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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2006-06 > 1151173268


From: "Steven Bird" <>
Subject: Thomas BIRD of Braintree, Essex and Hartford, CT; Y-DNA haplotype found!
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:21:08 -0400


Greetings all listers:

The Y-DNA haplotype of Thomas BIRD, who probably originated in or near
Braintree, Essex about 1600, and died in Hartford, CT shortly before 10 Aug
1662, has been determined by DNA testing. Three distant cousins, all male
lineal Bird descendants of the two known sons of Thomas Bird, have been
tested for their Y-DNA profiles. Two were descended from James Bird, one
from Joseph Bird. All three matched; the two descendants of James Bird
matched 12/12 and the Joseph Bird descendant matched with one of the James
Bird descendants 20/21. (Different testing protocols resulted in the rather
odd number of 21 markers compared.) The haplogroup found in this case was
an unusual E3b subclade (representing just 2-3% of the historical
British population, it is estimated). Most Brits are R1b ("Western Atlantic
Modal Haplotype") or I (Nordic/Viking) haplogroups. (Both Celtic and
Anglo-Saxon male descendants are R1b's.)

Results are currently posted for Kit 53928, which correspond to the
descendant of Joseph Bird. They appear in orange at the bottom of the
results table. Full results for the second and third cousins tested will be
posted within in a few days to the Byrd DNA Project (which also covers any
spelling variation such as Bird, Burd, etc.)

The web address is:

http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/b/byrd/results.html


Any lineal male descendant named Bird (or any variation on this name) is
encouraged to join the Byrd DNA Project. Just click on the tab labeled
Recruitment at the above website to be taken to the signup page at FtDNA.
We would especially hope to encourage testing by any lineal male descendant
of the Bird family historically from Essex county, England, where Thomas
Bird was likely to have originated. If such an individual has been tested
already by another testing facility, such as Oxford Ancestors, the results
may be used directly to compare without any further testing. Please contact
me directly if you have such results or are interested in being tested.
There is a modest charge for the testing procedure. (Note: I do NOT work
for FtDNA! I paid the same fee as everyone else.) :-)

Two of the three cousins tested have fully proved genealogical paper trails
from Thomas Bird and the third had a good, if not fully proved, pedigree
from the same person, gathered well before the comparison. With the DNA
match, the third pedigree may now also be accepted as essentially correct.
The only DYS marker that did not agree between all three men was DYS 385a:
in the case of the two sons of James it was allele value 18 and in the case
of the son of Joseph it was 19. DYS 385a and 385b are known to mutate
quickly, that is, at a faster rate than other markers. It is likely that
Joseph Birds descendant is the one with the mutation, with the marker
increasing by one repeat over eleven generations from 18 to 19. This is
expected, and helps to predict the number of generations to the Most Recent
Common Ancestor (MRCA). In this case, the MRCA was predicted to be found
no more than 12 generations ago; almost a perfect bullseye.

One of the major implications of this testing is that of the E3b haplotype
itself. The subclade appears to correspond to a male originating on the
southern Balkan peninsula in the region known once as Thracia or Thrace
(presently parts of Greece, Macedonia, southern Bulgaria and the European
portion of Turkey), a Roman province. A deep clade (SNP) test is presently
under way to determine the exact subclade of E3b for this haplotype, but all
comparisons with published examples of various haplotypes, found in the
scientific literature, seem to indicate that the subclade will be "E3b1a" or
the subclade believed to originate in the southern Balkan peninsula.
Results are expected in late July.

The presence of Thracian soldiers in the Roman army in Britain is
well-attested in the military records, bronze plaques and stone monuments of
the period, of which many have survived. The most likely scenario involves
this Thracian soldier, recruited into the Roman army and being sent to Roman
Britain sometime between 43 A.D. to 400 A.D., with the most likely time
frame being about 120 A.D. After 25 years, he would have been granted his
retirement "papers" (actually cast in bronze!), Roman citizenship for him
and for his descendants, and land in Britain. Undoubtedly, he would have
settled down near his former military post, having married a local girl.
:-)

The area surrounding Braintree is covered with archaelogical ruins of Roman
settlements and buildings. Indeed, Braintree itself was originally a minor
Roman settlement located on Stane Street; others were found at Kelvedon,
Great Dunmow and Bishops Stortford. Of course, Colchester (Camulodunum) was
the colonial capital of the region. Two relevant markers were found there:
one for Longinus Sdapeze, of Sardica (now Sophia, Bulgaria) and another for
an unknown centurion from "Nicaea in Bithynia" (now known as Iznik, in
north-west Turkey). Clearly, there was a Thracian presence in Roman
Colchester.

See:

http://www.roman-britain.org/places/camulodunum.htm

for more details.



For a detailed map of these sites in Essex, see:

http://www.roman-britain.org/xml/ngr_layermap.htm




Sincerely,


Steven Bird, DMA
Co-administrator, Byrd DNA project


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