Wallace DNA Project

The new advance of DNA testing has provided genealogists with another valuable tool in their toolbox. With the assistance of my cousin, Hurley Wallace Jr. (grandson of Lucian, great-grandson of Emsley, great-great-grandson of Isham, and great-great-grandson of Everet Wallace), our line has been submitted to the Wallace DNA Project at Family Tree DNA as well as Ancestry.com for comparison with Wallaces from around the United States and the world.

The results can be found below and on the Wallace DNA Project Results page . The actual DNA sequence is posted on the Y DNA Results.

MATCHES (as of September 2010)

The matches to our results have been interesting and challenging at the same time. We have been unable to find matches through the Wallace DNA Project at this time but have found some success through Ancestry.com.

• Michael Howard “Mike” Wallace is an exact match to 31 markers of our line. He descends through Everet Wallace > Joseph Wallace > Ruffin Wallace > Jerome A.Wallace >Audrey Howard Wallace. Finding this match was extremely helpful in confirming our Wallace line as Everet is our most recent common ancestor.

• Jimmy Wallace matches 30 out of 31 markers of our line. He descends from John Wallace (1809-1893). John was born in Union County, SC and moved to DeKalb County, AL by 1835. We haven’t been able to verify John Wallace’s father and grandfather yet but there seems to be a connection here. One interesting thing to note is that a Robert Wallace of Union County, SC owned land in Moore County, NC and sold it in 1801. Jimmy has been trying to confirm a relationship from his John to this Robert but hasn’t been able to verify anything to date. This deed reference is the only mention of Robert Wallace in Moore County and we have never been able to establish a connection with him.

•On of the more interesting and puzzling findings of our DNA results are a possible connection to the Ritter family of Moore County, NC. Several male Ritters descending from Jesse Ritter (c1735-c1786) are an exact match to 67 markers of our line. There is no known direct relationship between the Wallaces and the Ritters but the DNA results clearly show one. It is quite possible that further back either Everet Wallace’s father or grandfather was a Ritter or that Jesse Ritter, Sr.’s father or grandfather was a Wallace. An interesting piece of circumstantial evidence is that Jesse Ritter, Sr. had a son named Everett Ritter (c1760-aft1850).

RESULTS:

I have attached some basic information concerning the project below. For more information, please visit the Wallace DNA Project website.


Wallace DNA Project

In 2002 the first DNA test was performed on a Wallis descendant. Since that time, DNA matches have occurred proving the long-held belief that several of the men tested descend from a common ancestor. For some Wallace/Wallis lines, this validated research which was supported by solid documentation. For other lines, it provided the much needed scientific
proof of a common ancestor which cannot otherwise be proven due to the lack of extant paper records. If you descend from any Wallace or Wallis line, or think you might or wish you did, participating in this DNA project could help your research considerably and provide some much needed proof or direction for further research.

The tests are done on the Y-chromosome which is passed from father to son, and he to his son, etc., thus PARTICIPANTS MUST BE MALE AND HAVE WALLACE or WALLIS surname ALL THE WAY DOWN THE MALE LINE. If you are a female and wish to have your line participate in the Project, a male cousin, uncle, brother, etc., can provide the DNA for your line. If you are interested in joining the Wallace-Wallis Y-DNA study, please contact the Project Manager for additional information. We have obtained special group rates which are much less expensive than a research trip, and no vital body parts are required - just a simple swab of the inside of the cheek. There is no discomfort at all, and results are available in about 60 days. To join the Wallace-Wallis DNA Project, participants must provide their Wallace/Wallis lineage, including all known dates and locations for births, deaths, and marriages including spouse information, back to their earliest known Wallace ancestor.