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I am addressing this to various individuals who may (or may not) be
interested in learning of a recently initiated Churchill Y-DNA project.
The origin of the American Colonial Churchills has been speculated for
centuries. Several of us have started a Y-DNA genesis project as an aid
to determine the origin of the three families documented by The
Churchill Family in America along with the American Colonial Virginia
Churchills.
For those participating in the project, this is a status report.
If you are not interested in receiving future status reports, please
notify me. I will remove you from this list.
Contact me if you want information on Y-DNA testing or are interested in
participating.
What is DNA and DNA testing?
Each cell in our bodies contains a substance called DNA. The DNA is in
two forms mt or maternal DNA received from our mother and Y or paternal
DNA received from our father. Cell DNA contains the instructions to
build, determine and maintain the function of cells. All males have one
set of mt DNA and one set of Y DNA. Females have two sets of mt DNA,
one from their mother and one from their father.
Upon conception a father passes a copy of either his Y DNA or his mt DNA
to the egg. If the egg receives his mt DNA the child will be female.
If the egg receives his Y DNA the child will male.
Y DNA passes essentially unchanged from father to son. However, on
occasion, randomly a slight mutation occurs altering the Y-DNA. Y DNA
can be analyzed to determine a unique identification or signature of
the male. Thus, for male Churchills, our Y-DNA signature is usually
identical to our father and will be essentially the same as the Y
signature of our ancestral Colonial progenitors -- except for minor
mutation.
The mutations provide useful information. On a large time scale
mutations occur on a regular basis so they can be used to estimate a
distance in generations to a common ancestor. For example, Harry
Churchill and I are distant cousins rather far removed from each other.
When we test, our Y-DNA signatures should be mostly the same but with
differences due to the 9 and 11 generations we are removed from each
other and our common ancestor the 17th Century John Churchill of the
Plymouth Colony who should be our most recent common ancestor.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
1.) Determine the relationship of the American Colonial Connecticut,
Manhattan, Plymouth, and Virginia Churchills to each other and whether
the progenitors were related.
2.) Determine the English family groups to which the American
Colonial Connecticut, Manhattan and Plymouth Churchills belong.
One interesting aside has developed with regard to American Colonial
Virginia Churchills. The Virginia Churchills, of course, are the only
Colonial Churchills for which the English progenitor is known. Their
progenitor was a William Churchill of North Aston, Oxfordshire. In
England, historically there were two major lines of Churchills. The
West Country or Devon Churchills who were first researched and reported
in the 17th Century by Sir Winston Churchill, the Marlborough
progenitor. The second are the Churchills of Oxfordshire. Both
families trace themselves back to around the 13th or 14th Century but
from different parts of England. Thus, the Virginia Colony progenitor,
William Churchill, is know to have been of the English Oxfordshire
Churchills. In the early 20th century, Williams Virginia line was
documented down a number of generations. However, today there are no
known modern Virginia Churchill. Several individuals believe they may
be Virginia Churchills but none know for certain. So we have no one in
the US who is verified as of the Colonial Virginia family.
To work around this Virginia identity problem I have gone searching in
England for confirmed living members of the modern Oxfordshire
Churchills. Modern Oxfordshire Churchills will have the same DNA
signature as the 17th Century William of Virginia and so can be used to
identify present day US members of the Virginia Churchills. So far I
have found one Oxfordshire Churchill but he has not yet agreed to test.
I should have firm word this coming week. I have an Oxfordshire, year
2000 election roll containing the names and addresses of about 100
Oxfordshire Churchills and will began mailing out queries next week in
search of additional Oxfordshire test subjects.
We have one Churchill who is interested in determining if he is a
Colonial Virginia Churchill. I understand that there are more but so
far none have stepped forward.
STATUS REPORT of TESTING:
As of today three test kits have been mailed out by DNA Heritage our
testing company.
Plymouth Churchills:
I am one of the test subjects and have my kit. My sample will be on it
way to the lab Monday. A test kit has been mailed to the other Plymouth
test subject.
Connecticut Churchills:
A test kit has been mailed to one of the Connecticut Churchill test
subjects. The second test subject has not yet signed up with DNA
Heritage.
It is important that we have at least two test subjects for each family
in order to confirm that the resultant Haplotype (the DNA signature) is
correct, that is to say it was not contaminated and the laboratory read
it correctly.
Regards,
Bill Churchill