1 GENERAL

The Tattersfield DNA Project welcomes all participants. We encourage you to contact us. The surnames in this DNA Project are researched as part of the Tattersfield surname study, which is registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies.  You can learn more about this significant research, and the associated family trees, by visiting the one-name study web site, or contacting the Project Administrator.

http://one-name.org/name_profile/Tattersfield

2.BACKGROUND.

The surname TATTERSFIELD appears to start in or near Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. A continuous family dates from a marriage in 1712 in Dewsbury Parish Church. Before that there are only sporadic references.

The name seems to be one of a number of variants of the much older name TATTERSALL, according to George Redmond's Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames. Some examples have been found where the same person was called TATTERSALL and TATTERSFIELD in different records.

One couple who married in Dewsbury Parish in 1768 seem to have moved to nearby Heckmondwike at an unknown date before 1789. Their descendants became staunch members of the Non-Conformist Upper Chapel, Heckmondwike, and form much the largest Tattersfield branch. Many were buried in the chapel grave yard. For convenience I have called their trees Chart 1 and Chart 2,3.

Soon after 1800 other families appeared in York (Ch5), Hull (Ch6), Leeds (Ch8) and Lancashire (Ch9). Each family has been traced back, with reasonable certainty, to its starting marriage in Dewsbury Parish Church. However, the relationship, if any, between each of the Tattersfield males who married is not known. It seems reasonable to presume they were related, but their Baptisms, and hence their parents, cannot be found. Probably they were Non-Conformists who were Baptised and Buried in their own chapels, and the records have not survived. The chapels were not licenced to conduct marriages, hence their members would often be married in the Parish Church.

Also there has been a TATTERSFIELD family in London, dating from a marriage in1772 (Ch7). No connection between them and the Yorkshire families has ever been found.

In Massachusetts there has been a family called TATTERFIELD since about1870-75, descended from William, who migrated there from Newfoundland(Ch20). No connection with the TATTERSFIELD family is known.

Some of these UK families have descendants who emigrated. There are significant numbers of TATTERSFIELDs today in New Zealand (fromCharts 2,3 and 7), USA (Chart 2,3 and 7) and Mexico (Chart 2,3).

After many years of searching written records, it seems unlikely that they will now produce evidence of links between these various families. Hence a DNA Project seems to be the best way of learning more about possible connections and creating a single family tree if, indeed, there was a common ancestor, thanks to the developing technology and expanding database.

3. THE PROJECT.

There are different types of DNA tests, each of which has different features.There are a number of companies providing services

The Y-DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father, his father, and back in time.  You must be male to take this test, and you should have one of the surnames shown.  If you believe there is a Tattersfield or variant in your direct male line, although you have a different surname, you are also welcome to participate.  If you are female, you will need to find a direct line male in your family tree to participate and represent your tree.

We encourage males to get in touch with us. We can order a Y-DNA test for 37 markers on your behalf, if appropriate.  If you order a test with fewer markers, you can upgrade later, though this costs a little more.

Both males and females may also be interested in learning about their direct female line, which would be their mother, their mother's mother, and back in time.  Both men and women inherit mtDNA, although only women pass it on.   To explore your direct female line, you could order a mtDNA test.  For matches in a genealogical time frame, order the mtDNA Full Sequence test.

To find matches across all branches of your family tree, you could order Family Finder, which is an autosomal DNA test.  This test works about 5 generations back, sometimes more.  To maximize the benefit of this test, researching all branches of your family tree back 4-5 generations is valuable.  This test works for both males and females.

The results of the DNA tests mentioned, Y-DNA, mtDNA, and Family Finder, contain no personal information, and you will match or be a close match to those to whom you are related.  This is an opportunity to learn more about your origins and ancestry.

If you have already had a DNA test, or if you are interested in participating in the Project, please make contact with www.john@tattersfield.net