Do all Edwardsons descend from a common paternal ancestor?

Or are we more diverse than that?

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We will only be able to tell by testing our Y-DNA and comparing our results. Y-DNA is specific to males, being passed down from father to son. Testing your Y-DNA can determine if you share a common male-line ancestor with another man, and roughly how long ago that common ancestor lived. 

The best way to do this is by taking a Y-DNA test, for example with Family Tree DNA. You will recieve a DNA Haplogroup which can then be compared with other Edwardsons to see if we share comon origins.

If you want to test and share your Y-DNA Haplogroup to further this project, please get in touch! Any informatuion shared will be treated in the strictest confidence, and shared only in accordance with the wishes of the indovidual.

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DNA Research Explained

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Everyone's family tree research eventually hits a brick wall (even royalty can’t trace much beyond the age of Charlemagne). When that happens, DNA is the only evidence that can provide a glimpse into the more distant past. In the last 20 years, DNA ancestry tests have become commercially available, making this type of research accessible to all.

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These tests provide ethnicity estimates, which can give a general sense of ancestral origins but should be taken with a pinch of salt.

More importantly, they can tell us our Y-DNA (male lineage) and mitochondrial DNA (female lineage) haplogroups. Haplogroups function like genetic codenames or surnames, passed down through direct male and female lines. They represent unique mutations that occurred over time, distinguishing different ancestral lines.

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I’m not a geneticist, so for those interested in the deeper science, I’d recommend consulting more authoritative sources. However, in simple terms, haplogroups exist on multiple levels:

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• Broad macro haplogroups, which are shared by large populations.

• Smaller sub-haplogroups, which allow us to trace more specific lines of descent.

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For example:

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• All living human men descend from the Y-DNA macro Haplogroup A (the broadest Haplogroup)

• A majority of Western European men belong to R1b, AKA: R-M343.

• A subgroup of R1b, R-U106, AKA: R-M405, is found primarily in northern and northwestern Europe, including the British Isles.

• Another subgroup, R-Z18, is associated with historic Germanic and Scandinavian populations.

• And then there are even more specific haplogroups, sometimes many, many more, which become more specific to our own family lines.​​

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The Y-700 test from Family Tree DNA gives you a breakdown of all your haplogroups, which you can then compare with others to see how closely related you are on the male line.​​​​​​

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​Do Edwardsons All Share The Same Haplogroup?

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​Are you an Edwardson? Have you taken a Y-DNA test? If not, would you consider it?

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By comparing results, we can determine whether English Edwardsons share a common Y-DNA haplogroup—and perhaps even uncover our deeper origins.

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Several companies offer Y-DNA testing.​​ If you're interested in contributing to this project, please get in touch!

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