Peter and Marilyn Carroll Biggins Family Tree and Summary

That's a total of 62 individuals in 31 families. This is generally as far back as our research goes. Information for some Irish great great grandparents is incomplete. And, information is available for some German “three-greats” who are excluded in this analysis.

Birth Years. The five generations, starting with the great greats, were born roughly every 30 years. I call them Gen 1820, Gen 1850, Gen 1880, Gen 1910, and Gen 1940. The actual average birth years are: 1818, 1845, 1878, 1909, and 1940.

Countries of Origin. The 32 great great grandparents from the 1820 generation were all born in Europe: 20 were Irish, 8 were German, and 4 were Swiss (German-speaking). Our children, therefore, are 5/8ths Irish, 1/4th German, and 1/8th Swiss. Ireland was actually ruled by England. Germany was separate Kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, and Württemberg, and the Electorate of Mainz (later added to the Grand Duchy of Baden).

Surnames. There are 16 Irish surnames: Biggins/Beggan, Carroll (2), Condon, Flannery, Foy, Hartigan, Higgins, Kenny, McDonald, McNally, Murray, O'Malley, Stanton, Walsh, Young. There are 8 German surnames: Berles, Drüeke, Fassnacht, Green, Heller, Koch, Schickell, Schmitt. There are 3 Swiss surnames: Alleman, Starke, Wittenmeier. That's 27 out of 32 surnames. There are 5 great great grandmothers whose birth surnames we don't know: 4 Irish and 1 Swiss.

Homes in Europe. Three specific homes have been found where our ancestors lived.

Foy farm in the townland of Derreennascooba in County Mayo, Ireland.
Beggan farm in the townland of Drumgill in County Cavan, Ireland.
Druecke house in Ostentrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

All three were found as a result of travel to the places.

Immigration to America. There were no American restrictions on European immigrants when members of the family tree immigrated. The first ancestors arrived in America in the early 1830s. The last arrived in 1880. (There was no Statue of Liberty until 1886.). There were 28 immigrants out of the 62 individuals on the family tree. They are in Gen 1850 and Gen 1820, except one Carroll, who is in Gen 1880. They left Europe from the ports of Antwerp, Bremen, Hamburg, LeHavre, and Liverpool. These were the major European ports of departure in the nineteenth century. They came on sailing ships before 1870 and steamships thereafter. Most arrived at the port of New York (Castle Garden after 1855). Some arrived in Baltimore.

The earliest immigrants left from Bremen in 1834. They were the Schickells from the Kingdom of Bavaria. Their family of six first had to travel 235 miles by horse and wagon to the port. At 20 miles per day, that would take 12 days. They sold the horse and took the wagon with them to America. They left from Bremen on the sailing ship Johannes and arrived in Baltimore two months later. After 80 days in Baltimore, they traveled by horse and wagon 420 miles to Tiffin, Ohio, stopping for 14 days in Pittsburgh.

The last immigrants left from Cobh in 1880. They were were the Carroll family of Ballyneety, County Limerick. Their family of nine left from Queenstown, County Cork on the steamship Parthia. (In 1912, the Titanic left Queenstown on it fatal voyage. In 1920, the town name was changed to Cobh.) They arrived in Castle Garden. The voyage took two weeks. They went on to Chicago, probably by train.

The steamship Parthia was four times as long as the sailing ship Johannes. The Parthia took two weeks to cross the Atlantic. The Johannes took two months.

Homes in America. The families made homes primarily in three general areas: Chicago, Illinois; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Green County, Wisconsin. Some initially lived a few years in seven areas the eastern United States: Tiffin, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Harlem, Albany, White Hall, and Nunda, New York; and somewhere in Vermont. One settled initially in Ontario, Canada. The earlier generations lived on farms or in cities. The later generations lived in suburbs.

Family Histories. It has been possible to write histories for 26 of the 31 families. The 5 unwritten families are in Gen 1820.

Life Expectancy. The lifespan for 27 males ranged from 41 to 88 years. The mean of 67.8 compares with the 74.2 for Americans in 2020. The lifespan for 26 females ranged from 27 to 91 years. The mean of 70.2 compares with 79.9 for Americans in 2020. My maternal grandmother Rose Smith Drueke was 91 when she died. Her mother Christine Koch Smith was 27.

Family Size. The families in the five generations had 1 to 10 children, with a mean of 4.6. There is no apparent trend. If Gen 1970 were included, its family size would be 2 or 3.

Religion. All the families in the five generations are Roman Catholic. One couple married after their first child was born. Another couple separated late in life , but were buried next to each other.

Occupation. The breadwinners in the five generations had a variety occupations: builder, carpenter, consultant, farmer, gold miner, grocer, harness maker, laborer, wholesale liquor dealer, locksmith, manufacturer, musician, policeman, railway mail clerk, ropemaker. salesman, saloon keeper, slater, and undertaker. One ancestor went to the California Gold Rush in 1849. One was a sergeant the Civil War. One had two brothers who were regimental band leaders in the Civil War. One worked on the transcontinental railroad and was present at the Golden Spike Ceremony in 1869. One was a lieutenant in WWII.

Education. The first known high school graduates were in Gen 1880. The first college graduates were in Gen 1910. The first post graduates were in Gen 1940.

Deep Ancestry. Y-chromosome DNA testing has identified the deep ancestry of five of the 16 great great grandfathers:

Biggins/Beggan from Ulster in Ireland has the DNA of The Three Collas who emigrated to Ulster from England in the 4th century
Drueke from Old Saxony in Germany has Saxon DNA found in England
Berles from Old Saxony has Celtic DNA found in England
Carroll from County Limerick in Ireland has the DNA of Breassal Breac who lived in Ossory in the 2nd century
McDonald from Ireland or Scotland has the DNA of Cenel Moain who lived in Ulster in the 7th century

All five go back to one common ancestor who was born in Ukraine around the year 3000 BC. From this ancestor descended both the Saxons and the Celts. The Saxons were born in Poland. Drueke is Saxon. The Celts were born in Southern Germany. Biggins, Berles, McDonald, and Carroll are Celts.

Y Chromosome DNA Testers and Results

Drueke Y-Chromosome DNA

DNA test results for Peter's cousin Paul Drueke show that he matches up fairly closely with people whose ancestors are from England (Arnold, Bennett, Lowder, Ozment, Scott, Self, Wooten), Wales (Ellis, Price), Scotland (Armstrong, Russell), and Ireland (Moore). Many people with English names have Germanic origins. The term Anglo-Saxon is used by some historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Britain from the early 5th century up to the Norman conquest in 1066. The Druekes are from Westphalia, Germany, which was part of Old Saxony. Paul's most recent shared mutation is named BY3323, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 450 BC.

Berles Y-Chromosome DNA

DNA test results for James Berles, second cousin of Peter, once removed, show that his closest matches are people whose ancestors are from Scotland and Ireland. The Berles ancestors are from Westphalia, Germany, which was part of Old Saxony. He has Celtic R-L21`DNA, which is roughly estimated to have in 2650 BC in Southern England. His most recent shared mutation is named FTC82590, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 300 AD. At some time between the 3rd and 18th centuries, his ancestors migrated from England to Germany.

Biggins Y-Chromosome DNA

DNA test results for Peter show that his closest Y-chromosome DNA matches are testers named Biggins, Bigham, Beggan, Beagan, and Little. The Irish word for little is beag. They share a mutation named BY3164, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in the 1400 AD in central Ulster. These and certain testers named McGuire, Boylan, McAuley, McDonald, and Connolly share a mutation named S953, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 500 AD in a man named Carthend who lived on the River Faughan in far north Ulster. These and certain testers named McMahon, Hughes, Duffy, Monaghan, McQuillan, McKenna, and MacDougall share a mutation named Z3008, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 450 AD in England. It was the Y-DNA of The Three Collas, Roman-trained warriors who emigrated from England to Ulster. Only males have Y-DNA, and it goes back father to father to father. See also Biggins Deep Ancestry.

McDonald Y-Chromosome DNA

DNA test results for Michael McDonnel, Marilyn's third cousin, once removed, show that his closest matches are named McAuley. They share a mutation named BY18200, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 1650 AD. Michael's DNA is associated with a group called Cenel Moain, a subset of Cenel Eoghain, a subset of Northwest Irish (M222).

Carroll Y-Chromosome DNA

DNA test results for Michael Patrick Carroll, second cousin of Marilyn, once removed, show that his closest matches are Carrolls. They share a mutation named FT79210, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 1150 AD. They share an earlier mutation with a broader group named Y5058, which is roughly estimated to have occurred in 100 AD. This broader group of testers includes men named Ryan, O'Dwyer, Gorman, and Kennedy. These families descend from Breassal Breac who lived in Leinster. They settled in the 13th or 14th century in County Tipperary and County Limerick. See Breassal Breac DNA.

Y Chromosome DNA Tree Back to R-L151 in Ukraine

Tester	FTDNA kit	Most Distant Known Ancestor	Mutation Group, Year. Place, Steps from Adam
Tester	FTDNA kit	Most Distant Known Ancestor	Most Recent	Historical	Shared
Paul Drueke, first cousin of Peter	230496	Johann Drücke (name originally Börger), b. 1743 in Elspe, Lennestadt, Olpe, Germany	R-BY3323, 450 BC, Old Saxony, 51 steps		R-Z381, 2700 BC, Old Saxony, 36 steps	Saxon, R-U106, 3050 BC, Poland, 32 steps	R-L151, 3050 BC, Ukraine, 31 steps
James David Berles, second cousin of Peter, once removed	1019704	Adam Berles (Berlar), b. 1794 in Landenbeck, Eslohe, Hochsauerland, Germany	R-FTC82590, 300 AD, England, 43 steps		R-L21, 2650 BC, Southern England, 34 steps	Celtic, R-P312, 2850 BC, Southern Germany, 32 steps
Peter Biggins	127469	Patrick Biggins (Beggan), b. 1807 in Drumgill, County Cavan, Ireland	R-BY3164, 1400 AD, Ulster, 46 steps	The Three Collas, R-Z3008, 450 AD, Colchester or Wales in England, 42 steps
Michael McDonnel, third cousin of Marilyn, once removed	252843	Daniel McDonald, b. 1813 in Ireland or Scotland	R-BY18200, 1650 AD, Ulster, 57 steps	Cenel Moain, R-FGC57780, 600 AD, Ulster, 53 steps
Michael Patrick Carroll, second cousin of Marilyn, once removed	198624	Edward Carroll, b. 1835 in Ballyneety, County Limerick, Ireland	R-FT79210, 1150 AD, Limerick, 49 steps	Breassal Breac, R-Y5058,< 100 AD, Ossory, 45 steps	R-DF27, 2650 BC, Pyrenees, 35 steps

Y Chromosome DNA from R-L151 in Ukraine, Back to R in Asia, Back to "Adam" in Nigeria

Migration from "Adam" in Africa to R in Asia to R-L151 in Ukraine. Source: R-L151 Migration

Some DNA Branches

Africans (Y-Adam): A-PR2921, 232000 BC, Nigeria, step 1
Southern Europeans, and East Asians: CT-M168, 64000 BC, Western Ethiopia, step 6
Native Americans, Siberians, Japanese, and Australian Aborigines: CF-P143, 63000 BC, Northern Ethiopia, step 7
Romani and Khmers: GHIJK-F1329, 46000 BC, Southern Iran, step 9
South Asians on the Indian subcontinent: HIJK-PF3494, 46000 BC, Southern Iran, step 10
Arabs and Israelites: IJK-L15, 45000 BC, Southern Iran, step 11
Chinese, Koreans, and other Southeast Asians: K-M526, 43000 BC, Bangladesh, step 13
Eskimos, Navajos, Apaches, Aztecs, Incas: P-P226, 30000 BC, Eastern Mongolia, step 19
Vikings in Scandinavia: R-M173, 20000 BC, Eastern Kazakhstan, step 21
Saxons and Celts: R-L151, 3050 BC, Ukraine, step 31

Tree of Family Histories