Note: This Project is an all volunteer effort; it is not a commercial entity. Barbara Poythress Neal serves as the volunteer Group Administrator of the Project; she does not receive any funds for coordinating participants' DNA results. She has no connection or affiliation with the company being used for the testing.
General Background on Surname Project
Our surname is a relatively rare one. In England, the POYTRESS surname has been around for more than 400 years. In America, people of the POYTHRESS surname have been here for almost 400 years. The earliest of the name we have found is Francis Poythress, who came to America prior to 9 Feb 1632, when he was in James City County, Virginia. We know he served as a factor (or an agent) for a London merchant, Lawrence Evans, in the year prior to Sep 1637, and served as a Burgess representing Charles City County, Virginia in 1644 and later. (See citations for these and more early information at our website's "17th Century Records" section)
The apparent christening that researchers have found in England to be this man, was Francis POYTHRESS, christened on 12 July 1609 at Newent, in Gloucestershire, a son of John PEWDREIES (who owned nearby Ploddy House until 1647/48). Another son of John PEWDREIES of Newent, Christopher POYDRAS, was baptised in early Sep 1616, according to St Swithun's Parish Register, Worcester. Christopher did not leave England and left many descendants there who spell the surname POYTRESS.
To better determine whether the current POYTHRESS and POYTRESS surnamed people indeed descend from one progenitor, this Surname DNA Study Project was launched in June 2003. It is open to any male, in any country, born of a father who was surnamed Poythress, Poytress, or other possible spelling variations.
DNA Testing as a Genealogical Research Tool
DNA testing is a valuable tool developing for genealogical research. An introduction is below regarding this non-invasive genetic DNA testing, and how such tests give valuable information in our genealogical searching. More detailed information is available at the website of the company (Family Tree DNA) being used for this Study: www.familytreedna.com
That company has an excellent reputation, and is very professional. The answers to many Frequently Asked Questions appear on their FAQ page: http://www.familytreedna.com/faq.html
To join the project, go to our Study's page at: http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_det.asp?group=Poythress
For Surname Y-DNA Studies, the company gives a substantial discount off the price that would be charged to an individual not affiliated with a Surname Study. The price of the 25 marker test thus drops to only $169 (from $229). If you are interested in participating in our Study, and need assistance in affording it, please privately contact our volunteer Group Administrator, Barbara Poythress Neal: bp_neal@earthlink.net
Anyone interested in helping to sponsor a participant (perhaps the father, brother, or uncle of an interested female) can also contact Barbara to discuss how this can be accomplished.
Surname DNA Study projects look at certain distinct markers within the Y Chromosome of the DNA, which is a small part of the DNA that a father passes to his son. Since these markers are consistently passed through the male line, the markers occur in the men of that surname: thus Poythress or Poytress surnamed sons inherit them from their Poythress or Poytress surnamed fathers.
The Poythress/Poytress Study Methodology
For our Study, we are using the more detailed 25 marker test available for Y-DNA (thus testing 13 more markers beyond the basic 12 markers).
The test is as easy as brushing one's teeth. The DNA test kit consists of a cheek scraper and a collection tube. Using the cheek scraper is similar to brushing the inside of one's cheek with a soft-bristled toothbrush.
The Y-DNA test kit does not test for any disease, or hereditary condition; it looks only at 25 specific markers within the man's Y Chromosome.
When men match one another exactly on all 25 of 25 markers, and when they share the same surname (or variant), the scientists report that those two factors clearly demonstrate they are related to one another. Their reports get more technical, and give terms of probability, for example with 50% probability that the their Most Recent Common Ancestor (or MRCA) lived no longer ago than within the last 7 generations (or within about 175 to 210 years, using about 25 to 30 years per generation between father and son), and with 90% probability that their MRCA lived no longer ago than the most recent 23 generations.
When the markers of tested men of the same surname (or variant) vary just a bit, by only one or two "points" on only one or two of the markers, the probability of them being closely related is still very, very high. Such a slight variation as that comes from normal slight mutations that develop within the Y-DNA, over a period of time.
Thus when testing a number of men of the same surname (or variant), results begin to show sub-groups of men develop, who are more closely related within various branches of the same surname line.
Preliminary Findings
In our Poythress / Poytress Surname Y-DNA Study, in the first few tests we have found that all the men match on 12 of 12 of the basic 12 markers, and within the 25 markers we are already seeing one distinct group of men develop, along with several other men whose markers vary only very slightly from that group. We will be working with more customary genealogical source materials (including census, tax, land, Bible, etc records) and looking for such source materials that are harder to find in our effort to determine how the various branches relate to each other.
If you have further questions, please personally contact our volunteer Group Administrator, Barbara Poythress Neal: bp_neal@earthlink.net
Detailed findings and analysis will be posted to this website as the study progresses.
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