Project background

As part of my research into the surname Adamthwaite, I have recently undertaken a study of the incidence of all surnames which appear in parish and manorial records for RAVENSTONEDALE in Westmorland, England at key points during the period 1379 to 1777.

An abridged version of my article describing the research appeared in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of One-Name Studies - links to the full version of the article and the table showing details of the incidence of the 30 most common surnames are given on the left. Although the table only shows the incidence of the 30 most frequently found surnames before 1700, I did analyse ALL surnames which appeared in the parish before 1800 (details for specific surnames available on request).

Surnames in this part of Westmorland appear to still have been in the process of being adopted at the time that the earliest list of tenants was recorded in the 1379 Poll Tax, so it is possible that yDNA test results will provide evidence of shared ancestry between direct line male descendants of these early families, even when they hold different surnames.

Participants in the DNA Project MUST provide the Project Administrator with a documented paper trail to an ancestor who lived in Ravenstonedale BEFORE 1800. For yDNA tests, this must be through the direct paternal lineFor mtDNA tests, this must be through the direct maternal lineFor Family Finder tests, this can be any direct ancestor
If you hold one of the surnames below and/or know that your oldest ancestor came from north-west England, please contact me with relevant known information and I will do my best to check whether you qualify.

If you have already had your DNA tested with Family Tree DNA as part of a surname project, a haplogroup project or another geographical project, AND you meet the criteria specified above, you are welcome to join this project too. There is no limit on the number of projects you can join. Just log in to your personal page on the Family Tree DNA website, and click on JOIN PROJECTS. If your surname is one of those listed below, you will automatically see the link to the Ravenstonedale Project, if not you will find the project listed under 'Dual Geographical Projects'.

New participants can order either a 37 marker y-DNA test (to learn about their direct paternal line), an mtDNA test (to learn about their direct maternal line) or a Family Finder test (to learn about their genetic cousins and their deep ancestral origins). If you wish to buy a yDNA test kit through the project and benefit from the reduced rate, make sure that you use the order form on the Ravenstonedale Project page. You will also need to submit full details of your connection to Ravenstonedale.

If you are interested in the Project, but do not wish to participate yourself in the DNA aspect, you can still join in by providing further information about your early Ravenstonedale ancestry. Eventually, I hope to include a separate page for each Surname that is involved, containing details of the earliest holders of the surname and if possible descendancy trees showing when and how the surname migrated to other parts of the UK and the rest of the world. Please contact me using the link on the left if you wish to contribute this sort of information for YOUR Ravenstonedale ancestry.

If you want to find out more about DNA testing - there is some information on this page, or you may like to visit the website of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, or the Wikipedia entry on Genetic Genealogy.  If you have any specific questions about this project, or would like some advice as to the most appropriate DNA test to buy. please do not hesitate to contact me using the Contact Form on the left.

ADAMTHWAITE, ALLATSON, ALDERSON, BAYLIFFE, BELL, BLAMIRE, BLAND, BLANKERNE, BLIRTHORNE, BONSELDE, BOVELL, BOUSFIELD, BOWNESS, CAUTLEY, CHAMBERLAIN, CLEMENT, COATLEY, COKE, COOK, CORNEY, CUMSTON, DENT, DUCKETT, EWBANK, FAWCETT, FOTHERGILL, GARTHWAIT, GOULDINTON, GRAINGER, GREEN, GUY, HEBLETHWAITE, HAISTWELL, HANDLEY, HALL, HEWETSON, HOLME, HUNTER, INMAN, JOHNSON, LONGHORN, LOVELL, MASON, MILNER, MOSS, MURTHWAIT, NELSON, NICHOLSON, PEACOCK, PARKE, PEARSON, PARKIN, PERKIN, PETTY, PEARES, PINDAR, RAKESTRAW, RICHARDSON, ROBERTSON, ROBINSON, ROGERSON, RUDD, SAWER, SHAW, SCAIFE, SPOONER, SWINBANK, TAYLOR, THOMPSON, THORNBOROUGH, TODD, TOWNSON, WALKER, WALLER, WARD, WHARTON, WHITEHEAD, WILKINSON, WILSON

NB: Some of the above surnames were very common in the north of England! Remember, you will need to provide a documented pedigree showing your connection to Ravenstonedale to be included in the project.

It is very early days in this Project, but the results we have so far from project members who have tested their yDNA or autosomal DNA can be viewed by clicking on the image on the right.

If you have never had the opportunity to visit Ravenstonedale yourself, you can read about our Adamthwaite Reunion in the village back in 2009 and see more of the photos we took on the day. [I must point out that our Adamthwaite descendants only made up a small number of those in the photos - we joined in with a tour organised by the Sedbergh & District History Society]

For those of us not fortunate enough to live in the area, you can read synopses of past talks presented at the Ravenstonedale Parish History Society on their webpage. Many of these talks feature the history of particular old Ravenstonedale families.