Project Results and Discussion

An Irish line that includes the line of Edward Darcy/Dorsey

We are fortunate to have DNA samples from five well documented descendants of the Immigrant Edward Darcy-Dorsey who was first recorded in Lower Norfolk County Virginia in the early 1640's and then in Maryland by 1650.¹  These five formed the original nucleus of Dorsey Lineage I.  DNA results also support the inclusion of a number of members with spotty paper trails pointing to Edward Darcy-Dorsey but not conclusively identifying him as their direct line male ancestor.  Somewhat surprisingly, there are additional participants whose DNA results place them in Lineage I who have proven roots in Ireland that post-date the appearance of Edward Darcy-Dorsey in America.  There are several marker values that definitively separate these two groups of Lineage I participants. For that reason, I have subdivided the lineage into two groups.   Lineage Ia includes the proven and probable descendants of Edward Darcy/Dorsey. Lineage Ib includes all of the members of Lineage I with proven Irish origins along with a few others who have not been able to track their lines out of America.  DNA results from all of these participants are shown in TableI-1 and are discussed below.

Lineage Ia

DNA Results of Documented Edward Darcy/Dorsey Descendants

The first two rows of results (Data Lines 1 & 2) in Table I-1 comprise the haplotypes (combination of marker values) of two fourth cousins who trace their descent eleven generations from ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey’s son ²John Dorsey via a common ancestor ⁷Richard Dorsey of the line ⁶Edward/⁵Edward/⁴Edward/³Edward/²John/¹Edward.^{2   7}Richard Dorsey was born in Frederick County, Maryland and died July 1833 in Washington County, Kentucky.³ That these two match on all 25 markers tested in common tells us that it is unlikely there have been mutations of these markers in either line and that their shared haplotype (on these 25 markers) is also the haplotype of their common ancestor ⁷Richard Dorsey. 

The next two rows (Data Lines 3 & 4) show the results of two tenth-generation descendants of ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey through his second son ²Edward Dorsey. They share a great grandfather, ⁸Ben Hill Dorsey, the son of ⁷Solomom Dawson Dorsey (⁶John/⁵Nicholas/⁴Henry/³Joshua/²Edward/¹Edward).  ⁶John Dorsey, the father of ⁷Solomon Dawson Dorsey, moved from Maryland to Georgia in the late 1700’s.  (One of the DNA donors is the current owner of Solomon’s family Bible that records the birth of his son ⁸Ben Hill Dorsey.⁴) These two share identical values at 24 of the 25 markers tested in common with a one step difference at DYS 449 at which they both also differ from the descendants of ²John Dorsey.  Data Line 5 displays the matching results of another well documented descendant of ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey through ⁷Solomon Dawson Dorsey's brother ⁷Isham Dorsey.⁵   Both Data Lines 4 &  5 include 37 marker results with the two differing at only one marker DYS 442.

When he entered the Dorsey DNA project, the next participant in this chart (Data Line 6) could trace his line back to his third great-grandfather William Cumming Dorsey, the son of one of the many Edward Dorseys of the late 1700’s and his wife Sarah Cumming.⁶  Interestingly, though this family did not know their exact connection to Edward Darcy-Dorsey, William Cumming Dorsey, born 1775 in Frederick County MD, is found on a tree provided by the descendants of ²John Dorsey as a brother of their mutual ancestor ⁷Richard Dorsey (see above).⁷  Kathy Alvis Patterson has provided further information about the line of William Cumming Dorsey in a well referenced Family Tree at Ancestry.com.⁸  DNA results support this connection.

Since these six descend from two different sons of Edward Darcy-Dorsey, it is highly probably that all marker values they share in common are those passed by ¹Edward Darcy-Dorsey to his sons ²John and ²Edward.  By choosing the most common value at each marker, we propose an ancestral haplotype for Edward Darcy-Dorsey which is presented in Data line 14, Table I-1.

DNA Results of Probable Edward Darcy/Dorsey Descendants

Data Line 7 is from an Australian Dorsey.  Curiously, his haplotype matches that of the descendants of the American immigrant Edward Darcy/Dorsey.  However, this participant has not yet submitted any information about his origins.  At this time, we cannot say whether he is a descendant of the Edward Darcy/Dorsey whose line has immigrated to Australia or whether he shares a common ancestor with Edward Darcy/Dorsey.

The next six rows of Table I-1 present the results of six individuals with paper trails of circumstantial evidence that point to ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey as their ancestor. 

The first member of this group (Data line 8) traces his line to Vincent Dorsey a brick maker who was born in Pennsylvania in 1826 and raised a family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.⁹  In the 1880 census, Vincent Dorsey states that both of his parents were born in Pennsylvania as well.¹⁰  He matches the descendants of ²John Dorsey (¹Edward) at DYS455 but also matches one of the descendants of ²Edward Dorsey at DYS449.  DYS449 is a curiously volatile marker within this family group. The implications of its variations await further testing of additional documented descendants. 

Data Line 9 of Table I-1 comprises the haplotype of a descendant of William H. Dorsey who, according to Kenton County, KY census records, was born c.1807 in KY.¹¹  He matches the documented descendants of ²Edward Dorsey, son of "¹Edward the Immigrant" suggesting he should focus his search of traditional genealogical records in that direction. 

Results on Data Line 10 are from a descendant of Andrew Jackson Dorsey who was born December 1, 1827 near Harper's Ferry, Virginia and died in November 8, 1897 in Clark County Missouri.¹²  According to the 1880 census his father was born in Maryland¹³ which is consistent with his close match with other descendants of Edward Darcy/Dorsey.  Descendants have reason to believe that the parents of Andrew Jackson Dorsey were James M. Dorsey and Mary Matilda Young who were married 2/1/1827 in First Methodist Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Baltimore Co., MD^14,15  An actual connection to Edward Darcy/Dorsey remains elusive. 

Data Line 11 represents a descendant of Reason T. Dorsey the son of Greenberry W. Dorsey and Susan S. Cavendar.¹⁶  This Greenberry Dorsey is first found in Kentucky in the late 1700's/early 1800’s^{17,18 ,19}  and later in Warrick County, Indiana.²⁰  His son Reason was born 18 August 1825 in Indiana. ²¹  He lived out his life in Warrick County Indiana receiving a land grant at the age of fourteen.^{22,23,24,25,26}   He died 11 November 1896 and is buried there in the Reed family cemetery.²⁷ 

Next, in Data Line 12, are marker values for a descendant of Azel Waters Dorsey, documented as an early teacher of Abraham Lincoln in Schuyler County, Illinois.²⁸  Azel Waters Dorsey was born in Maryland, 05 November  1784^29,30 and married Elenor Sprigg 04 January 1807 in Nelson County Kentucky.³¹  He was enumerated in the 1810 Hardin County, Kentucky  census (next to Beal Dorsey)^32.  In 1820, he was living in Spencer County, Indiana³³ and by 1830 had arrived in Schuyler County, Illinois where he lived out his life.  He died September 13, 1858.³⁴  He is buried on the Theodore King farm outside the village of Huntsville in Schuyler County.³⁵  A number of Internet based trees cite Azel Waters Dorsey as a son of ⁶Greenberry Dorsey son of ⁵Charles Dorsey, a descendant of Edward Darcy/Dorsey through the line Charles/⁴Edward/³Edward/²John/¹Edward and his wife Lydia.  Though no sources documenting this relationship have been found, there is some supporting circumstantial evidence.  In an undated “paper” appended by the editor to a 1917 article published in the Register of Kentucky State Historical Society, entitled “The Dorseys of Kentucky” by Stanton Lindsey Dorsey, Charles Dorsey, the son of Charles and Lydia Dorsey names his brothers Greenberry  (the eldest), Beal, and Richard and states that his family moved from Frederick County Maryland to Kentucky in 1787.³⁶  At the time of that move, Dorsey states that his brother Greenberry was an adult and had already married to Sarah Hobbs.   The Reconstructed 1790 Kentucky census records Greenberry Dorsey in Nelson County on the date 23 November 1792.³⁷  Beall [sic], Richard, Charles, Jr, Charles Dorsey are found in the 1800 census for Nelson County, Kentucky with Greenbury and Henry Dorsy in adjacent Hardin County.  By 1810, Azel Dorsey was also living in Hardin County next to Beal Dorsey who was between 26 and 44 years of age—so perhaps his uncle.  This association along with the fact that Azel Dorsey named his first son Greenberry Dorseys suggests he was the son of Greenberry Dorsey.    DNA results are consistent with this connection.

Data Line 13 presents the 12 marker results of a proven descendant of William B. Dorsey who was born in 1805 in Maryland.^{38 ,39 ,40,41} He has information that suggests he descends from ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey through the line ⁷William B. Dorsey/ ⁶Joshua/⁵Joshua/⁴Henry/³Joshua/²Edward/¹Edward.  His results support this hypothesis matching the proposed haplotype for ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey on all 12 markers tested.  However, it is difficult to narrow a connection to a specific line with only 12 markers.  Further testing—both of this participant and othes, both new and current—may eventually support this connection more clearly.

By comparing all the results for the direct descendants of Edward Darcy/Dorsey we can make a prediction of his marker values.  That haplotype is presented in data line 14. 

*Markers in red have shown a faster mutation rate then the average, and therefore these markers are very helpful at splitting lineages into sub sets, or branches, within your family tree.   If you match exactly on all of the markers except for one or a few of the markers we have determined mutate more quickly, then despite the mutation this mismatch only slightly decreases the probability of two people in your surname group who match 11/12 or even 23/25 of not sharing a recent common ancestor.

** Haplogroups in green have been confirmed by SNP testing. Haplogroups in red have been predicted by Family Tree DNA.  [If someone in your lineage has been SNP tested (in green) it is not likely to be useful for you to spend the money for additional SNP testing as you will have the same result.] 

Lineage Ib

Results of those who appear to share a common ancestor with Edward Darcy/Dorsey

Data Line 15 is the haplotype of a participant who traces his line to John Dorsey, and his wife Airy (Arrah) Stockdale, who were married in Maryland on September 28, 1791.⁴²   By the late 1790’s they had moved to West Virginia.  (In an attempt to distinguish this John from the plethora of John Dorseys who roamed the mid Atlantic colonies during this period, I have labeled this one John MD/WV.) Researchers from this line had hypothesized (based on some thin circumstantial evidence) that their ancestor, John MD/WV, was the son of ⁴Joshua (³John/²Joshua/¹Edward) Dorsey and his wife Flora Fitzsimmons.⁴³  This participant closely (but not perfectly) matches the confirmed ¹Edward Darcy/Dorsey descendants and his marker results were originally tentatively included with them, though there is no direct documentation for the connection.  However, though few, the mismatches between this member and the proven and probable Edward Darcy/Dorsey descendants--especially those at at DYS389i and DYS389ii combined with those at DYY 455--make it nearly impossible to devise a scenario in which he is logically a descendant of Edward Darcy/Dorsey.

As the project has grown, data from more participants has thrown a new, if hazy light, on John MD/WV’s place in the puzzle and further suggest he is not a direct descendant of Edward Darcy/Dorsey. It now appears more likely that John MD/WV shared a (possibly distant) common ancestor with Edward Darcy/Dorsey.  The first is a proven descendant of Cornelius Dorsey (Data line 16 who appeared in Chester County, South Carolina in the late 1700’s.⁴⁴ Though there is evidence that Cornelius Dorsey was in Maryland before he came to South Carolina⁴⁵, no definite records of him have been found there and his parentage is unknown.   In his will, dated April 15, 1820, he names nine children, John Dorsey, Alexander Dorsey, Peggy Harden, Robert Walker Dorsey, Polly Price, Rebeccah Dorsey, Patsey Cornwell, Cornelius Dorsey and James Dorsey.⁴⁶  The DNA donor for this line descends from Cornelius’s son John Dorsey.  This descendant of Cornelius Dorsey is a 35/37 marker match with John Dorsey of MD/WV, mismatching on DYS#'s 576 and CDYa.   Both of these markers have been chosen by Family Tree DNA because their relative volatility makes them potentially useful in identifying branching points of closely related lines.  Consequently, this difference is not surprising and may even prove useful as these two lines try to piece together the details of their relationship.  As an aside, the name Cornelius, though not commonly used in the Dorsey family of Maryland, is found in the family of John Dorsey MD/WV.

Data Line 17 of Table I-1 presents 25 marker results for a descendant of John Lee Dorsey who was born in February 1827 in Tennessee.⁴⁷  Though this participant had no documented information about the origins of John Lee Dorsey, many descendants of Cornelius Dorsey made their way from South Carolina through Tennessee and Illinois to Arkansas and Texas.  And, in fact, DNA results support a connection to this line as do the presence of both Robert Walker Dorsey (son of Cornelius Dorsey) and John Lee Dorsey in Greene County, Arkansas in 1850.^48,49   

Data Line 18 results are for a descendant of Patrick Darcy, who was born in 1846 in Bonavilla, a part of the townland of Ballymackea Beg in County Clare Ireland, to John Darcy and Honora Mungovan.⁵⁰  Patrick Darcy migrated to Washington Territory USA in 1881,⁵¹ where he married Margaret Darcy,⁵² also from Bonavilla.  Her parents were Patrick Darcy and Eliza Looney.⁵³  He matches the descendants of John Dorsey (MD > WV) and Cornelius Dorsey at all markers except DYS391 for which he has the unusual value of 12. 

The next set of results, Data Line 19, are from a second cousin of the previous participant through the line of his grandmother Margaret Darcy, wife of his direct paternal line ancestor Patrick Darcy.  Margaret Darcy was the sister of Michael Darcy born in Bonvilla in 1856 who was the grandfather of the participant in line 18.⁵⁴   Family information (though not documented) shows Michael Darcy’s earliest known patrilineal line ancestor to be Sean Darcy, the father of Luke Darcy.55  Luke Darcy was the father of Patrick Darcy 56 who died in Bunavelle in 1835 at the age of 36 years.57  These two match each other at 24 of the 25 markers they tested in common confirming that their fathers were from the same Darcy line in Bonavilla.

Data Line 20 is from a descendant of another John Dorsey from County Clare in Ireland.  This John Dorsey, according to his grave marker, was born in 1828 in County Clare Ireland.⁵⁸  He immigrated to Montreal, Canada by 1853 where he married Mary Moran from County Kildare, Ireland.⁵⁹  Information from the marriage record of John Dorsey and Mary Moran says that the parents of John Dorsey were Patrick and Ellen Darcy.⁶⁰  This John Dorsey was in Massachusetts from 1856 to 1859 where three of his children were born⁶¹, and eventually moved to south Texas.⁶² 

Data Line 21 of this group is Irish born and lives in Ireland. His great-grandfather Thomas Darcy who died in 19 March 1884 in Miltown, Solohead in County Limerick, near the Tipperary border.⁶³ 

And finally, Data Line 22 results are from a English descendant of Peter Darcy who was a member of the Galway Militia in 1785.  

At one time, it was assumed that the common ancestor of this lineage would be the Immigrant Edward Darcy/Dorsey with only a faint hope of attaching Edward to a family in England or Ireland. However, with new data from participants whose Irish roots post-date the appearance of Edward Darcy/Dorsey in America, it would appear that this line will eventually be extended back to a common ancestor of Irish origin.  All five Lineage I participants with proven Irish origins share the same values for DYS385b and DYS389i as the descendants of John MD/WV, Cornelius Dorsey.  These eight differ at those markers from the descendants (and presumed descendants) of ²Edward and ²John (of ¹Edward) Dorsey who share identical (and somewhat more unusual) values.   In fact, these differences are so distinct that I have tentatively divided Lineage I into two groups, Lineage Ia, with signature values of 12 at DYS 385b and 14 at DYS 389-2, the group that appears to descend from the Immigrant Edward Darcy/Dorsey and Lineage 2b, with values of 13 and 13 at these markers, a group who appear to share a common ancestor with Edward Darcy/Dorsey who predates the appearance of Edward Darcy/Dorsey in the New World.  Many of Lineage Ia also have a value of 12 at DYS 455 though several share the value of 11 with Linage Ib suggesting this is a more recent mutation.  The actual implications of this marker's variations await further testing of well-documented Edward Dorsey descendants.

A comparison of the two modal haplotypes for Lineages 1a and 1b (as labeled in the chart) show some further maker variations that may be useful in the future in defining the lines of this large group of Dorseys.

Possible Darcy/Dorsey lines and connections suggested by traditional genealogical records and DNA results.

Figure I-1 at the end of this report illustrates some of the ways some members of Lineage I might fit together in light of proven lineages, proposed lineages based on some traditional genealogical data, and DNA results.  Solid lines represent documented relationships reported by individual project members and dotted lines represent possible relationships that could be consistent with what we know from traditional records and DNA results.  (Naturally not all dotted line relationships can be true and I have undoubtedly missed some possible scenarios.)  As this group has grown it has proven difficult to include all members in a way that the chart fits on one sheet of paper or one computer screen with a font large enough to read.  Until this can be resolved, the chart will remain in its original form with 13 participants. 

Yellow boxes represent DNA project participants whose results place them in Lineage I.  All participants share the same values for 21 of the markers tested (see chart at the top of the diagram) which most likely represent unchanged values handed down from the common ancestor of all participants from this group.  Values for markers that are not shared by all Lineage I participants are given in their boxes for convenient identification of mutations. 

Lineage I Matches with Other Surnames

Partial matches with other surnames are most likely indicative of a shared common ancestor before the advent of surnames and are usually of little value for genealogy.  However, as the number of matching markers increases, particularly those that include unusual marker values, it is prudent to review possible connections between families of those names who have been reported to be at the same place at the same time in family or public records.

There are opportunities for “non-paternal events” in every age, i.e., widows remarry and bring children, sometimes unborn, who take their stepfather’s names; parents die by accident, disease or war and relatives or friends takes in the children and raise them with their name; or a young daughter has a child out of wedlock and her parents raise it as their own. Infidelities within marriage occur—sometimes with and sometimes without the husband’s knowledge.  A widow may give her illegitimate child the name of her deceased husband.  A variety of scenarios over several generations could be devised to account for matches between individuals with different surnames.

Recent research at Trinity College Dublin has identified a 12 marker haplotype cluster found in some concentration in northwest Ireland.  The authors of this study suggest this “Northwest Irish Modal Haplotype” represents the haplotype of a prolific line whose ancestor lived in ancient Ireland.  They propose the legendary King Niall of the Nine Hostages as a possible progenitor for this group.⁶⁴ The Northwest Irish Modal Haplotype is presented at the top of Table I-1.   Working with results extracted from public databases, David Wilson has proposed an extended version of this haplotype which he calls the “Western Irish Variety”.⁶⁵  “Western Irish Variety” marker values are presented below the Northwest Irish Modal Haplotype at the top of the chart.  Of great interest, the core haplotype of Lineage I of the Dorsey Project matches this haplotype.  Because it appears to be such an ancient haplotype—existing long before the introduction of surnames in Ireland, it is not surprising to learn that it is associated with a number of Irish surnames.  For example, Lineage I members have matches with such other surnames as Kelly, Garrity, Ryan, Carey, Flanagan, Clancy, Quinn, McNutt, and Mooney to name only a few.⁶⁶  Nor will it be surprising to find a number of variations of the haplotype—even within the same surname as this Y chromosome DNA has been passed through many generations in many lines, allowing ample opportunity for mutations to accumulate.  More has been written about this topic under the title “Ancient Irish Origins” available at http://www.contexo.info/DorseyDNA/IrishOrigins.pdf .

Anyone wishing to explore matches with other surnames in more detail should go to the public database at www.ysearch.org and click on “enter any sequence and search by haplotype” at the Search for Genetic Matches page.  Then enter the values for the Dorsey line of your interest as they are given in Table I-1.  Contact information for the persons matching this line will be given as a result of the search.  Dorsey project members are urged to upload their results to this database.  A somewhat similar database will be found at www.smgf.org.  However, as this database is the outgrowth of an academic research effort, contact information is not available and information cannot be entered manually.  However it is a useful database as many entries link to files with some pedigree information.

Was Edward Darcy/Dorsey a direct male descendent of the Anglo/Norman D’Arcy line?

We are fortunate to have two members of the Dorsey DNA Project with registered titles and pedigrees that document their descent from Norman D’Arcei who is purported to have come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066.^67,68  Results for those two members do match some of our Amercian project members but they do NOT match the DNA results of the descendents of Edward Darcy/Dorsey.

Table I-4 compares the DNA marker results for the deduced ancestral line of Edward Darcy/Dorsey and the results of the two proven Anglo/Norman D’Arcys.  It is immediately obvious that these two haplotypes do NOT match and, in fact, are mismatched at 17 different markers!  (Mismatching markers in the D’Arcy haplotype are shaded in purple.)  Further discussion of this comparison can be found at the beginning of the Lineage V section of this report.   

Conclusions Lineage I

Current DNA results support the documented, traditional genealogies of the first five of this group as descendants of the Immigrant Edward Darcy/Dorsey.  They also provide a first estimate of an ancestral haplotype for Edward Darcy/Dorsey on at least 37 markers.

The results also support six other members’ connections with the Edward Darcy/Dorsey lineage and are consistent with their (sometimes tentative) research conclusions.  Another participant from Austria appears to be either a descendant of Edward Darcy/Dorsey or a descendant of a close patrilineal line relative of Edward Darcy/Dorsey.

DNA results from another eight participants place them in the same lineage as the first 12.  However, their DNA results are sufficiently different to divide the Lineage into two subgroups, Lineage Ia and Lineage Ib.  Neither the current DNA results nor information from known traditional genealogical records are able to delineate their connections. 

Y chromosome DNA from this group does NOT match Y chromosome DNA from documented descendants of Norman D’Arcy who was said to have come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066.  In fact, the two lineages fall into two separate “Haplogroups” which have been shown to have diverged over 20,000 years ago (see Lineage V Results and Discussion for more information about haplogroup differences between Lineage I and Lineage V.) 

The DNA results coupled with known Irish origins of the five participants of Lineage I and matches with a number of Irish surnames (including the ancient Irish Modal Haplotype) strongly suggest an Irish origin for Edward Darcy/Dorsey.

We hope further testing of more markers and of additional Dorseys (Darcys) from Ireland and the US will eventually shed more light on the nature of these connections and perhaps reveal additional defining mutations for the vast and complicated tangle of Edward Darcy/Dorsey’s undocumented or partially documented descendants

Endnotes:

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