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TEST MY DNA!!! ARE YOU NUTS?

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To join this Barron DNA project click here
(You or the Barron donor must be a non-adopted male with the surname of Barron)

This page updated June 25, 2009 - 47 Barron Participants and Counting!!!
The Barron DNA Project continues to grow and now consists of 47 participants 46 of whose Y-DNA samples have been analyzed and whose results are posted on this website.  Nine Y-DNA participants currently are in the "unassigned" category; that is, there are no other participants whose DNA matches these individuals' Y-DNA signatures.  An interesting finding is that 34 participants (nearly 90 percent of the total group of Y-DNA participants) belong to the R1b Haplogroup (identifying ancient ancestry), the most common Haplogroup in European populations.  However, there are other Haplogroups also represented within the surname Barron.  Several unassigned participants belong to the I Haplogroup, a lineage likely with roots in northern France, found most frequently within Viking/Scandinavian populations.  And one Barron participant falls into Haplogroup Q, a lineage found in North and Central Asian populations as well as Native Americans.  This data highlights the fact that a shared surname does not automatically mean that there is any biological relationship.

Are you a Barron Descendent of this 5th Century Medieval Irish Warlord?
"Niall of the Nine Hostages" and Ruler over Tara

"Ruthless" "Cunning" "Brilliant" "Prolific"....All these words are used when describing one of the first great High Kings of Ireland, Niall Noigíallach.  Born around 342A.D., Niall was "the son of the Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedon and his second wife, Cairenn.  Some wicked-stepmothering from Eochaid's first wife, Mongfind, led to Niall having to overcome his half-brothers - who bore the evocative names of Fergus, Ailill, Fiachrae and, er, Brian - in the battle to be their father's successor."

"The epithet "Nine Hostages" derives from Niall's habit of borrowing people from other kingdoms and refusing to give them back.  Different accounts have them coming from a variety of places, but in the best-known version there is one each from the five provinces of Ireland, and one each from the Scots, Saxons, Britons and French.  Legend has it that another famous hostage of Niall's was Succat - you'd know him as Saint Patrick.

"Irish sources describe Niall's successful raids on Britain and France, and he was probably involved in establishing a Gaelic kingdom in north Wales.  At home, Niall consolidated power in the northern region of Ireland, creating the Uí Néill dynasty that would provide the High Kings of Ireland for centuries.  As well as the O'Neills, the Scottish clans MacNeil and MacLachlan can also claim descent from Niall.

"Tradition has it that he died in 405 - though some historians argue for a later date - at sea in the Channel (or in France, or in the Alps, or possibly in Scotland).  And despite his rampant and academically proven promiscuity, he was actually succeeded by one of the (presumably rare) young men in Ireland whom he hadn't sired himself - his nephew, Dathi."
<...from the U.K. Guardian>

For additional information on Niall of the Nine Hostages, Tara or any aspect of this subject, consult your encyclopedia or one of the many online reference sources.

How can we Determine Ancient Relationships to Contemporary male Barrons?
Modern day genetic technology allows us to very accurately predict the Y-DNA profile of some ancient ancestors.  This phenomenon is due to the fact that the genetic markers associated with Y-DNA mutate, or change, very little over long periods of time.  In fact, the average time between one small increment of change in the markers is somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years.  Consequently, a sample of a known and documented male descendent of any historical figure can be used as a baseline for all other contemporary males.  In the case of the Irish warlord Niall, there is ample evidence that the first 25 ancestral Y-DNA genetic markers will appear with the following values:

The first row of marker values above is the genetic "fingerprint" of Niall; the second row identified as "Bill Barron" contains the genetic marker values of William Nathaniel Gale Barron (kit #133570).  Note there is only one marker mutation shown and that is on marker 464a, a fast mutating marker.  Unquestionably, Bill is a direct descendent of Niall.

The third row reflects the marker values typical of the members of our Barron Clan 3.  While all 25 markers are important in our attempt to align family trees with one another, those markers above which have been shaded are regarded as pivotal in identifying Niall's descendents.  The marker values in the third  row which have been highlighted reflect  mutations that have occurred over the millennia.  So, although we cannot be absolutely assured of the Clan 3 being descended from Niall, in the words of Bennett Greenspan, President of FamilyTreeDNA, "They (Clan 3 members) are 22/25 yet have the very important 11/13 at 385 and the 14 at DYS 392.  The missing or different marker values are all ‘palindromic’ meaning highly volatile and less reliable when looking at a time span of 1500 (years).  I think that these guys (Clan 3) are R1b1c7 which is the 'cluster of Niall'…No one can say for sure if they are descendents of Niall or his fathers brother, but I think they are certainly in the cluster of Niall."

As the extended results of William Nathaniel Gale Barron continued to come in, it became apparent that he and the members of Clan 3 were possibly related, but almost certainly many hundreds of years ago.  FamilyTreeDNA experts calculate that there is a 72% likelihood of a common ancestor between Clan 3 and Bill Barron within the last 1,000 years, given that there is a "genetic distance" of seventeen (17) marker mutations between the two parties.  If we move further back in time to around the existence of "Niall of the Nine Hostages" or some 1,700 years ago, the likelihood of a common ancestor increases significantly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We currently have several participating family members descended from other notable Barron subjects, to wit:

THOMAS HUDSON BARRON (1796 - 1874) - Thomas H. Barron enlisted in the Kentucky militia and was in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, for which service he was granted 160 acres of land.  In late 1821 Barron and his small family were included in Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" and lived with Austin's first colony in East Texas for a year before returning to Arkansas for about a decade.  Barron later returned to Texas where he received considerable land acreage in return for his military service to the new republic of Texas.  In addition to being a pioneer settler of Texas Thomas H. Barron was a Captain of the elite Texas Rangers.  One of the Barron DNA Project Clan 1 members, Arlin Dale Barron, is a direct descendent of Thomas Hudson.  Click here to go to Arlin Dale Barron's website which has a great deal of information about Thomas H. Barron, as well as numerous links to additional data.

SAMUEL BENTON BARRON (1834 - 1912) - Samuel B. Barron was a lawyer and a judge, born in Madison County, Alabama.  Barron later moved to Rusk, Texas where he began his legal career.  At the beginning of the Civil War, Barron joined the "Lone Star Defenders" which later became Company C of the Third Texas Cavalry.  Barron authored a memoir of his life as a cavalryman in the book "The Lone Star Defenders," in which he recounted daily experiences in camp and field.  He was repeatedly elected to the offices of Justice of the Peace and County Clerk by his constituents in East Texas.  Brent Cody Barron of our Clan 2, is the first cousin, four times removed of Samuel Benton Barron.

JAMES BARRON (1752 - 1848) - Born to Joseph Elias Barron, Sr. and wife Ann Walker Barron in Pickens County, South Carolina, James served in the Revolutionary War as a Sergeant in the First Regiment under Captain Thomas Lynch.  In addition he was in the light dragoons under Captain Samuel Martin, Lt. Col. Polk and General Sumpter.  At least two of James' brothers, John (b. 1749) and William (b. 1755) also served in the Revolutionary War.   James died in the area of Atlanta, Georgia and his tombstone is marked by a Revolutionary War emblem (see photo).  John S., Charles Chester, Daniel and Bobby Dean Barron, all contemporary DNA participants in Clan 3, are descendents of James Barron.

HERE'S WHAT THIS DNA PROJECT MEANS TO YOU, THE BARRON FAMILY GENEALOGIST:  If you locate a common ancestor in any one of our DNA participants' family files, you can be assured that whatever "proven" documentation and research that is available through that participant (or any fellow Clan member) is absolutely pertinent to your research.  Equally importantly, you can discard without fear any and all Barron research that pertains to other members of the other clans.

A.  THE BARRON NAME IN AMERICA

The 1990 Federal Census listed about 42,500 Barron citizens in the USA, making Barron the 714th most popular name.  We have no idea how many family lines are represented in this number.  Surnames have been used for only about 800 years and were oftentimes chosen as a reflection of an occupation, a location or a personal characteristic.  Thus, a Barron male may be more closely related to a “Smith” male, for example, than another Barron male living in the same neighborhood.

The animated image on the left represents the population density of the Barron name in America, beginning with the census data from 1850, then bringing it forward through four more census years to 1990.  The reader can see how the Barron migration pattern compares to other family names that have ties to the Barron name by clicking here.

Deep blue represents 1 Barron per 10,000 U.S. residents; green represents 1 Barron in 1,000 U.S. residents and red (which never shows up) represents 1 Barron per 10 U.S. population density.

B.  DETERMINATION OF BARRON "CLANS"

"Clans" are by definition "groups of people who have a common ancestor."  The intent of this project is to place individual Barron DNA participants into their proper Clan.  This then will allow others in the same Clan to compare notes with one another and move forward in finding the most recent common ancestor.  NOTE:  In order for an individual to be assigned to any Clan, their 25-marker DNA test results must demonstrate at least a 25% probability of having a Common Ancestor within the past 24 generations with any other individual in a Clan.

By definition, "clans" imply that there are two or more people in a group, so until an individual DNA participant has at least one other matching participant, they will be placed in the "unassigned" category and will not have a clan number.

C.  ADMINISTRATION OF THE BARRON DNA PROJECT

The Barron DNA Project is an all-volunteer endeavor dedicated to identifying the various Barron lineages existent today in the USA and abroad.  The DNA technology used in this project is state-of-the-art and in some cases, cutting edge.  An 8-marker test for the Y-chromosome DNA was used to confirm the probability of at least one child born out of a  relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.  We will use a much higher resolution 25-marker (or, 37- or 67-marker) DNA test for our project.

We have initiated this project under the auspices of FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), a Houston-based company specializing in the commercialization of DNA technology.  FTDNA will provide us the tools of analyses and the internet web space to facilitate this search for our Barron ancestral lines.

Click here to review FTDNA’s overview of the value of DNA testing as it relates to our genealogical endeavors.  Pay particular attention to the interview with Professor David Roper and his quest for the descendents of Benjamin Franklin.

For pricing of the DNA kits, see FAQ number 8. (below, on this page).  To join our Barron project click here to go to the FTDNA website for the Barron project.  Review the material and decide if you (Note:  the Participant furnishing the DNA sample MUST be a non-adopted male with the surname of Barron, or derivative thereof!) want to participate, then click on the "Request to Join This Group" banner on the left side of the page.  You will be contacted by one of the Project Administrators and your order will be entered.  The kit will be mailed to your home address the next day.  Payment will be due only upon your return of the kit to FamilyTreeDNA in Houston, Texas.

Results will be posted on this web page and/or the web page on the FTDNA website.  Individual DNA results will be posted only if the participant has agreed in writing to divulge his DNA test results.

D.  COMPLETE DETAILED SPREADSHEET ON ALL DNA PARTICIPANTS

For complete DNA marker details for each participant, click on the "Public Y-DNA Results" banner at the top of this page and you will be linked to the Public Barron DNA Surname Project Page and view several data sets on the Barron DNA Project.  You can download these values into an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or to a pdf file.  By clicking on the "Mutation Analysis" banner at the top of this page, you will be taken to an analysis of the Y-DNA results, to date.

For a view of each participant's ancestral lineages, click on the "Clan Lineages" banner at the top of this page.

CALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

If you, or some other Barron family enthusiast would like to contribute any amount of money to our Barron DNA General Fund, please click here and you'll be directed to the secure FamilyTreeDNA web page that will allow you to contribute via credit card, PayPal or a mail-in check.  Your donation will be used to subsidize future DNA sampling and could well provide the impetus to some reticent Barron male to submit their DNA for testing.

Another Barron line may well be proven to exist due to your consideration!

For additions, corrections or comments regarding this specific website, please send an e-mail to:

Patrick Childress, website author & Barron DNA Project Co-Administrator
You may also e-mail Barron Project Co-Administrators John Barron and/or Vicki Kruschwitz