No ‘Stone’ to be left unturned in family history search
A BID to map the genetic links of people with the surname Stone has been launched from across the Atlantic and found its way to the town.
The Stone DNA Project has been running for decades and aims to connect families in America with their descendants.
Now one of its members Sue Patrick, nee Stone, has turned her focus on Macclesfield, Prestbury and Poynton.
Sue, who lives in Frankfort, Kentucky, has traced her family tree all the way back to William Stone who was the Governor of the Colony of Maryland from 1648-1654.
William was originally from Cheshire and Sue hopes that descendants of branches from his family tree are still living in the area.
As well as appealing for Stones to get in touch they are also being asked to complete a DNA testing to connect families across the pond genetically.
Sue said: “I know this may seem like a very unusual request, but we are hopeful that some of the Stones who connect to Governor Stone’s family, including the family of his brothers, might still live in the area.
“There are 61 distinct lines of Stones in the US this has been confirmed using DNA testing. We believe my line connects to Cheshire but need to test male Stones, since the paternal chromosome is passed only from father to son. Volunteers selected will receive a free kit directly from FamilyTreeDNA, a genealogical firm in the US. There will be no cost to you. The test itself is a painless cotton swab of the inside of one’s cheek. After you swab your cheek, you would need to place the swab into the vial that comes with the test. Then just mail the vial, in the provided envelope, directly to FamilyTreeDNA facilities. All the data will remain confidential unless you want your name associated to the kit. The choice is yours.”
Recent research by author Bill Stone has transcribed wills of Stones in Cheshire from the 1500s and 1600s.
It shows possible connections to Stones in the Poynton and Prestbury areas.
Sue has written to 17 Stones in Cheshire but have only heard from one so far. Further information on the Stone family trees in America can be found on the FamilyTreeDNA’s website. Type ‘Stone’ in the surname search bar. Sue’s line is group seven in the results.
For more details email suestonepatrick@gmail. com