Project Newsletter #2
21 September 2004

Hello everyone.

We've just received the first few tests from the latest batch of Y-chromosome DNA numbers, and the result has been astonishing.  We now have our first unexpected match between two ancient (pre-1800) Burgess lines.

The families of William Burgess (b. ca. 1735) of Bedford Co., VA, and of William Burgess (d. 1712) of Richmond (later King George) Co., VA, have a common Burgess ancestor, probably not too far removed from the time these lines first appear in the American colonies.  There is no possible way that we could have demonstrated this connection from any surviving civil or legal records.

Both of these Burgess lines have significant numbers of descendants.  I'm quite sure that we will see more affiliations as additional results arrive in October and November.

As of today, we have sixteen participants in the project, with four more likely to appear in the next few weeks.  These represent twelve ancient Burgess lines, accounting for about 18% of all the Burgess individuals living in the United States today.

We expect to receive test numbers by October 17th for five individuals doing 12-marker tests, plus results from two enhancements from 12 markers to 25 markers by October 21st.  Two kits have been received by Family Tree DNA, but have not yet been scheduled or sent to the lab.  Three kits have not yet been received by FT DNA from the participants.  We won't get results on these latter five tests until sometime in November.

We now have a representative from the largest Burgess family in America, the line of Thomas and Dorothy Burgess of Sandwich, Mass., dating back into the early 1600s.  This is a very important Burgess family, with a huge number of offshoots.

I wanted to mention once more that I'm willing to pay for the first test from any major Burgess line currently unrepresented in the project, with me making that determination.  Specifically, I am looking for a male volunteer from the family of Col. William Burgess of Anne Arundel Co., MD.  This is another important early family, and it's one that is likely to affiliate with several other lines. 

I'll be updating the DNA test results section of the Burgess Genealogy page by the first weekend in October.  It's on my personal website, www.millefleurs.tv.

In non-genealogy news, I submitted my 100th book recently, 36 years to the month after starting the first one.  Those of you interested in such things will find more details on my website.

I'll be in touch again soon.

All best:

Prof. Michael Burgess