www.itowler.com - Ian's Home on the web

Some time ago I had my DNA tested for use in my genealogy research, and I have even blogged about it in the past (Here, Here, Here and Here).  I used familytreedna.com for my testing and they offer 4 levels of Y Chromosome testing, 12, 25, 37, and 67 marker testing.  The more markers, the more detailed the "picture" you can get.  At the time in 2008 when I had my testing done, there were not that many Toler / Toller / Towler's that had completed the DNA testing.  Three years later, in March of 2011 there are still not that Toler / Towler / Toller's that have taken the test.  When you first signup with familytreedna.com they ask if you would like to share your results with others, including those you may not know.  If you elect to share, every time that someone takes the test and has results that are a close match to you, you are notified by familytreedna.com.  I have taken the full Y-67 DNA panel test and recently I just got notified about some more matches.  

Familytreedna.com is offering a great sale for the remainder of the month.  FamilytreeDNA.com is a DNA testing company that focuses on Genealogy.  To date they have 157,583 Y-DNA records, 91,097 mtDNA records, and 5,424 SURNAME PROJECTS.  One of those surname projects is the Toler 2 (Virginia) project, for which I am the admin.  There are only 2 Toler / Towler DNA projects, with a combined total of around 24 results.  Familytreedna.com recently announced that it will be offering a summer sale to help boost the amount of records that in the database.  The sale is a great deal.  Here are the details:

• Y-DNA37+mtDNA for $119. (The regular project price is $248 – a reduction of more than 50%!!)
• The promotion will begin on June 9, 2009 and will end on June 24, 2009
• Kits ordered in this sale must be paid for by June 30, 2009
  

Last week I talked about a "New Toler" line be discovered, and the Last person in the line that we could trace was Russell Toler.  This discovery was a little bit of a surprise for me, and a few of the other Toler / Towler researchers that I know.  Part of the reason for the surprise is that they are come from Virginia, and moved into Indiana, like my ancestors, but these are all names that I have not run across before.  The other "twist" to the surprise is that they end up in Kansas, and we had a ancestor, Caleb Anthony that was in Kansas (albeit not the same town).  Well I have done a little more digging, but have not been able to find all that much.  The only real solid clue that we have so far is from the 1870 US Census record.

As of today, there have been 3 people who have taken the 67 marker DNA test for the Toler / Towler DNA Project.  I started off with the 67 marker test, and then 2 other have upgraded from the 12 to the 67.  One of the upgrades can trace his line back to David Toler of WV.  The other upgrade is a mystery.  I was talking and we discovered that we may have found a "New Toler" branch.  Obviously it is not a "new line" but it is new to me and the other Toler / Towler researchers, and as such it is a bit of a mystery....

This is all important becuase the upgrade shows that we are a 66 for 67 match, so not exact, but we are related.  It is likely that our most recent common ancestor (MRCA) will be found at the start of settlement in the United States (read: James Town / early VA) or just before they came to the United States.

Last week I wrote about the DNA results, but I did not put up the MRCA chart.  MRCA stands for Most recent Common Ancestor.  It turns out that I am a 67 for 67 match with a descendant of the David Toler line in WV.  That means that we are definitely related.  I have included a chart for you below that shows the chances that our MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) is within a certain generation.

About a week ago I talked about my line, and when put into perspective with Ray Toler's book, you can propose a line that goes back more than 400 years.  Well recently a descendant of a the David Toler line (a Line that is deeply rooted in WV) had his DNA tests upgraded to 67 markers (from 12).  This was done to provide us more insight.  Well....the results are in.  We are a 67 for 67 match.  This means that both the David Toler line of WV and my line out of Pittsylavania County, VA are realted, without a doubt.

Recently more DNA Genealogy results have come in, and this has caused me to re-examine my lineage.  Thanks to the work that I and a few cousins have done, I have been able to trace my linage back 9 generations.  Each of these generations has a document or more that helps substantiate the link (again thanks to some cousins for their work).

In a recent book by Ray Toler, Mr. Toler proposes another 5 genearations to my proven 9.  I did a review of Mr. Toler's book, and you can read it here.  If we use Mr. Toler’s book as a guide, my line would look like this:

There are a few documents that are KEY to research in some families, and the Toler/Towler family has a few "Must See" documents.  One of those documents is Winston Dalton's Register.  Mr. Dalton's register is an old register of births, deaths and marriages which seem to have occurred, for the most part at least, in the northern portion of Pittsylvania and the southern part of Bedford counties, Virginia. The register appears to have been kept by Winston Dalton, who was a school teacher.  The records of Winston Dalton's Register were copied and re-organized (arranged in alphabetical order) by A. M. Prichard, of Staunton, Virginia in 1933.

As far as I can tell the original list was published in 1934 as an article in The William and Mary Quarterly.  The full details are as follows: The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan., 1934), pp. 36-45.  I have copied some of the entries and listed them below.  There are several families that are mentioned in the Register, but of note are the Toler entries.  There are about 30 entries, and a lot of them center on Joseph "Big Daddy" Toler and His children.  Here are the Toler entries in the Register.

Big news on the Toler / Towler / Toller surname front.  About 6 months ago I took a DNA test to help add some clues to the info that I have already uncovered.  Using DNA for genealogy is still kind of a new thing; with lots of people still not sure what it can do or tell you.  Working with DNA on a day to day basis and having done a Masters Thesis on DNA evolution, I have a pretty good grasp on the power that this new tool for genealogy offers.  I am hoping that the DNA results will provide solid evidence for a time period that records are scarce.

It's been a little while, but now some results are starting to shed some light.  DNA results indicate that my ancestors are not related to the Toler/Towler clan that is found in North Carolina.  In addition I have a 12 for 12 match on DNA to the Toler clan of West Virginia, with the patriarch of David Toler.  And lastly, I have a 25 for 25 match to another Toler line, which comes out of Virginia.  So what does this all mean?

Great News to Announce!

A Toler book has been published!

A distant cousin Ray Toler, who is a character actor living in Chicago, has written a book that covers the Toler/Towler family.  Mr. Toler's book, Following the River Wide and Deep, is 286 pages long, and starts with Charles Towler of the Virginia Company and works its way forward.  The primary focus of his book deals with the Toler/Towler's of Virginia (from which I descend), but also talks about the North Carolina Toler clan.  The book is well cited, and very well written.