Family Groups 1 – 10

Below are details of the ancestry of participants in the Perry DNA project, grouped into genetic clusters. Everyone in a genetic cluster shares a common male ancestor at some point in time, though the exact relationship may range from father to son, uncle to nephew, or even remote cousins. Please click on the group number below to take you to a detailed pedigree for that group, or scroll down to read details of all families. Please note that this information has been provided by project members and has not been verified by us. We would suggest that if you require further information about a particular family, then you should contact the tester (or his representative). You can find their email addresses (where available) by signing into your familytreedna.com account, select your y-DNA matches, then identify the correct kit by matching up with the earliest known ancestor’s name on 37 marker list. Click on the kit holder’s name and their email address is displayed.

Family group 1 (Daniel Perry of North Carolina Perrys)
All testers in this group have traced their paternal line back to Daniel Perry of North Carolina. Work is ongoing as to his origins.

Family group 2 (Devon Perrys, England)
Some members of this group have traced their line back to the Perry family of London and Devon and it is believed that all members of this group have their origins in south west England. See Jacob Price’s ‘Perry of London: A Family and a Firm on the Seaborne Frontier, 1615-1753’ (Harvard University Press, 1992) for further details. Branches of this family are found in Canada, Ireland and America.

Family group 3 (John Perry of Nansemond County, Virginia Perrys)
all share a genetic profile with John Perry of Nansemond County, Virginia, born ca 1650 and several testers have a proven paper trail back to this individual. He may be the underaged son John named in the 1667 will of Philip Perry of Whitemarsh, Isle of Wight County, but conclusive records have not yet been found to prove this relationship.

Family group 4 (Kilboy/Cahir Perrys from Tipperary, Ireland)
Two of the testers in this group share a common descent from Henry Perry, born ca 1760, who lived in Graystown, near Killenaule in Tipperary, whose descendants lived in nearby Kilboy for many generations. The third tester is a proven descendant of Henry Perry of Tipperary, who is most likely Henry Perry of Cahir (1811-1893). Work is ongoing into finding the common ancestor this group. The family is believed to be connected to the Woodrooff Perry family, but in the female line, as the DNA results to not match that of a proven descendant, kit number 88340 – group 2. 

Family group 5 (Another North Carolina Perry family)
Testers in this group have traced their lines back to several man who came from North Carolina, but have yet to trace their common male line ancestor.

Family group 6 (Perry family of Counties Laois and Down, Ireland)
All three testers in this group trace their line back to Ireland: two to John Perry who was born in Kennelly, County Laois (Queen’s County), Ireland in 1782 and died in Canada. This is believed to be the same family that produced Thomas Perry, the well-known Dublin violin maker. The third tester takes his ancestry back to County Down. A fourth tester from the Irish Quaker family from Laois matches this family 11/12, which indicates a connection, although the resolution of the test is too low to be sure. The family’s origins may be in France and work is ongoing as to this line.

Family group 7 (Hampshire, England Perrys)
The most distant ancestor of any member of this group was born in Hampshire. Some of the family appear to have migrated to Virginia and spread throughout the US.

Family group 8 (Tennessee Perrys)
This group consists of two members, both of whom descend from Littleton Perry of Tennessee. They are fourth cousins. 

Family group 9 (Seven Perry Brothers of old Granville Co., NC.)
Some members of Group 9 are proven descendants of the ‘Seven Perry Brothers’ who settled in old Granville County, North Carolina in the mid-18th century. The Seven Brothers are the oldest, documented patriarchs in this Group. Descendants of four of the Seven Brothers have tested: Two, 180938 and 143482, have established paper trails to Burwell Perry, and two possess pedigrees connecting to Francis Perry, 108447 and 218165. Four other testers are linked to William Perry – 54034, 207836, N84033 and 169184, and two descend from John Perry – 456642 and 361295. Yet, so far, no one in Group 9 can prove a direct descent from any of the three remaining ‘Perry Brothers,’ Jeremiah, Joshua, and Nathaniel Perry. Nevertheless, all 9ers share a common ancestor with the Seven Brothers – a common ancestor who lived one or more generations prior to the ‘Seven.’ A sub-project has been organised for this group – please contact P Yarborough for further details.

Family group 10 (New York/Pennsylvania Perrys)
This group contains two members. One traces his line back to New York and the other to Pennsylvania. No paper connection between the two lines has been found as yet.