Members of the MERCER and MESSER DNA PROJECT may view anonymized Y-DNA and mtDNA comparative charts by selecting the DNA RESULTS option from the menu on the left side of this screen.

PLEASE NOTE : All ancient ancestors listed in this website's DNA RESULTS REPORTS are self-reported by each kit's owner - and are not necessarily the view of this DNA PROJECT.

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The MERCER and MESSER PROJECT Administration Team highly recommends that each participating male member of a MERCER and MESSER DNA PROJECT Patrilineal Line do the BIG-Y 700 Y-DNA Test (or upgrade their existing kit to this test).

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The nascent surname of KULBETH arose through the vested name change of one Christopher William "Kit" MERCER (of the MERCER-MESSER Project's PATRILINE 1000) from the surname MERCER to CULBRETH (aka CULBREATH / GALBREATH / GALBRAITH) in North Carolina during the early 1790's. Subsequently, an 1812 Deed of Gift to William's children - which was drawn up in Tennessee at the outset of war with Britain - spelled the surname as the entirely unique "KULBETH" - becoming the documentary referent from which this branch of MERCER PATRILINE 1000 would thenceforth be known.

The MERCER and MESSER and WATTS Families of MERCER-MESSER PATRILINE 1200 :

The latest combination DNA/documentary studies of PATRILINE 1200 (circa 2022) point to archetypal ancestral origins from the family surnamed MERCER alias WATTS in the records of Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire counties England circa 1500's forward. This continued use of the unifying term "alias" over multiple generations of this family in England was an archaic form of the more popular practice of hyphenating the surnames of a couple. The original MERCER alias WATTS couple of this patriline likely included a female whose family surname was desirous to retain for any number of reasons - some of which may have involved the preservation of a certain social status and/or financial, material, or political benefit for their descendants. Over time, various descendants of this English family chose to focus on one surname or the other - sometimes with individuals using one of the two different surnames at one point, while changing to the other surname at a subsequent period during their lifetime. At present (2022) the known branches of this family who originally immigrated to the New England area of America circa 1600's appear to have preferred the surname WATTS - while certain branches found a bit later in America's Southern states appear to have preferred the surname MERCER. The arbitrary conflation of the surnames MERCER and MESSER practiced by record-keepers in America during the colonial period (especially in the South) resulted in certain of these MERCER branches being found under (and converting to) the surname MESSER. Additionally, certain descendant branches of this archetypal PATRILINE 1200 Family Line have also been confirmed through Y-DNA testing which, through names changes, etc., today carry such surnames as ROBINSON (America) and RIGBY (America). 

The MERCER and MESSER Families of MERCER-MESSER PATRILINE 3500 :

The latest combination DNA/documentary studies of PATRILINE 3500 (circa 2022) point to archetypal ancestral origins from the family surnamed CORBIN aka CORBYN of England. The members of this family group who today carry either the surname MERCER or MESSER appear to be the direct descendants of Francis CORBIN, land agent for Lord Granville in North Carolina during the mid-1700's. Francis' son, William, was raised by a MERCER-MESSER PATRILINE 1000 MERCER family (in which the female spouse, a MOORE, was a close kinsperson of William's mother, Anne MOORE) - resulting in William taking on their MERCER surname. The arbitrary conflation of the surnames MERCER and MESSER practiced by record-keepers in America during the colonial period (especially in the South) have resulted in William and certain branches of his descendants being known to posterity under the surname MESSER - while other of William's descendants have retained the original adoptive PATRILINE 1000 surname of MERCER. Therefore, the surviving descendants of Francis CORBIN's son, William CORBIN aka MERCER aka MESSER, today consist of familial branches carrying both the surnames MERCER and MESSER. Additionally, other branches of this archetypal PATRILINE 3500 Family Line have also been confirmed through Y-DNA testing - carrying such surnames as CORBIN (England and America), CARLILL (Hull, Yorkshire, England), SELLENS (aka SELLYN - Sussex, England), LIGHTNER (aka BARBOUR / BARBER - America), and PALMER (aka CONNOR / O'CONNOR - America and Ireland).       

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AN UNEXPECTED OBSERVATIONAL DISCOVERY

From DNA ANALYSES

Among the current membership, the largest matching Y-DNA Family Group ( PATRILINE 1000 ) has lineal ties to Christopher MERCER (b. 1612 of Stepney, London, England) and Thomas MERCER (b. circa 1655 of Aynho, England).

• There appear to be at least 3 identifiable lineal branches of Thomas MERCER (b. 1655 Aynho, England):

1) Joseph MERCER;

2) Robert & Olive PYLE;

3) Robert & Elizabeth BROWN.   

• There appear to be at least 4 identifiable lineal branches of Christopher MERCER (b. 1612 Stepney, London, England):

1) Thomas MERCER b. 1695 VA;

2) Joseph MERCER b. 1701 VA;

3) Jacob MERCER b. 1740;

4) David & Elizabeth SEARCY b. 1791. 

NOTE: The foregoing observations and analyses were made available to this Project by third party researchers using DNA results in combination with (limited) available lineage data of Project members. 

              Y-DNA testing of additional confirmed descendants of the above-listed MERCER patriarchs is required to further validate these observations.

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