The primary purpose of this project is to facilitate the use of Y-DNA for connecting lines of Balch families. As project administrator, I will be here to assist with interpretation of results. To join the Y-DNA portion of the project, you will need to have a male donor still carrying the Balch surname. Anyone who has any reason to suspect Balch paternity in their line is also welcome to join. We openly welcome anyone who matches the Balch line at the 37 marker level or higher.

I am also now welcoming autosomal-tested Balch descendants into the project. There isn't much we can do with the results on a project basis, but we can at least detect matches within the project and investigate whether they might be blocks of "Balch DNA."

I provide the following guidance on which Y-DNA test to order what benefits might been seen from it:

Y-37 - Should confirm genetic membership in the Balch family. Will likely confirm membership in the Massachusetts or Maryland branches of the family due to unique mutations in those branches. To date, it has not helped identify other branches.

Y-111 - To date, has not proven beneficial for identifying branches beyond what the 37 marker test can provide, but it can be a stepping stone to the Big Y-700.

Big Y-700 - Strongly recommend it, if affordable. The more Balch men who take it, the more we'll be able to succinctly identify branches.

If you're on Facebook, please join us in the Balch Genealogy and DNA Facebook Group!