Y-DNA TESTING:            

CONTACT YOUR PROJECT ADMINS FOR SUGGESTIONS - THERE ARE SOME VERY INEXPENSIVE OPTIONS TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE RELATED.

PLEASE CONSIDER BIG Y TESTING.

If you believe you are a descendant of Dennis Darling, John Daly, are a Benson or Dailey with Darling matches, or are a descendant of George Darling, please consider joining the project.

Y-DNA Testing: We recommend that members contact the Project Administrators for suggestions on Y-DNA testing.  If you are initially joining the project and are unsure of your connection to Darling or Benson lines, we recommend that you test at Y-37, or test, very inexpensively, for an individual marker to see if you are related. Once a connection to our group is established, discuss your testing options with the Project Administrators and please consider upgrading to the Big Y test.

BIG Y testing is by far the best value for your investment.  You will receive over 700 STRs and exploratory SNP testing, which will tell you definite branching points with our group and possibly discover unique markers for your particular Darling line. STRs (Y-37, 67 & 111) are very useful, but are problematic because of forward and backward mutations. STRs are not as likely to show you branching points and are useful for telling IF you are related, but not necessarily how you are related.

SNPs are unique to groups and individuals, and are not likely to change, allowing you to show specific branching points with a group or unique markers to your line.

Project Goal: The goal of this project is to use Y-DNA to trace the descendants of Dennis Darling, who was a resident of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Braintree, Massachusetts.  The book "Dennis Darling of Braintree and Mendon and some of his descendants, 1662 to 1800" written by William A. Martin and Lou Etta J. Martin (available on Familysearch.org), details his life and his descendants.  The project seeks to assist others to re-establish their connection to the Dennis Darling lines and answer many longstanding questions surrounding him.

Project Members:  We have 22 members in the project, 9 of which have completed the Big Y and established the modal STRs of Dennis Darling and a SNP branching tree.  Any testing Darling, Benson or Daily members can be compared to the modal STR markers to quickly determine if they are recently related to Dennis Darling.  We currently have Darling, Benson and Daily members. We have confirmed two lines of descent from Dennis1 Darling through his son Benjamin2. We have two other Darling testers that are confirmed relations to Dennis and are trying to connect with traditional research.  We have three Benson tests connected to the Darling’s with SNPs and are trying to determine the responsible Darling.  

Dennis Darling Origin, Ireland:  The origin of Dennis Darling was unknown and researchers have speculated that he was Scottish, English and French. 

The Big Y results show that Dennis Darling was of Irish descent.  If you are a Daily / Daly / Dailey that shows matches to Darling or Benson kits, please contact us so we can determine if you are closely related to the group and if you could be a descendant of John Daly.

Benson of Mendon, Massachusetts: We have established that a Benson line that lived in Mendon, Massachusetts was the result of a Non-Parental Event in the 1700s and actually has Darling Y-DNA.  The project is attempting to determine the most likely Darling in Mendon, Mass that was the father of this line. These Benson lines have been connected to Dennis Darling with Big Y SNP testing.  

John Daly of Braintree, Massachusetts:  There is speculation that his neighbor, John Daly, was actually Dennis Darling’s brother.  The records speculate that they were brothers because of their close relationship, however, there is no direct evidence.  Results show that Dennis Darling is related to Daily’s that come from Ireland. We are actively searching for a descendant of John Daly of Braintree and any other Daily matches to answer this question.

George Darling of Salem and Lynn, Massachusetts:  There is speculation that Dennis Darling was related to George Darling of Salem / Lynn, Mass and the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland.  We do not believe that this is the case and there is no research record to indicate that this was the case. We are actively seeking descendants of George Darling to answer this question.  There is a FTDNA group for Scottish Prisoners of War from the Battle of Dunbar. If you are a member of this group, please consider joining the Dennis Darling project to help resolve this question.