Townsend Family Groups

Over the years a number of distinct Townsend Family groups have been identified through traditional research or DNA Y Chromosome testing or both.  Some of these groups have only been identified within the United States and many do not have documentation or DNA results that link them back to England. While others do have documentation or DNA evidence that connect persons to not only England but to Canada and Australia.

Some family groups have clearly DNA defined sub-groups while there is no traditional documentation on the relationship.
 

The genetic Ydna Haplogroups into which the various Townsend families fall clearly reflect the arrival in England of various populations from around Europe and confirms that not all Townsends are related.  The names given the various group tries to reflect where the oldest known ancestor of the group lived or where there are multiple sub-groups that have not yet been tied to a single ancestor or locations - multiple locations are used for the group name.

Some examples:

The father of the three brothers who arrived in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York has never been identifed, nor has where they came from.

Bucklebury, Berkshire, England is the document ancestral home of Townsends who arrived with William Penn on the Welcome to Philadelphia. And there are descendants of Benedictus Townsend throughout the US south. Genetically these two families are clearly sub-families although no documentation has been found on how they link.

The CastleTownshend group has subgroups or members in England, the United States, and Australia; so far only linked by DNA test results.

Clearly defined and documented Townsend family groups have their own pages of information and there is a section for each within the Y DNA results table at Ydna Results Spreadsheet by Family Groups

A number of Townsend family groups are listed on the left with information and links to still more information. Also there is downloadable information on many Townsend family groups within the Download Section of Members Only.  And of course one should search the Archives catalog of this website.

There are DNA results for other Townsends that do not yet fall in a family group in the lower part of theY DNA results table.

A haplogroup is a major branch on either the maternal or paternal tree of humankind. Haplogroups are associated with early human migrations. Today these can associated with a geographic region or regions.

Note: Though maternal and paternal haplogroups may have similar naming systems, their definitions are different.