DNA Research Center
Connecting Berry descendants through the science of DNA
Since 2004, Berry family descendants have participated in Y-DNA testing to confirm and extend the genealogical connections traced through archival records. This page brings together all of our DNA research in one place — the test results, the science behind them, and the tools to help you see where you fit.
What Is Y-DNA?
Every person inherits DNA from both parents, but Y-DNA is special: it passes only from father to son, virtually unchanged, generation after generation. This makes it a direct window into your paternal line — your father, his father, his father's father, and so on back through centuries.
Because Y-DNA follows the surname in most Western cultures, men who share a surname and share Y-DNA markers are almost certainly related through a common male ancestor.
What Are STR Markers?
STR markers (Short Tandem Repeats) are specific locations on the Y chromosome where a short DNA pattern repeats a countable number of times. Each marker has a name (like DYS393) and a numerical value (like 14) that represents how many times that pattern repeats.
Testing companies like FamilyTreeDNA read these markers and report the values. Our Berry family project uses 37-marker and 67-marker panels.
What Does “Matching” Mean?
When two men have identical or nearly identical marker values, they match — meaning they share a common paternal ancestor. The more markers tested and the more that match, the more recent that common ancestor is likely to be.
- 12-marker match: Suggests a possible relationship — worth investigating further
- 25-marker match: Strong indication of a shared ancestor within a genealogical timeframe
- 37-marker match: Very strong evidence of a close relationship
- 67-marker match: Near-certain confirmation of a shared paternal line
What Are Mutations?
Occasionally, a marker value changes by one count (up or down) when passed from father to son. These changes are called mutations. Mutations are normal and expected over many generations — they help distinguish which branch of a family tree a person belongs to. In our charts below, mutations from the Berry family modal (most common pattern) are highlighted in orange.
Can Women Use Y-DNA Testing?
Women do not carry a Y chromosome, so Y-DNA testing is only available to males. However, a woman interested in her paternal Berry line can ask a male relative (father, brother, uncle, or male cousin) with an unbroken Berry male line to test on her behalf.
For descendants who connect to the Berry family through a female line, autosomal DNA testing (offered by AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and FTDNA Family Finder) can reveal shared DNA segments with other Berry descendants regardless of gender.
How Do I Get Tested?
Order a Y-DNA test kit from FamilyTreeDNA. The Y-37 panel is a good starting point. Once you receive your results, you can compare your markers to our Berry family data using the comparison tool below.
The Berry Y-DNA project was started by Carolyn (Cookie) Paulson, who had spent years trying to locate the ancestors of her John Berry, born in North Carolina in 1815 and found in Rusk County, Texas, by the 1860 census. She had built a solid archival trail from John and Mary Howell Berry down to herself, but couldn't find who John's parents were.
Cookie convinced her cousin (participant #8) to take a Y-DNA test and became the project administrator. When Ben Henderson's uncle, W.P. Berry Jr. (participant #18), also tested, the results came back on July 20, 2004: they matched. The announcement was made that very day at the Wiley P. Berry family reunion.
It took three more years to discover that John Berry was actually the grandson of Robert Berry Jr., through George and Susan Aldridge Berry — a finding later confirmed by Victor Glenn Berry's book, Wagons South Wagons West.
Today the broader Berry surname project at FamilyTreeDNA has 239 participants, revealing at least 18 unrelated Berry families living in America. Of those 239, 14 participants match our Orange County Berry family — descendants of Robert and Elizabeth Cate Berry.
Robert and Elizabeth Cate Berry of Orange County, North Carolina, had eight sons. Six lines have been tested through Y-DNA. Click a tested line to filter the participant table below.
6 of 8 son lines tested — 14 confirmed Y-DNA participants
| Name | # | Family Line | State | Mutations |
|---|
If you have Y-DNA results from FamilyTreeDNA or another testing company, paste your first 12 or more marker values below (comma or space separated) to see how closely you match the Berry family. The more markers you enter, the more precise the comparison.
Marker-by-Marker Comparison
20%
of all FamilyTreeDNA participants who share our family's unique first allele originate from the island of Jersey — just off the coast of Normandy, France.
Because of our distinctive marker signature (beginning with DYS393 = 14), the Berry family had long suspected French origins. The concentration of genetic matches on Jersey — a Channel Island with deep Norman French roots — provides compelling evidence that the Berry family's paternal line traces back to Normandy before crossing to England and eventually to colonial Virginia.
This connection between DNA science and historical migration patterns is one of the most fascinating findings from our Y-DNA project.