by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy The “Luck of the Irish” is truly the Big Y 700 DNA test. In Ireland, hereditary surnames were adopted as early as 1000 AD. Unfortunately, the majority of genealogical records have been lost when 1861 through 1891 censuses were destroyed for […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy The genetic name for descendants of John Goff b. ca. 1717 Duplin Co., North Carolina (“John 1717”) is 1717 GOFF/GOUGH (US-NC-DUP) R-BY67755. This is a standardized title used for all genetic Goff/Gough/McGough families and contains a lot of information. The 1717 […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy John Goffe and wife Hannah Sumner are amongst the earliest members of any Goff family in America. In his meticulously-researched book, Goffes/Goffs: Four Centuries of Their History and Yours, pp. 226-227, author John W. Goff notes that “on July 4, 1673, […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy A research team consisting of Peter Clarkson, Camellia Acker, Harry Broad, Maureen Pierce and me has achieved a major breakthrough in the Gawf/Goff family of Tennessee and Alabama. This breakthrough is discussed in the Archives & Research>DNA Surname Study page on […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy A GGFA member posted a query on the GGFA Facebook site about how Isham Goff (b. c1810 SC) fits into the genetic family called 1658 GOFFE/GOUGH/GOFF (US-VA-KQN) R-FT367367. The earliest known record of Isham Goff is his marriage to Sarena McBride […]
by Nancy Thomas In my April 2024 GGFA newsletter article entitled “The Goff/McGoff Connection”, I noted that, based on a Y-67 test, a participant with Scottish ancestry (YDNA Participant 1) and another participant named Robert McGoff (with ancestry from County Mayo, Ireland) likely share a common ancestor from around 1750. […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy With a tip of the hat to Big Y 700, the GGFA has now identified 40 genetically distinct Gough/Gough/McGough/etc. families. “Genetically distinct” means that the family arose came into being independently of all other families with a variant of the surname. […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy The Gough family of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England has a refined genetic banner. The previous descriptor of 1849 GOUGH (GB-STS) R-Y61318 has been updated to 1849 GOUGH (GB-STS) R-Y74432. The revised genetic narrative for this family, like all such narratives, is on […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy On the GGFA Facebook site, a poster wants to know the origins and family of her ancestor John Goff who first appears in the 1769 tithable records for Leesburg, Loudoun Co., VA. John had a son named George Emery Goff b. […]
by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy When researching family tree mysteries, my genetic genealogy time is typically allocated about 90% to autosomal DNA (“atDNA”), such as the Ancestry.com test, and the balance to YDNA analysis. If you have not checked out the three-part blog, “I’ve Taken a […]