DNA Study & PRA Family Groups

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In Nick Penington’s article, he says:

“The DNA Study to date suggests that Sloan was surprisingly spot on about several group relationships but also mistaken as well. I personally feel that one cannot reliably deduce lineage just by proximity or naming patterns, however at that time there was no alternative. Thus we have a cluster of related groups from DNA: 4, 5, 7, 14, 16, 28, 30, 31 and 32 (we don't know about Groups 1, 3, 12, [13 vacated] at this time) yet we have separate clusters of 6 and 23, and another possibly including 9, 29 and 19. The last cluster is provisional until the next batch of results comes back (Note:  Those results are now available and do show this cluster.  This cluster is addressed later in the article).  Sloan seems to have been correct when he said that Group 10 seems to stand alone. We have, I think, a large number of Group 10 descendants but no close genetic link (in the direct male line) with the other Groups. So far the same can be said for Group 8. Groups 5 and 14 (and possibly 3 when tested) do form a cluster that is however very close to the other Groups 4, 7, 16, 28, 30, 31 and 32, such that they can all be counted as sharing a distant common ancestor.

I think that DNA virtually proves that Groups 30 and 31 are descendants of one of the Ephraims of NC (Group 4)  [Pennington Pedigrees Vol. 34, No.2, page 25 see Appendix and Sources].  Their progenitors might be the Aaron and Abel who were thought to be sons of Ephraim (b. about 1745) but DNA cannot actually prove this lineage in terms of the individuals concerned. What we know is they are from the same male line and they share the same Y chromosome. I predict that one day these two groups will be merged with Group 4.

Incidentally, the only Ephraim found in the UK section of the IGI in this time period, with a source attached, is one born in 1605 in Bolton-le-Moors Lancashire. This parish is simply part of Bolton now".

Let me summarize the first real differences between what John French and other researchers believed were links between some of our Family Groups and what the DNA Study shows.

The most recent results from our DNA Study shows a cluster of Groups who share a common ancestor/s in Groups 4, 5, 7, 14, 16, 28, 30, 31 and 32 and that Groups 9, 19 and 29 share a common ancestor and that Groups 6 and 23 share a common ancestor.

In his most recent article, Nick says, “Another result that just came back is very interesting.  Groups 29, 19 and 9 are all just two jumps away from each other with a predicted sequence that is only one jump away from all three. This strongly suggests that these groups have a common ancestor who lived maybe within 27 generations of the present. Perhaps a Pennington from these groups, or with unknown ancestry, will be tested and have the sequence that connects these three groups”.

All the remaining Groups who have been tested show no common ancestor between them.

See the diagrams above titled “Latest Theory of Family Groups – Part I”  and "Latest Theory of Family Groups - Part II" for a graphic display of these links.

This is certainly a new view of the Pennington Research Association Family Groups and possible links between them.

When you review the information contained in the data table (see the Appendix and Sources section), please remember it is limited to just a few of the Pennington ancestors I have been researching.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of facts for all the Pennington ancestors in several of our Groups that I have found in the Pennington Pedigrees and I can’t begin to list all of them so I’ve focused on just the ones I am researching -- Benajah Pennington, Sr., b. 1724/25 and his ancestors and descendants. 

After you review the data table, I believe you can appreciate some of the conclusions I have made from my research.  The primary data table shows dates, events, persons and locations starting with Benajah Pennington, b. 1724/25 (also known as Benajah Pennington, Sr.), his spouse Elizabeth Humphries and several individuals who may be their children.  Please notice that I said “may be”.  When you review the dates, locations and other details, I think you will agree with me that this is not an unreasonable conclusion.

It is my opinion that from the data one can reasonably believe Benajah Pennington, b. 1724/25 is the father of Micajah Pennington, b. 1743 (progenitor of Group 7) and Andrew Pennington, b. 1745.  Using the dates and locations supported by records referenced in the Pennington Pedigrees and other sources, I believe it is reasonable to conclude that the children of Benajah Pennington, b. 1724/25 and Elizabeth Humphries include Benajah Pennington, b. abt. 1741, William Pennington, b. bet. 1741 and 1744, Micajah Pennington, b. 28 Apr 1743, Andrew Pennington, b. abt. 1745 and Able Pennington, b. abt. 1750.

Please note that the data table can be found in "pdf" format, in the Appendix and Sources, Documents section.

Also please note that some of the dates, people and/or locations are not sourced at this time, however they are abstracts from other research that we are working on and I have not yet located the exact source.  As I locate the source, I’ll update the information.

What this data table shows is that Benajah Pennington, Sr., b. 1724/25 and his family lived in and around Rowan Co., NC for many years and that during this time several of his Pennington descendants and other relations are found in the same locations.  One can use these dates and locations to draw reasonable conclusions about the individuals listed and their relationships with each other.  When added to the data found in Family Bibles and other sources, these conclusions are even stronger.

It is important to note that the farms, mills and homes where Benajah Pennington, Sr., b. 1724/25 and his family were born and lived, were never very far from each other.  It was confusing for me to read some of the records and see the different Counties and States listed for the people I was researching until I learned that what really changed were the boundaries for the Counties and the States NOT that the person/s actually moved or were different people.  So when you read the facts in the data table remember that what changed over the years were not just the locations themselves but the boundaries and the names of the Counties and States where he and his family lived.

These counties included Anson Co., NC, Rowan Co., NC, Mecklenburg Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, and Ashe Co., NC as well as Montgomery Co., VA (portions of this county later became Grayson Co., VA).  If you are interested in learning more, there are many resources available to help the researcher understand how these County and State boundary lines changed over the years.

Below is one such table that was published in Pennington Pedigrees Vol. 8, No. 2, pg. 54 in an article titled "Some Descendants of Micajah Pennington" by Bee Holmes (see the Appendix and Sources section) in which she summarized her opinion by saying "Surely the occurrence of these different PENNINGTON names in the same counties must mean that they all are related!"

A Summary of the Formation of Some North Carolina Counties Where Some Pennington Families Lived

Here is an example from my lineage of how these facts have helped me to distinguish between several of the individuals found in the records.  On 18 Aug 1770 my gr-gr-gr-grandfather, Benajah Pennington, was born in NC.  Some Pennington family records list Grayson Co., VA as place of birth.  In several Pennington Pedigrees, Andrew Pennington is listed as the father of Benajah Pennington, b. 1770 (one source:  Pennington Pedigrees, Vol. 18, No. 2, pg. 13 - see the Appendix and Sources section - Note:  Cemetery Records from Cedar Co., MO lists birth place as NC).

From the data table (Appendix and Sources section) we know that in 1770, Benajah Pennington, b. 1724/25 and Andrew Pennington, b. 1745 were living in Catawba River area, probably in what at that time was Mecklenburg, NC. (one source:   Pennington Pedigrees, Vol. 18-2, pg. 13 - see the Appendix and Sources section).

One of the first puzzles I faced when starting my research was trying to identify all the Benajah Pennington individuals that were found in several research records.  Quite often researchers would ask who these Benajah Penningtons were and wondered if they were all the same person.  From my research, I have identified the following Benajah (and various variants of given name) Pennington subjects born between 1724 & 1782.