Great News! Y-DNA Proves Suspicions

Since I began my journey to discover my early West ancestors, I have come to believe that my West line belongs in FTDNA’s West Family Group 1.  At last, my strong suspicion has been proved through Y-DNA testing.

Why have I felt so strongly about this?  It’s because so many of the Y-DNA matches in Group 1 descend from West males who, I believed, were brothers--Solomon West, Alexander West, John West, Jr., and Isaac West.  Solomon, Alexander, John, and Isaac lived in the right time frame and in the right location, and many of their descendants were named after them.  I believe that their parents were John West and Mary Madden.

In addition, my sister has an FTDNA autosomal match with a man who descends from John West and his second wife, Eleanor Massey. Unfortunately, my sister’s match does not have the West surname and would not be able to prove the West line with his Y-DNA results.

Before I proceed with “the rest of the story,” I must provide a little background information.  Solomon West (1726-1830), the presumed brother of my Alexander West (about 1730-?), married Isabella Boyd and named one of their sons Alexander (1776-1860) who married Sarah Hawkins.

My Alexander West (1730-?), whose wife is unknown, named his first child Alexander West (1751-1834) who married Hannah Langley. 

Several years ago, a West male who descends from Solomon West (1726-1830) and Isabella Boyd and their son, Alexander West (1776-1860), discovered through FTDNA Y-DNA testing that he belongs in West Family Group 1.  Within the the last month, a Y-DNA match, who is my 5^th cousin, was informed that his results also place him in West Family Group 1.  He descends from the son of my Alexander West who was Alexander West (1751-1834) and Hannah Langley.  What a great discovery!

So…we now have two West men who descend from different sons of the same male West who belong to FTDNA’s West Family Group 1. We can presume that Solomon and Alexander West were brothers and were likely sons of John West and Mary Madden.

It would be wonderful if other males with the West surname, who believe that they are biological descendants from John West and Mary Madden or John West and his second wife Eleanor Massey, would participate in Y-DNA testing through Family Tree DNA.

What’s next?  I strongly suspect that the parents of John West, who was first married to Mary Madden and second to Eleanor Massey and the father of these four brothers (Solomon, Alexander, John, and Isaac), may have been the John West who was married to Sarah Haskell.  My suspicion is based on the fact that another John West, who may have been the father of John West (spouse of Mary Madden), appears in land records in the same area and at the same time as that of a John West and his apparent four sons—Solomon, Alexander, John, and Isaac.  Also, for some reason, Sarah Hawkins just keeps popping up as a spouse of a John West!

Anyone may go to the West Family DNA Project Results page (http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm) and read about the various West Family Groups.

©The Wests of Wilkes, Charlotte West Dade, Mar. 16, 2019

The Wests of Wilkes Blog

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