Brownrigg DNA Project - Family Project Website

Brownrigg DNA Project

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Group Administrator: Judy Henry jchenry@nctv.com
Group Co-Administrator: Mary Villalba estre68132@msn.com

Project Surnames:

Brownridge	Brownrigg

Project Background:

Brownrigg and its variations seem to be derived from an Old English place name from brun meaning brown and hrycg meaning ridge. "Rigg" also is often used to describe a cultivated field. So families that lived on the Brown Ridge and by the Brown Field might have both adopted Brownrigg as a surname. Variations of the name are Brownrigg, Brownrig Brownridge, Burnrig, Brownrick, Brounerike; Brunridge, Broonrigge, Brownerygge, etc.

A history of the Brownridge variation of the surname at http://www.brownridge.com states that the name is found in East Lothian, Scotland, where they were seated from very early times – as early as 1089. The only specific records located by this researcher thus far is the marriage for a Marioun Brounrig in 1599 near Edinburgh, Scotland. Is it possible that wealthy branch of English Brownriggs had holdings in Scotland?

As early as 1228 the village of Brunerigg/Brownrigg is mentioned in the records of Holm Cultram Abbey, near Abbeytown in West Cumbria, England. There are no people named Brownrigg in the Abbey records. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=399

A search of available extracted IGI birth and marriage records for variations of Brownrigg, (which are available at http://www.familysearch.org) reveals Brownrigg families well established in several areas of the England during the 1500’s. The dates below indicate the earliest record for each given name:

Cumberland: William 1572; Christopher 1575; John 1575; Cuthbert 1792
Devon: Margerye m 1572
Lancashire: Christopher 1565; Thomas 1565; John 1569; Roger 1571; William 1573
London: John 1567; Robert 1579; Peter 1581; Giles 1583; James 1588;
Stafford: Edward 1577; Simon 1588;
Suffolk: Robert 1579
Surry: Robertus 1581
Sussex: Willm 1573
Yorkshire: Mychaelis 1539; Johanis 1579; Ambrosie 1582; William 1595
Worchester: John 1582
Scotland: Edinburgh Marioun Brounrig m 1599

Other available records begin in Ireland by 1676, the American Colonies in 1723; India in 1779, Caribbean Islands in 1794, Canada 1830’s (descendant submitted records), Denmark 1840, Africa 1864, as Brownriggs migrated and engaged in military and shipping interests.

One value of the Brownrigg DNA project will be to determine if these Brownrigg/Brownridge lines originate with a single common ancestor or descend from several different early ancestors who adopted the Brownrigg name?

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Project Goals:

Because the Brownrigg names and its variations seem to originate in the British Isles, it will be interesting to see if lines tested originate from one common ancestor or from several different ancestors using similar surnames. Some of the project goals are:

To identify ancient family origins.
To sort participants into family lines according to dna results.
To identify various surnames that are part of the same Brownrigg family.
To prove or disprove a research theory and to correct incorrect information.
To direct research to specific geographical areas and time frames.
Provide contacts between researchers who can share paper research.

Project News:

DONATIONS:
The donation link on this page allows contributions to be made toward testing of descendants of known early Brownrigg lines, if the participant is not able to support the entire cost of the test. If contributions are to be used for a particular participant or line, please let the administrator know. Families often pool funds to sponsor a donation for their line.

TESTING:
Participants must be direct line males who still carry the Brownrigg name (or variations). Y-DNA is passed from father to son over many generations with only minor variations. If there is an adoption or paternity issue, the dna will match the biological father.

The most useful results for a beginning data base and matches is the 37 marker test, which is a bit less expensive and requires less waiting time for results. Because Family Tree DNA keeps samples for 25 years, it is possible to begin with a 12 marker test and extend at any time. The 12 marker matches indicate a common ancestor back to the time of adopting surnames.

IDENTIFICATION OF EARLY BROWNRIGG LINES
It would be helpful to begin to identify the earliest documented Brownrigg ancestors. If you have DOCUMENTED information for a very early Brownrigg ancestor in a particular location, please e-mail one of the administrators. We will begin to develop a data base.