I started tracing my family history about 10 years ago and discovered that my great grandmother Ivy Edith was surnamed Willsman. I didn’t realise just how unusual a name it was/is until I started tracing her ancestral line. I also became aware during census searches etc that the surname seemed to be Devon-centred.
I believe I have finally found the link between my Willsman family and the Welsman family of Sidbury. I have started a One Name Study on my great grandmother’s surname of Willsman, and have set up a DNA project, to establish if the Willsman and Welsman families are linked. The Y DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father, his father, and so on back in time. So only men bearing the surname Welsman, Wellsman, Willsman or Wilsman have the right DNA. This might also be able to tell us if the name is connected to any Welshman families.
A DNA project is an opportunity to uncover information not provided in the paper records, such as which lines are linked, are all people with that surname related, etc. The test is a harmless genealogy test using a cheek swab (like an ear bud) of a man’s cheek cells, the test result is a string of numbers, and reveals no medical or personal information.
I have started a DNA Project for the Willsman, Wilsman, Welsman and Wellsman surnames, which can be found at
https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=WillsmanThe goals of the project are to:
• Discover information to help with our family history research
• Discover which family trees are related
• Discover information to help with brick walls
• Confirm surname variants
• Validate family history research
• Get on file a DNA sample for trees at risk of extinction of the male line
• Discover information about our distant origins
The study’s Profile Page on The Guild of One Name Studies website is here -
http://www.one-name.org/profiles/willsman.html.
I’d love to hear from you!
Liz Jones
