The Bahamas DNA Project (For anyone with direct male or direct female ancestry in the Bahamas) Last updated 1st Oct, 2006 Your participation will make a very important contribution to your genealogy as well as Bahamian family history research. General announcements are posted at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BahamasGenealogyGroup/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bahamians/ (site is down)
Join | Y-DNA Test Results | mtDNA Test Results | Benefits | Donations | Seeking Sponsorship | Family Histories | Paternal Line Descendant Charts | Maternal Line Descendant Charts | Links Seeking participants with familiar Bahamian surnames including Adderley (1), Albury (1), Allen (1), Aranha (1), Archer, Armbrister, Armstrong, Arnett, Bain, Baker (1) (2, 3), Barr, Beckford (1), Bethel (1), Bethell, Bowe, Bowleg, Braynen, Brennan (1), Brice, Brown, Bullard, Burrows, Butler (1), Campbell, Carey (1), Carroll (1), Cartwright (1), Cash, Cates, Carlton, Christie, Claridge, Clarke, Cleare, Coakley, Colebrook, Collie (1), Collins, Cooper, Cox, Culmer, Cunningham (1), Curry (1), Curtis, D'Arville, Darling, Darville (1), Davis, Dawkins, Dean (1), Delancey, Deleveaux, Demeritte, Deveaux, Dorsette, Duncanson, Duncombe (1), Edgecombe, Edwards, Elden/Elding/Eldon, Eneas, Evans (1) , Farquharson, Farrington (1), Fawkes, Ferguson, Fernander (1), Finlayson, Forbes, Fox, Gardiner, Gates, Gibson, Glinton, Grant (1), Green, Greene, Hall, Hamilton, Hanna (1), Hart, Hazlewood, Hepburn, Higgs, Hopkins (1), Hutchinson, Ingraham, Isaacs, Johnson (1), Jones, Kelly, Kemp, Key, Knowles (1), Lewis, Lightbourn (1, 2), Lightbourne, Lockhart, Love, Lowe (1), Lunn (1), Mackey, Major (1), Malcolm, Malone (1, 2, 3) , Maura (1) (2), McCartney, McDonald, McKenzie, McKinney, McPhee, Miller, Mingo (1), Minnis, Minns (1), Moree (1), Morley, Mortimer, Moss, Moxey, Munnings, Munroe, Murray, Neely (1), Newbold, Nixon, Nottage, Outten, Pearce, Pierce (1), Pinder (1, 2), Poitier, Powell, Pratt, Pritchard (1, 2), Pyfrom (1), Rahming (1), Roberts (1, 2) (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), Robertson, Roker, Rolle, Russell (1, 2), Sands, Saunders (1), Sawyer (1, 2), Scavella, Seymour, Simms, Smith, Strachan, Stuart, Stubbs, Sturrup (1), Sweeting (1, 2), Symonette, Taylor, Thompson, Treco (1), Turnquest, Wallace, Watson, Weatherford (1, 2) (3), Weech, Wells, Whylly, Williams, Wilson, Woodside, Wright, Young Surnames in green have joined the project. Numbers following the surname link to their Y chromosome results.  Numbers within parenthesis share the same direct paternal line. Email peterebay@yahoo.com to include other surnames Seeking participants with direct maternal line ancestry from the Bahamas who are not direct maternal line descendants of the following matriarchs: Sarah Tedder? m. John Roberts, Wyannie m. Malone, Margaret? b. 1790? m. Joseph Albury, Eliza Ann Albury b. abt 1825? m. Henry Baker Johnson,   Susan Morton b. abt 1835 m. Gibson, Catherine or Caroline m. John Alexander Weatherford, Birdie m. Edward Roberts, Margaret L. Braddick b. abt 1799, Leviny Albury b. abt 1859 Spanish Wells, Ophelia Griffin b. abt 1824? m. John Tedder of Hope Town, Caroline Sawyer b. abt 1855 m. Ernest deVedig, Euphemia Russell b. 1862 m. Thomas H. Albury, Rebecca Outten b. abt 1838 m. King Taylor, Adeline b. ab 1840? m. Peter Saunders, Nica Johnson b. abt 1850? m. Henry Sawyer, Rachel Knowles or Millar b. abt 1840 m. Joseph Fox, Paulina Ann Dean b. ca. 1820, Long Island, m John Robertson Turnquest, Amelia Saunders b. 1867 Long Island? m. John Christopher Knowles, Sharlett Jane Culmer m. Thompson, Charity Johnson b. abt 1819 Harbour Island, Amelia Armbrister b. abt 1842, d. 1907, Julia Knowles b. abt 1820 m. Samuel Wells, Frances Pratt b. abt 1850 Long Island, Marion Cooper b. abt 1900, Exuma, Jemina Sands m. Noah Bethell, Margaret Elizabeth Curry m. Frances Key, Ann Elizabeth Stirrup b. abt 1850, d. 1892 Bimini m. Adolophus Weech, Mary Jane Moxey b. 1837, d. 1924 m. Joshua L. Thompson, Susannah Ridley born ca. 1720?, m. Nehemiah Dumcome, Mary Newbold b. abt 1790, Christiana Lowe b. 1848 Green Turtle Cay m. William H. Lowe, Elizabeth of Rock Sound m. John Bell Brady, Deborah Simms b. abt 1833 m. James Thompson, Louise Evelyn Bowe m. Aurthur Joseph Knowles, Mary S. "Mamie" Johnson b. abt 1868 of Harbour Island or Abaco, Louise Ellen Thompson, Mary Hall m. James Hall, parents of Elizabeth Hall b. 1803, Anne Pritchard b. bet abt 1836 and 1852 Long Island, d Long Island, m. Wiltshire Morley

Objective

The objective of this project is to support traditional genealogy in matching up individuals or families who share direct male or direct female ancestry in the Bahamas and to trace their origins in Africa, Europe, and North America.

The Plan

The Bahamas DNA Project will perform a Y-chromosome test on any male with direct paternal ancestry in the Bahamas.  The project will also perform a mtDNA test for men or women with direct maternal ancestry in the Bahamas.  However, the mtDNA test is more valuable in revealing deep ancestry and is less suited for genealogy purposes.  Women may also participate by recruiting a brother, father, or other male relative with Bahamian ancestry to take the Y-chromosome test.  The results will be maintained to match future Bahamian participants.  Current participants' results and genealogies can be viewed on this website.

Join

To participate in the Bahamas DNA study, please go to the Bahamas DNA Project page, and complete the "Bahamas Dna Surname Project" order form.  

Men should then order the Y-DNA25 - - Male 25 marker paternal test (or they may order the Y-DNA37 test) if they have direct paternal line ancestry in the Bahamas.  Men may also order the  mtDNAPlus test if their mother has direct maternal line ancestry in the Bahamas  Men who order both the Y-DNA and mtDNA test should order the Y-DNA37+mtDNAPlus test . 

Women should order the mtDNAPlus test if they have direct maternal ancestry in the Bahamas. 

If you are male, I recommend you order the 25 or 37 marker test (and not the 12 marker test) because it will provide enough information to prove a "close" relationship with another male.  The 67 marker test will sometimes provide additional information, but in most cases your money would be better spent testing one of your cousins who is a direct paternal (or direct maternal) line descendant of one of your other Bahamian ancestors.  If you are male or female I recommend you order the mtDNAPlus test (and not the mtDNA test) because it is has a better chance of revealing a recent relationship with another person. 

If you have trouble placing your order online, you may order by phone at (713) 868-1438.   Next, send a decendancy chart of your earliest known male ancestor in the Bahamas or your earliest known female ancestor in the Bahamas to the project's administrator, Peter Roberts, at peterebay@yahoo.com.

A test kit and concise instructions will be sent to each participant. The participant will in turn provide a mouth swab sample to be analyzed by FamilyTreeDNA.  This painless sampling technique, administered in the privacy of the home, involves simply the self-administered use of a swab to collect a small amount of cells from your cheek inside your mouth (See demo). When mailing the kit back to FamilyTreeDNA, participants outside the United States should write "swabs for genealogy purposes" on their customs form.   FamilyTreeDNA will forward results to both the participant and the project administrator about 8 weeks after the laboratory's receipt of the individual sample.  These results will include a report of the determination of a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) for the surname with a significant marker match.  Each participant will receive a report of his own results. 

The project administrator will add participant's results to this website..  Participants will be identified by their earliest known direct paternal and/or direct maternal ancestor and kit number only.  The project administrator will also add each participant's results to appropriate public databases namely http://www.ysearch.org/, http://www.ybase.org/, and/or http://www.mitosearch.org/.  The project administrator will be listed initially as the contact person on these public databases and the participant will be permitted to change their contact information if they wish.   Males taking the Y chromsome test may belong to the Bahamas DNA Project as well as a DNA project for their surname.  The project administrator will also add participants to their appropriate surname project.

Cost

FamilyTreeDNA provides a group discount for participants in its registered projects.  The 25 marker Y-DNA test is $148 plus postage.  The mtDNAPlus test is $189.   The 37 marker Y-DNA test and the mtDNAPlus test together are $339.   The postage cost is $2 to the U.S. and $4 to the Bahamas.  This is a private, non-commercial project for Bahamian genealogists, such as Peter Roberts, who himself receives no remuneration of any kind for coordinating this project.  If the cost is stopping you from joining the project, email peterebay@yahoo.com and ask to be listed with those seeking sponsorship.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an important part of this study.  Only the participant providing the DNA sample will know his results, unless he decides he would like to share his information.  The small portion of the Y-chromosome that is analyzed does not contain genes that relate to medical issues, except in some rare cases (about 1 in 4,000) this test may indicate that the participant is infertile.  The area of the mtDNA that is tested does not provide enough information from which to draw any conclusions regarding medical issues.  All samples will be assigned an identifying kit number.  This kit number will be the only identifying information available for viewing by others.  No one other than the project coordinator and the testing laboratory will know who participates in the study or which result is from which participant.  The portion of the DNA tested gives a distinctive "signature" for a lineage rather than for an individual, so there is no risk of the data being applied to personal identity for misuse of any kind.

Benefits of Participation

1. Determine if two people with your surname are related (and descend from the same ancestor).
2. Identify the genetic genealogy profile of your male family line.
3. Identify your ancestry when traditional documentary genealogical research methods have failed (provide clues or solve brick walls).
4. Identify where to focus and pursue additional traditional documentary genealogical research.
5. Verify that your traditional documentary genealogical work is accurate and scientifically verified (confirm a family tree).
6. Get clues as to the place of origin of your immigrant ancestor.
7. Find genetic cousins you did not know you had.
8. Determine if other surnames are variants of your surname
9. Prove or disprove a research theory.
10. Be an early participant in a state-of-the-art project which is contributing to the world knowledge base for this new and exciting field, genealogy by genetics.
11. Your DNA will be preserved for 25 years at no additional cost and you will be entitled to reduced "add-on" prices for other tests.

Project Time Line

June 2004 - The Bahamas DNA Surname Project was conceived and Web site was created.
August 2004 - Newspaper articles appeared in the Abaconian and The Nassau Guardian
May 2005 - Newspaper article appeared in The Tribune

Donations

Your financial support helps other participants pay for tests.  Your donation may be made to the General Fund administered by FamilyTreeDNA using credit card, PayPal, or cheque.  Enter "Bahamas DNA Project" for Surname Project.  Thank you very much to the following for their generous contributions.

Carol Lawrence pledges $25 towards a 25 marker Y chromosome kit to test an Adams with Abaco ancestry.

Donna pledges $25 towards a 25 marker Y chromosome kit to test an Adams with Abaco ancestry.

A Pinder pledges $20 towards a 37 marker Y chromosome kit to test a Pinder with Spanish Wells or Abaco ancestry.

W.R. Russell pledges $25 towards a 20 marker Y chromosome kit to test a Russell, from a line that has not already tested, with direct paternal-line ancestry in the Bahamas before 1830 or other Russell lineage acceptable by W.R. Russell.

Mick Roberts pledges to pay 50% of a 37 marker test for a Roberts with ancestry in Harbour Island from a line that has not already been tested.

Clair Johnson pledges $50 towards a 37 marker Y chromosome kit to test a Cash with direct paternal ancestry from Abaco or Harbour Island.

Peter J. Roberts pledges $10 towards a 37 marker Y chromosome kit to test a Cash with direct paternal ancestry from Abaco or Harbour Island.

Peter J. Roberts has donated $10 to help a direct maternal descendant of  Jeanett DARVILLE (b. 1845 Nassau) to order an mtDNA test.

Peter J. Roberts has donated 75% of a 25 marker test for a Roberts with ancestry in the Bahamas from a line that has not already been tested.

Megan Smolenyak has donated $250 in memory of Honoring Our Ancestors http://honoringourancestors.com/grants.html.   This donation reduced five participants costs by $50.00 per kit.

There are enough pledges to pay for two male line tests for participants with the same surname which was in the Bahamas prior to the loyalist period, and having an unknown direct paternal relationship).  Participants would only need to pay $10 each.

Yolanda Rotondo has donated $25 to anyone with direct-line paternal or maternal ancestry in the Bahamas.

Heather Blair has donated $20 to anyone with direct-line paternal or maternal ancestry in the Bahamas.

Wayne Wallace has donated $25 to anyone with direct-line paternal or maternal ancestry in the Bahamas.

Cynthia Gorman has donated $200 towards two 25 marker tests for two males with pre-loyalist Bahamian ancestry with the same (or similar) surnames and with an unproven direct paternal relationship.

Peter J. Roberts has donated $25 to anyone with direct-line paternal ancestry in the Bahamas, and $30 towards two 25 marker tests for two males with pre-loyalist Bahamian ancestry with the same (or similar) surnames and with an unproven direct paternal relationship.

Seeking Sponsorship

A direct paternal descendant of Archibald William George TAYLOR (b. abt 1799, Long Island, d. 2 Nov 1867, Long Island)

A 5th generation direct paternal line descendnat of Jacob Adams (m. Wyannie Malone II) of Abaco.

If you are willing to help them pay for their Y chromosome or mtDNA test, please donate at http://www.familytreedna.com/contribution.html and put Bahamas DNA as the surname project name.

A 4th generation direct maternal line descendant of Ophelia Griffin (4-141 in McAleer's Wyannie Malone Genealogy) wife of John Tedder.

A 4th generation descendant of Jeanett DARVILLE (b. 1845 Nassau) mother of Rosetta LaVAUGHN (b.1875 Nassau d.1938 Nassau)

A BRENNAN descendant with ancestry in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama.

A 6th generation descendant of Richardson Saunders.  The Saunders surname existed in the Bahamas from at least the 1720's on. I don't know if my line comes down from one of those families, though. My father used to say that his grandfather told him that our family were loyalists that came from Georgia after the Revolution, but that doesn't mean it was the Saunders surname; it could have been one of the families on the maternal side. I do know that Richardson Saunders (4th-great grandfather) died  at Abaco in 1822 (as per Sandra Riley's book "Homeward Bound"), that the family lived in Nassau at the time, and that he married a "Mary" @ 1794, probably at Harbour Island (where their son John was Born about 1 year later). I also recently got a copy of RS's will, and his five children are: John (my 3rd great grandfather), Henry Rowland, William Edwin, Jane Caroline & Charity Eliza (who married a Moore sometime before 1822).

A third generation descendant of Henry Collie of Acklins Island.   Henry Collie was described as part Asian.  It is not known if he was Euro-Asian-African or just Asian-African.  Also a fourth generation direct maternal descendant Ada Winder of the Berry Islands.  Descendant surnames in this line include Smith, and Dean.

Test Results

Bahamas Y-Chromosome STR Test Results other surnames will be added when they join

Understanding Results:  If two males match 21 out of 25 markers or better they likely share a direct paternal ancestor in a genealogical timeframe (since the introduction of surnames).  The closer the match, the more likely their shared ancestor lived more recently.

Y chromosome results for a direct paternal line descendant of ...

...William NEELY (kit 23288), born about 1820 in Eleuthera, reveal that his direct paternal line descends from Africa.   A comparison with African Ancestry's African Lineage Database indicates that he shares direct paternal line ancestry with the Tuareg ethnic group of Mali. 

... Cuffee JOHNSON born about the 1820's of Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, reveal that his direct paternal line descends from Africa.   A comparison with African Ancestry's African Lineage Database indicates that he shares direct paternal line ancestry with the Mende ethnic group of Sierra Leone. 

... Lewis HOPKINS born about 1810 of Grant's Town, New Providence, reveal that his direct paternal line descends from Africa.   A comparison with African Ancestry's African Lineage Database indicates that he shares direct paternal line ancestry with the Mbundu ethnic group of Angola. 

... Henry Cornish ALBURY born about 1811, reveal that his direct paternal line descends from Africa.   A comparison with African Ancestry's African Lineage Database indicates that he shares direct paternal line ancestry with the Ewe ethnic group of Ghana. 

... Jonathan DEAN born about 1890 of Mastic Point, Andros, reveal that his direct paternal line descends from Africa.  A search of the http://www.yhrd.org/ database shows that he shares direct paternal line ancestry (matches 10 out of 10 markers) with a man from Guiné-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau) in west Africa.  A study of Bantu lineages in Sub-Saharan Africa found his signature of 16, 21, 10, 11, 14 at 19, 390, 391, 392, 393 was found mostly in Guinea-Bissau.

... Pompey ADDERLEY born about 1830 of Long Island matches 9 out of 10 markers in the www.yhrd.org database with about 5 people living in Johannesburg, South Africa and 2 people from Mozambique. In the FamilyTreeDNA Recent Origins database he matches 10 out of 12 markers with a member of the Herero ethnic group of Namibia, Botswana and Angola.

... Henry COLLIE of Acklins Island matches 9 out of 10 markers in the www.yhrd.org with 1 man  from Rio de Janeiro (suggesting an area of origin popular with the Portuguese slave trade). He matches 8 out of 10 markers with 1 man from Johannesburg, South Africa and 1 man from Mozambique. This suggests to me his likely area of origin is southeastern Africa.

... Henry MAJOR born about 1735, indicate that his direct paternal line descends from North America.   The haplogroup predictor at https://home.comcast.net/~whitathey/predictorinstr.htm indicates that this haplotype belongs to haplogroup Q which is a common haplogroup among Native Americans.  In www.ysearch.org he matches 7 out of 8 markers with the Native American Y-DNA Q modal haplotype.

... Arthur Livingstone CUNNINGHAM matches 10 out of 10 markers in the www.yhrd.org database with 1 person living in the Cabinda. Cabinda is an enclave of Angola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However in the FamilyTreeDNA Recent Origins database he matches 10 out of 12 markers with 3 men from Gambia and 1 man from Senegal.

... Benjamin BRENNAN born about 1875 of Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama matches 12 out of 12 markers in FamilyTreeDNA's Ethnic Origins Database with a man from Zimbabwe.  In   the www.yhrd.org database he matches 10 out of 11 markers with a man from Cabinda, Angola.

... Theodore CURRY born 1837 reveal that he likely descends from The Clan Currie of Scotland (and not the Irish Currys). The ancient name of Clan Currie is Clan MacMhuirich. In the www.ysearch.org database his closest Y chromosome match is 22 out of 25 markers with someone with the surname Rich (whose surname is likely derived from MacMhurich or MacVurich). He is also matches 21 out of 25 markers with a Ririe who traces their ancestry to Aberdeen, Scotland. (Ririe, Currie, and Curry are all similar sounding surnames). The Curry participant does not match 6 other Currys/Curries who have had a Y chromosome test. Additional information on Clan Currie history is available at: http://www.araltas.com/features/curry/index.html and http://www.clancurrie.com/history.html

... John Leybourne indicate that the ancestry of his line is from Europe.  A SNP test reveals that he is P37.2+  which confirms that he belongs to Y chromosome subclade I1b1.  This subclade is mostly found in the Balkins and Sardinia.  He matches Lightburn with ancestry from Bermuda.

... Gideon Lowe (father of Capt. Gideon Lowe) indicate that the origin of ancestry for his line is from Portugal. In the http://www.yhrd.org/ database the participant matches 9 out of 10 markers with 2 people from Northern Portugal, 1 person from Central Portugal, and 1 person from Brazil. In the http://www.ysearch.org/ database his closest match is a distant 20 out of 25 markers with 1 person from Tanzania (on the East African coast) which boarders former Portuguese East Africa. The participant is unrelated to 11 different family lines in the Lowe Surname DNA Project.

... Don Juan MAURA suggest that his direct paternal line descends from the Berbers of western north Africa via the Moors of Iberia.  A SNP test shows that he is M35+ and and therefore belongs to haplogroup E3b. According to http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dgarvey/DNA/hg/YCC_E3b.html his 16 at DYS19 is rare for an E3b. Most of his remaining DYS values suggest he is E3b3.

... Freddie MAURA (b. 1890 Key West, FL, son of Annie Ponce De Leon of Nassau) reveal that he does not descend from Don Juan Maura.  He has several perfect (25/25) matches other FamilyTreeDNA customers with the Donahue and Morris surnames.  The Morris surname has both Irish and Welsh origins.  The Welsh origin is believed to be from the Latin personal name Mauritius (see http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.c/qx/morris-coat-arms.htm).   His results are also a perfect (25/25) match with the South Irish R1b haplotype in R1bSTR44 and therefore belongs to haplogroup R1b1c.

Results for a sixth generation direct paternal line descendant of Michael Mitchell DARVILLE (b. abt 1825 Long Island) reveal that he matches the Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype (WAMH) which belongs to subhaplogroup R1b1c of Europe.  As a result of being WAMH, he has several close matches with others with different surnames.   The shared direct paternal line ancestor for most of those close matches likely lived prior to the introduction of surnames.

Seven Roberts lines are proven to share a common ancestor  Y chromosome results indicate that descendants of John Roberts (kit 10142), John William Roberts (kit 29930), John Roberts Sr. (kit 28986),  Henry Roberts (kit 26830),  Benjamin Roberts (kit 13632 ), Calvin H. Roberts (kit 26925), and John Frederick Roberts (kit 13631) share a common ancestor since the first Roberts was recorded in the Bahamas about 1721.    Details are available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bahamians/message/18265 .   Their Y chromosome results show they are most likely of Celtic origin from the British Isles. Y chromosome results for descendants of the earliest Roberts family in the Bahamas indicate that their direct paternal line is from southern Ireland and they likely descend from the Eoganachts whose ancestor was Olioll Olum, 3rd century King of Munster. The results also indicate ties with some Scottish Clans. Details are available at http://home.comcast.net/~libpjr1/bahrobdna.htm  Deep SNP testing by http://www.ethnoancestry.com/ reveal that this direct paternal line is S21+ and therefore they belong to sub-haplogroup R1b1c9.

Kit number 08867 is a Roberts with ancestry in Marsh Harbour and whose great-great-grandfather was from Belfast, Ireland.  His direct paternal line shares ancestry with Clan Donnachaidh (i.e. Clan Robertson) in Scotland.  His Y-chromosome test results identify his earlier ancestry as Anglo-Saxon.  Close matches with other surnames indicate that his origin was in Northumbria and likely descends from the Angles of Bernicia.

Y chromosome results for BECKFORD show that he does not share recent paternal line ancestry with any of the more than 20,000 men worldwide who have made your Y chromosome results public. These results include eight BICKFORDs. The participant belongs to Y chromosome haplogroup B which is of African origin and is a very old and rare haplogroup (and especially rare outside of Africa). The participant is a sixth generation direct paternal line descendant of Joseph BECKFORD b. about 1790 in the Bahamas or Jamaica. The Y chromosome results suggest that this direct paternal line is descended from a slave of William Beckford, famous English author whose family were sugar plantation owners in Jamaica.

Kit number 55225  traces his ancestry to John Minns who was born in England and immigrated to Nassau about 1801.  His haplotype (Y chromosome signature) does not match any participants in the Bahamas DNA Project.  A search of http://www.ysearch.org/ and http://www.ysearch.org/ does not reveal any close matches in the British Isles even though those databases are dominated with entries with origins in the British Isles. His closest matches are 19 out of 25 markers with a person from Germany and another person from Italy. The http://www.yhrd.org/ database shows a 9 out of 10 marker match with someone from Singapore and another person from Romania.

Participant's surnames are listed alphabetically within their haplogroup