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

Charles Frederick William Hiley

.........continuing the series on Hileys/Highleys killed in WW2.

Charles Frederick William Hiley is the only Hiley listed as a 'Civilian War Death' in WW1 or WW2. He was injured in Westminster, London on 3rd July 1944 and died in Westminster Hospital the same day.

Charles was born in Lambeth in 1909, the son of Charles William and Ethel. He married Freda Hughes in 1937 in Uxbridge. The 1939 Register showed Charles and Freda living in Ruislip-Northwood. The entry for his occupation is 'Book Keeper & Clerk Chemical Merchants Office and Full Time Auxiliary Fireman'.

Charles was a Fireman with the National Fire Service.

Soon after the successful D-Day landings in north western France on 6 June 1944 Hitler launched a final air assault on London using V-Weapons (Vengeance Weapons). Between 13 June 1944 and 29 March 1945 over 3000 of these hit the capital and its suburbs. Almost 9000 people were killed and at least 24000 others were seriously injured.

The first of these weapons were V1 flying bombs (known to Londoners as ‘Doodlebugs’). In the City of Westminster, from 18 June to 27 August 1944, 30 V1s killed 267 people, seriously injured 663 and otherwise injured over 1,000 others.

The circumstances of Charles's death are not known but it is possible that he was on duty as a fireman at the time dealing with the result of a V1 bomb attack on Westminster.

Firemen in London train their hoses on burning buildings following an air raid during the Blitz

Men of the National Fire Service listen for survivors following a V1 attack

Pictures in the Public Domain

Remembering the Lancastria

Following on from the last post about Arthur Thomas Highley who was killed when the troopship Lancastria was bombed and sunk on 17th June 1940, below is a link to an excerpt from a 'Who Do You Think You Are' episode. Amanda Holden's grandfather Frank Holden was one of the survivors.

Arthur Thomas Highley

Today's post features the second in the series on Hileys/Highleys who were killed in WW2. Arthur Thomas Highley, the son of Fawthrop and Emily (nee Burton) Highley, was born in Warley near Halifax in 1899. 

Arthur served for many years in the Army and joined up in WW1, serving with the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He married Alice Anne Dover in Bradford in 1919 and the couple had seven children. They lived at 17 Back Bedford Terrace in Halifax and Arthur worked at the Cote Hill Bobbin works.

Arthur rejoined the Army in January 1940 and went to France the following month. He was aboard the troopship RMS Lancastria on 17th June 1940 when it was bombed and sunk off St Nazaire in France. The Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during WW2 and it had received an emergency order to evacuate British nationals and troops from France. The ship was loaded well in excess of its capacity of 1300 passengers and it is estimated that between 4000 and 7000 people died during the sinking.

The sinking of the Lancastria was the largest loss of life from a single engagement for British forces in World War Two and the largest loss of life in British maritime history - greater than the Titanic and Lusitania combined.

A postcard of RMS Lancastria from 1927

The sinking of the Lancastria seen from a rescue ship

Although Arthur died on 17th June 1940 the Halifax Evening Courier still reported him as missing on 7th August.   

This picture appeared in the Courier on 9th August 1940

Arthur's grave at Pornic War Cemetery in France

The Hilys from Brittany

Two of the posts last month featured Louis John Hiley and his parents Louis François and Mary Hily. Louis John was born on Cape Breton Island and his father Louis François on St Pierre et Miquelon.

St Pierre et Miquelon was first settled by immigrant seafarers from western France (mainly Basques, Normans, and Bretons) early in the 17th century.

Louis François's father, also called Louis François, was born in Le Minihic-sur-Rance, a commune just south of St Malo in Brittany. Louis François snr was born in 1857.  

The towns of Minihic-sur-Rance and Pleurtuit in Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany

At some point before the year 1891 Louis François snr made the journey, possibly sailing from St Malo, to St Pierre et Miquelon because it was there in 1891 that he married Honora Power. He is described as a carpenter on the marriage record. Louis François jnr was born the following year and Louis François snr died in 1897 in St Pierre.

Record of the death of Louis François snr in 1897

Translation by Alexander Hiley:

On this day August 26th eighteen hundred and ninety seven, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the presence of  Marie Lefevre, first deputy delegate of the civil registry of the municipality of Saint Pierre (islands of the French colony Saint Pierre and Miquelon) appear before us:  Mr Hily, Jean Marie, 38 years old, carpenter, cousin to the deceased and Pierre Lefèvre, 39 years old, master blacksmith, both of whom residing and domiciled on Saint Pierre, declare that last night, at half past six in the evening Louis François Hily, aged 40, carpenter, residing and domiciled at Rue de la Gentille on this island, born in Minihic-sur-Rance (Ille -et-Vilaine) on August 27th eighteen hundred and fifty seven, son of the late Jean Hily and Marie Joséphine Dupre, husband to Honora Power, housewife residing on said island, died at his home whereby confirmation of his death has been made. The declarants have signed alongside us the present act after it was given to them to read.

It is possible to trace the Hilys back for several more generations.

Louis François snr.'s Hily ancestors were:

Jean Louis Hily

Born 1815 

Married Marie Josephine Dupré in 1844

Louis René Hily

Born 1776 

Married Jeanne Marie Monnier in 1803

Died 1833

André Hily

Born 1731

Married Françoise Huby in 1760

Died 1781

Guillaume Hily 

Married Guillemette Levesque in 1731

All the births, marriages and burials of the above four Hilys took place in Pleurtuit - see map above.

l'église St Pierre in Pleurtuit

A later photo of the church
The spire of the bell tower was removed in 1941

The Dilemma of Doctor Hiley

Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, silent and sound films, radio serials and TV series. The first story 'The Missing Millionaire' appeared in 1893 and from then until 1978 Blake starred in more than 4000 stories. 

The stories were written by about 200 different authors. One of these was Walter Tyrer, and in 1952 he wrote 'The Dilemma of Doctor Hiley'. The story is listed as No. 258 in the Sexton Blake Library (3rd Series) and was published by Amalgamated Press.

Front cover of the book

Ralph Hiley is introduced on page 4

In the story Sexton Blake and his sidekick Tinker help to track down a man who is on the run and infected by a deadly virus. Dr. Hiley and Nurse Joan Schofield look after the man when he is caught and hospitalised and nurse him back to health, but have to spend a period of isolation together afterwards to make sure they have not been infected. They fall in love but Dr. Hiley reveals that he is already married but that his wife Rita left him and he has not seen her for many years. Sexton Blake locates Rita but she is very ill and requires a life-saving operation which is performed by Dr. Hiley. She tells him that after she left him she married another man which means that the doctor and the nurse are now free to marry each other.