DNA testing was key to finding our own connection to Joseph and Rose Holley and is helping others do the same. If you are unsure of your heritage, please consider joining a DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA. If you are researching your ancestry, a DNA test can help you and others break down the brick walls that can be so frustrating. Four men with variants of the Holley surname have tested to date, as well as two Allen men who descend from Judah Allen, born about 1695 in Sandwich, MA. Judah is believed to have been a Holley by birth.
The most recent addition to our group is Bruce Halley. At 37 markers he is a perfect match with David Holley and 36 for 37 with Richardson Allen and Dick Hawley. His earliest known ancestor is William Halley who was born about 1804 in Maryland, not far from where David Holley's earliest known ancestor lived. The other test takers are Terry Allen, who like Richardson traces his ancestry to Judah Allen, and William Holway who descends from the Maine branch of this family. Sign up for a DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA. Members of our group can be found in the Hawley, Holly/Holley and Holloway projects; and four have entered their results at Ysearch.org. We recommend you test for at least 37 markers.
If you know that you descend from Joseph and Rose, we ask that you consider joining the DNA project to help all of us who are still searching for documentation of our heritage. The genealogical record of your family's history could help countless others overcome the barriers that frustrate so many researchers. We can help defray the cost of the test, so please contact us if you would be willing to help with our research. If you are an Allen and descend from one of Judah Allen's brothers; Isaac or Benjamin, you could confirm or invalidate the theory that Judah was actually a Holley by taking a DNA test. Richardson and Terry would be forever grateful.
A DNA test takes no more than five minutes to complete and is done in the comfort of your own home. FTDNA will send a kit with a couple of cheek swabs and a return mailer. The analysis by FTDNA takes a month or two and once complete they will notify you of any close matches. There are a number of DNA tests available. The Y-DNA test is the one of most value to genealogical research. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son, but not to daughters. The portions tested remain very stable from generation to generation, but do change occasionally and research has provided insight into the rate at which these changes occur. That allows FTDNA to provide an estimate of the number of generations that have elapsed between any two test takers and their common ancestor, if one exists.