Welcome to the Meynier-Galle-Zilch DNA Project. My name is Nicole Dyer, and I lead a team of experienced researchers at Family Locket Genealogists. Read about us here: About Family Locket Genealogists. We are working with our client, Edward Flotte, in an ongoing project to discover more ancestors in the Meynier-Galle-Zilch family tree. Edward is a descendant of Leda Galle through her son Thomas Charles Meynier and his wife Frances Zilch. I have reached out to you because you and Edward are cousins, and we need your help to make this project a success. I invite you to read about the current research phase below and hope you will help us by sharing your DNA results.

Research Objectives

The current phase of the DNA project focuses on two research objectives:

Primary Objective: Leda Galle

Who were the parents of Leda Galle? Leda was born about February 1832 in New Orleans, Louisiana, probably the daughter of Pierre Galle by an unknown woman. Leda had children with Adolphe Meynier and was later married to Victor Azereto with whom she also had children. Leda died 12 June 1894 in New Orleans.

Background

Leda Galle was a “mulatto” woman who by 1848 had formed a relationship with Adolphe Meynier, a married, white “Capitalist.”¹ Interracial, extramarital relationships were a common practice in antebellum Louisiana.² Leda and Adolphe had two known children, Thomas Charles Meynier and Alice Meynier. Adolphe died in 1851.³ Leda went on to marry Victor Azereto in 1855, and their marriage license noted that she was a free person of color, a racialized legal status in New Orleans society at the time.⁴ When viewed in light of her “mulatto” designation, this indicates she may have been the daughter of a white man and a woman of full or mixed African and/or Native American descent through a relationship similar to hers with Adolphe; she may have also descended from two free people of color who themselves may have been of mixed race.⁵ Victor and Leda had two known children, Victor Jr. and Martha Leda Azereto. The 1880 census stated her parents were born in Italy, but this may be an erroneous assignment of husband Victor’s heritage to Leda.⁶ It may also have been an indication of her father’s heritage, but not likely her mother’s. Her 1894 death certificate noted Leda as a “colored” woman whose unnamed parents were Louisiana natives.⁷ To date, no documents naming her parents have been discovered. Because the few records regarding Leda provide scant and contradictory evidence of her parents, DNA analysis is essential to help identify them.

DNA Testing

Emerging autosomal DNA evidence suggests that Leda was the daughter of Pierre Galle and an unknown woman who may have been the daughter of Emanuel Llorens and Marie Arsene Anty. The Anty surname is also spelled Antee. The possible connection to Marie Arsene Anty is a significant discovery because she descended from the Metoyer family of the notable Cane River Creole community in Natchitoches Parish.⁸ You can read more about them here: Cane River Creoles.

To date, this DNA evidence has been discovered primarily through matches to one test taker, a great-grandchild of Thomas Meynier, who we will call “Thomas 1.” His line of descent is shown in the following family tree featuring Leda’s hypothesized connections. The identified Galle and Llorens-Anty DNA matches to Thomas 1 are 4th-6th cousins. When working with common ancestors that far in the past, a larger body of test takers is needed to find matches who share DNA with the proposed common ancestors in order to add validity to hypothesized family connections.

Adding more autosomal DNA test takers in independent lines descending from Leda’s children will help find relevant matches to identifying her parents. Tester Thomas 1 inherited only about 6.25% of Leda’s genome. The more descendants that share their results through independent child lines, the more DNA coverage will be achieved for Leda. Furthermore, adding autosomal DNA test takers who descend from independent lines of Pierre’s children, as well as from the proposed siblings of Unknown Llorens, will help maximize the DNA coverage for both Pierre Galle and Unknown Llorens’ parents. This increases the chance of discovering enough DNA evidence to support them as Leda’s hypothesized parents.

See: Paul Woodbury, “Covering Your Bases: Introduction to Autosomal DNA Coverage,” blog post, 2020, Legacy Tree Genealogists (https://www.legacytree.com/blog/introduction-autosomal-dna-coverage : accessed 28 April 2022).

Join the DNA Project

Our overarching goal is to confirm the Galle and Llorens-Anty lineages through DNA and documentary evidence. This effort will only succeed in cooperation with other descendants.

Share Ancestry Results

If you have tested at Ancestry, you can share your DNA results so that you can be included in the research and DNA analysis. Follow these steps found in Ancestry’s support article:

From any page on Ancestry, click the DNA tab and select Your DNA Results Summary.
On your DNA homepage, click Settings in the top-right corner.
On the DNA Settings page, scroll down to the Visibility and sharing section and click DNA test sharing.
Choose Invite and enter our client’s username, eflotte.
Select Viewer or Collaborator and then choose Invite.

Upload to MyHeritage from AncestryDNA

Analyzing segments of DNA and connecting them to the ancestor or ancestral couple from whom the segments were inherited is an important strategy for this project. You can participate in the analysis and mapping of shared DNA segments by downloading your raw DNA data from AncestryDNA and then uploading it for free to MyHeritage, another secure genealogy website with special DNA segment tools. You can follow step-by-step instructions from genetic genealogist and scientist Leah Larkin here:

Leah Larkin, “More Bang for Your Buck: From AncestryDNA to MyHeritage,” blog post, 25 September 2022, The DNA Geek (https://thednageek.com/more-bang-for-your-buck-from-ancestrydna-to-myheritage/ : accessed 18 Oct 2022).

Upload to GEDmatch

GEDmatch is another site that helps you analyze segment data. If you are willing to upload your results there, go to https://www.gedmatch.com/. If you upload your DNA data to GEDmatch, please send a note with your name and your assigned GEDmatch kit number to Nicole@FamilyLocket.com.

Contact Information

I hope you join the project by sharing your DNA results. Thank you for your consideration! Please reach out if you have any questions – Nicole@FamilyLocket.com.

Secondary Objective: Frances Zilch

Was Frances Zilch, born about 1849 in Germany, the daughter of Andrew and Elisabeth Zilch? Frances Zilch married Thomas Charles Meynier in New Orleans on 22 March 1878. Thomas Charles Meynier was the son of Leda Galle and Adolphe Meynier. He was born 17 September 1847 in New Orleans and died there on 23 March 1906.

Background

Documentary evidence indicates Frances Zilch immigrated to New Orleans with her parents and siblings in 1855.⁹ Her presumed father Andrew died four years later in July 1859, and little is known of what happened to the family.¹⁰ Frances established a relationship with Thomas Meynier by 1867 when their first child Charles was born. Three more children—James, Lizzie and Mary Ann—joined the family by 1876. Charles and Frances married in March of 1878, and Frances died in December of that year.¹¹

DNA Testing

Project participants who descend from Frances and Thomas will be helping to verify both the primary objective (described above) and also Frances’ relationship to her presumed parents Andrew and Elisabeth Zilch. We are seeking descendants from Frances’ children and those of her siblings. Adding these testers will increase coverage of Frances’ and her parents’ genome to help determine kinship and find other matches who share DNA with Andrew and Elisabeth Zilch’s family. Thomas 1, the only tester to date, shares about 12.5% of his DNA with Frances, his great-grandmother.

Join the DNA Project

Our overarching goal is to confirm the Meynier and Zilch lineages through DNA and documentary evidence. This effort will only succeed in cooperation with other descendants.

Share AncestryDNA Results

If you have tested at Ancestry, you can share your DNA results so that you can be included in the research and DNA analysis. Follow these steps found in Ancestry’s support article:

From any page on Ancestry, click the DNA tab and select Your DNA Results Summary.
On your DNA homepage, click Settings in the top-right corner.
On the DNA Settings page, scroll down to the Visibility and sharing section and click DNA test sharing.
Choose Invite and enter our client’s username, eflotte.
Select Viewer or Collaborator and then choose Invite.

Upload to MyHeritage from AncestryDNA

Upload to GEDmatch

Contact Information

I hope you join the project by sharing your DNA results. Thank you for your consideration! Please reach out if you have any questions – Nicole@FamilyLocket.com.

Sources

1850 U.S. Census, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, New Orleans, Municipality 3, Ward 1, p. [95B] (stamped), p. 190 (penned), dwelling 1666, family 1889, Adolphe Meynier; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 238.
Michael Taylor, “Free People of Color,” LSU Libraries (https://lib.lsu.edu/sites/all/files/sc/fpoc/history.html : accessed 2 October 2022).
2nd District Court, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, “Successions 4627-4840, 1851,” succession file no. 4724, Adolphe Meynier, 27 October 1851; database with digital images, “Louisiana, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1756-1984,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2022), images 793-807 of 1243.
Orleans Parish, Louisiana, “Licenses, 4th Justice 1849-1859,” marriage license no. 4180, Victor Azereto-Leda Galle, 11 Apr 1855; database with digital images, “Louisiana Parish Marriages, 1837-1957,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJC-S8TD : accessed 20 September 2022), FHL DGS 4922854, image 651 of 1426.
64 Parishes, “Free People of Color,” (https://64parishes.org/entry/free-people-of-color : accessed 2 October 2022).
1880 U.S. Census, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 64, sheet 215A (stamped), p. 37 (penned), dwelling 290, family 297, Thomas Meynier; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 462.
Louisiana Department of Health, Orleans Parish death record for Léda Galle Azereto, 12 June 1894, “Death records, v. 106, pt. 1-5 1894,” p. 579; database with images, “Louisiana, Orleans Parish Death Records and Certificates, 1835-1954,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS9Z-Y9JF-L : accessed 2 October 2022); citing Bureau of Vital Records, New Orleans, Louisiana.
64 Parishes, “Marie Thérèse Coincoin,” (https://64parishes.org/entry/marie-therese-coincoin : accessed 2 October 2022). See also: 64 Parishes, “Free People of Color,” (https://64parishes.org/entry/free-people-of-color : accessed 2 October 2022).
US Immigration and Naturalization Service, passenger list, Sewall, departed Antwerp, Belgium, arrived 2 May 1855, New Orleans, Louisiana, lines 74-80, Andrew Zelch family; database with images, “New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Passenger Lists, 1813-1963,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2022), M259 – New Orleans 1820-1902 > roll 41 > image 640 of 645; citing NARA NAI 2824927, Record Group 85.
1860 U.S. Census, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, mortality schedule, Ward 3, page 7 (penned), line 12, And[rew] Zilch, July 1859; database with images, “U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication T655 roll 22.
Department of Health Recorder, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, marriage registration, Thomas C Meynier and Francis Zilch, 22 March 1878, p. 670 (penned); database with images, “Louisiana Parish Marriages, 1837-1957,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJW-VPX8 : accessed 20 September 2022), FHL DGS 4705630, image 368 of 525. See also Department of Health Recorder, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, death registration, Françoise Meynier, 22 December 1878, volume 74, page 153; database with images, “Louisiana, Orleans Parish Death Records and Certificates, 1835-1954”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z2RY-46W2 : accessed 20 September 2022), FHL DGS 7797764, image 84 of 598.