As a paternal Edwardson, my Y-DNA Haplogroup (Genetic 'surname') is R-DF95.

Is this THE English Edwardson Y-DNA haplogroup? Do all English Edwardsons descend from a common paternal ancestor?

Or are we more diverse than that?

We will only be able to tell by testing our Y-DNA and sharing our results! 

If you want to test and share your Y-DNA Haplogroup to further this project, please get in touch!

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The Significance of DNA Research

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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 surnames, passed down through direct male and female lines. They represent unique mutations that occurred over time, distinguishing different ancestral lines. They are told apart by labels, and sometimes a Haplogroup has more than one label.

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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 'Great-Great-Great Grandfather Haplogroup in this analogy)

• A majority of European men belong to R1b, AKA: R-M343 (the 'Great-Great Grandad')

• A subgroup, R-U106, AKA: R-M405 (the 'Great-Grandad'), is found primarily in northern and northwestern Europe, including the British Isles.

• Another subgroup, R-Z18, AKA R-Z19, (the 'Grandad'), is associated with historic Germanic and Scandinavian populations.

• Beneath this is R-DF95, (the 'Dad') which follows a similar geographic pattern.​​

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​R-DF95 is my haplogroup—or at least the most specific one I’ve been able to identify so far. According to FamilyTreeDNA, it likely originated around 700 BCE. Evidence suggests it is most commonly found among men from the British Isles, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, with some outliers in neighboring countries. This pattern hints at a possible Scandinavian or Low Countries origin, followed by a spread during the Germanic Migration period (c. 300–600 CE) and/or the Viking age (c. 793 - 1066). According to testing websites, R-DF95 is relatively rare.​​​​​​

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​Do Other Edwardsons Share This Haplogroup?

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I have come across anecdotal evidence that other Edwardsons from Lancashire and Cheshire also carry R-DF95, but I haven’t confirmed this directly. If we collaborate, we can find out for sure.

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Are you an Edwardson of English heritage? 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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