Project News
January 24, 2008 NEW ALLIANCE WITH KAY GROUP!
I am excited to tell you that we have recently developed a new alliance with the Kay Family Association of the UK. They are interested in exploring potential genetics links with our group. It appears, at first blush that there may be a genetic link between our Virginia group and their folks, but that is yet to be confirmed. The KFA UK has about 120 members, mainly from the UK but also some in Canada, USA, Australia and NZ. The KFA was originally started by people with strong connections to the Bury area of Lancashire, many of whom believed they had links to John Kay the inventor of the flying shuttle. There is still a strong bias towards the North West of England with 40% of their membership being based in the Lancashire/Yorkshire/Cheshire area.
Apparently Kay is predominantly the Lancashire spelling of the surname and Kaye the Yorkshire spelling and whenever Kays/Kayes get together there is always an argument as to who came first and which is the original family line. What is even more interesting to us, it is clear that in areas where there are significant numbers of Kay or Key families the spelling in parish registers is usually consistent. But where there are only one or two families, the spelling can vary and it is noticeable that the spelling often changes when the incumbent changes. So Kay can often become Key or Keyes and vice versa. They have records of one family where there were four baptisms and three different spellings of the surname. So it is possible that we could find a link between Kay and Key.
FYI their major DNA project was conducted on 50 members and a number of these have expressed an interest in taking part in a more in-depth study - hence our alliance. As a result, the KFA intends to publicize our FTDNA study and will also be encouraging their members to join our testing group. This could turn out to be very exciting and might provide to be that all important link for some of us.
You may also be interested to know that their association is in the process of building a database of Kay "events" (i.e. births marriages and deaths) and already has several thousand entries. These are heavily biased towards Lancashire but they have been broadening their range. If you want more information, their website is www.kayfamilyassociationuk.com. (where you can find the detailed report on the their DNA project).
I am also very pleased to tell you that as of January 24, 2008 we have grown to 96 participants in a little under 3 years. This is an average of 3 new members each month. We now have 11 variants of our name: Kee (4), Kea (1), Keys (14), Keyes (10), Kay (7), Kaye (3), Kies (1), Case (1), Keeys (1), McKay (1) and of course Key (44). We also have 3 members with completely different surnames, however they seem to be genetic Keys!
Needless to say, we are always on the lookout for more variations and more participants to see how we all connect. We currently have a nine-member subgroup match with Kee, Kea and Key, and we are beginning to see matches between Keys and Keyes & Key, and Key & Keyes and Kaye. So it does happen! We are particularly interested in testing Key and any variation, with roots in Kentucky, Maryland, Northern Ireland and England. If you are a documented descendent of Francis Scott Key, your test costs will be covered as it is important to document the haplotype of this historic American for future generations. Your participation would be considered by many as a pubic service. Please contact our group administrator, Karin Keyes Endemann in Ottawa, Canada at keystone@ca.inter.net