SIRMON FAMILY GENEALOGY S*rm*n Family DNA Project DNA Project History

In April 2004, a Sirman cousin and his wife who were returning from researching in the DELMARVA region stopped by our home for a visit. We discussed the many years that we, and some other family members, had been researching our families without finding the relationships we had hoped to find. He was a descendant of Edward from North Carolina and I was a descendant of John from North Carolina. We always believed Edward and John were related and had moved from Maryland to North Carolina in the middle 1700s. We also believed that our Edward and John were descendants of Edward Sermoner, the 1648 immigrant, and his wife Anne Frowin, who had left England and arrived on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1662. They were married in Somerset County, Maryland, in 1664. Over the years we had found bits and pieces of information which made us believe our story was true but we could never find that piece of documentation that would be the proof that we and all genealogists want.

After spending many years researching the Sirmon family, it appeared to us that all the findable paper records had been found. What could we do? The science of DNA was developing and we were hearing about the idea of using DNA for genealogy. Although we didn't understand exactly how the DNA test worked, we decided that the two of us should have a Y-DNA test performed to see whether we would be a close match. A close match would indicate that we were descendants of the same person. This seemed to be our best hope so we decided to be tested. We ordered our 25-Marker test kits from Family Tree DNA on 29 April 2004 and thus began our DNA Project which we would use to search for our common ancestor.

Almost immediately after setting up the Sirmon Family DNA Project at Family Tree DNA, we heard from cousins in the UK who were thinking about starting a DNA project for the family in the UK. After a discussion by email, we decided that our objectives were so similar that it would be to everyone's benefit to combine the two projects. We restructured the Project to have co-administrators. One administrator from the USA would work with participants from there and Canada and one administrator from the UK would work with participants from the UK, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. We were ready to begin so we went to work on our new purpose statement for the Project and decided on the following.

The Purpose of the Sirmon Family DNA Project is to use the science of DNA to trace the different family lines back to their origin. At the present time, the earliest records lead us to believe the origin to be the southwest of England in the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire area. Different lines of the family are found in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Europe, South Africa, and the United States. It is hoped that enough male members of these different lines can be tested to trace the origin back to England. As most family researchers know, the modern day spelling may appear with a variety of vowels. The spellings include: Serman, Sermon, Sirman, Sirmon, Surman, or Surmon. Any of these variations may end in an (s). Other lines with similar spellings that are possibly related are also invited to join the project.

Because of the many different spellings of the surname, we decided to refer to the project as the S*rm*n Family DNA Project. This notation was taken from the S*rm*n Family History Society in the UK, allowing various vowels used in the spelling of the surname. Thus, the "*" is a substitute for whatever vowel you might use in the spelling of your name. We were now ready to promote the Project and, on 17 May 2004, we had the first participant from the UK. We felt that we now had a solid foundation for the Project as we searched for the origin of our S*rm*n surname.

During the months of May, June, and July, the Project began to recruit new participants and as their results became available we could see the first relationship patterns develop. By the end of this period, we had a total of nine participants, and of those nine, six traced their lineage back to North Carolina and three traced their lineage back to the Severn Valley in the UK. On the 12-Marker portion of the test, three of the North Carolina participants and the three Severn Valley participants were perfect matches, indicating a very close family relationship. Eight of these nine participants had 25-Marker results. Of the eight, two were perfect matches, five were only one marker (mutation) off from the perfect matches, and one was off by only two markers. Clearly all these participants are descended from the same ancestor.

During the months of August, September, and October, six participants were added to the Project. Three of these traced their lineage to the Thames Valley in the UK. One of these three currently resides in the USA, one in the UK, and one in Australia. When the results for these three became available, it was found that they were closely related to neither the Severn Valley group from the UK nor the North Carolina group. We had found a new S*rm*n line.

The other three participants were all from North Carolina lines. Two were perfect matches on their 12-Marker results with the North Carolina and Severn Valley groups and one was off by only one marker (mutation). Two of the participants had 25-Marker results. One of these was a perfect match and one was off by one mutation on two markers. At this stage in the Project, we decided to adopt the three perfect matches on the 25-Marker test as our baseline for comparing the results of participants from the North Carolina lines as well as those from the Severn Valley in the UK. We had reached a milestone in that we now knew what to expect from the results.

From the first of November to the end of 2004, the Project added nine participants. Seven participants are from the USA, one is from the UK, and one is from the USA by way of South Africa. Two of these new participants from the USA trace their lineage back to Edward Sermoner. When their results become available, it will be possible to determine whether the North Carolina lines connect to Edward Sermoner as we have suspected for so many years. As the year 2004 comes to a close, there are no results available for these nine new participants. We are expecting 2005 to be an exciting year.

During the months of January, February, and March 2005, the Project has reached something of a milestone. First, one of the objectives of the Project was to determine whether the family lines from North Carolina actually connected to Edward Sermoner who arrived in Virginia about 1648. The results for two participants who trace their paper trail back to old Edward were both perfect matches with participants in North Carolina as well as with participants in the Severn Valley, UK. Second, another objective of the Project was to see whether and where the family lines could be found in the UK. We have now clearly defined three separate family line haplotypes that go back to the UK. (A family haplotype is merely the combined results of the individual markers for the DNA test that represent the descendants of that particular line.) We now have twenty-two participants who trace their lineage back to the Severn Valley, UK. We now have six participants who trace their lineage back to the Thames Valley, UK. Our third distinct line is represented by the participant who traces his lineage back to France/Germany. Additional participants are needed for this line to be able to accurately project its haplotype.

The objective of the Project during 2005 will be refocused to increase the participants in each of these haplotypes as well as identifying additional types. Second, we will need additional effort in order to identify the branches of our different trees. When mutations in the DNA tests of participants occur and can be verified as occurring at a particular ancestor, then all participants who descend from that ancestor would be expected to reflect that haplotype.

During this first quarter of 2005, the Project has added four new participants for a total of twenty-eight. Three of these participants were from the Severn Valley line and one from the Thames Valley line. In addition to the four new participants, nine of the participants in the Severn Valley line have upgraded from the 25-Marker test to the 37-Marker test. As can be seen from reading the DNA Information page, we can expect to see a significant improvement in the probability of the time to the most recent common ancestor-MRCA.

During the second quarter of 2005, the Project added one new participant for a total of twenty-nine. The results for the new participants were not received during the quarter so he has not been classified as to family group.

An additional five participants from the Severn Valley group upgraded to the 37-marker test. We now have a total of fourteen participants from the Severn Valley with results for the 37-marker test. Five are perfect matches with one from the UK and the other four from the USA. Six others from the USA match on 36/37 markers. These six have mutations that are associated with specific branches of the Edward (1638) family so they can be considered perfect matches also. One other USA participant has two mutations but these also appear to be associated with branching. The two other participants from the UK who have upgraded match on 34/37 markers. From the data now available from the 37-marker tests, we can say we have identified a well defined group in the Severn Valley family.

During the third quarter of 2005, the Project added three new participants for a total of thirty-two. The results for the new participants were not received during the quarter. The new participants come from Australia, South Africa, and the United States.

An additional five participants from the Severn Valley family group upgraded to the 37-marker test. Nineteen of the twenty-two participants from the Severn Valley family have upgraded to the 37-marker test. We are waiting for the results for four of these new upgrades. Check the results page often to see how this family is progressing. With the 37-marker results, family lines are beginning to appear.

The participants in the Project remained at thirty-two. The Severn Valley family group now has twenty-two of its participants upgraded to the 37-marker test. The Thames Valley family group had two participants who upgraded to the 37-marker test but additional participants from this family group need to be added and the other current participants need to upgrade to 37-markers in order to determine the Ancestral Haplotype. Check the results page often to see how our families are progressing. With the 37-marker results, family lines are beginning to appear.

The number of participants with test results in the Project remains at thirty-two. The Severn Valley family group had three additional kits ordered from FTDNA but these kits have not been returned at this date. The total number of participants in the Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-two.

The total number of participants in the Thames Valley family group remains at five but much progress was made by four of the five upgrading to the 37-marker test. Results for three of the four test updates were received during this quarter and the other is expected during the next quarter. There is only one mutation in the 37-marker results received by the three participants. See the Results Page for the Thames Valley family.

Family Tree DNA estimates our participants' haplogroups from the 12-marker test results. The haplogroup identifies the person's major population group and provides information about the ancient origin of the male line. Family Tree DNA has now added a haplogroup test which participants can use to confirm their haplogroup assignment. The "Deep SNP" haplogroup test identifies the branch of the haplogroup the participant belongs to. One participant from the Severn Valley family has ordered these tests and the results should become available during the second quarter of 2006.

FTDNA has also added a new 59-marker test. One participant in the Severn Valley family group has updated from the 37-marker test to the 59-marker test. The 59-marker test is expected to provide additional information to help identify different branches of the family. These results are also expected in the second quarter of 2006.

The number of participants with test results in the Project increased to thirty-six. The Severn Valley family group had two of the three additional kits ordered last quarter returned to FTDNA. One additional participant from the Severn Valley family group ordered a kit during the quarter. The total number of participants with returned lab results in the Severn Valley family group has now reached twenty-five.

One participant was added to the Thames Valley family group which now has a total of six participants.

The Unassigned family group remains at five participants.

Family Tree DNA, our testing lab, added eight markers to the 59-marker test they announced last quarter so that now it is a 67-marker test. The cost of the 67-marker test remains the same as the announced cost of the 59-marker test.

The Severn Valley family group has had two participants upgrade to the 67-marker test and the two newest participants ordered the 67-marker test so that we will have a total of four observations for this test. The increase in the number of markers will improve the probability of relatedness to the family. The additional markers may also indicate particular family lines. You will want to keep up with the Results page to see what new information becomes available.

The number of participants with test results in the Project remained at thirty-six. One new participant has joined the project by returning his test kit to FTDNA.

The Severn Valley family group has a total of twenty-five participants with results. Two of these participants have ordered the Deep-SNP Test for R1b. From the partial results received, their haplogroup has been identified as R1b1c. When the remaining results have been received, it is possible that a subclad of their haplogroup may be identified. These subclad results will help in identifying where the Severn Valley family lived prior to settling in the UK. Hopefully, the remaining test results will soon be received from FTDNA.

The Thames Valley family group continues with a total of six participants with results.

The Unassigned family group remains at five participants with results. However, a new participant has ordered a YDNA 37-marker and an mtDNA test kit which he has returned to FTDNA. His results are expected during the fourth quarter of 2006.

The fourth quarter of 2006 has been a good one for the Project. A total of forty participants have ordered test kits. Thirty-eight test kits have been returned to the lab.

The Severn Valley family group now has a total of twenty-six participants with one test kit at the lab. The complete results have been received for the two participants who ordered the Deep-SNP Test for R1b. No additional subgroups were identified for the family group so it continues to be identified as R1b1c. Hopefully, during 2007 additional SNP tests will become available to help identify a more refined subgroup of R1b1c.

The Thames Valley family group has had good success this quarter. The results for Kit#71553 were returned from the lab and he is a perfect match with the haplotype of this family group. Two additional participants have ordered kits and are expected to be identified with this family group. That means the TV family will have a total of nine participants. The family has now been well identified and we are now working toward identifying different family lineages with the family group. These new participants will be very helpful with this task.

The Unassigned family group remains at five participants with results.

During the first quarter of 2007, the results for all participants were received. That means results for a total of forty participants are now available.

The Severn Valley family group now has a total of twenty-six participants with matching results. Six of these participants have ordered upgrades to 67-markers and the results have been received for five of those. The important information resulting from these upgrades is that the descendants of Edmund and Richard (sons of John-1557) have the value of 14 for DYS#446 while the others descend from John (the oldest son of John-1557) and have the value of 13 for DYS#446. Therefore, it appears that the value for DYS#446 will help differentiate among the descendants of John-1557. Additional upgrades to 67-markers would help verify this conclusion.

The Thames Valley family group now has results for nine members. Seven of the nine have results for 37-markers. The family has now been well-identified and we are now working toward identifying different family lineages within the family group. The results for Kit#78568 differ from the family haplotype at DYS#576 with a value of 15 versus 16. The results for Kit#25977 differ from the family haplotype at DYS#570 with a value of 17 versus 18. All other results for all the participants of this family group are a perfect match. Again, it would be helpful to have additional participants as well as upgrades from the current participants as we try to determine different family lines.

The Unassigned family group remains at five participants with results.

During the second quarter of 2007, all results for all participants were received and posted.

The Severn Valley family group now has a total of twenty-six participants with matching results. Eight of these participants have ordered upgrades to 67-markers and the results have been received and posted. The important information resulting from these upgrades is that the descendants of Edmund and Richard (sons of John-1557) have the value of 14 for DYS#446 while the other five descend from John (the oldest son of John-1557) and have the value of 13 for DYS#446. Therefore, it appears that the value for DYS#446 will help differentiate among the descendants of John-1557. Two participants have ordered and received the results for the Deep Clad test for haplogroup R. These results verify that the Severn Valley family is from the R1b1c haplogroup.

The Thames Valley family group now has results for nine participants all with closely matching results. Seven of the nine have results for 37-markers. The family has now been well-identified. The results for Kit#78568 differ from the family haplotype at DYS#576 with a value of 15 versus 16. The results for Kit#25977 differ from the family haplotype at DYS#570 with a value of 17 versus 18. All other results for all the participants of this family group are a perfect match. The participant with Kit#71553 ordered the Deep Clad test for haplogroup I. His results have been received and posted. The results verify that the Thames Valley family is from the I1a haplogroup.

The Unassigned family group remains at five participants with results.

During the third quarter of 2007, three new participants were added to the project with the results being returned for one of these. The one with results is a perfect match on 37 markers with the Severn Valley family. The other two new participants have not received their results so they are currently listed as unclassified.

The Severn Valley family group had one new participant and now has a total of twenty-seven participants with matching results. The results from the new participant, #99144, are significant for the Josiah Sirman family since these results help explain where some of the earlier mutations in this line occurred. Josiah Sirman (1802) is a son of Jonathan Sirman who descends from Edward Sirman (1730). It now appears that the mutation of 13 at DYS#389b must have occurred between Josiah and his son William Buchanan Sirman. The mutation at DYS#19 and DYS#CDYa occurred between William Buchanan Sirman (1856) and the participant with Kit#20955. The mutations at DYS# 570 and DYS#CDYa would have occurred between William Buchanan Sirman and the participant with Kit#48801

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group has added two new participants this quarter. The results for these new participants are expected to be received during the fourth quarter. When these results are received, we hope to be able to reclassify them into one of the existing defined family groups.

During the fourth quarter of 2007, two new participants were added to the project for a total of 43 participants in the Project. The results for Kit# 102094 and Kit#102443 were received and neither matched any other family member. Therefore, they were placed in the Unassigned family group.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-seven participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group now has a total of seven participants.

During the first quarter of 2008, two new participants were added to the project and their results were received. The new results bring the total participants in the Project to 45. The results for Kit# 107690 and Kit# 107913 were received and neither matched any other family member. Therefore, they were placed in the Unassigned family group.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-seven participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group now has a total of nine participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project. The total project participants remained at 45.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-seven participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with nine participants.

During this period, one new participant ordered a test kit. This brings the total project participants to 46. The results for the new participant will be received during the next quarter. When the participant's results are received, the results will be reported and the family group assignment will be made.

The Severn Valley family group continues with twenty-seven participants all with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with nine participants.

During this period, one new participant ordered a test kit. This brings the total project participants to 47. The results for this participant plus the one who ordered during the past quarter were received during this quarter. The results for neither of these new participants matched the Severn Valley or Thames Valley families. Therefore, they were both added to the Unassigned until such time that a match can be found.

The Severn Valley family group continues with twenty-seven participants all with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project. The total project participants remained at 47.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-seven participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, one new participant ordered a test kit. This brings the total project participants to 48. The results for this participant will be received during the next quarter. When his results are received, we will be able to assign him to one of the family groups. It is expected that he will be in the Severn Valley Family.

If the results for the new participant match The Severn Valley family group as expected, the number in this family group will increase to twenty-eight.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project but the results were received for the participant added during the last quarter. The total project participants remain at 48.

The results for the new participant match The Severn Valley family group as expected. The number of participants matching this family group now stands at twenty-eight.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project. The total project participants remain at 48.

One participant from the Severn Valley family group upgraded from 37 markers to 67 markers. The results for the upgrade match the 67 marker results for the other participants who have been tested at that level. The number of participants matching this family group continues at twenty-eight.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project. The total project participants remained at 48.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-eight participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.

During this period, one new participant ordered a test kit. This brings the total project participants to 49. The results for this participant were also received during this period.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-eight participants with closely matching results.

The test results of the new particpant were found to match a participant listed in the Unassigned family group. As a result of this match, a new subgroup has been added to the Thames Valley family group. This subgroup has been named the Thames Valley-Australia family group and now consists of two participants. The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group now consists of ten participants.

During this period, one new participant ordered a test kit. This brings the total project participants to 50. The results for this participant were also received during this period.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-eight participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results. The Thames Valley: Australian Subgroup family continues with two matching participants.

The test results of the new particpant did not match either the Severn Valley family or the Thames Valley family. Therefore, his results were added to the Unassigned family group. The Unassigned family group now contains eleven participants.

During this period, there were no new participants added to the project. The total project participants remained at 50.

The Severn Valley family group remains at twenty-eight participants with closely matching results.

The Thames Valley family group continues with nine participants all with closely matching results plus two participants in the Australian Subgroup with closely matching results.

The Unassigned family group continues with eleven participants.