Berry Family DNA Project

[langolier]

This message is directed to all Berry (all spellings) surnamed persons.

I am co-coordinator and webmaster of the Berry Family DNA Project, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~langolier/BerryDNA/dna_home.html, which at present has 44 members. 

Unfortunately, all of our members to this point are from the States.  From these, we have identified 21 separate and unrelated Berry lines but very few, if any, have been able to connect back with England.

I know it would help us, and am hopeful someone over here will be able to recognize and point out how participation by English Berry folks will help further your genealogical research also.

I invite you to take a look at the site and consider joining and being tested.  The test is a simple oral swab but since the object of the test is Y-DNA it can only be done on males.  You ladies will need to find and enlist a Berry surnamed father, brother, uncle or cousin to take the test for you.

As always, the downside is that the test is not free.  Our tests are administered by Family Tree DNA.  You can also take a look at their price schedule from the site to determine if it would be worthwhile to join.

Please take a look, and I will be happy to try to answer any questions about the  Project that you might have.

Thanks,

jim berry

[Nick Carver]

My great grandmother was a Berry. I'd be happy to participate but don't know if that would exclude me.

[langolier]

Hi Nick,

     We'd be glad to have you but in order for you to participate you would need to  find a living male Berry surnamed cousin that you could sponsor.  Obviously, it would be good to have confidence in your 'paper' connection to him. 

     In addition to the matching of the markers of the Y chromosome, matching of the surname is an important factor.  We do have a 25 marker match to a different surname that we are presently investigating and think that there may have been an 'informal' adoption in the form or one family raising another's child.

     Testing a Berry cousin would not verify your Carver line but it any matches could verify the Berry portion of it and lead to the discovery of cousins stateside.  I don't know how anxious you would be for that result but I'm sure it would be very exciting for the discovered cousin over here.

Thanks for your reply,

jim berry

[Nick Carver]

Okay. I will ask my uncle who was actually raised by his aunt and uncle (a male Berry) and who still lives in Grimsby where my gg grandfather settled with his 14 children. There should be one living relative in the area.

[langolier]

That would be great, Nick!

     I'm fairly certain that my roots are Irish or Scots-Irish but we have several participants in the study that are of English descent.  To the best of my knowledge none of them have yet made the connection back to England.  A match would be very exciting!

     Hope you are able to find one.

Thanks,

jim

[Nick Carver]

My Berrys originate from Cheshire - Altrincham to be exact, so perhaps an e-mail to the secretary of the Cheshire FHS to pass on to any Berry members (if there are any) would be worthwhile.

[Nick Carver]

I take it you are familiar with one of the better known members of the Berry family - William Berry, the official hangman in the 19th Century? I believe he was a Yorkshireman, so probably not related to my Berrys