Question

What are the origins of William, the Immigrant Thornton: Yorkshire or ??

Comments

A little more background information would assist to be able to help.

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Do you have a birth year for William Thornton? Can you say when he left Yorkshire? Did he go to Canada, USA or somewhere else? Do you have the name of his spouse?

Answer 1

The Thornton family tree DNA project can be found here:

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/thornton/about/background

The website explains that although they have many DNA samples from Thorntons in the US, Canada and Australia, they do not have enough DNA from English Thornton''s to establish links to specific areas. This would include the descendants of William "the immigrant" Thornton. Check out the website for a better explanation.

Answer 2

Lynda Herndon, do you have any more information about the William Thornton that you are looking for? Your post gives no clues to be able to identify the correct William. How much do you know about him? If you are having no luck tracing him back to Yorkshire then another option you may want to consider is Northumberland. The Thornton family was prominent in the Netherwitton and Hartburn area for several centuries. Unfortunately, they made some critical decisions on which side to support in major conflicts and lost lands and lives as a result. Quite possible that these events (Jacobite Rebellion and Civil War) and the subsequent effect on family fortunes may have been a trigger for sons to emigrate.

Comments

So what did I do wrong this time to warrant a down vote with no explanation? I was attempting to offer a constructive suggestion. I think there is a connection between the Northumberland Thorntons and the Yorkshire Thorntons and I am currently trying to figure out how my Thornton line connects with DNA matches who have overseas Thorntons in their trees. I have not yet added much of my own Thornton research to Wikitree and this type of response does not really motivate me to do so.