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 5th 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!
©The Wests of Wilkes, Charlotte West Dade, Mar. 16, 2019
I am a direct descendant of Ephraim Hamilton West. Ephraim is one of James West's two sons. His older brother was Francis West and he had two sisters one named Nancy and the other Sally, this comes from a will. I know that James was married to a woman named Tabitha (?) and to another woman named Nancy Ann Stroud that died when Ephraim was around 10yo. There is some relation to this in the will as upon his death he left his Little River Plantation to the boys and mentions that it was the old Stroud place. James father was John West Jr. who was married to Mary Madden and Eleanor Massey. John West Jr. was the son of John West Sr. and Sarah Haskell. John West Sr. was the son of a Thomas West and Phoebe Waters circa 1632...Long juice!
ReplyDeleteOct. 12, 2019, To Anonymous, Thank you so much for your comment about Ephriam Hamilton West. I'm sorry that I have not seen your post before now. Yes, I believe that James West who married Ann Stroud was the son of John West and Eleanor Massey. John West and his 1st wife, Mary Madden, were my 6th gr grandparents. My sister has an FTDNA autosomal match with a man who descends from James. I think you are on the right track.
DeleteI am a descendant of Isaac West who is an SAR patriot. Having difficulty tying to find him in to the correct West lineage.Any help is greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHello Roy, I hope you find this reply. I cannot reply by email since I don't have an address for you. The Isaac West in my lineage was the brother of my 5th gr grandfather, Alexander West.(c1730-p1790). Their presumed parents were John West (c1691-c1780) and Mary Madden (c1705-1748). Isaac West (1745-1814) 1st married Susannah Anderson (17521810) and 2nd Mary X. His children with Susannah were as follows: Catherine, b1768; Nancy; Phoebe, b1770; Susanna "Susan," b1773; Solomon, b c1842; Isaac b 1775; John, b1776; Abner, b c1780; Robert Anderson, b 1790; Elizabeth, b c1794; Sarah; and Mary. He had one child by Mary X who was George Washington West, b c1810. If you have additional question, please put your email address in a reply. I will not published it. Thanks for your interest.
ReplyDelete