The Hiley Project
At the time of writing, there are 18 members in the Project. The Project contains 15 sets of Y-DNA results for males with the Hiley/Highley surname, 1 sample currently being processed in the lab in Texas, and 1 test kit not yet returned to the lab. There is also 1 female member descended from a Highley ancestor who took an autosomal test.
The Project site and DNA results can be viewed at: Hiley - DNA Results | FamilyTreeDNA
Our genetic groups
So far we have found 5 distinct genetic groups.
A genetic group is those participants who match in a genealogical time frame. They come from the same surname origin. In England, surnames originated about 1250-1450. Sometimes participants are in the same documented tree. Eventually multiple documented trees are in a genetic group, showing that these documented trees share a connection between the progenitor of their tree, and the adoption of surnames. In most cases, a documented connection will never be found to connect the trees. Usually, it is possible to do more research to learn more about the surname origin.
Group 001 (4 participants)
This group might be called the ‘Yorkshire Hileys’. They originated in the Upper Calder Valley, just west of Halifax in Yorkshire, England. The earliest documented ancestor within the group is David Hiley who was born in 1700.
The earliest available registers for West Yorkshire are the Parish registers of Halifax, 1538-1593. The ancient parish of Halifax was the largest parish in Yorkshire and one of the largest in England. These registers cover baptisms, marriages and burials which took place in the Parish church of St John's, Halifax. There are a number of entries for Hileys, with a variety of different variant spellings of the surname. It has been possible to reconstruct some small family groups from these but not enough documents exist to connect these groups to the ancestors of our participants.
Group 002 (5 participants)
Two participants descend from William Highley, a convict from England, who was transported to Maryland in 1760. Three participants descend from James Hiley from Leeds, England, born in about 1724. We do not know the connection between William and James.
Another William Hiley was Rector of Poole in Dorset at the end of the 1500s. His daughter Eleanor married a member of the prominent Haviland family. It has not been possible to trace any living descendants of William but there is a strong belief, and anecdotal evidence, that the descendants of James Hiley from Leeds are connected to this family, especially as members of several generations have used Haviland as a second forename.
Group 003 (1 participant)
Georg Heyle left Germany and arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. The family adopted the surname spelling Hiley.
Surname evolution was typical when a migration occurred, especially when there is a change in pronunciation between the two locations. Surname evolution is where the spelling of the surname changes over time. In the colonies, the surname for this tree evolved to Hiley.
Group 004 (1 participant)
The most distant ancestor we have in this group is James Hiley who married Mary Learoyd in Bradford Cathedral in Yorkshire in 1775. A lot of early records for this family use the surname Iley as well as Hiley.
Group 005 (4 participants)
These 4 participants have documented trees going back to the 1700s. The oldest documented ancestor for each tree shows them living in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and South Wales. We may never be able to connect them with documents. The connection is likely to be between the origin of the surname for this group, circa 1250-1450, and the start of their documented trees.
Growing our Project
The more participants we have, the more we will understand about the origin of the various Hiley families. If you have not already done so, please consider joining the Project. If you have joined, and know of other males with the Hiley or Highley surname, please encourage them to join as well. If you are a female then encourage a male relative to join.
Ordering a test
Because of their competitive rates, I will order tests for new participants through the Guild of One-Name Studies. I have established a fund which can be used to help pay for the test.
If you know of anyone who might have an interest in the Project then please forward this Newsletter to them. If you have any queries, comments or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me.
A genetic group is those participants who match in a genealogical time frame. They come from the same surname origin. In England, surnames originated about 1250-1450. Sometimes participants are in the same documented tree. Eventually multiple documented trees are in a genetic group, showing that these documented trees share a connection between the progenitor of their tree, and the adoption of surnames. In most cases, a documented connection will never be found to connect the trees. Usually, it is possible to do more research to learn more about the surname origin.
Group 001 (4 participants)
This group might be called the ‘Yorkshire Hileys’. They originated in the Upper Calder Valley, just west of Halifax in Yorkshire, England. The earliest documented ancestor within the group is David Hiley who was born in 1700.
The earliest available registers for West Yorkshire are the Parish registers of Halifax, 1538-1593. The ancient parish of Halifax was the largest parish in Yorkshire and one of the largest in England. These registers cover baptisms, marriages and burials which took place in the Parish church of St John's, Halifax. There are a number of entries for Hileys, with a variety of different variant spellings of the surname. It has been possible to reconstruct some small family groups from these but not enough documents exist to connect these groups to the ancestors of our participants.
Group 002 (5 participants)
Two participants descend from William Highley, a convict from England, who was transported to Maryland in 1760. Three participants descend from James Hiley from Leeds, England, born in about 1724. We do not know the connection between William and James.
Another William Hiley was Rector of Poole in Dorset at the end of the 1500s. His daughter Eleanor married a member of the prominent Haviland family. It has not been possible to trace any living descendants of William but there is a strong belief, and anecdotal evidence, that the descendants of James Hiley from Leeds are connected to this family, especially as members of several generations have used Haviland as a second forename.
Group 003 (1 participant)
Georg Heyle left Germany and arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. The family adopted the surname spelling Hiley.
Surname evolution was typical when a migration occurred, especially when there is a change in pronunciation between the two locations. Surname evolution is where the spelling of the surname changes over time. In the colonies, the surname for this tree evolved to Hiley.
Group 004 (1 participant)
The most distant ancestor we have in this group is James Hiley who married Mary Learoyd in Bradford Cathedral in Yorkshire in 1775. A lot of early records for this family use the surname Iley as well as Hiley.
Group 005 (4 participants)
These 4 participants have documented trees going back to the 1700s. The oldest documented ancestor for each tree shows them living in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and South Wales. We may never be able to connect them with documents. The connection is likely to be between the origin of the surname for this group, circa 1250-1450, and the start of their documented trees.
Growing our Project
The more participants we have, the more we will understand about the origin of the various Hiley families. If you have not already done so, please consider joining the Project. If you have joined, and know of other males with the Hiley or Highley surname, please encourage them to join as well. If you are a female then encourage a male relative to join.
Ordering a test
Because of their competitive rates, I will order tests for new participants through the Guild of One-Name Studies. I have established a fund which can be used to help pay for the test.
If you know of anyone who might have an interest in the Project then please forward this Newsletter to them. If you have any queries, comments or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me.
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| Halifax Parish Church, scene of many Hiley baptisms, marriages and burials The earliest recorded baptism was that of Alice, daughter of George Hylyle, in 1540 |
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