Aldridge Surname DNA Project

Overview

The Aldridge Surname DNA Project at Family Tree DNA has conducted DNA research on the Y-DNA of several Aldridge-Alldredge paternal lines. It has documented two major Aldridge-Alldredge family lineages in the United States:

• Haplogroup R-U106 – including presumed descendants of Nicholas Aldridge (d. 1708) of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and William Alldredge (b. 1702) of Randolph County, North Carolina.
• Haplogroup I-M223 – including descendants of Nathaniel Aldridge Sr., Joseph Aldridge and Francis Aldridge.

Several other Aldridge men with unique lineages (i.e. they do not match any other Aldridge men) have also been identified.

These results have created a state of crisis in Aldridge genealogy, disrupting many family genealogies that were previously considered established, and calling into question conclusions and connections that have stood for years. Both a thorough reevaluation of records and documents, and additional testing of as many descendants as will participate, will be necessary to resolve these issues.

Analysis

On account of William Alldredge-Aldridge, Nathaniel Aldridge, and Joseph Aldridge all taking land grants in colonial Orange County, North Carolina within a decade or so of each other, between 1755 and 1762, many researchers have previously concluded that they all belonged to the same family, presuming they were brothers and sons of Nicholas Aldridge of Anne Arundel County, North Carolina. The Y-DNA indicates otherwise. Descendants of each of these men have tested their Y-DNA, one from Nathaniel, two from Joseph, and five from William. The testers from Nathaniel and Joseph match each other, having haplogroup I-M223. The descendants of William all match each other, having haplogroup R-U106. But the two groups do not match each other. They are decidedly different, unrelated families.

The descendants of Nathaniel and Joseph also match two testers from Francis Aldridge of Surry County, Virginia, whom I have not been able to relate to them by records. This appears to show that the R-U106 group is its own Aldridge lineage, extending beyond the two men in colonial Orange County and probably back to Britain.

The descendants of William Alldredge also match two other testers, a descendant of Thomas Aldridge, born 1680 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and a descendant of Nicholas Aldridge (b. 1698), both documented sons of Nicholas Aldridge. Thomas's family remained in Maryland for several generations, while Nicholas Jr.'s family soon went to Kentucky. These DNA matches between descendants of Nicholas's several sons offers firm proof of each's connection to Nicholas.

Lineages

R-U106 Group

The R-U106 lineage is represented by eight Y-DNA testers. Their ancestry is as follows:

• Nicholas Aldridge (d. 1708 Anne Arundel, Md.)
  • Thomas Aldridge (b. 1680 Anne Arundel, Md., d. c. 1712 Maryland) md. Elizabeth Purdy
    • John Aldridge (b. 1712 Anne Arundel, Md., d. 1750 Prince George, Md.) md. Eleanor Watkins
      • Thomas Aldridge (b. 1744 Maryland, d. Kentucky) md. Elizabeth Crow
        • 2 testers: #854545 (Big-Y 700), #72939 (Y37)
  • Nicholas Aldridge (b. 1698 Anne Arundel, Md., d. 1758 Anne Arundel, Md.)
    • William Aldridge (b. 1704 Anne Arundel, Md., d. 1807 Clark, Ky.)
      • William Aldridge (b. 1757 Clark, Ky., d. 1832 Clark, Ky.)
        • 1 tester: #997450 (Big-Y 700)
  • William Alldredge (b. 1702 Anne Arundel, Md., d. 1789 Randolph, N.C.)
    • William Alldredge (b. 1729 Randolph, N.C., d. 1789 Randolph, N.C.)
      • Ezekiel Aldridge (b. 1757 Randolph, N.C., d. 1824 Posey, Ind.) md. Rachel Huff
        • 4 testers: #B704071 (Big-Y 700), #860485 (Y111), #17831 (Y37), #69744 (Y37)
    • Nathan Alldredge (b. 1739 Randolph, N.C., d. 1826 Knox, Tenn.) md. Hannah
      • Andrew Alldredge (b. 1782 Randolph, N.C., 1848 Blount, Ala.) md. Leah Chaney
        • 1 tester: #957073 (Big-Y 700)

The four R-U106 Big-Y testers have led to the discovery of the lineage's terminal SNP: R-FTC89975, a subclade of R-Z154. According to Family Tree DNA's analysis, the median time-to-most-recent-common-ancestor (TMRCA) for this group of testers is about 1583 CE, approaching reasonably close to the supposed birthdate of Nicholas Aldridge of 1653. Further, the two Big-Y testers for William have led to the discovery of a new SNP and haplogroup, R-FTB32679. If it is true that Thomas and William were brothers, then this SNP appears to have originated with William (b. 1702) himself.

R-U106

~2950 BCE

R-Z301

~2500 BCE

R-Z154

~250 CE

R-FTC89975

~1600 CE

Other descendants of Nicholas Aldridge

R-FTB32679

~1650 CE

Descendants of William Aldridge (b. 1702)

I-M223 Group

The I-M223 group is represented by these testers:

• Nathaniel Aldridge Sr., b. ca. 1730, d. bef. 1800 in S.C., md. Rosamond
  • Nathaniel Aldridge Jr., b. ca. 1760 S.C., d. aft. 1830 in Lawrence County, Alabama
    • James Aldridge, b. 1796 Abbeville, S.C., d. 1878 Lawrence, Ala., md. Nancy Alexander
      • William A. Aldridge, b. 1836 Lawrence, Ala., d. 1920 Lawrence, Ala., md. Clara Anna Elizabeth Boyer
        • 1 test #236472 (Y67)

• Joseph Aldridge, b. c. 1730-40, d. c. 1808 Person, N.C.
  • Peter Aldridge, b. 1763 Person, N.C., d. 1813 Person, N.C., md. Judith Waggoner
    • John Aldridge, b. c. 1793 N.C., d. 1870 Kentucky, md. Dicey Taylor
      • Nelson Aldridge, b. 1838 Orange, N.C., d. Louisville, N.C., md. Sarah Lynn
        • 1 test: #293040 (Y67)
    • Joseph Aldridge b. Caswell NC, d. 1877 NC md. Mary
      • • 1 test #222330 (Y37)

• Francis Aldridge, b. c. 1730 Surry, Virginia, d. c. 1770 Wilkes, N.C., md. Henrietta Prince
  • Prince William Aldridge, b. c. 1770 Wilkes, N.C., d. c. 1860 Marion, Ala., md. Mary Ann Coons
    • Ashley Aldridge, b. 1796 Tennessee, d. c. 1860 Fayette, Ala., md. Celia Aldridge
      • Alford Franklin Aldridge, b. 1825 Fayette, Ala., d. 1873 Cleburne, Ark., md. Nancy Ann Hardin
        • 1 test: #409109 (Y67)
      • James A. Aldridge, b. c. 1830 Fayette, Ala., d. 1862 Rutherford, Tenn., md. Rahama Box
        • 1 test: #180055 (Y67)

All of these testers are matches to each other, within a genetic distance of 2 from a modal haplotype. A sixth tester in the I-M223 group, only tested at Y12 (12 STR markers), is a genetic distance of 6 from the mode for the other five. To have such a great genetic distance at even such a broad level of testing suggests this man probably is not related to the others at all within a genealogical timeframe.

• Drury Aldridge 1734-1793 b. Northumberland Va. d. Greene NC
  • Jesse Aldridge 1758-1796 md. Anne Hardy b. Greene NC
    • Lemuel Hardy Aldridge md. Mary Harvey b. Greene NC
      • Kintchen Aldridge b. 1823 NC
        • 1 tester: #N51497 (Y12)

Since none of the I-M223 testers have tested to the Big-Y level or otherwise done any SNP testing, or even tested their STRs up to 67 markers (which would allow a more refined estimate from NevGen), their terminal SNP beyond the broad I-M223 is not available. From this broad estimate alone, it is conclusively shown that this group has not shared a common ancestor with the R-U106 group in about 50,000 years. Anecdotally, according to sightings of possible descendants on 23andMe, it appears they might be in haplogroup I-L1425.

IJK-L15

~44,000 BCE

K-M9

~43,000 BCE

R-M207

~26,000 BCE

I-M223

~15,000 CE

Descendants of Nathaniel Aldridge (b. ~1730), Joseph Aldridge (b. ~1735), and Francis Aldridge (b. ~1730s)

R-M269

~4,350 BCE

R-U106

~2,950 BCE

Descendants of Nicholas Aldridge