About us
The Kenchington family emerged into history with John, of Salisbury (in Wiltshire, England), who was born in 1565. His descendants changed their name to Kensington and by 1800 were bankers in London. The greater part of the family, however, lived ten miles further down the Avon, near Fordingbridge, in Hampshire, and particularly in the hamlets of Frogham, Hungerford and Hyde, on the edge of the New Forest. Another branch, using the Kinchington spelling of the name, lived in Fawley, on the eastern side of the Forest, and yet another in South Stoneham, on the fringes of Southampton. During the 19th Century, most men in the Fordingbridge, Fawley and South Stoneham branches of the family were agricultural labourers.
Historically, many variant spellings of the Kenchington name were used. By the early 20th Century (when there were about 400 living members of the family), the spelling had settled down. The most common form is "Kenchington" but there are numerous parts of the family that use "Kinchington" and a few branches from South Stoneham have preserved such variants as "Kinchenton". Ever since William of Orange established Kensington Palace in the 1690s, assorted Kenchingtons have changed their name to "Kensington" to gain some prestige or simply because someone thought that the "S" spelling was correct. Most living Kensingtons have Kenchington ancestors. However, "Kensington" is so prominent as a geographic name that it has also been taken up (or given to) quite unrelated people. There were foundlings in Kensington parish who were given the name and Central European immigrants to the United States who adopted it. It was also one of the whimsical names that plantation owners gave to slaves and, to this day, there are Kensingtons in Jamaica and perhaps elsewhere in the West Indies, while some of their relatives have moved on to North America or Britain.
The history of the family has been traced from documentary sources, through the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, with some parts of the story carried forward into the 20th. There are uncertainties in the written records, however, while there is no historical information on how the Salisbury, Fordingbridge, Fawley and South Stoneham branches are related. Also, the documentary sources cannot carry the tale back much further than the earliest parish registers, which date from late-Tudor and early-Stuart times. The aim of this project is to gather data from the Y Chromosomes of male members of the family and to use those data to answer some of the outstanding questions, while checking the conclusions built on documentary records.
This project needs members whose paternal ancestry can be traced through many widely-separated paths. That will allow reconstruction of the haplotypes of the earliest documented ancestors, from which we can determine their relationships, one to the other. This project also needs members who are closely related to one another, so that we can determine when each mutation in the haplotype occurred. This project particularly needs members whose Kenchington descent is known from documentary sources, so that we can reconstruct the genetic history of the family but we also welcome any Kenchington whose paternal ancestry is not known, since (in time) we will determine their descent from their DNA. In other words, we need any and all Kenchington men as members.
Some Kenchington males will not carry the characteristic DNA of the family, perhaps because an ancestor was adopted, changed his name or was born to a father who did not pass on his name. Conversely, some men who have a Kenchington haplotype will carry other names, for any of those same reasons. It is part of the objective of this project to sort out all such complications and so we welcome as members anyone who has either a variant of the Kenchington name or a variant of the Kenchington DNA (or, of course, both).
Those Kensingtons who did not have Kenchington ancestors cannot carry a Kenchington haplotype on their Y Chromosomes. This project nevertheless welcomes all Kensingtons (as well as Kenchingtons and Kinchingtons) as members. In time, we will try to build genetic trees of each biological family that uses any variant of the surname.
As with any Y Chromosome project, this one can only accept data from male members, since only males have Y Chromosomes. Female members of the family who are interested in contributing are very welcome but to contribute data they must find a male relative (father, brother, uncle, male cousin etc.) who is willing to provide a DNA sample.
Historically, many variant spellings of the Kenchington name were used. By the early 20th Century (when there were about 400 living members of the family), the spelling had settled down. The most common form is "Kenchington" but there are numerous parts of the family that use "Kinchington" and a few branches from South Stoneham have preserved such variants as "Kinchenton". Ever since William of Orange established Kensington Palace in the 1690s, assorted Kenchingtons have changed their name to "Kensington" to gain some prestige or simply because someone thought that the "S" spelling was correct. Most living Kensingtons have Kenchington ancestors. However, "Kensington" is so prominent as a geographic name that it has also been taken up (or given to) quite unrelated people. There were foundlings in Kensington parish who were given the name and Central European immigrants to the United States who adopted it. It was also one of the whimsical names that plantation owners gave to slaves and, to this day, there are Kensingtons in Jamaica and perhaps elsewhere in the West Indies, while some of their relatives have moved on to North America or Britain.
The history of the family has been traced from documentary sources, through the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, with some parts of the story carried forward into the 20th. There are uncertainties in the written records, however, while there is no historical information on how the Salisbury, Fordingbridge, Fawley and South Stoneham branches are related. Also, the documentary sources cannot carry the tale back much further than the earliest parish registers, which date from late-Tudor and early-Stuart times. The aim of this project is to gather data from the Y Chromosomes of male members of the family and to use those data to answer some of the outstanding questions, while checking the conclusions built on documentary records.
This project needs members whose paternal ancestry can be traced through many widely-separated paths. That will allow reconstruction of the haplotypes of the earliest documented ancestors, from which we can determine their relationships, one to the other. This project also needs members who are closely related to one another, so that we can determine when each mutation in the haplotype occurred. This project particularly needs members whose Kenchington descent is known from documentary sources, so that we can reconstruct the genetic history of the family but we also welcome any Kenchington whose paternal ancestry is not known, since (in time) we will determine their descent from their DNA. In other words, we need any and all Kenchington men as members.
Some Kenchington males will not carry the characteristic DNA of the family, perhaps because an ancestor was adopted, changed his name or was born to a father who did not pass on his name. Conversely, some men who have a Kenchington haplotype will carry other names, for any of those same reasons. It is part of the objective of this project to sort out all such complications and so we welcome as members anyone who has either a variant of the Kenchington name or a variant of the Kenchington DNA (or, of course, both).
Those Kensingtons who did not have Kenchington ancestors cannot carry a Kenchington haplotype on their Y Chromosomes. This project nevertheless welcomes all Kensingtons (as well as Kenchingtons and Kinchingtons) as members. In time, we will try to build genetic trees of each biological family that uses any variant of the surname.
As with any Y Chromosome project, this one can only accept data from male members, since only males have Y Chromosomes. Female members of the family who are interested in contributing are very welcome but to contribute data they must find a male relative (father, brother, uncle, male cousin etc.) who is willing to provide a DNA sample.