership as a birthday present, and he hoped that through his ancestry research, he would learn more about his mother's lost family lines. Robert discovered that he was related to the Vidrines on his mother's side.  After researching a bit further, Robert was able to locate Fr. Jason Vidrine's genealogy website and later attended a Vidrine Family reunion where he met his Vidrine extended family.

Fr. Vidrine informed Robert of his matrilineal line of descent, traced from mother to mother, from his earliest known Native American grandmother, Marie Rouensa, which inspired Robert to have the full mitochonrial sequence mtDNA tests, and later, the autosomal DNA test through Family Tree DNA. Today, Robert Franklin credits Fr. Vidrine with making this discovery and inviting him to be a part of his research and hopes to test with other companies as well.

Our Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project (which hosts these same mitochondrial DNA test results) also credits Robert Franklin for having the full mitochondrial sequence DNA test, connecting with his mitochondrial DNA match, Rusty Petitjean (who was the subject of our first article), and for building upon our knowledge of Marie Rouensa's extended family by graciously sharing his C4c1 haplogroup and his genealogy, traced from mother-to-mother (as mitochondrial DNA is passed from a mother to her children by way of genetic inheritance), as follows:

1.)  Robert Bryan Franklin (C4c1)
2.)  Christie Lane (C4c1)Holland/Kenneth Lynn Franklin
3.)  Marie Jeanne "Janell" (C4c1) Daire/Samuel Wilbur Holland
4.)  Agnes (C4c1) Bordelon/Jean Kossuth Daire
5.)  Marie Armide (C41c) Vidrine/ Hilaire Bordelon
6.)  Emelie (C4c1) Ortego/Zelien Vidrine
7.)  Josephine (C4c1) Fontenot/Joachim Ortego
8.)  Eugenie (C4c1) Soileau/ Henri "dit Bellevue" Fontenot
9.)  Marie Jeanne "Marianne" (C4c1) Vidrine/ Jean Baptiste "Richaume" Soileau
10) Elizabeth (C4c1) de Moncharvaux /Capt. Jean Baptiste Pierre La Freile de Vidrine
11) Marie Anges (C4c1) du Chassin/Captain Jean Francois Tiserant de Moncharvaux
12) Agnes (C4c1) "dite Philippe" Estienne/Nicolas Michel du Chassin
13) Marie (C4c1) "Ouancanteoua" Rouensa/Capt Michel "dit Philippe" Estienne
14) Marie Jeanne (C4c1) Native Woman/Chief Francois-Xavier "Mamenthouensa" Rouensa

Comment from co-author Deadra Doucet Bourke: Robert Franklin and Rusty Petitjean's matrilineal ancestry comes together with Marie Anges (C4c1) du Chassin de Moncharvaux (highlighted in bold). Robert's matrilineal line of descent is through her daughter Elizabeth de Moncharvaux Vidrine and Rusty's matrilineal line of descent is through daughter Marianne de Moncharvaux Robin.

Comment from co-author Marie Rundquist:  In addition to a genetic distance of 2 mtDNA match when Robert and Rusty's full mitochondrial DNA sequence test results were compared, an autosomal DNA comparison using the Gedmatch one-to-one matching tool, yielded a 6.4 cm match on Chromosome 19 and a 6.1 cm match on Chromosome 15.  While these values (though close) fall beneath the 7 cm minimum threshold used to determine a recent autosomal DNA connection, it was interesting to investigate the possibility of an autosomal DNA match because of the shared ancestry beginning with most recent common matriline ancestor, Marie Anges (C4c1) du Chassin, b. ca 1723 who was married to Captain Jean Francois Tiserant de Moncharvaux, and was also a matrilineal descendant of Marie Rouensa. 

Note: As more descendants add their results to our "Marie Rouensa" story, we may continue to evaluate both the full mitochondrial sequence DNA matches in addition to finding out how autosomal DNA test results compare, when evaluated using the Gedmatch one-to-one matching tool.

Link to: Rundquist, M., Bourke, D. D. (2020, November 1). "Serendipitous DNA Discovery Uncovers Rusty Petitjean's Hidden Native Ancestry." Family Heritage Research Community: https://familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/rouensa-dna
-- by Marie Rundquist, Deadra Doucet Bourke, with Robert Franklin
Link to: https://dna-genealogy-history.com
Link to: https://familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/rouensa-dna
Link to: Rundquist, M., Bourke, D.D. (2020, November 1). Full Article: https://dna-genealogy-history.com/uploads/3/4/0/9/34098671/petitjean-serendipitous_c4c1_mtdna_finding-final.pdf

Serendipitous DNA Discovery Uncovers Rusty Petitjean's Hidden Native Ancestry
By Marie Rundquist with Deadra Doucet Bourke, Administrators
Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project
November 1, 2020

“…when Rusty’s mtDNA test results came back I was absolutely stunned …”

If the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project were to have one, single, underlying characteristic to which we owe our most spectacular and unexpected DNA discoveries, it would have to be “serendipity.”  The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary (www.merriam-webster.com) defines serendipity as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” “Serendipity” perfectly describes how Rusty Petitjean discovered his earliest Native ancestry only after his mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test results came in.  Click here to read the article!

Update January 26, 2021: Since the publication of this article, another documented, matrilineal (mother-line) descendant of Marie Ouacanteous Rouensa b. 1677 and d. 1725, the daughter of Rouensa, Chief of the Kaskaskias, has had the full mitochondrial sequence mtDNA test, where markers at the HVR1, HVR2 and coding region are compared.  The latest full mitochondrial sequence mtDNA test results, received January 26, 2021, which matched Rusty Petitjean's results, were confirmed by Family Tree DNA as belonging to the C4c1 mtDNA haplogroup and therefore validate the lineage and the Native American origins of Marie Rouensa, established by the original article.  The Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project wishes to thank Fr. Jason Vidrine and other members for providing their gracious assistance in sponsoring this latest match's full mitochondrial sequence mtDNA test and locating descendants of this historic line!

This is what the C4c1 mtDNA match looks like in our Acadian Amerindian Ancestry public mtDNA test results page (see attached snippet). Displayed are the DNA test kit numbers, the earliest mother-line ancestor (Marie Rouensa), the United States country origin (indicating Native American ancestry in this case), the mtDNA haplogroup (C4c1) and the HVR1 and HVR2 mutations.*  Coding region markers are not displayed on Family Tree DNA project websites.

To see more of our project mtDNA results, visit our link and set your view to 500, at least, to avoid scrolling: https://www.familytreedna.com/public/AcadianAmerIndian?iframe=mtresults 

The picture of a people is coming together -- test by test and story by story!

* Analysis of HVR1 mutations yielded a genetic difference of two. HVR2 and coding regions were identical. Each kit possessed the distinguishing marker for the C4c1 mtDNA haplogroup (T1243C) in the coding region and there were no missing markers.

-- by Marie Rundquist, Deadra Doucet Bourke, with Rusty Petitjean
Link to: https://dna-genealogy-history.com
Link to: https://familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/rouensa-dna
Link to: Rundquist, M., Bourke, D.D. (2020, November 1). Full Article: https://dna-genealogy-history.com/uploads/3/4/0/9/34098671/petitjean-serendipitous_c4c1_mtdna_finding-final.pdf