About us
(This page last updated 10 June 2018)
NOTE: See the menu at the upper-left part of this page titled Project Background, Project Goals, News, Results, Y-DNA Results and mtDNA Results. Think of these mouse-clickable tabs as 'doors' that you can use to see additional information on this website. Just left-mouse click on any of those 'doors' at the upper left-hand corner to go inside and see that additional information.
This website was created for Harveys wherever they may reside or whatever their ancestry.... The Harvey Y-DNA genetic project was started March 11, 2004 by William L. Harvey (Bill), and I am still Administrator as of June10, 2018. My personal research scope has been in Colonial New England beginning with the immigration of two Harvey brothers from England. William was born 1614 in England and Thomas was born 1617, also, in England. These young men arrived in the Taunton, Massachusetts, vicinity in 1636. William resided in the Boston area for some years. He had several children there and then he removed permanently to Taunton. His living in the Boston area for a time has caused much continuing confusion with a second William Harvey who also lived in the Boston area and had several children. This confusion is well pointed out and discussed by Oscar Jewell Harvey in his The Harvey Book published in 1899. Also delineated in The Harvey Book genealogical record is the ancestry of William born 1614 and Thomas born 1617 and on back to a Humphrey Harvey born about 1459 in England with some noted reference to Humphrey Harvey's Norman antecedents. The Harvey Book gives descendants of William Harvey born 1614 down to Z(a)echariah Harvey born 1711 in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Tracing of my 5th great-grandfather Zachariah's descendants through Massachusetts into New Hampshire and then to Vermont and beyond has exposed many other Harvey lines which the writer has sorted out to one degree or another, with heavy emphasis on Vermont from 1800 to about 1900. The time is ripe to attempt the sorting out of the different New England Harvey branches with our new DNA genetic tools.
Please click on the "Results" link above to see how some answers have been found for our Harvey lineage questions via DNA testing over these 14 years. "Overseas" Harveys are of significant consequence to this surname import and their participation has been extremely helpful in sorting and assembling the various clans. When traditional methods of research finally hit the proverbial "brick wall", a genealogical DNA test may help in identifying other branches of your family tree. The Harvey Family DNA Project was created to take advantage of this relatively new scientific approach, in an attempt to determine which Harvey family groups are related and approximately when they shared a common ancestor. We currently use Y-chromosome DNA; and SNP DNA as well as autosomal DNA and mtDNA to confirm our traditional genealogical research findings. Today, DNA comparisons can only indicate that two individuals are related in some manner or NOT. They cannot give the point where each individual's lineage meets that of the other person. This means that Y-DNA testing will NOT show, exactly who is your ancestor. If you match someone else, it will indicate that you share a common ancestor with the person to whom you match. Depending on the number of markers tested and the number of matches, it will indicate with a certain degree of probability how long ago this common ancestor existed. By testing the Y-DNA, Harvey males can determine the origin of their Harvey paternal line. Note that the Y-DNA strictly checks the Harvey paternal line, with no influence of any females (wives, mothers, etc) along that line. Harvey (by birth) females do not receive the Y-DNA, and therefore Harvey females cannot be tested for the Harvey paternal line. If you are a Harvey female and would like to know about your Harvey paternal line, you would need to have a Harvey brother or a Harvey male relative from that line to be tested. A big benefit of DNA testing is determining or detecting family lines who do NOT match and cannot be related to each other. Many people spend years trying to find a connection of family lines that simply does not exist. DNA testing can quickly and decisively put an end to such fruitless efforts. Already tested by Family Tree DNA and want to join this Project (free)?......If you have already been tested by Family Tree DNA of Houston, TX, and want to join our Harvey Family DNA Project (this one) you can do so, completely free. (You'll need your kit number and password). Just enter your DNA kit number and password into the upper right-hand corner area of the project home page. Then left mouse-click on 'Log In'. This will bring you to your FTDNA 'personal page'. From there, left-mouse click on 'Join Projects'. The resulting page will show a list of Projects that you are eligible to join. Select the Project that you want to duplicate your DNA kit onto. Left-mouse click on your selected Project. The resulting page will give additional information on that Project. After reading that information, if you are satisfied that this is the Project that you want to join, left-mouse click on the 'join' button in the lower right-hand corner area of that page. If you have already been tested by Family Tree DNA of Houston, this is completely free to you. You just need your kit number and password. If you have questions about duplicating your Kit results onto this, our Harvey DNA Project, contact William L. Harvey 'Bill' at wlh@foothill.net or Nan Harvey at nanharvey@gmail.com
Harvey Family DNA Project group cost for DNA test......If you have not already been tested, the group costs for the tests of your interest to the Harvey Family DNA Project can be found by clicking on Harvey within the listing of eligible projects.
These are the discounted Harvey Group prices....prices are higher if ordered outside of the Harvey Group as an individual. Shipping costs are not included in this listing.
These are the discounted Harvey Group prices....prices are higher if ordered outside of the Harvey Group as an individual. Shipping costs are not included in this listing.
A Y-DNA12 marker test is considered a minimal “entry level” test. A Y-DNA37 marker test is strongly recommended for better results. Release Form.......... Those who choose to participate in the Harvey Family DNA Project will be given the opportunity to sign (or not sign) a release form. Signing the release form is recommended, but signing it is optional. The Release Form is your written consent that allows Family Tree DNA of Houston, TX, (FTDNA) to share your name and email address with someone who matches your genetic fingerprint exactly.
The first notification of test results is by e-mail directed to you and the project administrator. At the time your returned DNA sample kit was received by FTDNA you were provided with a unique personal password to use with your Kit #. This combination of ID will provide access to your "Family Tree DNA personal page" where you will be able to view all of the DNA test results that have been completed for your account. Be sure to save this ID combination as you will need to use it each time you visit your personal page . If you misplace or forget your ID and personal password, it's easy for you to get it. If you need help obtaining your forgotten personal password, contact William L. Harvey at wlh@foothill.net or Nan Harvey at nanharvey@gmail.com Your test results will also be posted at the 'Y-Results' tab of this Harvey Family DNA Project website.
Understanding Genetic Distance in Y-DNA Testing.............. (Source: Family Tree DNA - Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd.) "When comparing people’s samples in our system we show individuals who are closely matched, but not identically matched, as being different by what the Anthropologists call genetic distance. If two people were identical in all markers except they are off in one marker by 1 point, the genetic distance would be 1. If they were off at 2 different markers by 1 point in each marker, then the genetic distance of those two samples would be 2. If they were off by 2 points at one marker and 1 point in a second marker, then the genetic distance would be 3. This is called the Stepwise Model of calculating genetic distance for shallow time depths. (i.e. Genealogy not Anthropology) Some markers have shown themselves to be more volatile then others and the population geneticists have created a second model to account for these ‘aberrations’. That model is called the Infinite allele model. For markers that fall into this category, despite the fact that two people could be separated by 2 (or 3) mutations, the scientific assumption is that the change took place in a single generation (between a father and a son) and therefore it is treated as a single step, despite the fact that more then one ‘point’ separates two samples". Currently the Scientists have asked us to classify DYS 464 and YCAII a and b as following the Infinite Allele Model.
Understanding Haplogroup Descriptions......... (Source: Family Tree DNA - Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd.) "A Haplogroup is a genetic population group associated with early human migrations and which can today be associated with a geographic region. Haplogroups are clusters of Haplotypes (expressed as exact or near exact marker matches) that are in a tight proximity to each other. Expressed another way Haplotypes are subsets of a Haplogroup. Think of the Haplotypes as the leaves of a tree, and the Haplogroups as the limbs of a tree…in fact the Haplogroups are the limbs of the tree of Homo Sapien Sapien—our unique branch of humanity. All members of a haplogroup descend from a common distant ancestor. The Haplogroups have been crafted into what is called a Philogenetic network. Please note that people in different Haplogroups cannot be related within many thousands of years, and that each male test result provides a prediction of the Haplogroup currently about 90% of the time.
The major branches of the Y-DNA Haplogroup tree are labeled A through T. These branches then have sub-branches, which may in turn have sub-branches. Your Haplogroup is discussed by FTDNA as a part of your Y-DNA test result.