Our Participation with the BIGY SNP testing is starting to yeild some very interesting results.  The BIGY is the next generation of YDNA testing, where we start to look back thousands of years.  Part of this work will eventually be to identify a Williston family SNP. We now have BIGY testers for the lines of 2 of Joseph Williston I 's sons Joseph II and Nathaniel I. Presently, they share the SNP BY8550 Is this the Williston SNP we have been looking for? It is currently estimated as being 3500 years old, so more work needs to be done to figure out if this pertains only to those down from Joseph, but his direct male descendants should all carry this bit of YDNA. 

Reaching further back in time, we have discovered a relationship to the Prater family and their close matches.  I call them the Prater/Fowler/Burton contiuum.  Our common ancestor, by present estimates is  3100 years ago.But who is that guy? We are very fortunate in this case to have 2 other matches who come from the middle east, and actually do have their tribal history going back much farther than anyone in the western world is used to One of them has a family history going back to the biblical Arbraham.

Our larger E family  originates in Northern Africa, specifically, Egypt.  From there, we go to the Middle East.  This is where things get tricky.  We don't know how yet, but from there somehow in to Europe, probably coming over into England as part of the Normand Invasion with our somehow cousins in the Prater Contiuum and the Paynes. 

The autosomal distant matches are starting to reveal strong circumstantial evidence that Joseph I was related to the Salisbury family of Colonial R.I.  Abigail Salisbury married a John Williston in Milton 1776.  We know from the YDNA that Joseph was not down from John, but was possibly cousin to him in some other way involving the Salisbury's. Research into this is ongoing. 

At present, a rather large percentage of participants are down from are down from the Loyalist John Bailey Williston 1757-1833. From those participants descended from Anson Williston 1764-1796, We have been able to prove through autosomal and YDNA testing that his parents are Joseph Williston 1731-1768 and Mary Morgan of Springfield, MA.  

At this point, 2 male ancestors have been confirmed as adoptees carrying the Williston name: Seymour Wathan Williston 1857-1933 and Benjamin Albert Williston 1878-1951. Work into both cases is ongoing