County Down Jam?sons YDNA Project

DNA research is widely used to identify and analyze practically all living or once living things. It is probably best known as a forensic tool used to positively connect certain evidence from a crime scene to a particular person. With genealogy, DNA from just the Y Chromosome can effectively be used to connect a male descendant (only men have the Y chromosome and that chromosome is only passed down intact (inherited) from father to son, etc.) with any number of other male persons, of any age, across any location and any time. It is a serious and complicated science, which can be easily used and completely trusted by the genealogist.

In the last few years DNA testing has become more widely available and affordable and as such a unique and important tool for the genealogist. There are now several very reputable labs who do this specifically for genealogy as well as groups who have organized for unique family projects.

Our County Down Jam?son Y-DNA Project is an effort to genetically identify and categorize any and all Jam?son families (of any spelling) living in or with ancestral ties of any kind, to the province of County Down and the surrounding Belfast area, in Ireland, from about 1600 to the present time. Y-DNA tests, taken by a living descendant, can do that.

Y-DNA test results are usually expressed as a string of numbers, often called markers. These numbers are not medically informative or personally identifiable. However, for our purposes, a Y-DNA profile from any living male descendant of this Jameson family can be compared to a profile of any other male, worldwide, and if any two tests have a Y Chromosome DNA match and one of those people can otherwise identify and prove an ancestry (any ancestry), then the other matched person can assume that ancestry is his also, at least as far as some common ancestor, somewhere in their past. Conversely, if a Jameson male has Y-DNA results that does not match others of those in our known Jameson family, he cannot claim to be part of this family, at least genetically, regardless of any paper trail.

Below are the Y-DNA tests we are aware of for those people/families in the County Down and Belfast area Jam?sons website.

Our Down County Jam?sons DNA project does not keep records of those people who have taken Y-DNA tests connected to the above identified people or families with which they are associated. The test ID number of the above tests is however linked to a website where that person (or test) can be identified and the lineage verified. If no website is known for that tested person we link to the FTDNA's Jamieson Project Results website, for verification.

Every direct male descendant (must have the Jameson surname) is encouraged to help find your ancestors with this DNA Project. Please read this page of answers about DNA testing and then contact us about how to coordinate your results.