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The Lancaster and Satterthwaite Surname DNA project. |
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The Lancaster and Satterthwaite Surname DNA project. |
This project is a volunteer-run genealogical project, open to all families potentially affiliated with any surnames potentially related to those mentioned. It is run by participants, for participants, and affiliated with ISOGG, and not any single commercial lab. (We are recognized by most major testing companies working with genealogists.) This webpage and most associated with it are kept up-to-date, more-or-less, by Andrew Lancaster. The project and its webpages are work in progress, and may contain errors. If you think you see something you want to copy, please contact the author (andrew.lancaster@skynet.be) to give us a chance to update you on the latest possibilities.
Main links:
Results page 1. All Satterthwaite related surnames, and all "E haplogroup" Lancasters.
See also the results table on its own.
Results page 2. All Lancaster, Lancashire, Lankshear surnames in the "R haplogroup" the most common male line amongst European men.
See also the results table on its own.
Results page 3. More Lancasters, in other haplogroups, mainly the "I haplogroup" the only surviving human male line likely to have been in Europe before the arrival of farming technology.
See also the I haplogroup results table on its own.
Our webpage on the Family Tree DNA website, which is the company most participants have used so far.
Participation:
The more participants, the more value this project will have to us and future generations. So please spread the word!
Concerning testing, see here on our separate page. You need to have a volunteer male with one of our surnames.
There are also other ways of providing assistance to this project for relatives (not male, or not having one of the key surnames) and genealogist friends of these families. Options include sponsorship, coordination and research. Please contact us for more ideas.
Participants and their family genealogists receive invitations to our project’s discussion group which allows closer discussions to compare notes between participating families.
Also do not forget that on the internet there are numerous more general discussion forums for various surnames and regions. Most of our participating families also participate in such forums.
History of the Project:
Started in 2004 in order to further genealogical study of the Lancaster surname.
Expanded to related surnames such as Lancashire, Lankshear, Lankester, and Lanchester because these names are all known or suspected to have once been considered variants of Lancaster.
Expanded to surnames related to the hamlet Satterthwaite because we have discovered as one of our first conclusions that many or most families with these surnames, though forming a large and widespread group themselves, are in the same male-line as one of the biggest groups of Lancasters defined by us so far. The details make it clear that the families are related very far back. There is also a separate webpage concerning this second surname group, and another webpage specifically concerning the DNA match.
We also welcome membership and correspondence with other families who we have found to have close genetic links to our main surnames.
Genealogy with DNA:
BACKGROUND READING on how “genetic genealogy” works: click HERE.
Typically genealogists are in genealogy because of…
(a) An interest in knowing who they are and who they are linked to,
(b) An interest in getting a feel for what historical times were really like, and
(c) The challenge of solving mysteries.
Y DNA study fits with all of these motives by identifying the defining DNA characteristics of your paternal ancestry, as passed down from fathers to sons over generations, just like the surnames that usually go along for the ride. So what Y DNA gives us as genealogists is effectively another type of “source document” that we can put with all their other clues in order to confirm some theories, and reject others – at least when it concerns a male line where we know of living male-line descendants.
For many genealogists DNA testing also satisfies one more interest, not covered by traditional genealogy, and that is the scientific interest in the history of human migration throughout history and even pre-history. For example, participants who use the services of Family Tree DNA, who might be interested in ancient human migrations, are also able to have their mitochondrial (mt) DNA or their SNP markers tested at group rates, and they can also become involved in other projects which study these things, for example a “Haplogroup project”.
The test is very easy. A simple firm wipe inside your mouth is sufficient. A few short areas of DNA on the Y chromosome are then checked. The Y chromosome is the part of a man’s DNA which gets passed more or less exactly from every father to every son – which in principal is what surnames also do. This means that in order to take part in this project you need to find a willing Lancaster, Lanchester, Lancashire, Satterfield, Satterthwaite etc male. If you have a choice of closely related men, then the general rule is to select the oldest one.
It is important not to wrongly over-rate or under-rate the value of DNA testing for genealogical research. Unrealistic expectations that solutions to long-standing genealogical mysteries will simply come flowing back from laboratories on the first day lead surprisingly often to very interesting leads being forgotten or not noticed, and in many cases it even leads to people feeling that DNA testing is a waste of time – which can effectively put a damper on a whole project. Put simply, while surprises do happen, and while it is undoubtedly true that most projects have only small databases so far, one of the most important things to remember is that DNA studies normally require quite a bit of old style research in order to come up with good hypothesis and good confirming evidence. It also requires teamwork: your DNA needs to be compared to something.
There is no conflict between “old style” genealogy and “genetic genealogy”: they need each other! Once you realise that, you never know what you’ll find!
It always important to keep in mind that the DNA results themselves only compare unbroken father-to-son lines of relationship. This is not the same as “families” more generally, but only one aspect of what defines one. The DNA does NOT give us genealogical miracles which allow us to avoid also researching “paper trails”. It is one more tool for the tool kit!
DNA Results and Discussion:
Please click the below links to go to information about family results so far grouped according to their Y chromosome’s “haplogroup”. Haplogroups are very ancient “families”, typically thousands or tens of thousands of years old. Families who are not in the same Y haplogroup are never related in any meaningful sense through their paternal ancestry (of course they can and will be related in other ways through non-male lines).
We have the following sections, which have each been given their own webpage:
The E-M35 Haplogroup. Also known sometimes as E1b1b, or previously E3b. Our project two quite distinct Lancaster male lines in this branch, both within the E-M78 sub-branch of E-M35. This part of our project includes all the Satterfield and Satterthwaite discussion.
The R-M173 Haplogroup. Also known sometimes as R1, and containing R1a, R1b etc. This is by far the most common haplogroup in Europe, and within our project it includes many different male-lines including the Catholic Maryland Lancasters, the Lancasters of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties, Virginia, the Lancasters of Henrico Co, VA, and the Quaker Lancasters of Bucks Co, PA.
Other haplogroups, including haplogroup I.
1. The header of this webpage uses the Red Rose graphic symbolizing Lancaster and Lancashire which can be found on English Wikipedia. Click on the Rose to go there.