About us
The Maybury Surname Project was started in 2003 by Mabry researcher Donald E Collins (1937-2022). The project initially aimed to determine if descendants of several early immigrants to America named Maybury, Mayberry, Mabry, etc. had a common ancestor. It also aimed to document relationships among those who were likely descendants of Francis Maybury who came to Virginia by 1679. As the project progressed, attention turned to establishing the origins of the Mayburys in England and thence to exploring the branches of the Maybury family in Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – all products of Maybury emigration.
Don Collins also established the Maybury Family website in 1995. It had not been updated since 2018 due to Don’s ill health. Previously hosted by RootsWeb, the Maybury Family website was due to be archived by ancestry.com in 2024 and has been closed down. It has been republished at www.mayburyfamily.com and its detailed genealogical and genetic information will be progressively updated during early 2024.
There are now seven Maybury family groups represented in the project. The largest (Group 1) comprises approximately 60% of Maybury Project members. They are descended from a common ancestor, identified as John Maybury (c.1540-1618, with various spellings), an ironworker of Sussex, England, who lived in various places in England and Wales before dying in Shropshire, England. The balance of Maybury Project members do not share his genetic signature. These Mayburys are possibly descended from sons who, in the past, were either adopted into a Maybury family or born out-of-wedlock to a Maybury mother and passed on the DNA signature of their biological father to subsequent generations. Alternatively, they descend from individuals who changed their family name to Maybury or one of its variants. Both groups have created the additional six Maybury family groups now represented in the project.
It is recommended that participants who are unsure of the details of their Maybury ancestry initially order the Y-DNA 37marker test from Family Tree DNA. Y37 STR (or Short Tandem Repeats) testing has the potential for establishing a participant’s Maybury family group. However, its effectiveness in establishing a participant’s lineage within that group will be limited. The Y-DNA 37marker test may be upgraded later to more comprehensive tests.
Family Tree DNA’s BigY700 is recommended as the most comprehensive test. BigY is a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) test that discovers new SNPs (Single Nuclear Polymorphisms) by scanning over 14.5 million locations on the Y chromosome. BigY also includes a Y111 STR marker test, which serves to narrow down matches. Participants should consider this level of testing if they are interested in accurately determining their lineage within a Maybury family group. As a bonus, it also helps participants explore their haplogroup’s ancient past. Participants who have previously taken STR tests can upgrade to BigY.
SHARING
Reaping the benefits from joining the Maybury DNA Project depends on sharing information.
Please ensure that you:
* Enter beneficiary details (Accounts Settings>Account Information>Beneficiary Information) and let your beneficiary know. Ensure that your sharing continues.
* Enter the details of your EKA, your earliest known ancestor (Accounts Settings>Genealogy). This should be your earliest certain ancestor. Avoid being speculative – most Mayburys cannot prove a pedigree extending back to John Maybury of Sussex. Be specific as to your EKA’s Country of Origin (eg. England not United Kingdom) or leave blank.
* OPT IN to Origin Sharing (Accounts Settings>Privacy and Sharing)
* Help the project administrators to help you by assigning LIMITED access level as recommended by FTDNA (Accounts Settings>Project Preferences> Group Project Administrator Access)
* OPT IN to Sharing (Accounts Settings>Project Preferences> Group Project Profile)
FAMILY TREE
It is very important that you construct your FTDNA family tree either by using the FTDNA MyTree tool or uploading a GEDCOM file (recommended). This will be a great help in assigning you to a branch or sub-branch of your Maybury family group and in helping you connect with related Mayburys. It will also be of assistance in furthering our knowledge of the development of Maybury family branches.