A group of male Ellisons/Allisons
have organized a Y-chromosome DNA project. Fathers pass their
Y-chromosomes, or "DNA fingerprints," down to their sons with
little-if-any-variation, from generation to generation. Therefore, men
with identical, or near identical DNA fingerprints (some minor variation
can occur), can be genetically proven to be descendants of a common male
ancestor.
I am the coordinator of the project. The first two participants were
Allison males who had traced their ancestry back to Orange and Rockland
counties in the American colony of New York during the 1600s and 1700s.
Our project has grown to 14 participants and we are still adding more
participants. We have already received the results of eight DNA tests
from the lab and we're beginning to see a pattern developing.
Through the use of DNA analysis we've recently discovered that four
seemingly different lines of Allisons who lived in New York in the 1600s
and 1700s are actually all related and all are descendants of Lawrence
Ellison. He was from England before he migrated to the American
colonies after 1632. Lawrence and his family and other families settled
first in Massachusetts, then in Connecticut and finally in New York. We
learned that the four lines are related when the DNA of four different
men with the surnames of Allison and Ellison was tested and all four
of the men were informed by the DNA analysis company that they have
matching DNA scores. Prior to their DNA analyses, the men had not known
each other but now they are working together trying to find the
connections between their ancestors.
Three of our DNA
project participants trace their Ellison/Allison ancestry back
to Lanarkshire, Scotland in the 1600s. Two live in the U. S. and one
lives in New Zealand. One man's DNA score has been received from the
lab and we're waiting for the results of the other two men's DNA tests.
We want to find out if they have matching DNA scores. If they do,
they'll have excellent evidence that they share a common ancestral line
from Lanarkshire.
Seeking male volunteers
with the ELLISON or ALLISON surnames for a DNA study to determine if the
early ELLISON/ALLISON immigrants from Scotland to America in the 1600s and
1700s were related or if they decended from several different genetic
lines of British Allisons/Ellisons. In order to discover which Ellisons
and Allisons share a common paternal Ellison/Allison ancestry, we need
living males with the Ellison or Allison surname who descend from the
various Ellison/Allison colonial ancestors to become participants in our
ELLISON/ALLISON surname Y-chromosome DNA Project. Fathers pass their
Y-chromosomes, or "DNA fingerprints," down to their sons with
little-if-any-variation, from generation to generation just as surnames
are passed from father to son. Therefore, men with identical, or near
identical DNA fingerprints (some minor variation can occur), can be
genetically proven to be descendants of a common male ancestor.
The cost per Y-chromosome DNA test is $99 for a study of 12 DNA markers
and $169 for 25 DNA markers. All that is required is a swab of cells from
the inside cheek, payment for the test, and a pedigree chart showing your
paternal Ellison/Allison line of descent for 5 generations. For those of
you facing brick walls with your ELLISON/ALLISON ancestry, this is an
opportunity to possibly find which
family you belong to or to rule out which ones you don't belong with.
Volunteers will be personally notified by the DNA testing company of the
names and addresses (including e-mail) of other men who match their DNA
scores, which will enable them to share genealogical research and work
together to determine who their common ancestor was and where he came from
originally. For more information about how to become a participant in our
ELLISON/ALLISON surname DNA Project, how to place an order for a DNA
sample kit and to ask other questions about the project, please contact
me by e-mail (if you have e-mail) or by snail mail, if you don't.
Contact Mary Allison Yonan, Project Coordinator, by e-mail at:
yonan@fgi.net |
