Burgess Surname DNA Project Report #16--April 2006
We had a really neat four-way match this last month with our latest Y-chromosome DNA results. A descendant of Timothy Burgess (1735?-1807) of the Kershaw District, South Carolina, eldest son of Thomas Burgess (1715?-1792) of Orange and Pittsylvania Cos, Virginia, had joined the Burgess Project more than a year ago, but had never had a match until just recently. And then, quite suddenly, three other individuals matched with him in just a matter of weeks.
The other two persons, however, were descended from Warren J. Burgess of Van Buren Co., Arkansas, and John Burgess of Union Co., South Carolina, whose ancestors were unknown. I now believe that both of these lines derive from Rev. Thomas Burgess Jr. (1750?-1828) of Warren Co., Tennessee, the second son of Thomas Sr. Thomas Jr. is believed to have moved from Pittsylvania Co. to Spartanburg Co., South Carolina, and from there to Warren Co. by 1807.
Thomas Jr.'s children are not well delineated. I think John may be his oldest son, and Warren J. Burgess may be a grandson by another son (possibly Warren Burgess of Warren Co., TN, who is listed in the early tax lists of Warren Co. with Thomas, and who later served in the War of 1812, after which he disappears). We hope that further research in the records will firm up the genealogy of these lines.
We also had a match between John Burgess of Humphreys Co., TN, and Alexander Burgess, who are listed with their families on adjoining lots in the 1850 census. Their ancestor may be Auzey Burgess of neighboring Dickson Co., TN, who appears there on the 1820-40 censuses. Another individual associated with this line is Plummer Burgess, who appears to have died childless.
However, the numbers from a descendant of William of Bedford Co. failed to match as projected, so there has to be a break in this line. This is the third such anomaly that we've encountered in the Project.
We now have over 100 participants, so congratulations to everyone for achieving this landmark goal.
My personal website (listed at the bottom of this message) has the most recent information on the Burgess DNA Project, including a list of current members and their ancestors. It's updated every couple of months. Any participants who do not wish to be listed by name have only to tell me so, and I will suppress their given names on the website. As Project coordinator, I receive copies of all the reports that you receive, and I have access to all of your personal pages. If you want to change any of the defaults on your pages at FT DNA, or want to upload your data to YSearch--and don't know how--please write to me for instructions, or send me a note directing me to act on your behalf. I'm happy to help in any way I can.
In January, Family Tree DNA renamed Haplogroup R1b, to which 80% of us belong, as group R1b1, to correspond with current usage. FT DNA is now offering a "deep sub-clade" test for those who belong to this group and others, and I've ordered one of these for myself. This basically subdivides the haplogroup into smaller pieces. Another member has ordered a similar test for his "J2" group. I'll report back on the results at a later date, but I don't expect the R1b1 sub-clade test to provide much more information, since it's already known that about 80% of the group falls into subgroup "c"--in other words, R1b1c--and this represents a very, very large number of individuals.
In March, FT DNA substantially reduced the price of Y-chromosome test enhancements (enhancing a test from 12 to 25 markers now costs just $49), and they also added a new test for 59 markers. There are now four basic Y-chromosome DNA tests available: for 12 markers, 25 markers, 37 markers, or 59 markers. Each of these cuts the average elapsed time to the participant's Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) in half, from roughly 600 years (12 markers) to 300 years (25 markers) to 150 years (37 markers) to 75-100 years (59 markers). In other words, this latest enhancement brings the MRCA down to the level of our great-grandfathers. Wow!
I've ordered a 59-marker test for myself, and will report back to the group on the results. The more affluent among us are certainly invited to do the same--but I need to emphasize that in most cases, a 25- or 37-marker test is quite sufficient to determine whether two Burgess lines are actually related to each other. The higher-level tests do allow us to delineate minor number variations that accrue in different branches of a large family--and the Burgess Project is dominated by a half dozen very large Burgess lines.
Each time a Y-chromosome number changes, that change is passed down to all of the male descendants of that person. The alteration pattern is very slow in most families, so the more numbers you test, the more variations you're going to find.
Finally, I've authorized Wildside Press and Amazon.com to do a facsimile reprint in hardcover and paperback of my 1994 book, The House of the Burgesses, which is down to just a handful of remaining copies. This will be available sometime next fall. The book has not been updated, and it only covers the descendants of William Burgess (d. 1712) of Richmond and King George Cos., Virginia. If I publish anything further on this family, I'll probably do so as a supplement to this 700-page volume.