About us
Introduction
Below is an Outline Descendant Report for Robert Chowning born Abt.1628 in England which has been color coded to represent the Chowning Y-DNA results available as of 30 Oct 2020 (via FamilyTreeDNA and/or YSEARCH.) If a man's name is highlighted in red or yellow then one or more of his male descendants have done a genealogical Y-DNA test. If a man's name is highlighted in green then that man is a MRCA (most recent common ancestor) for two or more of his male descendants who have tested.
An outline descendant report is probably familiar to most family researchers that are using some version of personal computer genealogy software. This particular report is restricted to eight generations. This produces a report of the paternal lines from Robert where no man is listed that was born after 1910. This generational restriction ensures that no one currently living would find their father in this list nor probably even their grandfather.
Robert Chowning arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1649 and is the presumed founder of the Chowning Family in the USA. This report of his descendants is representative of my personal ongoing research and I know that it is neither entirely complete nor completely accurate. A descendant report including sources results in a report far too lengthy to post but I would be happy to provide source citation information for any small subset of individuals. I would also be happy to receive any additions or corrections which include source citation information.
Report Interpretation
For example, my two male cousins that tested to represent my line are descendants through different sons of Sanford Chowning so he is their MRCA (most recent common ancestor) and his name is highlighted in green. Two other male cousins we matched on Family Tree DNA are descendants of Charles Walker Chowning and he is their MRCA. Sanford and Charles Walker are grandsons of the Robert Chowning b.1766 in Middlesex, VA which makes Robert the MRCA of all four men.
George Chowning b.1688 in Middlesex, VA is the MRCA of additional cousins who have tested. George's MRCA with the four men above is Robert Chowning b.1659 in Lancaster, VA.
How is this useful in genealogical research? For example, the paper trail from my 2nd great grandfather, Sanford Chowning, is fragmented and thus the pedigree I've built for him is a circumstantial one. Now that I have absolute confirmation via several exact matches that Sanford carried the Chowning Y-DNA it makes what was a solid circumstantial case,` a proven case of descent.
Note: My apologies to all that use a different spelling of the family surname, this abbreviated report does not display surname variants. I use a single preferred spelling of the family name in my database to make searching and mass updating a little easier.
Call for Participants
We only have a handful of testers and many paternal lines are not yet represented. A Chowning Family surname project was launched in March 2013 at FamilyTreeDNA. This project is open to all Chowning surname variants. Joining the project gives members access to group discount rates for both initial DNA tests as well as upgrades to DNA tests already taken.
Chowning Paternal Lines Reports:
Current report dated 30 Oct 2022
Prior report dated 07 Feb 2014