Comstock DNA Project News

The  Comstock DNA Project is proceeding slowly.  There is one new test in progress at FamilyTree DNA - the gentleman in question also descends from Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island so is expected to match the two tests that have been done.

Since no other Comstocks are in the Project at FamilyTree, I entered the results of one of the men already tested at GeneTree.  You can register and do this manually at that site, even if you have been tested by another company.  Although the markers tested are not all the same, enough of them are to get indications of matches.  Another Comstock did reveal to be a match - 26 markers out of 28 - which is not a bad match at all considering this new individual goes back to the son Daniel of the immigrant William Comstock and William would be the nearest possible common ancestor.  The person at GeneTree did not wish to be contacted and did not provide an email address, but he did include a GEDCOM file showing his descent from Daniel, which can also be found in John A. Comstock's book,  A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family in America, 1949.  The two descendants are at least 11 generations from William.   This is a very good indicator that both Daniel and Samuel are from the same family of Comstocks - Y-DNA is not precise enough to tell us the exact relationship.

Daniel Comstock (1630-1683) is a proved son of the immigrant William Comstock who died in New London, CT about the same year that Daniel died in the same place.  

The American Genealogist, 1933, Vol. 10, p.169
New London CT Probate Records:
Comstock,Daniel, of New London. File #1392. Inventory taken 13 Nov 1683 by Daniel Witherell and Charles Hill, Townsmen. Proved and administration granted his widow Paltiel, she to improve the whole estate for the bringing up of the children.

Quoted in E. B. Comstock's, The Comstock Family in America, 1938
William had sons John & Daniel as shown by deed of 4 Dec 1694 in which grandsons William Comstock of Lyme [son of John] and Daniel Comstock of New London [son of Daniel] conveyed land at Nyantik which said land was given to our grandfather William Comstock, deceased, by the town of New London, 20 acres. This is the 20 acres granted 21 Jun 1647:
12 Jun 1647. William Comstock was granted a lot at Pequot [later New London] by the town, also 10 acres of upland, 10 acres on East side of River Thames

 
It has been assumed by most researchers, that Samuel Comstock (1628-1657) was also a son of William because of his close association with Daniel, but the proof was circumstantial.  Now that a descendant of Daniel has matching DNA to descendants of Samuel, the relationship is further substantiated.

A third son of William was John Comstock, proved by the same deed above.   There is a fourth possible son - a Christopher Comstock who lived at Norwalk in Fairfield Co. CT.  There has been some dispute based on research abroad that no one since has been able to duplicate, that Christopher might have a different lineage.  That he might have been of German heritage.  Subsequent researchers, including the author John A. Comstock, did not agree.

The naming of sons in Daniel and Christopher's family is somewhat notable.  Daniel had sons named for himself and for Samuel; he had a grandson named Christopher.  Christopher Comstock had among his sons, a Samuel and a Daniel; he also had a grandson named Christopher.

Y-DNA testing of a direct descendant of Christopher Comstock, who still carries the Comstock surname, is important to shed further light regarding his family connection.  Testing by a descendant of John would also be helpful and important to the project.  The more men that consent to the test, the better the predictions can be.

If you are unfamiliar with Y-DNA testing - the 37-marker test is recommended for reasonable genealogy purposes.  It is a simple and painless cheek swab.  The test is non-medical.  It has no resemblance to DNA testing for law enforcement purposes and does not reveal any health conditions, nor paternity.  There is no "chain of custody" with DNA testing by the companies testing genealogy DNA - there is no way for anyone to track or access your results and use them for any other purpose.  The tests are as private as you want them to be.  Sharing your email address does allow communication with your matches, but you do not have to do so.

To join the Comstock DNA project, simply follow the link at the beginning of this Blog, where you can find more information.  There is a "Join Project" tab.  Feel free to email me for more information:
My Email Address