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Current News about the Barron DNA Project:
The Barron DNA Project continues to grow and as of February 14, 2023 consists of 370 members who have taken either the Y-DNA test or an autosomal DNA test. Of that total, 157 members are Y-DNA participants. 131 Y-DNA members have been placed into 14 family clans containing 2 to 32 individuals. 26 Y-DNA participants currently are in the "Unassigned" category; that is, there are no other participants whose DNA matches these individuals' Y-DNA signatures. An interesting finding is over 90% of our participants belong to the R Haplogroup (identifying ancient ancestry), the most common Haplogroup in European populations. However, there are other Haplogroups also represented within the surname Barron. Clan 9 and several unassigned participants belong to the I Haplogroup, a lineage likely with roots in northern France, found most frequently within Viking/Scandinavian populations. And one Barron participant falls into Haplogroup Q, a lineage found in North and Central Asian populations as well as Native Americans. This data highlights the fact that a shared surname does not automatically mean that there is any biological relationship.
RESOURCES FOR BARRON RESEARCHERS
While DNA testing is an important tool for Barron genealogists, it is most effective when used together with old-fashioned paper research. Fortunately, many old records have been digitized for online searching. In addition, serious Barron researchers have already done primary research and analysis to help Barron descendants with their family trees. Below are links to research groups, websites, papers and other tools for Barron genealogists.
Tools and sources to benefit all Barron family researchers:
Barron Family Genealogy Search is a private Facebook group for posting questions and information about any of the many Barron lines. You can join the group by clicking this link and making a join request.
Unsure of your Barron clan? Use the information below to determine if your personal Barron line connects to one of these:
First, if you aren’t sure of your Barron clan, below are brief descriptions of each. Also, you can view ancestral lines and migrations for members of each of these clans who have Y-DNA tested.Note that clans 1, 2 and 3 have the most members of all the clans identified. These three clans, plus clans 4 and 5, have deep roots in the American South, all with immigrant ancestors prior to the Revolutionary War.
BARRON CLAN 1: The Most Recent Common Ancestor of Barron Clan 1 is unknown at this time. However, he likely lived in England in the early 1500s.Currently, there are English members of Clan 1 with heritage in Cumberland and Durham Counties, England, as early as 1700. And Clan 1's American descendants may descend from a single immigrant, Thomas Barron, who was born in England and immigrated to St. Mary's County, Maryland, in 1660. Descendants of this American line spread throughout the South, with some lines moving to the Midwest. Jon Andersen’s work with refined Y testing(Family Tree DNA Y700 and Dante 30x tests), support these deductions (see analysis).
BARRON CLAN 2: While the Most Recent Common Ancestor of Barron Clan 2 is not known, he likely was an Ulster-Scot who lived in Northern Ireland in the1600s. There are clan members living in Northern Ireland, Australia and the U.S. who trace their ancestral line to one Archibald Barron who signed a land lease in Lisnaward, County Down, Northern Ireland, in 1713. And many American clan members descend from William Barron Sr. (abt 1740 – abt 1780), or the family of Barrons that settled in what is now York County, SC, prior to the American Revolution. See a full analysis of Clan 2.
BARRON CLAN 3: Clan 3’s Most Recent Common Ancestor may have been Joseph Barron, b. 1722/23 in Talbot County, MD. This line has been taken back several additional generations to Barbados in the mid-1600s, and prior to that to Cambridge, England, with the earliest known ancestor identified as William Barron, b. abt 1600. Currently, all members of Clan 3 who belong to the Barron DNA Project descend from an American branch of this family, which settled throughout the South. View a discussion of Clan 3.
BARRON CLAN 4: The Most Recent Common Ancestor for Clan 4 is unknown, but must have lived in England. One branch of Clan 4 remained in England. One or more branches immigrated to America, with a group of this clan found in the Edgecombe County, NC, area by the mid-1700s, with some families spreading south to Jackson and Elbert Counties, GA, and probably another group in Washington County, GA, by the late 1700s. Current Clan 4 members of the Barron DNA Project reside in England and the U.S.
BARRON CLAN 5: Clan 5’s Most Recent Common Ancestor for its Barron members (there are also Parker and Braswell members) – and also its earliest known ancestor – was Samuel Barron, b. abt 1780 in Maryland, lived in Wilkes/Hancock/Warren/ Upson Counties, Georgia, d. abt 1861 in Barbour County, Alabama. All members of this clan show close Y-DNA matches to a Braswell family, with earliest known ancestor Robert Bracewell (Braswell), b. 1611, England, d. 1668, Virginia. It appears that the Clan 5 Barrons carry this Braswell Y chromosome, shared by the Parker member, and Braswell/Brazell members. There may have been a Non-Paternity Event (NPE) with Samuel Barron, or a generation or two prior, where a Braswell male fathered this line (with a similar event occurring in the Parker line of this clan). An NPE could be an adopted son who took the Barron surname or illegitimate son.
BARRON CLAN 6: The Most Recent Common Ancestor for Clan 6 was an Ulster-Scot, probably born in the 1600s in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The family resided in the Templepatrick area by the mid-1700s. Clan members who Y-DNA tested live in Northern Ireland, New Zealand and the U.S. Read more about Clan 6.
BARRON CLAN 7: Clan 7 is a very loosely-related clan, with some members more closely tied to a Pembroke family than to the clan’s other Barron members. The clan’s Most Recent Common Ancestor may have lived in the area near County Kilkenny, Ireland, possibly in the 1600s, or earlier. Several of the branches of this clan immigrated to Newfoundland, Canada. Clan members who Y-DNA tested are from Canada and the U.S.
BARRON CLAN 8: Another loosely related clan, the Most Recent Common Ancestor for Clan 8 may have lived in the 1600s in County Waterford, Ireland. The clan members who Y-DNA tested assumed that they would descend from the Barrons of Burnchurch, a well-known Waterford Barron family with ancient origins. But Y-DNA testing has not supported that connection, showing that this Barron line did not match the DNA of a known descendant of the Barrons of Burnchurch. Clan members who Y-DNA tested live in Ireland and the U.S.
BARRON CLAN 9: Clan 9 is a closely-related group of individuals, whose documented ancestry indicates this Barron line should be a branch of Clan 3,but does not match on Y-DNA. At some point, a Non-Paternity Event (NPE) occurred, so this Barron line does not carry the Barron Clan 3 Y chromosome. An NPE could be an adopted son who took the Barron surname or illegitimate son.
BARRON CLAN 10: This is a second group of closely-related group of individuals, whose documented ancestry indicates this Barron line should also be a branch of Clan 3, but does not match on Y-DNA. At some point, a Non-Paternity Event (NPE) occurred, so this Barron line does not carry the Barron Clan 3 Y chromosome, nor does it carry the Y chromosome of Barron Clan9. An NPE could be an adopted son who took the Barron surname or illegitimate son.
BARRON CLAN 11: The members of this clan all descend from William Barron of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, born about 1750. Clan members live in Canada, South Africa, and the UK.
BARRON CLAN 12: Clan 12 consists of descendants of Thomas Baron, b. ca. 1773 in Wigan, Lancashire, England. Thomas Baron’s son Joseph, the Most Recent Common Ancestor of Clan 12, emigrated from England, settling in New South Wales, Australia. Current members of the clan descend from two of Joseph’s sons. While the spelling of their surname was Baron in England, it appears most of the Australian lines changed to Barron soon after arrival. Other children of Thomas Baron immigrated to Fall River, Massachusetts, but none have joined the Barron DNA Project at this time.
BARRON CLAN 13: At long last, the clan of the famous Ellis Barron family of Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, is represented by Y-DNA testing! At this time, all members of this clan who have DNA tested (Y-DNA and autosomal) are from the branch of Ellis Barron’s son, Moses, b. 1643. Thus, Moses is currently Clan 13’s Most Recent Common Ancestor – though the MRCA of the two Y-DNA participants is more recent: Moses Barron, b. 1738, Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Thus, it is important to recruit Y-DNA participants from other sons of Ellis Barron for Y-DNA confirmation. Though historian Albert Welles presented in 1880 that the Ellis Barron line descended from the Barrons of Burnchurch in County Waterford, Ireland, Clan 13 does not match what may be the Y-DNA baseline for Waterford Barrons (per Y-DNA testing of one descendant, David Charles Netterville Barron). Some recent researchers, instead, believe that Ellis Barron emigrated from England. More research is needed.
BARRON CLAN 14: Clan 14's Earliest Known Common Ancestor was Nicolas Baron, born 17 Jun 1645 in Villenauxe-au-Grande, Troyes, Champagne, France, the son of Lupien Baron (ca 1623-ca 1649) and Jeanne Thiesson/Tierson. In the 1670s, Nicolas emigrated to what was then the French colony of New France (Nouvelle-France), settling on the island of Montreal (in what is now Quebec). In the early to mid 1700s, some of Nicolas’ descendants migrated into New England, others to what is now the Canadian Province of Ontario, and eventually to what are now the U.S. States of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. One famous member of this clan, Joseph Barron (1773-1843), worked as an interpreter, messenger and envoy to various Native American tribes on behalf of then General William Henry Harrison (later President of the U.S.), the Territorial Governor of the area NW of Ohio (territories of Michigan and Indiana and the District of Louisiana). Known Surnames in the family due to French naming conventions include Baron, Barron, Lupien, Lupient, Baron dit Lupien, Barron dit Lupien, Lupien dit Baron/Barron.
There are several dozen additional Barron males who have Y-DNA tested, but do not match any other Barrons. A few are of Hispanic descent, some are from England, Scotland, or Ireland, and there are individuals with roots in Poland/Austria and Russia. In future, as more Barron males Y-DNA test, some or all of these individuals will find Y-DNA matches and will be placed into new clans.
If you still need help determining your Barron clan, email one of the Barron Project administrators listed on our webpage.
Once you know your Barron clan, check out these additional resources for learning more about your extended family:
BARRON CLANs 1, 2, 3 and 5:
Ø “The several men named Samuel Barron in late 1700s/early 1800s Georgia records.” A discussion of eight men named Samuel Barron who lived about the same time in early Georgia, as well as three more Samuel Barrons in the Carolinas, who are sometimes confused by researchers. This discussion should prove helpful indistinguishing between these men.
BARRON CLANs 1, 2, 4 and 5:
Ø “The several men named Thomas Barron in late 1700s/early 1800s Georgia records.” A discussion of eight men named Thomas Barron who lived about the same time in early Georgia, and are sometimes confused by researchers. This discussion should prove helpful in distinguishing between the various Thomases.
BARRON CLAN 2:
Ø “The Barrons of Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Jasper and Jones Counties, GA (1789-1820s”provides an in-depth discussion of two men named Samuel Barron and two men named John Barron who were contemporaries in 1790s Greene and Hancock Counties, GA, before dispersing to newly-opened Georgia counties.
Ø “First generations of the Barron family of York County, SC.” An identification of the first Barrons who settled in the area that is now York County, SC (and nearby Union and Chester counties)in the mid to late 1700s, with a brief background of each, and their known or deduced children, and in some cases, grandchildren.
Ø “Early Barrons in what are now York, Chester and Union Counties, SC – previously Mecklenburg and Tryon Counties, NC, then Camden District, SC.” A timeline of records for the men named Barron who settled prior to the Revolutionary War in the area now encompassing York, Union and Chester counties.
Ø “Thomas Barron Family of York and Union Counties, SC, Greene, Jackson, Morgan, Jones, Upson, and Troup Counties, GA, and Chambers and Tallapoosa Counties, AL.” A chronology following Thomas Barron’s life in the area that is now York and Union counties in SC, then the migration of his wife and children to Georgia and Alabama.
Ø Genealogy Homepage of Vicki Barron Kruschwitz, focusing on the descendants of William and Prudence Barron found in early Wilkes, Greene, Hancock, Baldwin, Putnam, Jasper, Newton, Butts, Meriwether, Harris and Troup Counties in GA; in Tallapoosa, Coosa and Pike Counties, AL; and in Smith County, TX.
Analyses and records abstracts for researchers focusing on Barron families in early Georgia and the Carolinas:
Ø “The several men named Samuel Barron in late 1700s/early 1800s Georgia records.” A discussion of eight men named Samuel Barron who lived about the same time in early Georgia, as well as three more Samuel Barrons in the Carolinas, who are sometimes confused by researchers. This discussion should prove helpful indistinguishing between these men.
Ø “The several men named Thomas Barron in late 1700s/early 1800s Georgia records.” A discussion of eight men named Thomas Barron who lived about the same time in early Georgia, and are sometimes confused by researchers. This discussion should prove helpful in distinguishing between the various Thomases.
Ø “The Barrons of Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Jasper and Jones Counties, GA (1789-1820s”provides an in-depth discussion of two men named Samuel Barron and two men named John Barron who were contemporaries in 1790s Greene and Hancock Counties, GA, before dispersing to newly-opened Georgia counties.
Ø “John Barron (1744-1810), Ireland to Camden, SC, Jefferson and Chatham Counties, GA.” John Barron was a surveyor in Granville County, SC, by the 1770s, then taking his work to Camden, SC, before moving to Georgia. There, he lived in then-capital Louisville, GA, before moving to Savannah. John Barron was a well-to-do and influential resident in all these locations.
Ø “First generations of the Barron family of York County, SC.” An identification of the first Barrons who settled in the area that is now York County, SC (and nearby Union and Chester counties)in the mid to late 1700s, with a brief background of each, and their known or deduced children and, in some cases, grandchildren.
Ø “Early Barrons in what are now York, Chester and Union Counties, SC – previously Mecklenburg and Tryon Counties, NC, then Camden District, SC.” A timeline of records for the men named Barron who settled in the area now encompassing York, Union and Chester counties prior to the Revolutionary War.
Ø “Thomas Barron Family of York and Union Counties, SC, Greene, Jackson, Morgan, Jones, Upson, and Troup Counties, GA, and Chambers and Tallapoosa Counties, AL.” A chronology following Thomas Barron’s life in the area that is now York and Union counties in SC, then the migration of his wife and children to Georgia and Alabama.
Ø “The Barron and Davis families of early Craven County, NC” is an analysis of records from the 1720s - 1770s mentioning individuals named William Barron and Prudence Davis to determine whether these could be the persons who married, and whose family settled in Wilkes County, GA.