Wales DNA Project
Encyclopedia
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
ancestry on their Y chromosome
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in most mammals, including humans. In mammals, it contains the gene SRY, which triggers testis development if present. The human Y chromosome is composed of about 60 million base pairs...
and/or mtDNA lines who have been DNA tested to enter this information into one database in order to further the genetic research of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
' ancient populations. Membership has now reached 234. A long term goal is to establish a modal haplotype
Modal haplotype
A modal haplotype is an ancestral haplotype derived from the DNA test results of a specific group of people, using genetic genealogy.The two most commonly discussed modal haplotypes are the Atlantic Modal Haplotype and the Cohen Modal Haplotype...
for as many of the Welsh Princes as possible. See List of rulers of Wales. At present there are results representing one Lewis DNA line back to Rhys Goch ca 1100 and purportedly back to 300 AD. and a line representing the Lord Of Penllyn Rhirid VLAIDD (Abt 1175).
This projects differs from the Welsh Patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
Project in several ways. For one, mtDNA will be represented by those who have mtDNA lines back to Wales. For another, the emphasis is on geographic location of an ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
, i.e.; those who were there before 1800. If they were known to not be indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Welsh, this will be noted. It is hoped to collect the DNA results of descendants of the Marcher Lords
Marcher Lords
A Marcher Lord was a strong and trusted noble appointed by the King of England to guard the border between England and Wales.A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave...
; those rulers who controlled the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. Today those areas include Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
(all English counties) and Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
(a Welsh county). The western half of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
(England), as well as Denbighshire
Denbighshire (historic)
Historic Denbighshire is one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which covers an area in north east Wales...
and Flintshire
Flintshire (historic)
Flintshire , also known as the County of Flint, is one of thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which mostly lies on the north east coast of Wales....
(Wales) are also sometimes included.
Project goals
Due to the importance of determining the genetic profile of the indigenous populations of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, The Wales_Cymru_DNA Project will attempt to collect the DNA haplotype
Haplotype
A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...
s of as many persons as possible who can trace and document their Y chromosome and/or mtDNA lines to pre-1800's Wales. Many researchers believe that there was less replacement from invaders there than elsewhere, excepting small inaccessible islands and similar locales.
Tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
holds that the Celts retreated as far West in Wales as possible to escape invading populations.This DNA project seeks to determine the validity of this theory.
This project is open to descendants
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
from all of Wales.
The surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
list on the project site is by no means exhaustive. Many are pre-1066 names, considered to be Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic or Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, heavily influenced in some areas, such as Abergele
Abergele
Abergele is a community and old Roman trading town, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on the Irish Sea coast and is known for its beach, where it is claimed by some that a ghost ship...
. After 1066 there was Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
influence. From many of the surnames, several variations were derived.
Since David Beers Quinn
David Beers Quinn
David Beers Quinn was an Irish historian who wrote extensively on the voyages of discovery and colonisation of America. Many of his publications appeared as volumes of the Hakluyt Society...
stated in his book Roanoke Voyages that some of John White's colonists were from Wales, all persons of Welsh descent should check out the names of interest being sought by the Lost Colony DNA Project
Lost Colony DNA Project
The Lost Colony of Roanoke DNA Project was founded by a group led by Roberta Estes in 2005 in order to solve the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke using historical records, migration patterns, oral histories and DNA testing.- Project background :...
.
Every effort is being made to insure the integrity of this project and ensure its worth to researchers. It is an entirely volunteer project.