Thurber Surname DNA Project

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Thurber/

The Thurber Surname

Until recently, the first known family with the surname Thurber was the family of immigrant progenitor John and his wife Priscilla who were in Swansea MA ca 1668. Family lore of some Thurber descendants claimed this family was from a small parish called Market Stainton in Lincolnshire, England. Extensive research has failed to locate any reference to the Thurber surname in Lincolnshire. More recently, the recorded baptisms of John (bap. 1625) and his known children were discovered. The records were located on the south Devonshire coast of England. The full information on this exciting discovery will be made public in the Winter 2023 edition of “The NEHGS Register,” published by New England Historic Genealogical Society.

John Thurber and John Thurber (assumed to be John, husband of Priscilla, and their son Capt. John) are listed as signers to be inhabitants of the Town of Swanzey. According to History of Swansea pages taken from UMASS interactive course, New Swansea's grant for township was petitioned at the court of New Plymouth in 1667. The agreement was made between the Church of Christ, meeting at Swanzey, and Capt. Thomas Willet and associates. It was dated 22 Feb. 1668/9 [source: Early Rehoboth, Vol. I, by Richard L Bowen, p. 36]

The Thurber name was continued through the four sons of John and Priscilla- Capt. John, James, Thomas, and Edward. Thurber researchers often refer to the Thurber lines by the names of the sons.

In addition to these four Thurber lines, there are two others, commonly named for Benjamin Thurber and Isaac Thurber.

Benjamin Thurber was born about 1720 possibly in Providence or Portsmouth, RI. He married Elizabeth Hallett in 1747 in Warren, RI. His parents have never been determined. Since the Thurber surname was not a common one, it is assumed Benjamin was somehow connected with the immigrant progenitor John Thurber (c. 1625-1705). The question that remains is whether he was an unrecorded son of a Thurber male, adopted by a Thurber family, or born to an unmarried Thurber woman who gave him the Thurber surname.

Isaac Thurber b. 27 January 1768 is thought to be a son of Benjamin Thurber and Elizabeth Hallett.

The Thurber DNA Project



Project Goals

The Thurber DNA project was initiated to determine whether Benjamin Thurber and Isaac Thurber were direct descendants of John Thurber, the immigrant through the male Thurber line. For the individual participant, it would also determine if he was descended from the immigrant John Thurber.

The Thurber Family Tree DNA project findings

The Thurber surname DNA project was a Family Tree DNA project using the Y-DNA test. (See below for an explanation of Y-DNA tests)

The project’s first results were recorded in 2006. By 2018 the Family Tree Y-DNA test results included 9 exact matches. Although not all participants provided a paternal ancestor, there was sufficient information to confirm that Benjamin and Isaac were direct descendants of immigrant ancestor John Thurber. The results of additional research into family trees of these participants shows four were descendants of Benjamin, one of Isaac, four of immigrant ancestor John (bap.1625), and one of Amasa Thurber b. 1818.

All the other participants have unique haplotypes. This may be because of what are called non-paternity events, most typically adoptions and infidelities. Some lines may go back to a Thurber woman whose son took his mother's surname..

Y-DNA testing

The Thurber DNA project used the Y-DNA test. As the name suggests, this test is performed on DNA from the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is present in males only. This is the sex-determining chromosome passed on directly from father to son and can remain unchanged for hundreds of generations. Testing the Y chromosome provides information about the direct male line. The locations tested on the Y chromosome are called markers. Occasionally a mutation (a small changes in the DNA sequence) occurs at one of the markers. This is a natural occurrence and happens at random intervals. Mutations are estimated to occur once every 500 generations per marker. Because mutations are random, it is possible (although rare) for brothers to have non--matching results from a Y-DNA test, while more distant relatives, such as cousins could match. Mutations can sometimes be valuable in identifying branches of a family tree.

Since surnames are also usually passed from father to son, the Y-DNA test is ideally suited for single surname studies. In recent years, the cost of DNA testing has come within the reach of families tracing their surname. Given the amount of time and expense that many families have devoted to their research, taking part in a Y- DNA project is now an excellent solution to confirm a surname or possibly break through a "brick wall."

Importance of the paper trail

Paper records should be combined with Y-DNA testing in trying to prove (or disprove) a theory or connection between two males with the same or similar surname. The paper trail helps to establish that the participating male must be from an unbroken male direct line. Participants in the Thurber DNA project were males who had a father named Thurber, a grandfather named Thurber, a great-grandfather named Thurber, and so forth. It had to be an unbroken male descent from the surname Thurber.

There can be unusual circumstances that create exceptions. Although it is usually the case that the male being tested in a surname project must "bear the surname," there can be exceptions. This is where a paper trail would play a role. For example, take the case of a divorced Thurber male whose wife after the divorce either resumed her maiden name or remarried. A young son who remained in the custody of his mother might take his mothers new surname. If the paper trail showed that at some point in the line the name was changed and the change was retained through future generations, then this non-Thurber male and his male descendants would still have been eligible to participate in a Thurber Surname Y-DNA project. Another exception would occur in adoptions. An adoptee would be eligible for testing in the surname project of his biological father. There could be other reasons for a name change. The important thing is that the paper trail showed an unbroken direct male biological line to a Thurber ancestor.

Non-matching results

Any participant in a DNA project should be prepared for the possibility that the test results may not match what he has believed is his family history. Traditional "paper" research may have led him to believe one thing, while the DNA testing may show something different. Although he may be disheartened to find that his Y-DNA does not match others with his surname, he should remember that this is only one line of his family tree.

If the goal is to get an accurate picture of a family tree, then the non-matching results may have provided an important clue to an anomaly in the line of that surname.

In addition to finding the results do not match other Thurbers, testing may show results actually match some other surname. Although at first glance this may be exciting and appear to provide a clue to some anomaly in the Thurber line, it may also have little meaning if the match is to a common surname. It could be that the matching participants share a common ancestor before the establishment of surnames.

When a match to a different surname occurs, it is important to refine the testing to include additional markers, if possible. In many cases the "match" will not hold up. If it does, then the next step is to review the research to see if there is evidence of an adoption, surname change, or extramarital event. If there are no obvious clues, it's reasonable to assume that the match is to a common ancestor prior to establishment of surnames, or as the result of convergence- where both participants' results match as the result of mutations.

Reasons for non-matches

Why does a person with the Thurber surname not match other Thurbers? Or why would someone with a different surname match a Thurber Y-DNA result?
  1. Adoption. In the past, when a woman was widowed with children, and remarried, the children would often take on the surname of the new husband. There may not be a formal record of adoption for this. The children simply started using the surname of the stepfather. If there were vital records from that era, birth and marriage records may provide evidence of the event. There were also times when a family took in an abandoned child, and the child assumed the surname of the family without formal proceedings.
  2. Extramarital event: It has been estimated that between 2 and 5 % of all births are extramarital births.
  3. The two participants had a common ancestor preceding the adoption of surnames.
  4. One of the participant's ancestors changed his name. There are many reasons for this, including personal preference, or even a husband assuming his wife's surname to prevent her surname from becoming extinct in her family tree. The surname could also have changed form when migration is combined with illiteracy. The Thurber surname is one that is suspected to have begun with immigrant ancestor, John Thurber. It is possible that with increased participation in DNA projects, clues will develop to help identify the original surname.
  5. An orphan was given a surname selected at random.
  6. Convergence. This is when a matching test result comes from mutations over time that led to two different surnames having a matching result today.

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