This DNA project welcomes all Bigelows and variant spellings. The Bigelow surname is believed to derive from the English Baguley family, a branch of which lived at historic Baguley Hall in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. Sir Ralph Baguley (b. ca 1360) married Joesia Mascy, who was a descendant of the Norman Hamon Massey who inherited lands in Cheshire called Baggiley, where the Baguleys owned salt mines. As you can see, it's a locational surname.  The earliest known Baguley in the paternal lineage of the immigrant ancestor to the United States, John Beageley/Begely/Biglo (1617-1703), is Sir William Baguley (b. 1207, d. 1287).

Bigelow is a rare surname in England today if it exists at all. There were only 10 Bigelows in England's 1881 census. In fact it's possible the Bigelow spelling emerged only among descendants of the colonial immigrant , John Beageley/Begely/Biglo (1617-1703) while some of those descendants may have back-migrated to England by 1881. On the other hand the Baguley surname still had a strong presence in England in 1881 with 839 individuals bearing the name. Surely their descendants are still there and we welcome their Y DNA participation along with those bearing other Baguley name variants.

Y Chromosome DNA

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The Y chromosome, about 2% of a man's DNA, is passed down through the generations along with his surname -- father to son to son to son ... -- mostly unchanged. Because of this, the markers on a man's Y-DNA serve as a sort of ID tag for his surname lineage going back centuries. Some surnames are found to consist of just one robust genetic line. Others have few or many genetic clusters that are unrelated but share the same surname for a variety of reasons. 

As the Y DNA portion of our project grows, and in conjunction with our Bigelow autosomal DNA database (see below), we will be able to conduct advanced analysis of the Bigelow Y DNA haplotypes and family branches. Since females don't have a Y chromosome, only men bearing the surnames we look at can order the Y chromosome kit.

We ask our Y DNA participants to:

• Our John Biglo descendant who matches Bagley from England is in the very large R1b haplogroup, so we will need robust data to help avoid false positive matches in our family subgroups. Please order as many Y DNA STRs as you can afford. The 67 STRs kit is a good target, while the 37 STRs kit is the next best. Some order fewer markers at the outset and upgrade when possible which is fine.
• Include your earliest known ancestor information in our Results Table. We will help you fill this in and adjust your sharing settings to make this possible.
• Forward your lineage information to the project admins for inclusion on our Results Page.
• Consider ordering a Y DNA/Family Finder package so we can include both your Y DNA and autosomal DNA (see below) in the project analysis.

Autosomal DNA

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The autosomal component of this project will look at the DNA carried by both male and female descendants of the colonial immigrant John Biglo. Over time, with a big enough database, it should be possible to identify specific segments of the autosomal DNA that were passed down from John Biglo himself. This process is called chromosome mapping and is explained in this presentation by our project administrator Tim Janzen, who is very experienced at this.

Since autosomal DNA is quickly diluted with each generation, the eldest Bigelow descendants among us will generally retain more of the older Bigelow DNA. This allows for better matching between distant cousins and means it is very important to get the autosomal DNA from our eldest living Bigelow descendants.

We ask our male and female autosomal DNA participants:

• If you have not yet ordered any autosomal DNA order a 'Family Finder' kit from Family Tree DNA (FTDNA).
• If you have ordered autosomal DNA from AncestryDNA or 23andMe, please transfer your raw data to FTDNA and then in your new FTDNA account join the Bigelow DNA project under Projects > Join. After the free transfer with cousin matching, there is a one-time $19 charge to use their tools, including their popular chromosome browser.
• Whether your autosomal DNA is with FTDNA, 23andMe or AncestryDNA, please upload your raw data to GEDmatch (free). Please then forward your GEDmatch ID number and Bigelow lineage. We will automatically list these on our Results Page. (Participants may be interested in the video GEDmatch Basics or the Absolute Beginner's Guide to GEDmatch.)

Bigelow Society

The traditional online source for Bigelow surname and lineage information is the Bigelow Society website. The Bigelow DNA project collaborates with but is not under the auspices of the society. Our administrator Tim Janzen is a member.

Surname Distribution in England

We can examine the spatial relationships in England between the surnames Massey, Baguley, Bigelow and other variants using Steve Archer's Surname Atlas and GenMap UK. His data comes from the 1881 census, so they inevitably reflect some movement during the prior decades and centuries. We'll present these maps here in due course.

Related One-Name Studies

The Bigelow surname has not be registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies, however, the following names of potential interest to us are registered:

Baguley One-Name Study (the surname Bigelow is believed to derive from)

Variants: None listed.

Baggerley One-Name Study 

Variants: Bagaley, Baggaly, Bagally, Bagby, Bageley, Bagerley, Bagerly, Baggalay, Baggallay, Baggally, Baggarley, Baggeley, Baggely, Baggerley, Baggley, Baggoley

Bagwell One-Name Study (This one is probably of less interest; a subgroup of Bagley Y DNA matches Bagwell Y DNA)

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