DNA Project Identifies 20 Descendants

of Anthony Sizer, Middletown Settler

July 15, 2014

The Rev. Peter B. Irvine

The Middletown Settlers DNA Project now has 14 members, nine of whom appear on the public website by virtue of having tested their Y-DNA.  The others have used autosomal testing (“Family Finder” in the Family Tree DNA parlance).  An additional people 10 people have taken the autosomal DNA test offered by Ancestry and are proven to be descendants of Anthony Sizer, a seaman born in Portugal who emigrated to Middletown in 1726 and married a great-granddaughter of Daniel Harris, one of the very first settlers and a qualifying ancestor for SMFSD.  In total, DNA has identified 20 of Sizer’s descendants.

DNA has also confirmed that Sizer was, in fact, born on the Island of Terceira in the Azores, Kingdom of Portugal, as Lillian Hubbard Holch asserts in her comprehensive study of his American descendants, Sizer Genealogy.  It confirms that two Sizer descendants, who are fifth cousins once removed, have a relatively recent ancestor, who is undoubtedly Anthony Sizer.  

DNA has also disproved the theory held by Mrs. Holch and early Sizer descendants that everyone in America with the name Sizer is descended from Anthony.  The ancestors of one person with the surname came from England, where they originally migrated from Germany.  Thus, we can no longer suppose that just because someone has the Sizer surname, that person is a descendant of Anthony Sizer, because it just isn’t so.

There is some very good news here for the Middletown Settlers DNA Project and for SMFSD:  autosomal DNA can in some cases identify a descendant of a first settler of Middletown.  Furthermore, both men and women can take an autosomal DNA test, unlike Y-DNA, which can be taken only by men.  Those who have taken autosomal tests with other companies can transfer their data to FTDNA for $69, a bargain in the world of DNA testing.

The other good news is that Y-DNA may provide clues as to an ancestor’s place of origin.  In the case of Anthony Sizer, the matches of his two descendants in the project both had Portugese names, and at least one match had an ancestor who came specifically from the Island of Terceira.  Furthermore, the surname affords a logical way of organizing test results under the name of a Middletown settler, which makes it easy to find whomever you are looking for.

Of the other surnames in the project, only one has a confirmed match:  Thomas Wetmore.  The two participants in this group match on 110 out of 111 markers, resulting in a genetic distance of one.  The other groups—Bow, Cornwell, and Harris—only have one member each.  Ultimately, we would like to establish a group for each of the 89 first settlers of Middletown.

If the Middletown Settlers DNA Project is to become the clearinghouse for SMFSD members’ results, we will need to increase participation dramatically.  The way to accomplish this is for each participant to recruit other known descendants to join the project under their ancestor’s surname.  The designated administrator for each surname can then create a spreadsheet with the names, contact information, and kit numbers of each of their participants, thereby establishing a mini-project within the overall Middletown Settlers DNA Project.

The benefits to this approach are several.  First, there will be one place to go to find information about about the DNA of Middletown settlers.  Second, the growth of the project will result in identifying new candidates for SMFSD membership.  Third, participants will be able to prove or disprove theories about their Middletown ancestors using DNA evidence.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of this experiment is that autosomal DNA testing, which can be taken by both men and women, reaches far enough back, in at least some cases, to identify or confirm a Middletown first settler.  Women who wish to have the benefit of Y-DNA testing may ask a male relative to take the test for them.  Remember, however, that the relative must have the same surname, in one form or another, as the Middletown ancestor.

In conclusion, I personally invite all members of SMFSD to join the DNA project, and participants in the project to consider becoming members of SMFSD.  That is the way to grow the project and our society.