Please note: This project requires a Family Finder (Autosomal DNA) test, either previously taken or ordered, in order to join. The goal of the John Carson of Western North Carolina DNA Project is to identify the descendants of John Carson and related families. John Carson (1752-1841) is often referred to John Hazzard Carson but to date no paperwork trail has proven he had a middle name. His children were given middle names, although some are unknown. By evaluating test results of the Family Finder DNA against well documented genealogical research, genetic connections of the early families in Western North Carolina will be established. We will also evaluate the results of the Y-DNA test of men sharing a direct paternal line to John Carson and the results of the mt-DNA test of men and women sharing a direct maternal line to either of his two wives. Colonel John Carson, believed to be the youngest son of James Carson and Rebecca Hazzard, was born 24 March 1752 in County Fermanaugh, Ulster, Ireland, in an area settled by Scottish families in the seventeenth century. Coming to America in 1773, he first settled in Pennsylvania before traveling to Burke County, North Carolina in 1775. This area of North Carolina was originally part of Rowan County until 1777 when it became Burke County and then later became McDowell County in 1842. A patriot of the American Revolution, he married about 1777 to Rachel Matilda McDowell, the daughter of “Hunting John” McDowell and Ann Evans Edmiston, close neighbors. John and Rachel had seven children, Jason Hazzard, James, Joseph McDowell, Rebecca, John W., Charles and Sarah. Little is known about the son James and he is believed to have died young. Rachel McDowell Carson died about Jan 1795 and in 1797 John married Mary Moffitt McDowell, the daughter of Colonel George Moffitt and Sarah McDowell and the widow of Joseph McDowell, Rachel’s brother. John and Mary had five children, Samuel Price, Matilda, George M., William Moffitt and Jonathan Logan. John and several of his sons participated in early North Carolina government as America expanded to the West. Prior to his marriage to Mary, John built a large plantation home about 1793, a few miles west of present day Marion on the main road between Morganton and Asheville. Mary died in 1825 leaving John a widower for a second time. After John’s death on 5 March 1841, the Carson home was used as the seat of county government for the newly formed McDowell County until a courthouse was built in Marion. Now known as Historic Carson House (www.historiccarsonhouse.com) the home has been preserved as a beautiful private museum. Though DNA testing, we have proven that some of the enslaved woman gave birth to children who carry DNA shared with white descendants of John Carson, some through Y-DNA and all through Autosomal DNA testing. While Autosomal DNA can show a shared DNA with other testers, careful analysis is required to ensure the shared DNA is from the Carson lineage and not from other lineages. Autosomal DNA documents DNA received from all of the 16 great, great Grandparents' lineages. Males with the Carson last name who believe they have a direct male lineage to John Carson are encouraged to test both Autosomal and Y DNA to help establish descendancy. Please join the journey as we utilize genetic testing and genealogical research to discover the descendants of Colonel John Carson and the related families of Western North Carolina.