Rutherford and Beyond

Around 2016 I got interested in genetic genealogy as I was teaching Biology to Year 11 and 12 students (as a part of this course was about genetics and evolution, it is also my favourite part of Biology). In addition to this I have had hit a brick wall some years before with my father's Rutherford family and was looking for another way to try and get around or over the said brick wall as everything I had tried to date had not worked.

To this point I had researched and contacted all sorts of archives and libraries, visited in person and online, tried the 'normal' records and even thought outside the box for ways to find out more about my Rutherford's. Through this I had located great information that filled in about their lives but I just could not get beyond Thomas Rutherford born somewhere in the United Kingdom around 1799.

Having the two above situations occurring at the same time (teaching Biology and the brick wall) I started my genetic genealogy journey by getting my dad to undertake a DNA test with the National Geographic Genographic Project which was a scientific study trying to map the evolution/movement of humanity through DNA.

I did (with my father's permission) use the information received through participating in the scientific study within my Biology class to show real-world evidence of human evolution/movement and how scientific advances can and do change our existing knowledge of the world.

I also took these DNA results and started to explore the world of genetic genealogy. All these years later I went down a path and discovered connections I would never have thought of while undertaking genealogy on its own.

I have unfortunately not broken through the brickwall, however I now say I have a gap on the wall. I have either end, just not the middle (genetically speaking), as it turns at the 'known' history of the Rutherford's is not complete and the starting point is not clear.

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The purpose of this blog is to share my genetic genealogy research, in particular the genealogical discoveries that have come about due to the genetic exploration which has focused on Y-DNA.

This however will not just be about the Rutherford's through time but the other present day surnames that Y-DNA genetically link with my Rutherford's. The closest genetically to my Rutherford's include Riddell, Berkley/Berkeley/Barkley/Bartlett and Carlton/Carleton and more further connected are about twelve other surnames (at the time of this post as this number changes when other men test their Y-DNA).

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