About us
We now have the Y-DNA results for NINE Thew men (currently living in America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) who share a male Thew ancestor who looks most likely to have lived in the North East of England around the year 1500. Which is very exciting! We now need at least one male Thew descendant of the Thews of North East England, whose direct line stayed in the UK, so we can work out how closely everyone is related.
We also have two more Thew men who trace back to the North East yet don't match the nine, or each other. Plus another Thew man who traces back to Lincolnshire in the early 1700 and doesn't match any of the above.
So this seems to confirm that the surname Thew has multiple origins rather than just one.
What we REALLY need now are descendants of the following to join in:
- Roger Thew (born abt 1625 - died 1649) of Alnwick (to see whether he was a close, genetic relative of "the nine"). Roger is in 18 trees on Ancestry.com so there must be someone!
- John Thew (1801-1864) who emigrated to Australia in 1826. Almost certainly a descendant of Roger Thew, but a Y-DNA match for him would be a great start. John is in THIRTY TWO Ancestry trees.
- Any other male Thew who lived in or near Alnwick, Northumberland pre-1750. To see whether they match "the nine" and/or Roger's descendants.
- William Thew (born abt 1733) probably in Lincolnshire. (On 16 Ancestry trees). We have one UK descendant so far who's tested but there are legions in the UK, US and elsewhere yet to join in and help us go back further.
- Edward Thew (born abt 1775) probably near Durham, who married Elizabeth Bell in Kelloe, Durham in 1798. We have one UK tester so far but need at least one more in order to go further back.
- The Thews in the early (1537-1750) parish records of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Norfolk, London, Yorkshire and elsewhere. None of whom are represented in our Y-DNA group yet.
Who's ready to join in?
The surnames in this DNA Project are researched as part of the Thew one-name study. You can learn more about this significant research, and the associated family trees, by visiting the one-name study web site, or contacting the Group Administrator.
John.Thew@one-name.org
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 Thew 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 order the "Big Y" Y-DNA test or at least the 37 markers. If you order less 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 would order a mtDNA test. For matches in a genealogical time frame, order the mtDNA Full Sequence test.
We have also established a General Fund, to accept donations in any currency via credit card. These funds will be held at the testing company, and used to help sponsor test kits for those key males who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of participation in the project. We encourage you to make a donation. To make a donation please click on the link below "To donate to the general fund please click here". If you decide to donate, please specify "Thew Project General Fund" in the top box of the Donation form.