Winslow (Y-DNA)
Contents
Status summary
As of March 12, 2016:
- Recruiting Winslow for Y Elite test
Paper trail
English Ancestry
The English Winslow ancestry is shrouded in the myst of time. The family is said to have some Royal ancestry, but the connections are unclear.
What is known with certainty is the fact the five Winslow brothers (and their three sisters) were children of Edward Winslow and Magdalene Oliver. Edward & Magdalene were married at St. Bride Fleet Street Church in London on 4 Nov 1594. The children's baptisms were all recorded in St. Peter's parish church register, Droitwich, Worcestershire. Droitwich was famous for its salt and Edward had apparently moved there to work in the production of this important substance. The 1877 Winslow Memorial gave a birth date for Edward as 17 Oct 1560, but where this date came from is unknown. In addition, it is stated he was born at St. Andrew's Parish, Worcester, Worcestershire, but, there is no evidence to support this statement. If the 1560 birth date is accurate, then Edward was aged 34 when he married Magdalene. Some believe he was previously married, but this is not universally accepted. It is believed the elder Edward Winslow was son of Kenelm Winslow, but even with this, experts disagree whether there was one Kenelm Winslow or two (father/son).
The five brothers
Edward Winslow was the first child of his parents. According to his baptismal record, he was born 18 Oct 1595 and baptized 20 Oct. Edward was apprenticed in the printing business and eventually made his way to Leiden. He was married twice. His first marriage was at Leiden (bans 28 Apr, 5 May & 12 May 1618) to Elizabeth Barker. She apparently never had any children (or her children died soon after birth) and died at New Plimouth on 24 Mar 1620/1. Edward married second at New Plimouth (the first marriage in the colony) 12 May 1621 to Susanna Jackson, widow of fellow Mayflower passenger William White. Edward was the founder of the town of Marshfield, and settled his family there about 1643. He served in many capacities for the new Colony including three terms as Governor and 11 terms as Assistant. He had written a number of publications related to the settlement which was distributed in England to increase support (both more settlers as well as financial). He made multiple trips to England and served in the Court of Oliver Cromwell. Edward died at Sea in the West Indies while in service of Cromwell. Edward and his second wife had a total of five children (one infant, one daughter and three sons). Unfortunately, there is no living Y-DNA descendants of Gov. Edward Winslow. The last Y-DNA descendant of Gov. Edward was Edward Gay Winslow (born Hingham, MA 27 Nov 1848 and died there [unmarried] 30 Oct 1906). His lineage was: Edward Gay Winslow, Isaac, John Esq., Dr. Isaac, Maj. Gen. John, Hon. Isaac, Gov. Josiah, Gov. Edward.
John Winslow was the second child. His baptismal record states he was baptized on 18 Apr 1597 and he was born the Saturday before being baptized (16 Apr). While John himself was not a Mayflower Passenger (he came on the Fortune in 1621) he married at New Plimouth (before the 1627 Cattle Division) Mary Chilton, who did come over on the Mayflower. Thus all descendants of John Winslow are eligible to join the General Society of Mayflower Descendants through Mary. John moved his family to Boston by 1655 and he died there sometime between the writing of his will (12 Mar 1673/4) and its probate (21 May 1674). John & Mary had a total of ten children (3 girls, one infant and six sons). According to an old website, http://www.winslowgenealogy the living Y-DNA line is limited to his grandson, Edward Winslow (II), son of Edward. However, the evidence (DNA testing) cannot rule out the possibility of living Y-DNA lines from other sons (and grandsons) of John & Mary. The Mayflower Families through Five Generations "Silver Book" vol. 15 (which includes the Chilton Family) does name a limited number of Y-DNA (male Winslow) descendants of the Fifth and Sixth generation.
Kenelm Winslow was the fourth child (and third son). His baptismal record states he was baptized 3 May 1599 and he was born the Sunday before (29 Apr). Kenelm is believed to have emigrated to Plymouth Colony in 1631 along with his younger brother, Josiah. Kenelm married at Plymouth in Jun 1634 to Ellen Newton, widow of John Adams. Kenelm & Ellen had four children (one sister and three brothers). While his brothers (with the exception of Gilbert) had more children than Kenelm, the vast majority of living Winslow Y-DNA descendants descend from Kenelm. In fact, there are many more living Winslow Y-DNA descendants of Kenelm than Y-DNA descendants of all of his brothers combined.
Gilbert Winslow was the fifth child (and fourth son). His baptismal record states he was baptized 29 Oct 1600 and he was born the Sunday before (26 Oct). Gilbert emigrated aboard the Mayflower in 1620 with his eldest brother, Edward, but returned to England sometime between the 1623 land division and the 1627 cattle division. In 1651 William Bradford reported where Gilbert had died in England, but it is unknown if Gilbert's death had been reported back to Plymouth, or whether Bradford was simply stating that his record in Plymouth is over. It is currently unknown whether Gilbert ever married so no descendants are known.
Josiah Winslow was the youngest child. His baptismal record states he was born on 11 Feb 1605/6 and baptized 16 Feb. He emigrated to Plymouth in 1631 and moved to Marshfield in 1643 along with his eldest brother, Edward. He had married at Plymouth (prior to removal) before Sep 1637 (child born) to Margaret Bourne. They had five daughters and one son (Jonathan, born 8 Aug 1639). It is currently unknown whether there are any living Y-DNA descendants of Josiah.
Previous Y-DNA testing
Previous Y-STR testing through the Winslow surname DNA project[1] has indicated that the Winslow lineage belongs to the I-M253 Y-DNA haplogroup, which is quite common in Northern and Northwestern Europe. Furthermore, the Winslow project has a member of the project who has tested I-M253>DF29>Z58>Z59>CTS8647/Z62>Z60>S11023>BY34545>BY34542. Y Elite test results will be able to confirm this, and possibly place the Winslow lineage more precisely. The results will also enable identification of more recent SNP markers, some of which may be ascribed to individual Winslows (e.g. Kanelm Winslow) with sufficiently broad testing.
Results
(to be added)
Summary of findings
(to be added)
External links
- Winslow DNA Project
- Winslow Heritage Society
- Wikipedia biography of Edward Winslow
- Caleb Johnson's Mayflower History biography of Edward Winslow
- Winslow Heritage Society biography of Edward Winslow
