The Patterson Family DNA Project is underway. Sherrie Patterson Royster is the project coordinator. As more results come in we will be able to get them organized and posted here on the web site. (Last revised: August 19, 2005)
In the meantime, here are some resource links for finding out more about the Patterson project, or about DNA research in general:
As more Pattersons are tested and the results are analyzed, the results page will be updated and the notes will be developed further. However, for now, the basic results are as follows, on the individuals who have been tested and that have allowed their results to be displayed on the web. Their names are not revealed however, unless they give me permission to.
What do the results tell us about these Pattersons who have been tested? The third group (P03) is beginning to get interesting. There appears to be some relation between all persons falling within the P03 group.
We know for certain that some individuals tested in the P03 group descend from John Patterson and Margaret Black. John Patterson was born ca. 1765 in what is now York Co., SC. He was the son of Thomas Patterson, who in turn was the son of Robert and Sarah Patterson. This Robert Patterson was born ca. 1710-15.
Yet another person within the P03 group with an exact match does NOT descend from John Patterson and Margaret Black. Instead, he descends from an Abraham Patterson, who is believed to be the son of John Marion Patterson, and Cassay Pence (daughter of Abraham Pence). I personally (Wes Patterson) think that John Marion Patterson was the son of James and Piety Patterson. James and Piety were in Buncombe Co NC in 1800, but only Piety was there in 1810, indicating that James must have died by then.
If all this is true, then how are James Patterson and the Robert Patterson line related? I still don't know that for sure, but I suspect that James (who age 45+ in 1800) was another son of Robert and Sarah Patterson. If so, he wasn't named on his father's will, but that doesn't mean anything necessarily. The other possibility is that James could have been a cousin to Robert Patterson. At this time, we just don't know how they were related, but the DNA results indicate there was a relationship!
The individual tested and described as P03A is a descendant of James Patterson and Sarah Marr/Morrow. This James Patterson is believed to have been an older brother of the previously mentioned John Marion Patterson. If this is true, then this latter James would have been a son (presumed) of James and Piety Patterson, as well.
New Patterson DNA Results Page at http://wespatterson.com/dna/patterson.asp. These results are the same as what is at FamilyTreeDNA but with a little more details added. They are also databased here at wespatterson.com.
