Welcome to the Grosvenor DNA Project

This website is dedicated to DNA research that enhances our knowledge of the Grosvenor surname. This project is primarily based on Y-DNA testing which provides genealogists the best testing alternative to determine genealogical clusters of related Grosvenor lines and to determine how our oldest proven Grosvenor ancestors are connected. This project is not limited to any geography (but is currently biased towards submissions of current residents of the United States). As the surname seems to have originated in England, English Grosvenors are encouraged to participate.  We welcome any spelling variation to verify that they are indeed related to the known Grosvenor genealogical clusters. Also welcome any line that has Grosvenor DNA but does not carry the Grosvenor surname (genetic Grosvenor lines adopted by non-Grosvenors). We also welcome any Grosvenor lines that may not have Grosvenor DNA but carry the Grosvenor surname (non-Grosvenor genetic lines adopted by Grosvenor families).

The Internet Surname Database (http://www.surnamedb.com/) gives the following history of the Grosvenor surname: “Recorded in the spellings of Grosvenor, Gravener, Gravenor, Gravinor, and possibly others, this surname is English but of medieval French origins. It is or was occupational. Deriving from the words 'gros veneur', meaning chief huntsman, a very high status in the Middle Ages, it is descriptive of the standing that name-holders have long held in the service of England. The first to make his mark was Sir Robert Grosvenor, who died in 1396. He saw military action in most of the great battles of the 14th century including Poitiers in 1356 and Limoges in 1370. The Grosvenor's of Grosvenor Square, London, and Eaton Hall, Chester, were amongst the first baronets or hereditary barons to be created by King James 1st in 1611, with Richard Grosvenor, (1731 - 1802) being the seventh baronet and first Earl of Westminster. The Dukedom was granted in 1874 to Hugh Grosvenor, Master of the Queen's Horse, and aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria. Early church recordings include Richard Grosvenor, christened at St Mary Woolnoth, City of London, on August 15th 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary 1st of England (1554 - 1558), and known to history as Bloody Mary, and Edward Gravener, christened at St Michaels Cornhill, also city of London, on March 12th 1556. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert le Gros Venour. This was dated 1201, in the chartulary of Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, during the reign of King John, 1199 - 1216.”

The first known Grosvenor to immigrate to America was John Grosvenor, son of William Grosvenor and Susanna Paston. John was born, 2 Jan 1640/1641, at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England and immigrated about 1670, settling in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1672, he married Esther Clarks, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Clarke. John died 27 Sep 1691 at Roxbury. His wife and children moved to Connecticut after his death. Some 800 of his descendants, born with the surname Grosvenor, branched out to South Carolina, New York and Ohio over the next ten generations. (Grosvenor, Richard. The Ancestry and Descendants of John Grosvenor of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Westminster MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2010. Print.)

A Richard Grosvenor, of unknown ancestry, appeared in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1774. In 1776, he was a drummer in the 1^st Pennsylvania Regiment. He married Elizabeth Heltman, daughter of John Heltman, about 1781, in Northumberland County. About 1795, John moved his family to Nicholas County, Kentucky, where he died 10 Nov 1819. John and Elizabeth had six children. It is unknown whether there are any living descendants of this Richard.

Another Richard Grosvenor, of unknown ancestry, first appeared in 1810, in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He probably arrived in the United States in 1798. Family tradition says his first wife was Margaret Graham, by whom he had three children, Jennet, John and Elizabeth. He married, second, Catherine Hartman, daughter of Henry Hartman, before 1810. They had two children, Susannah and Eleanor. Richard died in Westmoreland County in 1813. Many descendants of his son, John Grosvenor, are living today, from Iowa to Idaho.

The full details of these two Richards can be found at http://www.davidgwoodward.com