Volume 11 , Issue 13

Warwick / Warrick DNA Project

Family genealogists have concentrated efforts resolving relationship amongst the male Warwicks in early western Augusta County, Virginia. This area includes the current Virginia counties of Augusta and Bath, and the West Virginia counties of Pocahontas and Randolph. The only way around the roadblock would be Y-chromosome DNA tests... so we are soliciting contributors - DNA sample - money donors.

Using county records, here are the four Warwick males that can be found in this area of colonial Virginia.

William Warrick arrived in the Valley of Virginia in 1743; came by way of Ireland; settled on Deer Creek now in Pocahontas County; three known sons: John (who migrated to Clark Co., Ohio and died there in 1814), William and Andrew. Some of the descendants of the latter two sons remained in the area for several generations, but very few of them were male. One branch is thought to have migrated to Oklahoma for the great land rush. William Sr. died on Deer Creek and is incorrectly identified as John by some.

Andrew Warrick was in Augusta County as of 1750; closely related to William. It is possible Andrew left for North Carolina with the mass exodus during the French and Indian War.

John Warwick was in Augusta County as of 1748; the same John who slowly made his way westward and settled at the head of the Tygart Valley River; built a fort whose attack by Indians is retold in the David Crouch interview of the Draper Manuscripts. In 1787 he pulled up stakes and moved to Clark Co., Kentucky where he died about 1801. Of his sons, Jacob was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe; because of his actions in battle the Indiana county of Warrick was named in his honor. Another son is purported to be John. There is no proof of his existence; a Warwick family in Tennessee claim a John Warwick who married Nancy Hamilton came from Virginia.

Jacob Warwick first appears in the records in 1774; after his father's disappearance, his mother married Andrew Sitlington. There is no doubt about the latter marriage, but there is evidence to suggest Jacob was born out of wedlock. From the dates of his appearance in the records, Jacob is obviously of a younger generation than the other three pioneer Warwicks. Jacob settled on the Jackson River in Bath County and at Clover Lick in Pocahontas County; amassed tracts of land that he devised to his children, grandchildren. He had only one son Andrew S. (named for Jacob's stepfather) who had three sons. Two of these remained in the Bath County area.

Warwick DNA Project Needs Donors

Warwick DNA Project would like to prove if these four are related and establish a database that other researchers may use. To do so, we need to locate living male descendants with the Warwick or Warrick surname to donate cell samples. The Y-chromosome is only passed from father to son to son to son, etc.

Ideally, it is suggested that at least two DNA donors be found per branch to weed out the possibility of infidelity or adoption. Said another way, if two males thought to be cousins do not have matching DNA, then there is a problem. It is absolutely necessary to have the pedigrees for the DNA donors traced back to one of the four individuals.

DNA testing is not free. Knowing that sample donors may not have the same degree of curiosity as family genealogist, we will also need money donors. So we are asking for your help to locate male DNA donors and/or to make a pledge to financially support this effort. When pledging, please specify an upper limit. We intend to divide the costs equally, but if the number of pledges is small, the share may exceed your expectation. Regardless, all donors will share in the results of the research.

We intend to use FamilyTreeDNA as the commercial lab. By creating a project with them, we will receive a discount for the tests. Since we are concentrating on just four individuals from the same time period, the 12-marker test will probably suffice to prove or disprove a relationship. The discounted cost of this test is $99.

We welcome participants who don't know if their Warwick ancestor is connected to these four individuals as well. In this case, the cost of the test is their responsibility, but they can join the project to receive the discount and share in the results.

Before we commit to this project, we need an indication of interest and of course the DNA donors. Please contact any of the following. W. Lynn Hutchison - lynn.hutchison@us.abb.com - OR - Paula Hampton - Pmh52847@aol.com

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