The DNA Survey

You will probably have read the note I put in the Blencowe book about DNA analysis. In 2000 I and a number of other Blencowes (this spelling) were invited by Prof. Bryan Sykes of Oxford University to take part in a survey of the genetic make-up of our male [“Y”] chromosome. In brief, men having the same Y chromosome share a single common male ancestor. The survey revealed that about half of the fifty or so participants had a common ancestor. There were other, smaller groups, persons in families where the Blencowe line of descent had been interrupted by an adoption or birth out-of-wedlock.

It had been hoped that the results would have been published or at least released individually to participants but, for reasons of ‘medical confidentiality’ this has not proved possible.

Meanwhile, a company 'Oxford Ancestors' founded by Sykes and colleagues has gone commercial; one of our members who did not take part in the survey has commissioned an analysis of his DNA. The report he received was very nicely presented, with a lucid explanation of how to interpret it. However, it gave him no additional information, there were no other Blencowe results available with which he could make a comparison. So, our 'cousin' is no further forward.

I felt that it was worth doing something more about the problem and was given some help by Dick Winwood in the States who had written about a ’Winwood’ survey. He pointed me towards another company 'Relative Genetics, Inc.' located in Salt Lake whose charges were a good bit cheaper than Oxford Ancestors had published on the Internet.

I decided to give it a go; at US$175 (about £95) it is not cheap but not too much more than making four or five journeys to the Central Records Office! I contacted half a dozen of our membership and we have made a start. It is not necessary to make a large random survey, we can choose a relatively small number of family groups that we may be able to link to the main line of Adam de Blencow.

It is too soon to give you a report but some initial results show that the system works: the Y chromosome of one of the American Blincoes whose descent from the ‘Immigrant James’ was suspected but not proven was shown to have an almost identical make-up to that of one whose ancestry is clearly recorded back to 1670.

I expect to have much more to tell in the next issue. Meanwhile, I am seeking some more volunteer participants from some of the main family groups:

• Blencoes of Wisconsin
• Blencowes of Autralia
• Blencowes of Bicester and Brackley
• Blencowes of Kings Sutton
• Blincoes of Kentucky
• Blenkos
• Blincos/Blinkos of Slough & Windsor
• Blinckos
• Blincows of Long Buckby

I know it’s a pretty expensive price tag, but the results should make it worthwhile!