Caroline County, Virginia Daniel Y DNA Project

copyright 2024





Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. William Daniel of Essex and Caroline Counties, VA
  3. History of the Caroline County, VA Daniel Y DNA Project
  4. How we got here
  5. How we solved it
  6. A brief biography of the ancestor of each line tested
  7. Y DNA marker results for Caroline County, VA Daniels
  8. Haplogroup and SNP data




Introduction

    This site contains the history and results of the Caroline County, Virginia Daniel family DNA Project, a sub-project of the Daniel Y DNA Project hosted by Family Tree DNA. The Daniel Y DNA Project was founded in 2002 and the first participant was a descendant of Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 who was born about 1750 in Virginia and died after 1825 when he last appears in records in Greene County, Illinois. In 2004 a match to William Daniel 1765-1840 of Todd County, KY gave the first support to the hypothesis that Thomas Daniel was connected to the Daniel family of Caroline County, Virginia. This connection was originally suggested because Thomas named one of his sons Walker, a given name used by descendants of William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 of Caroline County, VA.

TOC



William Daniel of Essex and Caroline Counties, VA

    The first identified appearance in primary records by William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 is in 1707 in Essex County, Virginia when he witnessed a deed  between Matthew Collins and Robert Marshall on 11 February 1707/8 for land on Peumansend Swamp. Samuel Poe and William George were also witnesses. Swamp was synonymous with creek or stream. Peumansend Swamp was named for an event in which a pirate named Peuman was pursued up this creek until he was cornered and killed (Peuman's End).

    William Daniel owned several pieces of land that bounded on Beverly's Run, Peumansend Swamp and Portobago Swamp. William's first known purchase of land was from Thomas Tinsley in Essex County on 17 June 1708 and was bounded by Portobago Swamp. The deed gives "William Daniell's plantation" as a boundary in the land description, so William was possibly already renting or living as a tenant on the land he was purchasing or was residing on adjoining land that he owned. It is possible that William owned land in King and Queen County where most records before the Civil War are lost or that he owned other land in Essex County, but the deed was not recorded until after 1728 when the parts of Essex and King and Queen Counties where William lived were cut off into Caroline County. Probate, deed and early court records in Caroline County before the Civil War are also lost. William does not, however, appear on the 1704 Quit Rent rolls of Essex County, which is a list of landowners in that county.

    William was certainly married and had children by the time the Essex Quit Rent Rolls were recorded in 1704, however, and the marriages of his oldest children suggest he was probably married as early as 1700. William "Daniell" is named as the son-in-law of Robert Williams of St. Ann's Parish, Essex County in a deed in 1710, but the first name of William's wife is not given and is not known. This is the only indirect reference to her in primary records.

    William Daniel, "carpenter, of St. Ann's Parish" was gifted land on Beverly's Run in 1712, adjoining his 1708 land, in the will of his friend Ralph Rutter, "carpenter, of St. Mary's Parish", Richmond County, VA. Rutter purchased this land in 1710 from Richard Davison who had originally purchased it from Thomas Tinsley on the same day in 1708 when William Daniel purchased his land. William Daniell and Richard Davison witnessed each other's deeds from Tinsley in 1708. Rutter is also identified as "carpenter of St. Maries" Parish in Richmond County in the deed from Richard Davison. Thomas Tinsley was married to Sarah Jackson. Thomas Jackson, who is thought to be Sarah Tinsley's brother, was mentioned in several deeds with William Daniel in Essex County in the 1720s. Thomas Tinsley was granted his land in 1704 using two headright patents, a portion of which he sold to Daniell and Davison, among others. Tinsley received a certain amount of land for each headright, new person, he brought into the county. Daniell, Rutter and Davison are not listed as headrights in either patent, though. Richard Davison was married to Katherine Downe in 1690 at Christ Church, Middlesex County, VA so had been in the vicinity for some time. All of the men mentioned, so far, with exception of Ralph Rutter and Samuel Poe, and including William Daniel, were illiterate and signed with their mark. In a series of deeds made in Essex County in 1726, William apparently signed his name which may indicate that he had learned to read and write, or perhaps, to just sign his name.

    William later purchased several hundred more acres of land in Essex and King & Queen Counties before the region where he lived was cut off into Caroline County in 1728. He also received a patent for 100 acres of land in King and Queen County in 1724. William was of St. Ann's Parish until Drysdale Parish was created after Caroline County was created from Essex, King and Queen and King Williams counties. Due to the loss of records in Caroline County it is impossible to trace William Daniel's land transactions after Caroline County was created. The loss of King and Queen County records also makes it impossible to determine the extent of the activity of the Daniel family in that county.

    Some of William's land was purchased ( deeds in 1715, 1720, 1722, 1724) from the Berry family of Richmond and Stafford Counties, VA and this, along with his association with Ralph Rutter, has given rise to speculation that William Daniel was originally from Richmond County. Richmond and Essex counties were created in 1692 by dividing and dissolving Rappahannock County, which is now known as Old Rappahannock by researchers, since a new Rappahannock County was created in the 19th century. It may be that William's connection is actually to Old Rappahannock County, VA, but his associates fell into both Essex and Richmond Counties after they were created. William's land in Drysdale Parish was near the Rappahannock River in the south east part of Caroline County and today is in the Fort A. P. Hill Military Reservation. An unincorporated community called Daniel's Corner is in the vicinity of the Daniel family land and may be named for the family. The Rappahannock River divided Essex and Richmond Counties and later divided parts of Caroline and Richmond Counties.

    William deeded some of his Essex land to "my son-in-law James Lindsay" in February 1719, which suggests that William was married about 1700 and born about 1680. No wife released her dower rights in this deed which suggests that William Daniel's first wife was deceased before 1719 which is supported by the fact that no children are attributed to this marriage after 1717. Also in 1719, in adjacent entries in Essex County court order books, William Daniel and James Lindsay each had a slave "adjudged" to be ten years of age.

    A deed made in 1727 in Essex County from Katherine Proverb to William Pemberton for land bounded by Peumansend Creek was witnessed by William and Rozannah Daniel who both signed their names. This suggests that William Daniel had married again after the death of his first wife. Later Caroline County court records and a land patent in Caroline County prove that William Pemberton was a neighbor and closely associated with the family of William Daniel 1680-1765 for many years after the creation of Caroline County. Rozannah did not release her dower rights to deeds mentioned in court records made by William Daniel to his sons in the 1740s so was apparently deceased by then. Rozannah may have had something to do with William Daniel's apparent attainment of literacy shown in his signing deed records in the 1720s.

    William Daniel owned a grist mill on Beverly's Run which was mentioned as a boundary in a deed between Richard Coleman and James Jameson in Essex County, Virginia on 26 August 1727. The land of William Daniel and James Lindsay, including Daniel's Mill, was in the part of Essex County that was cut off into Caroline County in 1728.

    Most Caroline County court order books survive so it is possible to trace activity of the Daniel family in Caroline in these books. Order books for 1728-1732 are lost, however, so evidence of early activity of William's older sons may have been lost. Caroline County court order books in the early 1730s mention William Daniel's mill as Daniel's Mill or William Daniel's mill and later as John Daniel's Mill and afterwards as White's mill. William Daniel was appointed a constable in Caroline in the 1740s, though this may have been William's son, William Jr. William Daniel was taxed for three newly imported slaves under the age of 16 in the 1730s. He was named as the guardian of three of the sons of his deceased son, Thomas, in Essex County in 1739. William was a frequent member of juries in Caroline County and was mentioned in road orders, estate appraisals, recording of deeds, etc. After his son William Jr. was first mentioned in records, they were usually mentioned as William Daniel Sr. and Jr. in the order books. William Daniel Sr. deeded land to Moses Daniel, probably his son, in 1743. In 1761, a slave of William Daniel Sr. is mentioned as a witness in the trial of another slave, so William was apparently still active then.

    Caroline court order books show that William Daniel's will was presented by his son William Jr. and Thomas Daniel, probably his grandson, in January of 1765, so William probably died in Drysdale Parish, south of Port Royal in Caroline County in December 1764 or early January 1765. He was called William Daniel "the Elder" in this record, as by that time, there were at least four of his adult descendants named William then living. William's will and estate inventory were lost when many Caroline County records, including deed and probate records, were burned during the American Civil War. There are no surviving primary records which prove the identities of his children. For many years, though, his was the major Daniel family in Caroline County, Virginia. Much of what is known of the Daniel family in Caroline County, VA comes from the surviving court order books. Most, if not all, of the land that William Daniel and his sons owned in Caroline County now lies within the boundaries of Fort A. P. Hill in eastern Caroline County.

    Several well known researchers, in particular Judge W. B. Newman and Ruth and Sam Sparacio, independently concluded that William Daniel of Caroline County was the son of William Daniell who was born about 1661 in Old Rappahannock County, VA and the grandson of Hugh Daniell, who married Mary Billington about 1660. Hugh Daniell was imported into Northampton County, VA by Sampson Robbins in 1653, probably as an indentured servant. Hugh Daniell was in Old Rappahannock by 1660. There are some notable similarities between Hugh Daniell and William Daniel of Caroline County. Both were illiterate carpenters, both associated with other carpenters and  both had close ties to the Williams family of Old Rappahannock County, VA. Hugh Daniell and his son William both resided in Old Rappahannock County, VA where Hugh died about 1665 and the last known mention of his son William was in 1671 in the will of his grandfather Luke Billington. As mentioned previously, Old Rappahannock was divided into Essex and Richmond Counties in 1692 and William Daniel of Caroline County had associates in both Essex and Richmond Counties. Unfortunately, no records have been found to prove or disprove a connection between Hugh and William Daniell of Old Rappahannock County and William Daniel of Essex and Caroline Counties.

    Primary record research in Essex, Caroline, Spotsylvania, Orange and Culpeper Counties, VA has shown the William Daniel and his wife had the following children:

  1. Sarah Daniel b. ca 1701 d. before 1749, married James Lindsay before February 1719.
  2. Mary Daniel b. ca 1703 d. before 1799, married Edward Walker about 1725.
  3. William Daniel b. ca 1705 d. 1783, married Elizabeth Coleman about 1725.
  4. Thomas Daniel b. ca 1707 d. 1738, married Mary Rowzee about 1727.
  5. Elizabeth Daniel b. ca 1710 d. about 1780, married James Coleman before 1730.
  6. Elijah Daniel b. ca 1712 d. 1784, married Mary Hawes about 1734.
  7. Moses Daniel b. ca 1715 d. 1745, unmarried.




History of the Caroline County, VA Daniel Y DNA Project


    Because many primary records in Caroline County, VA are lost, it was necessary to use what records remained in Caroline County, court order books, land tax lists, etc., records in Essex County, from which Caroline was created, and records in adjoining Virginia counties, to identify the potential family of William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County. The goal of the project was to use Y DNA testing to prove whether these Daniel lines are related and connected to William Daniel 1680-1765. Y DNA is passed only from father to son and changes very slowly over time, so is very useful for tracing direct male lines. In a few cases, it was possible to trace descendants of these Daniels back to Caroline County using primary records and in other cases it was necessary to infer a connection to Caroline County because these families had Virginia origins, used given names commonly used by Caroline County families that were connected to the Daniel family in that county or had connections to families that could be traced to Caroline County.
    Several Daniel lines with an ancestor who lived in the 18th century and met the desired profile were identified for this project. Daniel men descended from the following ancestors were targeted:

  • Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 (ca 1713 Essex County, VA to 1784 Caroline County, VA). Elijah Daniel married Mary Hawes, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Spencer Hawes, and left records in Caroline, Orange and Culpeper Counties, VA. Through his interactions with William Daniel Jr. of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County, VA he is easily linked to William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 and was probably William Sr.'s son. The line of Elijah's son, Edmund, is easily traced in primary records.
  • John Daniel 1725-1800 (ca 1725 Caroline County, VA to ca 1800 Shelby County, KY). John Daniel 1725-1800 can easily be traced to Caroline County, VA through records around the estate of Benjamin Sneed/Snead of Caroline County, VA, whose daughter married John's son Thomas in Caroline County. Given names Walker and Coleman were used in this line. The Coleman, Walker and Daniel families of Caroline County, VA intermarried several times. The Snead family had close ties to the Daniel family of Caroline County for many years. This John was a grandson of William Daniel 1680-1765, a son of William Daniel 1705-1781 and Elizabeth Coleman.
  • James Daniel 1732-1800 (ca 1732 to ca 1800 of Russell County, VA). The given name Wyatt was used in this line. Wyatt was a given name used by Caroline County, VA Coleman families that intermarried with the descendants of William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County. James also seems to be connected to Spilsby Daniel, another given name used by Caroline families. James is the ancestor of the Daniel families of Lawrence, Floyd and Johnson Counties, KY and Pike County, IL. He is probably the James born 20 July 1728, son of Thomas Daniel and Mary Rowzee, and a grandson of William Daniel 1680-1765. The birth year 1732 is an estimate used for many years by researchers before Y DNA testing proved his connection to the Daniel family of Caroline County, VA.
  • Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 (ca 1743 to ca 1789). Jacob and his wife's connection is based on the Franklin County, KY death record of their son, Reuben Daniel 1773-1857, which gives his birthplace as Caroline County, VA about 1773 (aged 84 in 1857) and names his parents. Jacob and Mary/Elizabeth Daniel, appear in Caroline records in the early and mid 1770s. Jacob was likely the son of Elijah Daniel 1713-1783 and Mary Hawes. The name of Reuben's mother is given as Mary in his death record, but that may be because she used her middle name, Elizabeth, while her mother-in-law was living. Jacob was a Revolutionary War soldier from Caroline County serving under Lt. Colonel Samuel Hawes, his uncle or cousin, and Colonel William Russell. William Russell Jr. commanded a company of militia in Dunmore's War in the same county where James 1732-1800 lived.
  • Thomas 1750-1825 (ca 1750 to ca 1825 Greene County, IL). The given name Walker was used in this line. The birthplace of several of Thomas' sons was given as Virginia in 1850 and 1860 census records. He is probably the Thomas Daniel who was associated with James Daniel 1732-1800 in Washington County, VA and served under Captain William Russell Jr. in Dunmore's War in 1774. He is probably a grandson of Thomas Daniel 1708-1738 and Mary Rowzee and son of John Daniel who was born on 25 June 1730.
  • William Daniel 1765-1840 (ca 1765 Virginia to ca 1840 of Todd County, KY). William Daniel 1765-1840 has strong ties in Kentucky records to Phillip and Tabitha Daniel Buckner of Caroline County, VA and Kentucky. Careful examination of available records indicates that Tabitha Daniel Buckner was William's half sister. He was a grandson of William Daniel 1705-1781 and Elizabeth Coleman, son of William Daniel 1734-1817 and Mary Snead.
  • Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 (1765 Bedford County,  VA -1852 Clinton County, KY) was in records in Russell County, VA at the same time as James Daniel 1732-1800 and Thomas Daniel 1750-1825, and was probably James' nephew or cousin. Spilsby was a given name used by Caroline County, VA Coleman and related families that intermarried with the descendants of William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County. He is thought to be a grandson of Thomas Daniel 1707-1738 and Mary Rowzee, son of William Daniel 1 October 1732-?.
    Individuals are identified throughout this document by their first and last name and years of birth and death to avoid confusion since some common names were passed down. It took over ten years to track down descendants of all of these men, and a descendant of the most critical line, Elijah Daniel, was found almost last, but it was worthwhile as DNA testing proved all of these lines were related and could be solidly linked William Daniel 1680-1765, as a result.




How we got here


   To prove the Y DNA of the line of William Daniel 1680-1765 it was necessary to use the available records to identify male descendants from the lines of at least two of his sons. Records in Essex and Caroline County, Virginia prove that William Daniel 1680-1765 had at least four sons, William Jr. 1705-1781, Thomas 1708-1738, Elijah 1713-1784 and Moses 1717-1745. The birth years of all of these sons are calculated from their first appearances in records and are only an approximation. It is possible that there were other sons who are not mentioned in Caroline County records, possibly leaving the county before they appeared in records there. John and David Daniel appear briefly in Caroline records in the 1730s and are candidates to be sons of William 1680-1765, but there are no records that support a connection and they apparently left the county and would very be difficult to trace. William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781 is easily traced in Caroline County, VA court order books, had substantial property in Caroline County, seems to have taken over operation of Daniel's Mill after the death of his father and was fairly prominent in Caroline County. Several children can be attributed to him and their descendants are easily traced. Two other sons of William 1680-1765 (Thomas and Elijah) also had male children who are named in primary records. It is probable that James 1732-1800, Spilsby 1765-1852 and Thomas 1750-1825 descend from Thomas 1707-1738 not William Jr. 1705-1781 or Elijah 1713-1784 based on these primary records. Primary records identify the names of most of the sons of Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 who lived to adulthood and some of their descendants are easily traced. Caroline court order books suggest that Moses Daniel died without issue shortly after becoming active as an adult and being given a start of land deeded to him by his father.
 

William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781

   William Daniel 1705-1781 starts appearing in Caroline County court order books in September 1735, referred to as "William Daniel Jr.". Court order books for 1728-August 1732 are missing. He often appears in the same court records with this father and in other entries associated with the same people as his father. William Daniel 1705-1781 married Elizabeth Coleman, daughter of Robert Coleman. This marriage is proved by the will of Spilsby Coleman, Elizabeth's brother, who died in Spotsylvania County in 1757.

   Numerous members of Caroline families, including the Daniels, Lindsays, Walkers and Colemans, moved from Caroline County to Spotsylvania County in the 1730s and 1740s, some parts of which later became Orange and Culpeper counties. "William Daniel Junior of the parish of St. Ann's in the county of Caroline, planter" purchased 300 acres of land in Spotsylvania County, VA on 29 March 1734 from Richard Mauldin, so it appears that he considered relocating to that county, as well. "William Daniel Junr. of the parish of Drysdale in the county of Caroline" sold this land, now in Orange County, to his brother, Elijah, on 6 October 1736. A later deed for this land provides further proof that Mary Daniel, daughter of William Daniel 1680-1765 married Edward Walker. Note that in the first deed, made in 1734, William Daniel Junior is referred to as "planter" indicating that he was already occupying and farming land by 1734. This, along with the fact that he had money to buy several hundred acres of land in another county and the approximate ages of his older children suggest that he was married and active by the early 1720s.

    William Daniel 1705-1781 had at least two sons, John 1725-1800 and William III 1734-1817 (1 March 1734 - 11 March 1817). John Daniel was a witness for his father in a court case. The given name Coleman was used in the lines of both John 1725-1800 and William 1734-1817. 

    John Daniel 1725-1800 appears to have remained in Caroline County until the 1780s when he and several of his sons migrated to Kentucky. All of John Daniel's children are named in the probate records of his sons Walker in Lincoln County, KY in the 1780s and Robert in Shelby County, KY in the 1790s. John Daniel 1725-1800 was the ancestor of the large Daniel family of Ohio County, KY which left many male Daniel descendants.

    William Daniel III 1734-1817 married twice to 1) unknown and had Tabitha who married Phillip Buckner and 2) Mary Snead and had sons William Daniel IV 1765-1840 who married Verlinda Simmons and Benjamin 1769-1843 who married Margaret Brown. William Daniel III 1734-1817 and his sons left Caroline in the late 1780s and early 1790s when they also moved to Kentucky. William IV 1765-1840 resided in Jefferson, Nelson and Todd Counties, KY and Benjamin resided in Mercer County, KY as did William Daniel III 1734-1817. Thomas Daniel witnessed a deed in 1800 in Jefferson County, KY between Phillip and Tabitha Daniel Buckner and William Daniel IV and may have been another son of William Daniel III 1734-1817. It is also possible that this Thomas was the son of John 1725-1800.  William Daniel IV 1765-1840 had a large family and several sons with many male Daniel descendants. No male Daniel descendants of Benjamin Daniel have been located.

Thomas Daniel 1708-1738

    The administration records of the estate of Thomas 1708-1738 in Essex County, VA named four children, all sons (James 20 July 1728-?, John 24 June 1730-?, William 1 October 1732-? and Thomas Jr. 4 January 1735-1771), but little is known of them except for Thomas Jr. 1735-1771 who died in Caroline County, leaving a widow and six daughters. Further confusion is created because William Daniel 1680-1765 became the guardian for three of the sons of Thomas 1708-1738 and William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781 became the guardian of the fourth son, John.

Abstract of Essex County, VA Orders: “Dec. 18, 1739. James Daniel, an orphan 11 years of age the 20th of July last past, bound to William Daniel until 21 to learn the trade of a taylor; William Daniel, the younger, an orphan 7 years old October 1 last past, bound to William Daniel until 21 to learn the trade of a taylor; Thomas Daniel, an orphan 4 years old the 4th day of January last past, apprenticed to William Daniel until 21 to learn the trade of a carpenter; John Daniel, an orphan 9 years old the 24th day of June last past, bound to William Daniel, Jr., until 21 to learn the trade of a shoemaker.”

    The sons of Thomas Daniel 1708-1738, with the exception of Thomas Jr. 1735-1771, make no verifiable appearances in Caroline County, VA court order books and apparently left Caroline County shortly after reaching adulthood. There are several entries in court order books which could mention some of these men, but there is no way to separate them from the sons of William Daniel 1705-1781 as they were are all born about the same time, shared common given names and became adults about the same time.

    James who was born in 1728 is a good candidate to be James Daniel 1732-1799 of Russell County, VA whose birth year is a guesstimate based on the fact that he was exempted from paying taxes in 1792 "due to age and bodily infirmities". William Daniel 1732-? and John 1730-? are likely the men who owned land from 1755-1765 in Cumberland County, VA where William 1732-? was named as "William Daniel of Caroline County" in the first deed record in which he appears in that county. William Daniel 1732-? is a good candidate to be the father of Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852. Thomas Daniel 1735-1771 is likely the man who, with his uncle, William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781, presented the will of William Daniel 1680-1765 on 10 January 1765. John Daniel is thought to be the father of Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 who named his first son John.


    Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 is the ancestor of the Daniel families of Montgomery County, KY, Champaign County, OH, Jasper County, IN, Hardin County, TX and Greene County, IL.

    James Daniel 1732-1799 is the ancestor of the large Daniel family of Lawrence, Floyd and Johnson Counties, KY and Pike County, IL.

    There are many male Daniel descendants from all of these lines, except for Thomas Daniel Jr. 1735-1771 who had six daughters and no sons.

Elijah Daniel 1713-1784

    Of the four sons of William Daniel 1680-1765, tracing Elijah's line seemed most promising since Elijah lived into the 1780s, his children were adults at the time of his death and several of his sons and their descendants can be easily deduced from primary records in Caroline and Spotsylvania Counties, particularly Edmund who died in 1799 in Spotsylvania County, VA and was the administrator of Elijah's estate in Caroline County in 1784. Elijah married Mary Hawes, daughter of Samuel Hawes, and there many interactions between Elijah and the Hawes family in records, particularly Samuel Hawes Sr. and Jr. The other three sons of William Daniel 1680-1765 are rarely mentioned in records with the Hawes family. Edmund's brother, William, left a will in Wilkes County, GA made in 1792 and proved in 1795, in which he made bequests to all of his living brothers, i.e., Edmund, Samuel and Jonathan. Edmund Daniel made a power of attorney in Spotsylvania County to his son Reuben to act in his behalf to manage his inheritance.

    A Y DNA match to a descendant of Elijah, from his son Edmund, finally provided strong primary record support, through Elijah's connection to William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781, for the conclusion that we have identified the DNA of William Daniel 1680-1765. A series deeds in Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, VA provided the primary record evidence to link Elijah Daniel to William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County, VA:

27-28 Oct 1736 Orange County VA Deed Record abstracts
William Daniel of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County, planter, to Elijah Daniel of St. Mark's Parish, Orange County, planter. Lease and release; for one peppercorn 300 acres, part of 18,500 acres granted by patent to Col. James Taylor and part of said tract sold to Richard Mauldin being 1200 acres ... on the south side of the River Rappadan .. corner to Mr. Nicholas Battle .. corner to Mr. Richard Thomas ... oak standing in a branch.

(signed) William Daniel, junr.

Wit: Samuel Hawes, Henry Dougun, Wm. Rucker]

    When William Daniel purchased this land from Richard Mauldin in 1734, it was in Spotsylvania County and that deed describes him as "William Daniel Junior of St. Ann's Parish and County of Caroline". Drysdale Parish was created from St. Ann's Parish so these are also a valuable set of deeds for tracing the Daniel family in Caroline County.

    Jacob and Mary Daniel, who were living in Caroline County in the 1770s, had issue Frances "Fanny", Nancy and Reuben, who all moved to Jefferson County, KY with their mother. It seems probable that Jacob died in Kentucky but no record of his residence or death there has been found. As mentioned previously, Jacob is a strong candidate to be a son of Elijah. Elijah's son, William, made his will in Wilkes County, GA in 1792 making bequests his brothers Edmund, Samuel and Jonathan, but did not mention Jacob.  Jacob may not have been named in the will because it appears that he was deceased when the will was made in 1792. Jacob Daniel was closely associated with the Hawes family in Caroline County records. Jacob Daniel's line, from his son Reuben, has been located and information about his line is available here. Reuben's 1857 death record gives his place of birth as Caroline County, VA and also names his parents. It is worth noting that Edmund Daniel, son of Elijah 1713-1784, also named a son Reuben. A descendant of Jacob Daniel's son Reuben has been tested and his DNA closely matches our group.

    A possible candidate for Elijah's son, Samuel, is the man for whom a Revolutionary War pension application was submitted in Culpeper County, VA. This Samuel named a son Elijah. Several grandsons (Samuel, William, John and James) of Samuel are named in the pension application, but none have been traced as they apparently left Culpeper County and have very common given names. Reuben Daniel, son of Edmund, also lived in Culpeper County.

    Elijah's son Jonathan remains unaccounted for. He was probably born 1745-1755 and was living in 1792 so lived to adulthood. It seems likely that he married and had a family, but no records which can be attributed to him have been found.

    Many of Elijah's descendants settled in Dallas County, TX and Jackson County, OK. He is probably also the ancestor of the Daniel family of Floyd County, IN. There are numerous male Daniel descendants from all of these families.






How we solved it


    Before the Daniel DNA project was created in 2002, after about two decades of research, I strongly suspected that I had identified several brothers born between 1773 and 1790 (John, William, Thomas, Estridge, James and Walker), likely sons of my ancestor Thomas Daniel 1750-1825, but no primary records had then, or have since, been found to prove my conclusions. Only very strong circumstantial primary record evidence and the use of some common given names in all of these lines suggested a connection. One thing that greatly aided in tracing the descendants of Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 is the use of the given name Estridge/Eastridge for at least a couple of generations by almost all lines of Thomas' descendants. This given name is used only in the Daniel line that descends from Thomas Daniel 1750-1825. The lines of probable sons of Thomas 1750-1825; John, William, Estridge, James and Walker all are known to have had at least one male by that name in their lineage, in some cases several. The name Narcissa for female children is also common in these families. Thomas Daniel is named as the father of Walker Daniel in a county history of Greene County, IL by a close family associate who knew both men. Attempting to resolve this problem, I founded the Daniel DNA Project. Y DNA tests have since proved that the lines of William, Estridge, James and Walker are closely related. The lines of John and Thomas Jr. have not yet been tested because the combination of primary records and the use of uncommon given names provide strong evidence for a connection of those lines to Thomas 1750-1825 and his son Estridge Daniel 1782-1852. There are, however, numerous autosomal DNA matches between the descendants of John Daniel and Thomas Daniel Jr. and other Daniels who descend from Thomas Daniel 1750-1825.
    Kit #s in the Daniel DNA project for sons of Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 are:

  • 3347   -  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge Daniel > James Quincy Daniel
  • 6647   -  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > James Daniel    > Carney Daniel
  • 7745   -  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > William Daniel   > Nathan Daniel
  • 62623 -  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Walker Daniel    > John Clark Dannel

    It was only a couple of years after the start of the Daniel DNA project that Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 had a 33/37 match to kit #9727 William Daniel 1765-1840 of Todd County, KY. There is very strong circumstantial evidence from primary records that William 1765-1840 was closely related to Tabitha Daniel Buckner 1756-1838, who can easily be traced to Caroline County, VA. Tabitha was the wife of Phillip Buckner 1747-1820, who was prominent in Caroline County, VA and later prominent in Kentucky. This match strongly suggested that both of these lines were connected to William Daniel 1680-1765  of Caroline County, VA, the major Daniel line in that county for most of the 18th century.

    More Y DNA evidence from other lines that could be traced to Caroline County was needed to validate this hypothesis, however, since many records in Caroline County are lost, and no direct primary record evidence exists that can identify present day descendants of William Sr. 1680-1765 of Caroline. I thought it should be possible, though, to test several Daniel lines that have Caroline County, VA connections, and if they matched, we would likely have identified the DNA of the line of William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County, VA. This would not, however, prove that these Daniels were descended from William 1680-1765, only that they were likely connected to him in some way. Use of common given names in these lines, for instance Spilsby, Wyatt, Walker and Coleman, would also support this conclusion. Sons and daughters of William 1680-1765 are thought to have married into families with these given names or surnames, which were later used as given names by their descendants.

    Two other major Daniel lines, William of Middlesex and James of Essex, make appearances in Caroline County for one or two generations, between 1770 and 1800, but their Y DNA and haplogroups have been identified and both differ from the DNA of the potential descendants of William 1680-1765. By 1800, the Daniel surname representing William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 disappeared from Caroline County as his direct male descendants migrated to other Virginia counties and to other states and territories. Descendants of the direct male line of James Daniel of Essex remained in Caroline after 1800.

    Between 2008 and 2018, Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 and William Daniel 1765-1840 had six matches to James Daniel Sr. ca 1732-1800 of Russell County, VA. It should be noted that the distance from myself to Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 is only five generations, while the distances from the descendants of James Daniel Sr. 1732-1800 is nine or ten generations which may, in part, account for the variation in results noted later in this analysis. These results were provided by five descendants of James' son, James Jr., via his sons Thomas and Isom and by one descendant of James' son Wyatt. Wyatt Daniel eventually settled in Morgan and Pike Counties, IL adjacent to Greene County, IL, where  Thomas 1750-1825 had settled. It is uncertain if the two families had contact there, but descendants of both families lived there at the same time from the mid 1820s to the present day. Descendants of James' son, James Jr., settled in Floyd County, KY not far from where Thomas 1750-1825 settled when he first came to Kentucky in the 1790s and where some of his descendants remained. One of the descendants of Thomas who remained in Montgomery County, KY named a son Isom which suggests that there was contact between these families in Kentucky.
    Descendants of James 1732-1800 who took DNA tests are:

  •  94729  -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868
  • 160425 -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868
  • 189806 -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868
  • 381227 -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > James Daniel Jr. > Isom Daniel  1799-1847
  • 795729 -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > James Daniel Jr. > Isom Daniel  1799-1847
  • 454068 -  James Daniel 1732-1800 > Wyatt Daniel       > Hatch Daniel 1813-1880
    Between 2002 and 2005 all of these lines had 12 marker matches to the line of Edward Daniel 1765-1830 of Virginia, but these matches fell away at 25 markers, indicating there is no meaningful probability of a common ancestor living during the time that surnames were used. They probably share a common ancestor who lived many hundreds or thousands of years ago, but the fact that both families use the surname of Daniel is just a coincidence. I mention this, however, as one participant who has a 12 marker match to both families, a descendant of Stephen Daniel 1781-? of Masaac County, Illinois, has not upgraded to the 25 marker test, so it is uncertain if he belongs to one of these two Daniel families or is not related to either. Stephen had a son or grandson named Edward, which suggests that he is probably related to Edward Daniel 1765-1830.

    In 2013 all lines got a match to Kit #320285 John Calvin Daniels 1843-1909. We have not yet been able to tie this line to any of the other matching lines. John Calvin Daniels was born in Tennessee but later moved to Texas. The identity of his parents is not certain, but his father is thought to be a John Daniels 1791-1848 of Perry County, TN.

    In March of 2015 an unknown Daniel who is not a member of the Daniel DNA project but has tested with Family Tree DNA matched all of these lines. This line tested to 111 markers and is very closely related to a descendant of James Daniel 1732-1800 and to a descendant of Thomas Daniel 1750-1825.

    In late 2015 a second descendant of William Daniel 1765-1840 of Todd County, KY, Kit #B11177, was located and joined our group taking the 67 marker Y DNA test, matching our first participant from this line exactly on 37 markers. Our first participant from this line became inactive several  years ago and had named no beneficiary for his DNA so no results beyond 37 markers were available for this line until the second member of  this family made them available.

    The opportunity to further test the hypothesis that these lines were connected to William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County, VA came in 2015 when I was able to locate a descendant of John Daniel 1725-1800 of Caroline County, VA and  Jefferson and Shelby Counties, KY, Kit #445720. The 1792 will (proved in 1797) of John's son Robert names his father and siblings as do earlier deeds around the estate of John's son Walker Daniel 1750-1784 who was the first Attorney General of Kentucky. John's son, Thomas, married Mary Snead/Sneed and through the estate records of her father, Benjamin Snead, it is possible to trace this line back to Caroline County, VA. There are numerous primary records in Caroline County that tie the Daniel and Snead families together and tie earlier generations of the Snead family to William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline. The probate records also proved that John Daniel had a son named (Samuel) Coleman Daniel. A Y DNA match proved that John's descendants were a match to the rest of the Daniels in our group, solidly linking all of these lines to Caroline County, VA and potentially to William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline. A slight confusion is caused because it appears that a descendant of James Daniel of Essex moved to Caroline County, VA just before the Revolutionary War and also married into the same Snead family and his descendants later moved to Kentucky around the same time as descendants of William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 did. It is easy to separate this line from the descendants of William Daniel 1680-1765 as most of the Daniels from William's line had left Caroline by this time, moving to other Virginia Counties, and other states, notably Kentucky and Georgia.

    In early 2016 all of the members of this group had a 67 marker match to a gentleman with a non-Daniel surname (Carpenter), #422419. The testing was initiated by a researcher tracing the Carpenter surname and related lines and it has been determined that this connection is the result of an NPE (Non-Paternity Event) that occurred in the previous generation, in the 1960s. The match was so close to some of our group that it seemed certain that this match has male Daniel ancestors and subsequent research confirmed this connection. Although he is our Daniel cousin, his results are added to our group results as "Carpenter". I had originally listed him as "Unknown Daniel(s)", but since we have another Daniel cousin who has not disclosed his identity, even I was confused in sorting between the two. Primary record research tentatively suggests that he is a descendant of Spilsby Daniel's line.

    In April of 2017 we were able to locate a documented descendant (646872) of  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 of Washington, Russell and Wythe Counties, VA, Cumberland and Clinton Counties, KY and Overton and Fentress Counties, TN. He was a match to our group. His connection to James Daniel 1732-1800 of Washington and Russell Counties, VA and his  given name brought us even closer to being able to claim a connection to William Daniel 1680-1765.

    Finally, in August 2017, a descendant of Elijah Daniel (756121) was located and we got the Y DNA match that we needed to prove our group's connection to William Daniel 1680-1765. There is a strong primary record trail from the living descendant of this line to Elijah and from Elijah to William Daniel Jr. of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County, VA where William Daniel Sr. 1680-1765 was situated.

    In September 2017, a descendant of Jacob Daniel (757153) was located and he was also a DNA match to our group.  Jacob was probably a son of Elijah, as well, but apparently died before he was included in primary records that could have proved this connection.

Conclusion

   As a result of this project, male Daniel descendants of William Daniel Jr. 1705-1781, Thomas Daniel 1708-1738 and Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 were successfully traced and tested using Y DNA with matching results. So far (2019), Y DNA results of all Daniel men available can be traced to the descendants of William Daniel 1680-1765. Because we have successfully identified the Y DNA of William Daniel 1680-1765 it is now possible to use Y DNA testing of other potential descendants to prove or disprove their connection to this family. 

 



  A brief biography of the ancestor of each line tested


    Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 (William Sr. > Elijah > Edmund): Elijah Daniel first appears in records in 1734 when he is mentioned in a road order in Orange County, VA. In 1736, William Daniel Jr. of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County, VA sold Elijah Daniel of Orange County 300 acres of land for the price of one peppercorn. Elijah was appointed a Constable in Orange County about 1738. In 1743 Elijah and Mary Daniel, his wife, sold the land he purchased from William Daniel Jr. to the vestry of St.Thomas Parish in Orange County, Elijah lived in Essex, Caroline, Orange and Culpeper Counties, before returning to Caroline County, where he died and his son Edmund administered his estate. Elijah married Mary Hawes, daughter of Samuel Hawes and Elizabeth Spencer. The names of their children are not certain, but they likely had; Agnis married James or John Arnold, Edmund married Peggy LNU, William married Mary LNU, Samuel married Mary LNU, Jonathan and Jacob married Mary Elizabeth LNU.

    John 1725-1800 (John > Coleman): John Daniel's first identifiable appearance in records is when he was mentioned on 20 June 1790 in a deed made in Lincoln County, KY pertaining to the estate of his son, Walker Daniel. This deed also names all of John's children living at the time. He was listed in the tax lists of Shelby County, Kentucky in 1794. He was named in the will of his son Robert in Jefferson County, Kentucky written in 1792 and proved in 1797. John, and his son Martin, made Robert's estate available for inventory in 1797, John's last appearance in records. Robert's will names his father, John, and his siblings who are also named in the 1790 deed. Walker Daniel, (1750-1784) came to Kentucky in 1781 and was killed there by Indians in 1784. He was an attorney, Revolutionary War officer and the first Attorney General of the Kentucky District of Virginia. The sons of John Daniel received grants for thousands of acres of land in Kentucky. John settled in Jefferson County, KY. His occupation is uncertain. He may be the John Daniel mentioned in Caroline County, VA records who assumed control William Daniel's 1680-1765 grist mill. John's children, mentioned in the will of his son Robert are; (Chloe) Clark, Betsy (Elizabeth) Meriwether, Thomas Daniel, Sukey (Susannah) Morris, Coleman Daniel, Walker Daniel (deceased) and Martin Daniel. This family is linked to Caroline County, Virginia by the marriage of John's son Thomas to Mary Sneed, daughter of Benjamin Sneed of Caroline County as shown in Kentucky Court of Appeals records. Benjamin Sneed's father was John Sneed who owned a tavern in the vicinity of Daniel's Mill in Caroline County, VA. Daniel's Mill was founded by William Daniel 1680-1765 by the early 1730s. There are numerous interactions between the Daniel and Sneed families in Caroline County.
    The use of the name Coleman for one of John's sons suggests that he was the son of William Daniel Jr. and Elizabeth Coleman and not John Daniel born 24 June 1730, son of Thomas Daniel and Mary Rowzee, William Jr.'s ward. John Daniel, son of Thomas and Mary Rowzee Daniel may be the John Daniel who purchased land from William Daniel "of Caroline" in 1763 in Cumberland County, VA. Among John Daniel's descendants, are the numerous Daniel families of Ohio County, KY.

    James 1728-1800 (James > Wyatt/James Jr.): This James Daniel is probably the son of Thomas Daniel and Mary Rowzee. His date of birth, 20 July 1728, is given in guardianship records in Essex County, VA which were part of the probate of his father's estate. Earlier estimates of his age come from tax records in Russell County, VA. James Daniel's first identifiable appearance in records is in 1781, when he purchased 200 acres of land in Washington County, Virginia. This land adjoined that of Thomas Daniel, who settled there in 1771. James appears in tax lists in Washington County and then in Russell County from 1781 until 1793 when he was exempted from paying poll tax and county levies due to "age and bodily infirmities". He appeared in the tax lists of 1794-95, and signed petitions to create Tazewell County in 1795 and 1796.  He last appears in records in 1799 when James Daniel Sr. and Sarah Daniel presented and proved the will of James Daniel (Jr.). It is thought that he had sons Wyatt and James and daughter Rebecca. Thomas and Spillsby Daniel are also sometimes listed as his sons. James Daniel Sr. resided on the Maiden Spring Fork of Clinch River and Cove Creek in Washington County, Virginia, later Russell County and then Tazewell County, Virginia. He was apparently a farmer, usually taxed for a few horses and cattle each year. Where he resided before 1781 is not known but DNA evidence now links him to the Daniel family of Caroline County, Virginia. His dates of birth and death have been approximated, based on the records available. He is possibly the son of Thomas Daniel and Mary Rowzee who was born on 20 July 1728 in Essex or Caroline County, VA. His grandsons, Thomas, Isom and George, sons of James Daniel Jr., moved to Kentucky and are the ancestors of the numerous Daniel(s) families of Floyd and Johnson Counties, KY.

    Thomas 1750-1825 (Thomas > Estridge/James/Walker/William): Thomas Daniel's first identifiable appearance in records is in the 1789-91 tax lists of Madison County, KY. The 1792 tax list of Clark County, KY notes that he had removed there from Madison County. He was in the part of Clark County that was cut off into Montgomery County in 1799 and appears in tax lists of both counties from 1792-1806. Tax lists show the coming of age of his sons John (b. 26 May 1773), Thomas Jr., William and Estridge as each son is listed near him as they turned 21. Thomas was not taxed for land until 1806, and was taxed for a several horses and a few cattle each year. He was often taxed for a stud horse. His occupation is uncertain. There are several mentions of land grants for Thomas Daniel in the area, probably for several different men, but it has not been possible to sort them out due to lack of records. Thomas' sons were all educated, one a county clerk, one a teacher, another an officer in the War of 1812 and all holding various other positions of responsibility in their communities. Thomas and sons Walker and William and daughter Elizabeth moved to the Indiana Territory in 1807 and are easily traced in records there. He first settled just south of present day Marion, Williamson County, IL. He moved to Madison County, IL by 1814 and was in the 1818 Madison and 1820 Greene County censuses. Thomas acquired several hundred acres of Public Domain land in the vicinity of present day Alton in Madison County, IL and soon sold it, appearing to have been speculating in land. Thomas last appears in records on 24 November 1825 in Greene County, IL. There is no probate of his estate in Greene County. He is probably the Thomas Daniel who left records in Botetourt, Fincastle and Washington Counties, VA and was associated with James Daniel 1732-1800. Thomas best fits as a son of John Daniel, brother of James Daniel 1732-1800, who was born 24 June 1730, a son of Thomas and Mary Rowzee Daniel.

    Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 (Jacob > Reuben Daniel > Richard B.) Jacob and Elizabeth Daniel, appear in Caroline records in the early and mid 1770s. Jacob and his wife's connection to the rest of these men is partly is based on the Franklin County, KY death record of their son, Reuben Daniel 1784-1857, who was born in Caroline County, VA in 1784 according to his death record. The name of Reuben's mother is given as Mary in his death record, but that may be because she used her middle name, Elizabeth, while her mother-in-law was living.  Jacob was a Revolutionary War soldier from Caroline County serving under Lt. Colonel Samuel Hawes, his grandfather or uncle, and Colonel William Russell. Captain William Russell Jr. commanded a company of militia in Dunmore's War in the same county where James 1732-1800, Spilsby and Thomas 1750-1825  lived. Jacob was likely the son of Elijah Daniel and Mary Hawes. William Daniel of Wilkes County, GA named his brothers Edmund, Jonathan and Samuel in his 1791 will which was proved in 1795. Jacob was probably not named because he died before 1791. This is consistent with Kentucky records as Jacob's daughter Nancy Ann was married in Jefferson County, KY in 1792, but Jacob does not appear in any records in that county. He likely died not long after arriving in Kentucky, before appearing in any records there.

    William 1765-1840 (William > Richard): William Daniel first appears in records in the 1789 tax list of Jefferson County, KY. He was listed in the household of Nicholas Buckner,  who is believed to  be a brother of Phillip Buckner who married Tabitha Daniel in Caroline County, VA. The land that Nicholas Buckner was living on was entered in the name of Phillip Buckner. Phillip and Tabitha Buckner sold land to Jefferson County, KY in 1799. William 1765-1840 and Tabitha Daniel 1756-1738 are thought to be children of William Daniel III 1734-1817, son of William Daniel (II) 1705-1781  and Elizabeth Coleman. William Daniel (III) 1734-1817 is thought to have married twice, first to an unknown spouse, mother of Tabitha who married Phillip Buckner, and second to Mary Sneed daughter of John Sneed of Caroline County, VA, mother of William 1765-1840 and Benjamin 1769-1843. The birth place, birth date and marriage information for William Daniel 1734-1817 is given in what appears to be the transcript of a family Bible in the Daniel file at the Madison Public Library in Jefferson County, Indiana. Also mentioned in this transcript are the birth and death dates of Tabitha Daniel who married Philip Buckner. Though this record is not a primary record it has been in the files of the library for many years and other information in this transcript is supported by primary record evidence. There are numerous primary records that tie the Daniel, Coleman, Buckner Sneed and Blanton families of Caroline County, VA together.  That being said, this provides more links between the Daniel family, and the Snead and Buckner families and Caroline County, VA. William 1765-1840 married Verlinda Simmons in 1791 in Nelson County, KY. They later moved to Christian and Todd Counties, KY. William and Verlinda Daniel had several children; Richard Mortimer, Nancy, Horace, Lewis, Rice, Elizabeth, Mary B., Tabitha B. and John P.

    Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 (Spilsby > James): Spilsby Daniel was born about 1765 in Bedford County, VA, according to his Revolutionary War pension file. Much of what is known about Spilsby comes from this file. He married Sarah “Sally” Asberry in Wythe County, VA according to the file, probably around 1800. Spilsby is a given name used by the Coleman family of Caroline County, VA which has led some researchers to link him to William Daniel who married Elizabeth Coleman. Spilsby enlisted in the army in the spring of 1780 while living in Washington County, VA, the part that was later cut off into Russell County. From his pension file: “he was verbally discharge by his said Captain in the spring after the Battle of Kings Mountain (October 1781) he knows not the month or date he then continued to live in the western part of Virginia about twenty years after the end of the war and then moved to Cumberland (KY) staid there many years, thence to Wayne County Kentucky staid their several years thence to Overton County Tennessee staid there eight or ten year’s thence to where he now lives (Fentress County, TN) he was born in Bedford County Virginia his parents died when he was young”. The fact that Spilsby claims that he was born in Bedford County, VA and that his parents died while he was young seems to eliminate him as a son of William Daniel who married Elizabeth Coleman or James Daniel of Russell County, VA. He did serve under William Bowen during the war, and the Bowens were the neighbors of James Daniel of Russell County. There was a William Daniel in Bedford County, VA records around the time that Spilsby says he was born there and a William Daniel served in the Fincastle, VA militia in 1774 during Dunmore's War. Marriage records in Caroline County, VA do not survive, so it is possible that his mother may have been a Coleman, hence his given name. All speculation. There does not appear to be a probate for Spilsby, so the names of his children are deduced from various records.

    The common ancestor of John, James, Thomas, William and Spilsby is probably two or three generations further back than these men. John 1725-1800 and James 1732-1800 are possibly brothers or first cousins, based on their approximated birth years and DNA marker distance between their descendants. Elijah Daniel was likely the uncle or great uncle of these men and father of Jacob. Several of these lines claim descent from an ancestor who came to America from Wales.




Y DNA Results for Caroline County, VA Daniels

      A comparison of the number of the matching/non-matching DNA markers for each kit is given below. I am eliminating the results of our first descendant of William Daniel 1765-1840 since he was an exact 37 marker match to our second participant from this line, both descend from William's son Richard and it is unlikely that this kit will ever be upgraded to 67 markers. I have also eliminated Daniel participants who have not taken at least the 37 marker test or don't match anyone from our group at 37 makers. Those are two descendants (6647, 62623) of Thomas 1750-1825 (not taken 37 marker test), Stephen Daniel (33878) 1781-? (not taken 37 marker test) and Edward Daniel (4014) 1765-1830 (doesn't match our group above 12 markers).

   Kit #3347 Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852

  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (108/111)
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 59/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 64/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard
  • 61/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford (107/111)
  • 63/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820 (105/111)
  • 63/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 64/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > James
  • 64/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 63/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #7745 Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > William > Nathan 1802-1836

  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 60/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 65/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard
  • 62/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 64/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 64/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 64/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 65/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1783-1852
  • 64/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 64/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #94729 James Daniel Sr. > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868

  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 66/67  William 1768-1840
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #160425 James Daniel Sr. > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868

  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben
    Kit #189806 James Daniel Sr. > James Daniel Jr. > Thomas Daniel 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr.,> Thomas 1789-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852 (108/111)
  • 66/67  William 1768-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 67/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford (110/111)
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820 (108/111)
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James >  Giles
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 67/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #320285 John Calvin Daniels 1843-1909

  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 James Jr.     > Isom 1799-1847
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 61/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 63/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 64/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 63/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 63/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 64/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 62/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 63/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 63/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #381227 - James Daniel Sr. > James Daniel Jr. > Isom Daniel  1799-1847

  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (falls away at 37 markers)
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (falls away at 67 markers)
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (falls away at 67 markers)
  • 60/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 59/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852 (FTDNA does not see 59/67 as a match)
  • 62/67  William 1768-1840 >  Richard 1792-1830
  • 59/67  John Calvin 1843-1909 (doesn't match at 12 markers and falls away completely at 25 markers!)
  • 61/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 61/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820 (falls away at 67 markers)
  • 61/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 62/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 60/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 61/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852 (Not a match at 37 markers)
  • 61/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #B11177 William Daniel 1768-1840 > Richard 1792-1830

  • 66/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 66/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 66/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 64/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 66/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 66/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 66/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 67/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 66/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 66/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #422419 Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)

  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 James Jr.     > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #445720 John Daniel 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820

  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (108/111)
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 James Jr.     > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852 (105/111)
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford (107/111)
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben
    Kit #646872 Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852
  • 66/37  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 66/37  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 66/37  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 James Jr.     > Isom 1799-1847
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 66/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 67/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 66/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 64/57  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 66/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 66/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 66/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

   Kit #756121 Elijah Daniel 1713-1784
  • 67/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. >  Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 67/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    
Kit #757153 Jacob Daniel 1745-1789
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1780-1868
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 James Jr.     > Isom 1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard 1792-1830
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 64/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852

    Kit #795729 - James Daniel Sr. > James Daniel Jr. > Isom Daniel  1799-1847
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 64/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 62/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852
  • 65/67  William 1768-1840 >  Richard 1792-1830
  • 62/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 64/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford
  • 64/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820
  • 64/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 65/67  Spilsby 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 63/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 64/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 64/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

   Kit #930882 Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > James > Aaron Kinsey

  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (108/111)
  • 65/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 59/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard
  • 61/67  John Calvin 1843-1909 (104/111)
  • 65/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford (107/111)
  • 63/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820 (107/111)
  • 63/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > James > Giles
  • 66/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 65/67  Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr. 1784-1852
  • 63/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben

    Kit #? Milford Daniel This Daniel man did not join the Daniel DNA Project, so it was not possible to contact them to invite them to join the project. They did choose to share their results, however, so their match to all members of our group was visible as was their surname, Daniel. This match to the group occurred in August 2015, shortly after conversations with descendants of Milford Daniel took place seeking a test of a male Daniel from their line. In May 2020 this kit was removed from sharing and no longer appeared in matches to our group, but it is reasonably certain the match represents a descendant of Milford Daniel. There is substantial autosomal DNA evidence to support this conclusion, which is discussed in my examination of the family of Milford Daniel. The most likely of descent for Milford is Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > Estridge > Harvey > Milford.
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 63/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868
  • 67/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Thomas 1789-1868 (110/111)
  • 61/67  James 1732-1800 > James Jr. > Isom 1799-1847
  • 62/67  James 1732-1800 > Wyatt > Hatch 1813-1880
  • 66/67  William 1765-1840 > Richard
  • 63/67  John Calvin 1843-1909
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > Estridge 1782-1852 (107/111)
  • 65/67  John 1725-1800 > Samuel Coleman 1760-1820 (107/111)
  • 63/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > Spilsby Jr. (Carpenter)
  • 66/67  Spilsby Daniel 1765-1852 > James
  • 64/67  Thomas Daniel 1750-1825 > William > Nathan
  • 67/67   Elijah Daniel 1713-1784 > Edmund > Edmund Jr.
  • 65/67  Jacob Daniel 1743-1789 > Reuben > James Reuben
  • 65/67  Thomas 1750-1825 > James 1783-1862 (107/111)






Haplogroup and SNP data

All members of our group share the R-M269 haplogroup, which is the most common haplogroup in Europe. This haplogroup becomes more common in western Europe. Over 92% of men in Wales share this haplogroup. Our group's haplogroup tree is R1b > R-M269 (R1b1a1a2) > L23 > L51 > P310 > L151 > P312 >  Z290 > R-L21 > DF13 > DF21 > Z39589 >  Z251 (see below for more recent mutations). I have highlighted in red certain common benchmarks for our haplogroup, some of which have a lot of documentation on the Internet or are of particular interest to our group. Think of this list as a tree, with many mutations branching off from the trunk which is R-M269, the oldest Y DNA of our line, with the branches from it being mutations which occurred over time.


R-M269
.R-L21
..Z39589
...Z251

....FGC13899
.....FGC18232
.......R-BY64626
........R-BY66743

    The R-L21 haplogroup, which is closer to the trunk of our tree, is most common today in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. The R-L21 mutation is thought to have occurred about 4500 years ago in southwest Britain. R-L21 is strongly associated with Celtic ancestry, more specifically the Beaker Atlantic Culture, or Beaker People, so named for the shape of their pottery drinking vessels. Some members of the Z39589 mutation appear have moved from southwest Britain to a pre-Christian Beaker People colony in the Rhine area of Germany and descendants of this group are now found in what is present day Romania,but DNA sampling data is not sufficient to determine when this migration occurred. Further mutations to our line appear to have continued in Britain which is our direct line. Early Beaker people were heavily involved in mining of silver and tin, which is present in southwest Britain and the German Rhine area and there is indication of travel and trade between these regions.

    There is a persistent tradition among descendants of at least two sons of William Daniel 1680-1765 that our immigrant Daniel ancestor came from Wales. Several surnames with connections to Wales have been found in surname groups who which are positive for the FGC13899 mutation, which our SNP falls under. Unfortunately, Wales was a patronymic society until the 15th-18th centuries, with children taking the given name of their father as a surname, so if our ancestry is Welsh trying to trace our ancestry through the Daniel surname may not be very effective. Daniel is also a common surname in Devon in southwest Britain.

    Our group's terminal SNP, the most recent known mutation of our Y DNA, is currently R-BY66743 which might, one day, help us to narrow our origins to a specific geographic location or family group of surnames. It is currently thought that the common ancestor of men who are positive for R-BY66743 lived about 1500 years ago.  

    It is notable that in FTDNA's database there are only Y DNA matches to members of our group of Daniel cousins at 67 and 111 markers and to no other surnames. There are four matches for a few members of our group at 25 markers to men of French ancestry named Secor, three of which fall away at 37 markers leaving one Secor match who probably matches only a few members of our group due to some rapid mutation in the Y DNA of his line. Our group of cousins is, therefore, unique at 37 markers and higher. This sparsity of matches to other surnames is very significant as one common indicator of Irish or Scottish clan ancestry is many matches to other surnames at all levels of testing. It is not unusual for men with such ancestry to have dozens, or even hundreds, of matches to other surnames, even at the 111 marker level of testing. This suggests that our ancestor, William Daniel 1680-1765, does not have Irish or Scottish ancestry and further supports the tradition of Welsh ancestry passed down by his descendants.

    At least three members of our Daniel group have taken deeper Y DNA tests with matching results at R-BY66743, but it might be beneficial if one or two others did additional testing for this SNP, at some point, as well. Family Tree DNA offers a FGC18232 SNP test for $39, but the result does not show if testers are also positive for R-BY66743. Family Tree DNA does not yet offer a test for R-BY66743. An expensive upgrade to Big Y 700 would be needed. A request was made to YSEQ.org to create a test for R-BY66743 and it has been created and tests by two members of the group who have tested positive for FGC13899 have been completed with positive results. This test only costs $23 if testers have not yet submitted a DNA sample. For testers whose DNA is already stored at YSEQ the cost is $18.

     Living DNA in the UK offers a cheaper alternative for somewhat deeper DNA testing than other providers do, though not so deep that it will include terminal SNPs as recent at FGC13899, BY66743, etc. My terminal SNP at LivingDNA was reported
in early 2019 as R-DF13, which is more recent than R-L21. Deeper testing is part of LivingDNA's standard level of testing and requires only taking one test (mtDNA, Y DNA, autosomal DNA combined for men only) at a cost of $99 in 2018. There have been sales with even lower prices. One benefit of testing with Living DNA is that they have a much larger database of Y DNA from the UK and can provide a much more granular analysis of where the ancestors of their participants lived in Europe. If more folks from our group were to test at Living DNA, our group might be able to screen out some geographic regions in the UK which we don't have in common. Living DNA has also created a shareable database of matches for customers which may also be helpful in identifying European origins, as most of their customers live in Europe.

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