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- Written by: Eric Burgess
Burgess Surname DNA Project Report #15--Mar. 2006
We're got some great new results to report.
The Y-chromosome DNA numbers from the family of Achilles Burgess of Wake Co., NC, match those of Thomas Burgess of Elbert Co., GA; the latter may be the same individual as Achilles's son, Thomas. In any case, they definitely have a common male ancestor.
Two samples from the family of William Burgess of Middlesex Co., MA, match two other Burgess lines: William Burgess of Hartford Co., CT, and Ralph Burgess of Cheshire Co., England. This links together three different lines not previously known to be connected. William of Hartford may well be descended from William of Middlesex.
A descendant of Armstead Burgess, son of Keziah of Bedford Co., VA, has matched at 25 markers with multiple samples from a Hale family descended from Nicholas Hale of Lancaster Co., VA, the ancestor of most of the Bedford Co. Hales. Although further research must be done on these lines, this strongly suggests that Armstead's father was a Hale (we know he probably wasn't a Burgess).
An African-American descendant of John Burgess of Henry Co., VA, has matched with a participant from the main line of this family; he's believed to be descended from a servant in the household of one of the existing member's Burgess progenitors; we hope to sign him for the Project shortly.
We simultaneously received results from two descendants of William Burgess Jr. and Jane Pigg of Pittsylvania Co., VA, matching that family with William of Bedford Co. This is the ninth and final branch of the combined families of William of Bedford and William of King George to be linked genetically with this family group.
We've also received numerous test enhancements; these are beginning to show minor differences in the numbers for some of the major Burgess lines, and are helping to delineate their respective branches.
We now have 87 members of the Burgess DNA Project.
The rest of my remarks are directed to the Project participants.
There are 5 test kits currently outstanding, several of them ordered just recently. We obviously can't get your results until your kits are returned to FT DNA, so please expedite them. The oldest dates back half a year.
28 of you have uploaded your data to the free YSearch database, and one of the two members who has done the MT DNA test has uploaded his matrilineal data into Mito Search. I urge all of you to follow suit. This is very easy to do from the Family Tree DNA website, but if you can't figure it out, just write me, and I'll walk you through the process or do it on your behalf (but none of these changes will ever be made without your permission).
34 of you still have the default setting in the Set-Up Preferences section on your personal page at FT DNA. When you initially return your kit to Family Tree DNA, they establish a separate page for you and give you a password to access it (together with your kit number). As Project Coordinator, I also have access to this information.
The default setting restricts your data to being compared only within the Burgess Surname DNA Project. If you click on the Set-Up Preferences, you can change this setting so your numbers are compared generally with all the numbers in the FT DNA database, giving you a much broader set of potential matches. Since we want to see more matches, this is almost always a very good thing to do. Again, I'm happy to help you with this.
Four of you have attached your Burgess family ancestral information to your personal page at FT DNA. In order to do this, you have to have your genealogical data organized into a program that will generate a GEDCOM file. Again, this is a free option at FT DNA, and one that I encourage everyone to use.
We have our first order for the new sub-clade haplotype test, and I'll report back to the group on the significance and use of this test whenever we receive the results.
We're making great strides in linking together previously unconnected Burgess family groups. The key is increasing the number of tests until we reach a critical mass. Yes, we're still getting some unique numbers and probably always will, but not as many as before. It's encouraging to see some of our earlier members with unique markers beginning to link randomly with other families.
We should reach 100 participants by summer. I'll be updating the website (www.millefleurs.tv under the "Burgess Genealogy" link) in the next few weeks. Please review your ancestral data to make sure that it's accurate. The e-mail links on the site were apparently down for a few weeks, but have now been restored.
Thanks again to all our members for making these marvelous results possible. Many more tests are currently in process, so keep watching those numbers fly! I try to update the site monthly.
All good wishes:
Prof. Michael Burgess
- Details
- Written by: Eric Burgess
Burgess Surname DNA Project--Report #14, Jan., 2006
We've had some exciting new results posted in the last few weeks. These include an exact 37-marker match for a descendant of the Lawrence Co., KY, Burgess line out of William of Bedford Co., VA--he matched 37 for 37 with two others, one of them also out of the Lawrence Co. family, the other out of William of King George Co., VA. 37-marker matches are very rare.
We also had two interesting test enhancements (from 12 to 25 markers) in the conjoined families of Edward Burgess of Pittsylvania Co., VA, William Burgess of Montgomery Co., MD, and Samuel H. Burgess of NC. These results, combined with two 25-marker tests already in hand, seem to confirm that there are individual genetic signatures for the Edward and William lines, with Samuel's descendant matching the numbers of William's family (suggesting he's out of that branch, or at least more closely related to it).
The tests in each branch match each other 25 out of 25 numbers, but only match those in the other branches 24 out of 25; the variation appears to be consistent within each group, with William and Samuel being considered one group. This is exactly why I'm encouraging those members who can afford to do so to enhance their tests at least to 25 markers.
Finally, we also received a test result from a British Burgess which doesn't yet match any of the others in the Project, alas.
We also had a number of new members sign on at year's end, and a significant number of test enhancements were ordered--so we have much to look forward to as the results begin appearing in January and February. We now have 76 participants.
The rest of this message is addressed specifically to our participants:
There are a confusing array of options and databases available to our members from FT DNA. These are considered more completely in the new "Project Participants' Page" that I recently added to the Project website (www.millefleurs.tv, under the "Burgess Genealogy" link).
When you return your completed Y-chromosome DNA test kit to Family Tree DNA, they create a personal page for you, which you can access by logging in with your kit number and password at the main page of the FT DNA website (www.familytreedna.com). (If you can't find these numbers, please tell me.)
The personal page has a number of linked options listed. Under "Set-up Preferences," the default option limits the comparison of your number markers to just those individuals in the Burgess Surname DNA Project. Since we want to match our test results as widely as possible, I strongly recommend that you change this to the second option, matching your results against the entire FT DNA database. If you can't figure out how to do this, just contact me, and I'll be happy to act on your behalf.
The GEDCOM icon allows you to upload a GEDCOM file of your ancestral data, if you choose to do so. This data then becomes available to those individuals who have a close match with you.
The Genographic Project is a joint venture of National Geographic Magazine and FT DNA. Individuals who've initially joined the Genographic Project get a 12-marker test kit, and then are given the option of transferring their data to FT DNA and also of joining a surname project. Individuals who've already been tested through FT DNA can also opt, if they wish, to upload their data into the Genographic Project at an additional cost of $15. I did this myself, and got back a nice little report about the general migration of my haplogroup through ancient Europe--but received no additional genealogical data. Although I welcome the two participants who've joined us from the Genographic Project, I can't recommend this test for our other members.
The Y-DNA Matches icon also includes a link to YSearch if you haven't already uploaded your numbers to that free database. YSearch provides a publicly accessible search engine (by surname and number) to Y-chromosome DNA test results. A hidden link is provided to your e-mail address, so that individuals who match your numbers have the option of contacting you. I strongly recommend this free service to all of our members, since we want to generate as many number matches as possible. Again, if you can't figure out how to do this, just contact me, and I'll be happy to act on your behalf.
The Haplogroup link uses a computer model to project your haplotype. Most of us fall into either group R1b (Western Europe, the newest and commonest of the groups) or "I" (Northern Europe), with a scattering of others. If no projection is provided, you can order a test to determine your haplogroup for $65. This isn't necessary in most cases.
FT DNA has just started offering a "Deep Clade" test at $79 for selected haplogroups: E, I, G, J, Q, and R1a (R1b is NOT currently included). These tests break down the haplogroups into further subsections, and are ultimately intended to show geographic distribution of these fragmented populations. However, I'm not certain how much information these new tests will actually provide, and until I can see the utility of them, I can't recommend them. The link for ordering this test is buried at the bottom of the last text paragraph of the Haplogroup page, if you belong to one of the available groups (or their subgroups) mentioned above.
Your personal page includes an "Order Tests" icon in the top right-hand corner of the page. This link allows you to order additional enhancements and other tests.
Also available through FT DNA are several mitochondrial DNA tests (mtDNA), which can be done by either sex. This test shows your connection to your ancient matrilineal ancestry (mother to grandmother to great-grandmother, etc.), but is NOT generally useful for providing genealogical data, unless you're trying to trace the parallel descent of uninterrupted female lines. The mtDNA test adds nothing to the Burgess DNA Project.
There's also a link at the top of your personal page to update your contact information: address, phone number, e-mail address. Please keep these current. We've now had matches that have occurred a year after the initial test, and I expect the intervals will grow even longer with certain small families, as the Project ages and the database grows. If I can't find you, I can't inform you of any future matches!
Also at the top of your personal page is a "Join" box to allow you to join other DNA projects at FT DNA, if appropriate. For example, someone from the Davidson Project recently joined the Burgess Project, because they appear to be descended from one of our Burgess lines. FT DNA allows you to simultaneously join more than one project without additional cost.
Finally, I want to thank all of those individuals who contributed funds to support the Burgess Surname DNA Project. These have now all been expended to order new tests or enhancements of existing tests.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does.
- Details
- Written by: Eric Burgess
Burgess Surname DNA Project--Report #13, Dec. 2005
Dear Burgess Cousins,
I'm happy to report that we now have 71 participants in the Burgess Surname DNA Project. We also have several major new DNA matches.
Just in the last month, we've received three new additions to the connected lines of Edward Burgess of Pittsylvania Co., Virginia, and William Burgess of Montgomery Co., Maryland. One of these results, descending from Samuel H. Burgess (b. 1795) of North Carolina, cannot be readily connected to the other two lines, and may represent an entirely new branch of this family; there's no doubt whatever of the relationship, however. Two of the three new matches in this family arrived through the Genographic Project sponsored by National Geographic Magazine.
We also have three new matches in the conjoined lines of William Burgess of King George Co., Virginia, and William Burgess of Bedford Co., Virginia, including a first for the project. We had a random match this past month for a descendant of Joseph A. Davidson (b. 1802) of Lawrence Co., Kentucky; he matched 36 out 37 markers with the William of Bedford family. Davidson married a granddaughter of William in the 1820s. Since Y-chromosome DNA can't be inherited through the female line, there had to be some other connection here. We've decided that he must have been an illegitimate son of one of her male Burgess uncles.
Finally, we have our first random match between an old British Burgess family and an American Burgess line of Colonial times. A descendant of William Burgess of Hartford Co., Connecticut has matched with an offshoot of Ralph Burges (b. 1555) of Cheshire, England. Either William is descended from Ralph (the likeliest prospect), or the two had a common ancestor living before Ralph's time.
My personal website, www.millefleurs.tv (under the "Burgess Genealogy" link) has just been updated to reflect the new information; please check it out.
- Details
- Written by: Eric Burgess
Burgess Surname DNA Project--Report #12
Dear Burgess Cousins,
It's been four months since my last report. During the first week of June, I was handed a writing assignment that took me most of the summer to complete. This means that I'll have three novels coming out in late fall, all under my pen name, Robert Reginald--but it also required that work on the Burgess project be put aside for a while.
We had a number of DNA results this summer, including three matches with the Thomas Burgess line of Massachusetts (one of these was not previously predicted), and a tentative match with either the line of Edward Burgess of Pittsylvania Co., VA, or with that of his cousin or brother, William Burgess of Montgomery Co., MD. We won't be able to tell if this match is real until we enhance the record to 25 markers.
We also had three results that currently do not match any other record in the project.
We obviously need more volunteers, and we need to enhance some of the records that we have to either 25 or 37 markers. I urge those of you who have sufficient financial wherewithal to begin doing this on a gradual basis with your own records, or to volunteer to enhance those of your known cousins. No further testing is required for enhancements. I also urge those of you who have expressed interest in the project, but have never actually signed on, to do so now. If you don't have the money, I'm willing to pay for any test out of my own pocket, if I think it will help add some vital information to the project.
Alas, I have some bad news to report as well. We started this Project in the summer of 2004. Just a year later, we've had the first reported deaths of Burgess Project participants. In recent months Sam Burgess, Gene Burgess, and Jim Burgess have all passed away.
I didn't know the first two gentlemen, but my seventh cousin Jim Burgess was a career submarine captain and a good man. He was just the second individual to join the Burgess Surname DNA Project, and he signed up immediately for a 37-marker test. This ultimately proved to be of great importance to the development of the overall project. He and his family survived two close brushes with major hurricanes in the summer of 2004. I remember him telling me then that he had moved inland "just to escape this sort of thing." He and the others will be greatly missed.
All good wishes:
Prof. Michael Burgess
- Details
- Written by: Eric Burgess
Project Newsletter #11
18 May 2005
Dear Burgess Cousins,
Three more DNA results were reported during these past few weeks, and we have three more matches to announce.
The John Burgess family of Lawrence Co., Kentucky, has now been linked genetically to William Burgess of Bedford Co., Virginia. Genealogists have long speculated about the possible connections between these two lines; we can now confirm that they actually exist. With this result, we now have numbers from descendants of three of William's four sons, and these markers match each other 12 out of 12, a 100% match.
This family's profile also matches the number markers present among seven descendants of the five branches of the family of William Burgess of Richmond (later King George) Co., Virginia, through a common ancestor that dates back at least to the mid-1600s, either in Virginia or in Europe.
There are several early land-owners named Edward and William Burgess living in the coastal Virginia counties of King William and King and Queen in the early 1700s; these may be possible candidates for William of Bedford's father. Unfortunately, the civil records of both of these counties were lost during the Civil War, and very little survives today.
Two other families have now been linked to Thomas Burgess of Sandwich, Mass. One of these lines was located in Washington Co., NY, but the family was intermingled in the county records with a large Burgess group known to be descended from John Christian Burgess (originally Burger?), a Hessian immigrant from the Revolutionary War era. We can now confirm that the likely ancestor of the George Burgess Sr. and Jr. who derived from Rensselaer and Washington Cos., NY, was Benajah Burgess, a descendant of Thomas Burgess Jr., eldest son of Thomas Burgess of Sandwich, MA.
These new results point toward a developing trend in the Burgess DNA Project. The known larger Burgess families are beginning to break out from the pack, with multiple random affiliations becoming apparent, even from families whose ancestral information was largely unknown before their participation. The large families are showing more random matches simply because they have a much greater descendant base, and this trend should continue into the indefinite future.
Of course, we still have a number of families with unique DNA profiles, and we probably always will, even though some of these will undoubtedly find matches of their own as the project continues to develop. If a Burgess family has been created relatively recently through a break in the chain of descent, or if for whatever reason it has a relatively small number of present-day descendants in the male line, establishing matches becomes that much harder and takes somewhat longer.
The relative sizes of different Burgess families often has very little to do with each line's antiquity. There are five branches extant of the family of William Burgess of King George Co., VA, who died in 1712. They've all been extensively researched by me. Two branches account for about 5% each of the total male descendants in the line, two for 20-25% each, and one for over 40%--and that "one" actually represents just the offspring of the third son of the ancestor in question. Each branch started out with three adult male sons, so there's no obvious reason why there should be such disparities in the numbers of present-day offspring--but there are.
I knew when I started this project that the family of Thomas Burgess of Sandwich, Mass., was the oldest--and probably largest--Burgess line in North America, and this is generally proving to be true. The same assumptions have been made about a number of other Burgess lines with multiple correlations. I would expect to find a few more very large families emerging from the project over the next year.
The questions that we have about possible overseas connections, both with Britain and with its former colonies, have yet to be answered, but I'm confident that they will be answered in due course. The key is more participation from Burgesses in the British Isles. As the project becomes better known, we'll begin seeing some astonishing linkages.
As always, please check my personal website (www.millefleurs.tv, under the "Burgess Genealogy" link) for updates to the DNA project, and for additional Burgess family data which I'm compiling from the early records. Dan Burgess has kindly cumulated the previous versions of these occasional reports at his own website, www.burgesslegacy.org.
Finally, for those of you who are interested in such things, I've just sold a new book, the second edition of Codex Derynianus (with Katherine Kurtz), which will be published in trade paperback by Underwood Books in October of 2005.
All best:
Michael Burgess