The Hiley Y-DNA surname project newsletter

Today's post features the latest edition of the Hiley Y-DNA surname project newsletter.

If you have any queries, comments or suggestions then I would be very pleased to hear from you. You can contact me directly at christopherhiley@hotmail.com or you can post a comment at the bottom of the page. You are welcome to forward the newsletter to anyone you know who might have an interest in the project.

Hiley Y-DNA Project Newsletter no. 3

The Hiley Y-DNA Project - The results so far

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.

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

The Hiley Y-DNA Project - Joining the Project

You are invited to join our family history project if your surname is Hiley or Highley. This is an opportunity to make discoveries about your family tree, your surname, and the distant origin of the male line of your surname. By including your family tree in our project, you will learn more about your family history, as well as help us to find answers.

Questions

The Hiley Family History Project is global, and we are trying to answer these questions:

. How many different family trees exist in the world for the Hiley/Highley surname?
. Where was the most distant ancestor of each family tree located?
· As a result of historical migrations, where are branches of each family tree today?
· Which family trees are related?
· Where did the surname originate for each group of family trees that are related?
· How many different surname origins are there for the surnames in the project?
· What is the "distant" origin of the male line of each tree? This would be the time period before surnames.

Over a number of years I have built up a collection of family trees and I would like to invite you to include your own family tree in our project. This is an opportunity to make discoveries and contribute to the knowledge about your surname. The primary surnames in the project are Hiley and Highley. Other surnames may be included in the project if they are either known or suspected variants. A variant is a surname that developed from another surname.

There are two opportunities for you to participate.

Research

Our first step is to research the direct male line of your family tree. A direct male line is a male with the Hiley or Highley surname, his father, his father, and so on back in time. I will need some basic information to get started with the research component of the project. The purpose of the information is to correctly identify your family tree, out of all the Hiley/Highley family trees so far identified. For living persons, only basic information is needed, like name and birth year. For prior generations, whatever you know is usually sufficient to get to work.

The direct male line will be researched. Since we are focused on the Hiley/Highley surname the other branches of the family tree are not researched. You will be provided with a summary of my research. The goal is to identify each Hiley/Highley family tree, worldwide. This information will enable me to determine how many different family trees exist. You will be provided with a summary of my research.  

Which Trees are Related

The second component of our project is a genealogy DNA test, which tells us which trees are related. Participation in the genealogy DNA testing portion of the project is limited to those family trees which have not yet tested. The research step, besides identifying each family tree, tells us if a tree has tested.

If your tree hasn’t tested, then a male with the Hiley/Highley surname in your tree is invited to participate and take a genealogy DNA test to represent your family tree. The result is a string of 37 numbers representing locations on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, typically unchanged. Since the surname follows the Y-chromosome, this genealogy test is used to determine which family trees are related and to verify the associated genealogy research. Only men have a Y-chromosome, so only men can take this test which contains no personal information. He will be a match or close match to those men to whom he is related. The result contains no personal information and an example is shown below. This is my own result.

13 23 14 10 13 14 11 14 11 12 11 28 15 8 9 8 11 23 16 20 28 12 13 15 16 10 10 19 21 14 14 17 22 35 37 12 10

The testing is done by Family Tree DNA of Houston, Texas, USA. A test kit is sent to you in the mail, and you swab the inside of your mouth and return the kit. When your results are ready, Family Tree DNA will provide you with a secure Personal Page, where you can log in and click Match, to see whom you match. Your matches will only see your name and email address, if you have one, and you will only see their name and email address. If you do not have Internet access, I will mail you a printout of your Match page, as well as other informational pages. Participants will receive a DNA summary along with their Research summary, explaining their matches and distant origin.

The cost of testing is paid for those males representing family trees which have not tested yet, or where additional males are needed to test in a family tree.

This is an exciting opportunity to make discoveries and contribute to the knowledge about the Hiley/Highley surname.

The Hiley Y-DNA Project - Family History and DNA

The Hiley Y-DNA Project was set up in November 2020 by Susan Meates, the DNA Advisor  for the Guild of One-Name Studies. 

The next few posts will look at Family History and DNA, the Hiley Project, and what we have discovered so far about the origins of the various Hiley/Highley families.

Family History and DNA

DNA testing for genealogy, known as genetic genealogy, is the latest technology available and a very powerful tool for use with family history research. The advantage of DNA testing for genealogy is that you can discover information not in the paper records, which will ensure the accuracy of your family tree. By testing males with the surname of interest, such as Hiley or Highley, you can determine if the males are related, and approximately when their common ancestor existed. This information is extremely valuable in making accurate connections in your family history research.

This harmless genealogy DNA test is for males, since males have an X and a Y chromosome, making them male, and the Y chromosome is passed from father to son, typically unchanged. The test result is a string of 37 numbers, which represent the count of short repeats of DNA located on the Y chromosome at specific locations. Males who match or are a close match, and share a surname or variant, are related in a genealogical time frame.

The surnames Hiley and Highley arose at multiple locations at different times, so there are multiple different genetic results in the Hiley/Highley population spread around the world.

The formation of surnames varied depending on the country. The major period of surname formation and adoption in England was 1250-1450. This process occurred first in the major population centres and the south, and gradually moved north and to rural areas. Over time, the surnames evolved to different forms. The majority of the population was illiterate, and their surname was only spoken, and then written down by another person, such as the clergy recording a baptism. Migrations had an impact on the recording of surnames, due to differences in pronunciation. As a result of these factors, variant forms of a surname arose over time.

The objective with our Family History and DNA Project is to test each family tree, determine which trees are related, and hopefully, eventually, discover the origin for each group of related family trees. Most documented family trees only go back to the 1800s or 1700s. DNA testing will take you back to the origin of the surname, typically approximately 500 years prior. And during these 500 years that can’t be covered by documents, variant forms of the surname arose, so we may find other surnames matching Hiley.

The DNA test result will also tell you about your distant origins. Since you will match those to whom you are related, the test result contains no personal information.

If you are male with the surname Hiley or Highley or know a male in your family tree with one of these surnames, please contact me. The cost of testing is paid for those males representing family trees which have not tested yet, or where additional males are needed to test in a family tree.

With thanks to Susan Meates

The Hiley Y-DNA project

The Hiley Y-DNA project, hosted by Family Tree DNA, was set up in November 2020 by Susan Meates, the DNA Advisor for the Guild of One-Name Studies.

In recent years DNA testing has become a major benefit to family history researchers, providing additional information to that which we can find out from traditional paper-based records.The Y-DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which is your father, his father, his father and so on back in time. You must be male to take this test, and to join the Hiley project you should have the Hiley or Highley surname.

The test is a harmless genealogy test of locations on the Y chromosome, called markers, which are passed from father to son, typically unchanged. The test result is a string of numbers and contains no personal information. You will be an exact or close match to those men to whom you are related.

We have assembled a number of different Hiley/Highley family trees and one of the aims of the project is to find out which trees are connected.

The project is still in its early stages but already we are making discoveries about the origin and evolution of the Hiley/Highley surnames.

So far we have found 4 distinct genetic groups:

1 The 'Yorkshire Hileys' originated in the Upper Calder Valley just west of Halifax in Yorkshire. Most of the posts in this Blog up to now have been about members of this group. The earliest confirmed ancestor in this group is David Hiley who married Dorothy Maud in 1725.

2 This group can be traced back to a convict William Highley who was transported to Maryland in 1760. William sailed from Liverpool and was from the 'West of England' but we haven't yet been able to establish his origins.

3 Georg Heyle emigrated from Germany and arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. The family adopted the Hiley surname.

4 James Hiley married Mary Learoyd in Bradford Cathedral in 1775. We don't yet know any more about James from before that year. A lot of early records for this family use the surname Iley as well as Hiley.

Some more tests are currently being processed.

If you have the Hiley or Highley surname, or if you are related to someone, or know of someone, with this surname, then please get in touch to find out more about taking the test and joining the project. You can use the email address shown on this page or Post a Comment below.

This is an exciting opportunity to find out about the origins of the various Hiley/Highley families.