Several of our name variation lists have recently been discussing tales of
Henry Kinne of MA and/or the alleged knighthood of his ancestor Thomas. One
member sent the below email suggesting I forward it to you (I made some
minor edits). I think his first paragraph is hilarious!
Many people (including some McK- variations) claim a connection to the
alleged "Sir Thomas" line. DNA is silent on the matter of knighthood - but
it can establish a DNA "fingerprint" for the line. Two males who believe
they descend from the line have tested but they do not match. At this point
we do not know if the non match is due to incorrect documentation or a
"false paternal" event (such as an unknown adoption or an unfaithful Mrs. K
somewhere down the line). We do not have enough information to declare
either result as that of the Thomas line. Another participant did match one
of these tests, but his line only goes to 1820 and hence tells us nothing as
to whether or not this is the Thomas DNA signature.
Thus we are eagerly hoping for a third male descendant of old Thomas (male
carrying the surname and hence the Y chromosome) to participate in the
study.
From: "Douglas Kinney" <Paladin1(a)attglobal.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 7:20 AM
Subject: [KINNEY] Alleged Sir Thomas -- Let's get scientific
Ladies and Gentlemen of the List:
Dozens of us over three generations have wasted money on the College of
Arms
and kept the Heralds prosperous telling us there was no Sir Thomas.
Might I suggest we clear the air with some science -- at a one-time cost.
I have asked
Georgia to forward this to the List if she concurs that it is time for a
reminder, Georgia is at the heart of the Kinney Y-chromosome project to
help surnamed Kinney males locate their common ancestor via the almost
unvarying Y chromosome passed (only) from father to son, father to son,
father to son over millennia. What few variations there are in the Y
chromosome tell one something about different branches of a common tree.
Please ask any Kinney/Kinne/Keane/Other variants surnamed male to consider
participating in the Family Tree DNA study which involves a paid genetic
analysis of the Y chromosome (only one of our 46 chromosomes) done from a
simple Q-tip sample from inside the cheek.
With kind regards,
Douglas S. Kinney
_____________
Link to DNA results:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gkbopp/KINNEY/Research/results.htm
This result page also includes a link to Frequently Asked Questions