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Was your Robert Britton born in Suffolk in 1803?  It ought to be possible to go back further than 1803.  I agree that you need documentation for everything, but I live in Virginia and was able to trace my Lindsey family and allied lines in Oxfordshire back to the 1500's and 1600's, using mainly PR's from the IGI and wills ordered at the local Family History Library, although I did have help from an English cousin who went to the Oxfordshire record Office for a few items we couldn't get elsewhere.

Do you have any Britton relatives available to test?

Lindsey

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

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

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