The Boles of Fingreagh in the Bowles DNA Project

A DNA Test Success Story

John Boles of Dublin, a descendant of Edward Jervis Boles of Fingreagh, has participated in the Bowles DNA project hosted by FamilyTreeDNA.  FamilyTreeDNA is one of the leading companies which provides DNA analyses services.  While ancestryDNA.com is by far the largest and best known DNA analyses company their autosomal test is only a 'heritage' test and cannot identify matches between people with common male ancestors.  For that you need a Y-chromosome test such as 23AndMe and FamilyTreeDNA provide.  For anyone seeking their Bowles ancestors FamilyTreeDNA is better as they feed directly into the Bowles DNA Study.

The coordinators of this project compare the DNA test results and match them whenever possible to others with similar results.  The current result groupings are at http://www.ancestors-genealogy.com/bowles/index.html

John's DNA was found to be a match with the project's 'Group 8'.  It has long been speculated that some of the Bowles (or Boles, Boals etc.) lines in Ireland were descendants of Boyles. Either of native Irish O'Boyles (originally O'Baoighills), a common name in the northwest, or of the Scottish Boyles who were settled in the northeast of Ireland in the early 1600's either during the Ulster plantation or in the privately developed Scottish estates in Down and Antrim.

Group 8 in the Bowles DNA study claims to have proven that theory, that the members of the group are descendants of the Boyle of Kelburn line of Ayrshire, Scotland who, according to their tradition, originated as a Norman Lord named de Boyville (or de Beuville) from B

This chart lists the DNA test results for the members of Group 8 by kit number, the contributor and the values for their DNA markers.  The group standard was set as the most common values found in the results of the group members.  DNA research has identified which markers have been found to mutate most quickly, possibly even within one generation.  These markers are highlighted in green.  Minor variations in one of the green columns but exact matches in the white columns indicate a common ancestor within a comparatively recent period.  Minor variations in a small number of the white columns indicates a common ancestor at a statistically likely longer time in the past.  I have only listed the results for markers 1 through 37 as the test values for markers 38 to 67 were identical in this group (except as noted).

Note: I have not put any range of years for the terms 'comparitively recent' and 'statistically likely longer time in the past' as that is so dependant on the mutation rates of each individual marker, which markers have mutated by how much, how many have mutated etc. and even if these factors are all considered the estimation may be far from accurate as another marker which doesn't appear to have changed may actually have changed two or more times, since markers may mutate both up and down, indicating a longer time period has passed.

Bowles DNA Project - Results Group 8

In the above chart John Boles' sample for The Boles of Fingreagh can be seen to have minor differences in only 2 of the more quickly mutating markers.

Three members (194902, 106142 and 308906 as highlighted in the above) have had their haplogroup identified and all 3 are in R-SRY2627 which absolutely confirms their common ancestor.  This is an aspect of DNA mapping which I don't yet fully understand but I found a reference that SRY2627 is found most commonly amongst Celtic people although it can be found less often amongst French, German, Scandinavian or almost any other European people. 

According to these results, John Boles, a descendant of Edward Jervis Boles of Fingreagh is a descendant of the Lord Boyles of Kelburn.  He is related to the current 10th Earl of Glasgow, Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle.  Should anyone wish to contact him, John's email is 'johnboles at chemist dot com' (in the appropriate email format).

Some background to Group 8

Members of that group generally used the Bole or Boles spelling of their surname and were a culturally generic match to be of Scottish descent but most of them were in America and so far had not been able to document their family trees any closer than that they 'came from Ireland' or they were 'believed to be of Scottish descent'. 

The Boyle surname is one of the most common in Ireland and is generally accepted to be derived from the ancient Gaelic name Ó Baoghill, the past chiefs of Donegal.  However, there were also members of the Boyle clan from Scotland who had been settled in Ulster in the 1600's chiefly in Antrim and Down.  Over time the Boal/Boals and Bole/Boles spellings of their name developed to avoid confusion with the native Boyle and O'Boyles.  However, many of the native Boyle lines also became Boals/Boles/Bowls/Bowles over time as their English landlords struggled with their illiterate tenant's pronunciation of their names so the current spelling of family surnames does not identify a family's origin with any surety.

The Boyle clan in Scotland was a very powerful clan which is believed to have originated with a Norman knight 'Richard of Boyvil' (today Beauville near Caen, France) who had been granted an extensive holding in Scotland in the 1200's where he established his family at Kelburn Castle in Ayrshire. 

Note: I cannot independently verify this claim as an unbroken line of descent from the Earl of Glasgow to the Boyle who provided the DNA sample has not been given.  Personal information provided to the project is confidential.  The line of descent is only 'as found by a professional genealogist'. 

The results of the project can be found at http://www.ancestors-genealogy.com/bowles/index.html where Edward Boles of Fingreagh is listed in Group 8.  The link for Edward's family tree is to my own Boles of Fingreagh, co. Leitrim page. 

David Boles', the coordinator of the Bowles DNA Project, analysis of Group 8's results is at http://www.ancestors-genealogy.com/bowles/bowlesdna/Group8notes.htm