Britton Genealogy & DNA Project

[LPlantagenet]

If you are tracing your Britton ancestry, we invite you to join the Britton International Genealogy & DNA Project.
 
The Britton Project is a scientific study designed to establish the origin of Britton families around the world. The project is open to anyone interested in researching the Britton name; however, only Britton men or men who descend in the male line from a Britton male are eligible for DNA testing.
 
The project uses a simple cheek swab test to identify markers on the Y-chromosome; since only males have Y-chromosomes, females must participate indirectly by finding a male relative to represent their line. This relative may be a father, grandfather, uncle, brother or cousin, either close or distant.
 
The Britton project runs at Family Tree, DNA Heritage, and Ancestry, and test kits may be ordered from  these companies, but we will also accept DNA results from any other company of your choice. No fee or subscription is required for membership in the Britton project.
 
Our main website may be found at World Families where the complete Britton DNA database is available along with brief lineages for most of the participants and genealogical, historical, and heraldic information for early Britton families in England. Participants from all countries are welcome.
 
For more information on the Britton Project, please write to me or visit our website at World Families:
 
http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/britton/home
 
Sincerely,
 
Dr. Lindsey Britton, Administrator of the Britton Project

Moderator comment: email address removed to prevent spam and other abuses.  Please reply on the thread until Lindsey has enough posts to use the Personal Message system.

[percy porter]

The link makes interesting reading, there is of course a cost involved.

Alan NZ

[LPlantagenet]

Thank you--I'm glad you enjoyed the link.  The only cost is the test for Britton males who want to participate in the DNA Project.  Prices and options vary, so I always suggest that new members look for the best value and lowest price, although many prefer Family Tree because it  hosts more surname projects than any other company.  I wish we had a corporate sponsor willing to underwrite the cost of all tests so expense would no longer be an issue, but alas, such sponsors are hard to find.  I have offered to reimburse anyone who matches my family and can help us find and prove our English ancestry, but so far no one has matched us.  We belong to a rare Viking subgroup and probably originated somewhere in eastern England.  Anyhow, the lowest cost test I'm aware of is offered by Ancestry for $99 US dollars, and although it isn't the highest resolution available, it should be adequate for most purposes.

Lindsey

[coombs]

I have Britton relatives from Essex.

[percy porter]

The furthest I have manged to get back is to Hoo in Suffolk in the late 1700s' and from this side of the world am not likely to get back further as I am unable to accept any ancestors for which I have no documentary proof.

Alan NZ

[LPlantagenet]

I wouldn't be surprised by a connection  between Brittons in Essex and Suffolk.   Some of the Bretons of Layer Breton had land over the border in Suffolk and also in Cambridge, Northants., and Norfolk. 

I feel quite sure that at least several of the mediaeval Britton families  I have been tracing in various English counties  have male-line descendants living today.  If we could find a few representatives of these old families with good proof of their descent, then we could identify other descedants of the same families by matching their DNA.   No one would have dreamed of doing such things even a decade ago, but we have a very good chance of doing it now if enough of us work together.

RE: Essex--we have DNA results for two men who were tested by SMGF and claim descent from the same Britton family living in Essex in the 18th century.  If you can find a Britton male relative willing to be tested, we can easily determine whether he matches this family and shares common ancestry.

RE: Suffolk--do you have any Briton relatives living in your part of the world?  If you do , you might talk to one of them about taking a DNA test,--we could at least get your family's Y-DNA signature and see whether it matches any other family in our database.  As the database grows, your chances of getting a match or finding someone who can help you break down your brick walls will increase.

What I like best about DNA is that it gives a quick, definitive answer as to whether two Britton families are related, and traditional genealogical research, as important as it is, cannot always do that.

Lindsey

[coombs]

My John Britton was born in Felstead in Essex in 1775.

[LPlantagenet]

I'll make a note of it, and if I can find any information on him, or meet anyone else who descends from him, I will let you know.

Lindsey

[percy porter]

Apart from my youngest son whos second name is John there is only one other John in the family tree and he is John Robert (1863).
There were three generations of Robert, 1803, 1842 and 1880 from then on the popular name became Stanley, which went through three generations and stopped at me.

I have not so far managed to trace back beyond the 1803 Robert.

Alan NZ