To: pike-dna@rootsweb.com
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 13:56:53 -0230 (NDT)
From: dapike@math.mun.ca (David Pike)
Subject: [PIKE-DNA] Another Match for the Pikes of Carbonear

Hi everybody.

We've only had one new set of test results come back from the lab
in the past while.  These latest results are for Percival (kit 95077)
whose DNA markers are a perfect 25-marker match with several members
of our project's "Group 2".  At 37 markers, Percival's closest match
is with me (David, kit 23996) ... we match on 36 out of 37 markers.
So there is no doubt that Percival belongs to the genetic cluster of
Pikes that comprise "Group 2", shown at
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=results.html#Group2

Having since been in touch with Percival, he has provided some
genealogical details, which show that his Pike ancestry goes back to
a George Pike of Carbonear, Newfoundland.

Like Percival, each of the Pikes within our "Group 2" has so far been
somebody with known Carbonear ancestry, but as yet we do not know just
_how_ it is that many of us are related to one another.  For those who
are not familiar with Carbonear, it's a town of about 5,000 people,
located on the north shore of Conception Bay, Newfoundland.  The earliest
historical record that I know of that places a Pike in Carbonear is dated
1681.  However, church records from the area did not begin until about 1800,
and even then there are many omissions.  The combined result is that
there are numerous Pike families in and around Carbonear [and elsewhere
in Newfoundland too, where Pike is the 22nd most common surname!]
but who haven't been able to figure out just how they are related
to each other.  In short, most of us get "stuck" in our genealogical
research before we can get back to 1800.

It is thanks to DNA testing that we are now able to figure out
which families are related to each other.  There are still many
other Pike family branches in Newfoundland that remain to be tested,
so we still have a long way to go in terms of figuring out who is
related to whom.

While I am writing about Pikes of Newfoundland, let me share
something that I discovered not long ago.  But first I need to
convey a bit of history:  Newfoundland was proclaimed to be a
British colony in 1583, but it was not until 1610 that a formal
attempt at settlement was made.  Specifically, John Guy, a merchant
from Bristol, and some 39 colonists settled at Cuper's Cove [where
modern day Cupids is located, in Conception Bay]; additional
colonists arrived in the next few years.  John Guy returned to
England in 1613 and later became a Member of Parliament.  He died
about 1629, having left a will written in 1625.  His will, which
I have transcribed here:
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/Wills/JohnGuy1629.shtml
bequeaths his "Seaforrest" estate in Newfoundland to his sons
Thomas, Robert, and William.

If you're starting to wonder what the Pike connection is, it is found
in the will of John's son Robert, written in 1651, and which I have
also transcribed:
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/Wills/RobertGuy1652.shtml
Robert refers to his "brother" Walter Pyke and Walter's sons John, Walter,
William, and Thomas.  And of particular interest is that Robert Guy leaves
all of his property in "new found land" to his nephew John Pyke.

As yet I do not know if this John Pyke ever set foot in Newfoundland, but
it is fascinating that this 1651 will predates the earliest record of a
Pike in Carbonear that I mentioned above by some 30 years.  This will
raises some questions that I'm not yet able to answer, such as just how is
it that Robert Guy came to have a "brother" named Walter Pyke?  Perhaps
Robert and Walter were actually brothers-in-law, but I don't yet know.

Both Robert and his father John mention in their wills a village in
Gloucestershire variously named Dinton, Doniton, Donithan, and Dington.
My belief is that this is in fact the village now known as Doynton,
located roughly 7 miles north of Bath and 9 miles east of Bristol.
As yet I have only begun to think about looking for records of Pikes
in/near Doynton and of possible further connections they might have
had with Newfoundland.

As far as DNA is concerned, we don't yet have many participants with
ancestors from around Doynton, Bristol, and Bath, but in time hopefully
more will join.  It will be interesting to see if any of them are
genetic matches with the Carbonear Pikes in our "Group 2", who so
far do not match with any Pikes elsewhere.

Meanwhile, on Friday I will be flying to Houston to attend
FamilyTreeDNA's annual conference for project administrators.
If anybody has any questions that they would like for me to ask
the FamilyTreeDNA staff while I'm there, just let me know.

Thanks,

- David.