My branch of Kingstons settled in Co Cork, Ireland, in the early 1600s. They came from England, possibly from Somerset, when they were granted land in Ireland during the Munster or Cromwellian plantations. DNA analysis has recently enabled me to link to another branch of the Kingston family. I had my Y chromosome analysed last year (which required me to send a painless cheek swab to a company which specialises in DNA analysis for genetic genealogy). In the last few weeks the results became available for a member of a Kingston family from a different area of Co Cork. We are an exact match, even though paper records have been unable to prove any link between our families in the last 200 years. Therefore this link could not have been made without DNA testing. I think this form of testing offers huge potential in advancing our knowledge of our Kingston ancestors. The Kingston surname DNA project has been set up to record and analyse Kingston DNA results, and also provides advice to people who are interested in being tested. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son only (females do not have a Y chromosome) so only testing of males with the Kingston surname will provide relevant information. www.familytreedna.com/public/Kingston is the website of the project. A second website connected with the project contains much of the same information but also hosts pedigrees of various Kingston families, some for which DNA testing has already been performed and some for which a suitable family member (ie a male Kingston) still needs to be found. This is still a small but growing project. The pedigrees can be found in the patriarch section of www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/k/kingston/

I posted the previous message back in August describing our project which is investigating the Kingston surname by genetic genealogy. The project has gathered some momentum and now we have results from four separate Kingston families, none of which can be linked by paper records. These results indicate that all four families are related - a link that could never have been established by conventional genealogical research. You can follow our progress on the two project websites www.familytreedna.com/public/Kingston/ and www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/k/kingston/ I would love to hear from anyone interested in learning more about the project or who may be interested in participating.

In the four months since I last posted a message on this forum we have seen major progress in the Kingston surname DNA project. We now have results from nine different Kingston families, and the results of a tenth are awaited. Seven of the nine families with results can trace ancestry to the western part of Co. Cork in Ireland. None of these families can be connected by traditional genealogical research methods, but four of the families come from Drimoleague parish, one from the neighbouring parish of Caheragh, one from the Drombeg/Dungannon area of Kilfaughnabeg parish, Co. Cork, Ireland, approximately 15 miles from Drimoleague, and finally one family from Timoleague, approximately 30 miles from Drimoleague and 18 miles from Dungannon/Drombeg. Although none of these seven families could be connected by researching paper records, a definite relationship is established by Y-chromosome analysis which proves that the families share a common Kingston ancestor. While it may not be surprising that a relationship has been confirmed between the Kingston families from the Drimoleague area, it is altogether more interesting that the Timoleague family is also a match. Timoleague-based Kingstons have been documented as far back as the 1600s, when a Colonel Samuel Kingston received land there during the Cromwellian plantations. In a detailed study by A. Richard Kingston entitled “The Origins of Co. Cork Kingstons”, published in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume LXXXVI, 1981, the author suggests that Colonel Samuel Kingston, like neighbouring beneficiaries of the Cromwellian plantations, may have come from Somerset in England. The author speculates that Timoleague and Drimoleague Kingstons may all be related, but that documentary evidence of this has not been found. This project has proven that (at least some) Timoleague and Drimoleague Kingstons are related. The next step is to find matching Kingstons who know where in England their Kingston ancestors came from.

The project also has results for two other Kingston families who do not have Irish ancestry. These include a family which can be traced back to Barnstable, Devon, England in the 1500s and a family which can be traced back to Hampshire, England in the 1700s. These families are neither related to each other nor to the seven Irish Kingston families, and therefore represent two further independent Kingston families. This supports the hypothesis that the Kingston surname was probably adopted independently by families from different places called Kingston. The addition of these two families widens the spectrum of Kingstons represented in this project and increases the chances of future participant families finding a useful match.

Details of the project and how to get involved are posted on our two project websites: www.familytreedna.com/public/Kingston/ and www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/k/kingston/
We also post pedigrees of Kingston families on the second of these two websites, including those of families for whom no suitable candidate for DNA testing could be found.

I would love to hear from anyone interested in knowing more about the project.

In the sixteen months since I last posted an update on this forum the Kingston surname DNA project has grown appreciably. We now have DNA results from fifteen individuals. Eight of these have matching Y chromosome DNA sequences and therefore share a common Kingston ancestor along the male line. We have grouped these eight individuals as Group A, and the earliest known Kingston ancestor for seven of these came from Co Cork, Ireland. The eighth member of Group A had a strong family tradition of Irish Kingston origins, but a single nineteenth century US census record added confusion by stating Scottish Kingston ancestry. DNA has helped to resolve this issue by confirming a match with the seven Co Cork Kingstons and refuting that particular census entry.

The seven individuals who have been tested and who do not match the members of Group A include two first cousins who trace back to Leeds, Yorkshire, England (Group B), and two fourth cousins who trace back to North Eastern Somerset, England (Group C). The final three individuals do not match each other or the members of Groups A, B, or C. They trace back to Hampshire and Devon, both in England.

This brings to six the total number of independent unrelated Kingston families for whom the project has Y chromosome DNA profiles. There is a significant chance, therefore, that if a male Kingston submits a DNA sample for Y chromosome analysis they can be assigned to one of these six families - which could provide information on ancestral origins not available by any other means. In the event that the test was to result in a new seventh previously untested Kingston family, it would hopefully be simply a matter of time before a match could be found.

Details of the project and how to get involved are posted on www.familytreedna.com/public/Kingston/ and www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/k/kingston/

I would love to hear from anyone interested in the project, or in Kingston genealogy in general.

hello, i'am very interested in this project, as i have three brother's and several first cousins. my granfather price kingston was born in equality gallatin co illinois abt 5/15/1872. we think his father could have been thomas or thompson kingston, mother mary e. maybe jarrett. he had two familys,first one in justice precinct 1.marion, texas,also was around the old boston, new boston bowie co texas area about 1880-1900, texarkana/arkansas about 1905-1925.first wife laura j. harris 2-3 children, second wife nancy alabama flanagan- 9 children. any help would be wonderfull. thank you