Perry DNA Project

The Perry DNA Project

DNA is a new tool for genealogical research. It can often help to confirm or disprove family relationships where the paper trail has not survived. The Y chromosome is passed down from father to son in much the same was as surnames, so men with the same surname as one another can test to see if they share a common ancestor. Linda Magellan has organised a dna project for men with the surname Perry and we have joined this. My dad, Michael Perry has had his DNA compared with about 1000,000 other people in the datbase, about 50 of whom have the surname Perry.

To find out more about the Perry dna project please visit The Perry DNA project website

Please keep checking back for more results, people are having their DNA tested all the time and new results are uploaded onto the datbase every week. If you are a Perry with Irish roots then please consider joining!

Results

The results of our DNA test are below. The Y-DNA is a kind of junk DNA that fills in the gaps between the important stuff, like what makes us tall or short, or have blue eyes. But the important thing about Y-DNA is that it is passed down from father to son, so the sample that was taken from my Dad is representative of our branch of the Perry family. Our results have had a monumental impact on my our research. We match 25/25 markers to a descendant of the Kilboy Perry family, proving once and for all that 'our' Edward Perry, who died in Liscannor, County Clare in 1888 aged 75 years is the same Edward Perry who was the son of John and Susan Perry from Kilboy, Tipperary.

1	393	13
2	390	24
3	19*	13
4	391	10
5	385a	16
6	385b	19
7	426	11
8	388	11
9	439	12
10	389-1	13
11	392	11
12	389-2	29
13	458	17
14	459a	9
15	459b	9
16	455	11
17	454	11
18	447	24
19	437	14
20	448	19
21	449	33
22	464a**	15
23	464b**	16
24	464c**	17
25	464d**	18
26	460	10
27	GATA H4	12
28	YCA II a	19
29	YCA II b	22
30	456	16
31	607	12
32	576	18
33	570	16
34	CDY a	34
35	CDY b	37
36	442	11
37	438	11

What does all this mean?

Well, firstly, Family Tree DNA have predicted that the haplogroup is E3b. The numbers to the left are a haplotype. Haplotypes are grouped together into a haplogroup which takes into account the deeper ancestral origins of its members. E3b was an unexpected result for the Perrys as it is more commonly found in the Middle East and Africa. It is thought that this group were among the people to bring farming from the Middle East to Europe 9000 years ago. In Europe today it is more concentrated in the south and east.

So we are a perfect match for the Kilboy Perrys, but unfortunately we did not match the Woodrooffe Perrys as expected. There could be a number of reasons for this:

(The obvious one) We could belong to an entirely different Perry family.
A grandson in the maternal line could have changed his name to gain an inheritance
A Perry man could have married a widow who already had a child, who then took on the Perry name
A Perry woman could have had an illegitimate child, who would therefore have had the Perry name but not the Y-DNA
A woman could have had a child with someone who was not her husband

There is no telling which of these scenarios is the reason behind the Kilboy Tipperary Perrys not matching the Woodrooffe Tipperary Perrys. More research and more Irish Perry men to be tested are needed.

So DNA has allowed us to trace our line back another 3 generations to John Perry, who lived in Tipperary in the 18th century and who is our new brick wall!

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