PIKE-DNA-L Mailing List Archive

The message below was once posted to the PIKE-DNA-L mailing list that was operational from 2005 to 2020. To view additional messages from the mailing list, click here.

Since early 2020, the Pike DNA Blog is where news updates and other announcements about our project are posted.


Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:15:32 -0230 (NDT)
From: David Pike 
To: pike-dna-l@rootsweb.com
Subject: Groups 18 and 1



Hi everybody.

This message has news of three test results.



The first one involves an anonymous participant with kit number 183692. 
He tested 37 markers and when his results were reported he was found to be 
a perfect 37-marker match with Sharon's husband Greg (kit 47429).  This is 
now the 11th time that we've witnessed a perfect 37-marker match in our 
project, and in this case it has prompted the creation of our newest group 
of matching DNA results:  "Group 18" 
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=results.html#Group18

Currently all that can be said about this group is that Greg descends from 
a fellow named Rufus PIKE who was born in 1812 at Franklin, New Hampshire. 
Various sources have identified Rufus' parents as James PIKE and Alice 
GEORGE, but the fact that Alice would have been 56 years old at the time 
of Rufus' birth casts some doubt on whether James and Alice are Rufus' 
parents.  More plausible is that Rufus may be the illegitimate son of one 
of James and Alice's daughters.

James' ancestry can be traced back for three more generations to a Hugh 
PIKE who was born at Newbury, Massachusetts in 1657.  Aside from Sharon's 
husband Greg, we do not yet have any documented descendants of Hugh in our 
project.  If more were to join then we would be in a much better position 
of shedding some new light on the reality of Rufus' situation.



The second news item pertains to "Group 1".  For the past few years, the 
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation had been collecting DNA samples 
and pedigree details from donors, and building a database of the test 
results.  On their website (www.smgf.org) it is stated that they have 
collected over 100,000 samples and are now focussing their efforts on 
targetted populations and lineages (I'm not sure just what these are 
though).

In a recent update of their database, a new PIKE donor was listed with 
pedigree information and DNA markers.  I've converted the markers to the 
FTDNA format and have put them onto our project's "Results" page with an 
assigned kit number of S003.  These fit into our "Group 1".

I don't know who it was that donated this DNA sample to SMGF, but his 
pedigree information shows that his paternal grandparents were Jim PIKE 
(born 1887 at Cowley, Kansas) and Lottie ZELLHART.  Starting here we were 
able to trace his lineage back to John PIKE who settled in Massachusetts 
in 1635: 
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=Pedigrees/S003.html 
and so I've updated the mini family tree shown at 
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=results.html#Group1 
to show this fellow's place in the tree.



The third set of new results is for Tom Pike who did a Y-DNA test with 
ancestry.com.  We were able to convert most of the markers tested there to 
the format used by Family Tree DNA, and have put the results on display 
with a token kit number of Y002.  Sufficiently many of Tom's markers match 
those of members of our "Group 1" that we can be confident that this too 
is Tom's group.

Tom has provided family history details that trace his PIKE lineage back 
to his great grandfather, a Thomas PIKE who is believed to have been born 
about 1837 near Manchester England, but had settled in Montreal, Quebec by 
the late 1860s.  We've been able to find Thomas in Canadian census records 
from 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901, details of which have been included in 
Tom's pedigree as shown here: 
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=Pedigrees/Y002.html

As yet we do not know who Thomas' parents were or exactly where he was 
born.  However, we do have a theory, which I'll now describe in more 
detail.  The 1901 census lists Thomas' precise date of birth as 11 
February 1838.  Census records are often inaccurate, but in the hope that 
this one is correct then we can begin to search for Thomas' birth by 
looking at the civil registration indices that began in England in 1837. 
At http://www.freebmd.org.uk there are a total of three birth 
registrations in the first quarter of 1838 for children born in England 
with the name Thomas PIKE. Two of these were in the registration districts 
of Wigan and Runcorn, both of which are close to Manchester.

I believe that the Thomas born in the Wigan district is the same Thomas 
that is listed in records from the parish of All Saints, Hindley at 
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Hindley/allsaints/index.html
as being baptised on 29 April 1838.  And I believe this same Thomas was 
buried at All Saints, Hindley on 25 Oct 1843 at age 5 and 3/4, which would 
mean that this Thomas could not have been Tom's great grandfather.

However, the Thomas whose birth was registered in the Runcorn district 
seems to be a highly viable candidate.  In the 1841 UK census, we find 
this Thomas living with other family members at Grappenhall, Runcorn, 
Cheshire:

    Thomas        30    Joiner
    Thomas         3
    Sarah         20
    Joseph         2
    William        4m

In 1851 the family is at Warrington, Lancashire, now with more children:

    Thomas        40    Joiner            Berkshire Hungerford
    Sarah         31                      Cheshire Wilderspool
    Thomas        14    Apprentice        Cheshire Latchford
    Joseph        12                      Cheshire Latchford
    William       10                      Cheshire Latchford
    Elizabeth      8                      Lancs Bolton
    Robert         6                      Lancs Bolton
    Peter          4                      Lancs Warrington
    James          2                      Lancs Warrington
    Samuel         3m                     Lancs Warrington

In 1861 Thomas jr is missing, as are two of his brothers, but the rest of the 
family is at Gorton, Lancashire:

    Thos Pike            head            mar     50      Carriage Builder    Berk Hungerford
    Sarah Pike           wife            mar     42                          Ches Walton
    Ricd Eccleston       son in law      mar     23      Joiner              Lan  Preston
    Eliz Eccleston       dau             mar     18                          Lan  Bolton
    Rob Pike             son                     16      Smith               Lan  Bolton
    Peter Pike           son                     14      Brass Moulder       Lan  Warrington
    James Pike           son                     12      Dyer                Lan  Warrington
    Sam Pike             son                     11      Scholar             Lan  Warrington
    George Pike          son                      9      Scholar             Lan  Warrington
    Chas Pike            son                      6      Scholar             Lan  Man
    Sarah J Pike         dau                      5      Scholar             Lan  Man
    Mary A Pike          dau                      3                          Lan  Man
    Ricd Pike            son                      2m                         Lan  Gorton

Of the brothers of Thomas jr that are "missing" from the above list, 
Joseph appears be enumerated in 1861 at Openshaw, Lancashire, newly 
married, and with his profession being "Moulder of Iron".  In 1871 he's at 
Coppenhall Monks in Cheshire as a Brass Moulder, in 1881 he's at Bolton, 
Lancashire as a Brassfounder, and in 1901 he's at Gorton as a Brass 
Moulder.

Going back to the listing above from the 1861 census, I want to point out 
that two of Thomas jr's other brothers (Robert and Peter) were a Smith and 
a Brass Moulder.  And the 1871 census later shows that brother George 
became an "Iron Turner".

So it appears that this is a family in which the sons were heavily 
involved in metal working, which would be consistent with what appears in 
the Canadian census records, namely that Tom's great grandfather Thomas in 
Montreal was a Black Smith.

Something else that is a potential clue is that the 1881 Canadian census 
placed a 21-year-old Richard PIKE whose profession was "Turner" in the 
home.  The census did not record relationships, so there is no information 
regarding how this Richard PIKE might be related to Thomas (age 44 at the 
time).  However, this Richard *might* be the Richard PIKE who was listed 
above as being 2 months old in the 1861 UK census, making him a younger 
brother of Thomas.

Yet another piece of circumstantial evidence suggesting that the Thomas 
from Runcorn might indeed be Tom's great grandfather is that Tom's DNA 
results place him into our project's "Group 1".  As shown on our UK map at 
http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=results.html#Map 
this group has tended to be geographically clustered in the counties of 
Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire.  Moreover we have at least one member 
of our project's "Group 1" who has PIKE ancestry from the village of 
Hungerford, Berkshire itself, which is the place of birth listed in the UK 
census records for the father of the Thomas that was born in the Runcorn 
district in Q1 1838.

These several observations do not prove that we've found Tom's ancestors 
in the UK, but so far the details that we have found are all consistent 
with this hypothesis.  If anybody reading this happens to have access to 
birth or baptismal records from the parishes of Grappenhall and/or 
Latchford in the Runcorn district, then it would be great if the date of 
birth of this UK Thomas could be checked and compared with the date listed 
for Tom's ancestor in the 1901 census of Canada.

- David.