THE RICH FAMILY ASSOCIATION
RICH FAMILY Y-CHROMOSOME DNA STUDY
By Richard D. Rich
Another descendant of the Western North Carolina Riches has been tested and
appears to match exactly, making a total of 7 men with the same results on all
markers. This participant has a documented line going back to Timothy Rich, born
about 1700, who came to Goochland County, Virginia about 1730. Curiously the
Reach spelling has been used for this line by his son Jeremiah Parker Reach and
his descendants. Jeremiah Parker Rich/Reach moved to Wake County, North Carolina
where he died in 1780. This person’s daughter has written to all of the other
matching Riches and is working to find the relationships that link them
together. Another possible descendant of Timothy Rich has also been tested,
although the results do not match as exactly as those of the Reach line. This
might represent a different Timothy who was related in England, before
emigration to the colonies.
The Y-chromosome DNA results for the descendants of Charles Coulson Rich, the
Mormon pioneer, indicate that his ancestry is more likely German rather than
English. The reason for this conclusion is that a descendant of Thomas Reich who
emigrated from Germany to North Carolina in the mid 1700’s is a very close
match. Thomas Reich/Rich died in 1780 at the “Gates Defeat” battle near Camden,
South Carolina in 1780.
A second possible descendant of Thomas Rich has been tested but unexpectedly
there was no match to either the other Thomas Rich descendant or to the Charles
Coulson Rich descendants. In fact he is from an entirely different ethnic
haplogroup. Group G2 is very rare in Europe, coming from the Middle East about
15,000 years ago. The other members of the Charles Coulson Rich and Thomas Rich
group are all R1b which is very common in Western Europe. Further research is
needed into the ancestry of Charles Coulson Rich which apparently goes back to
Joseph Rich and Sarah Coulson of Cecil County, Maryland, who married in 1743.
Joseph was the son of Joseph Rich (1692-1757) and Elizabeth Grubb Beeson
(1691-1730) but the parentage of this Joseph Rich is uncertain.
Another descendant of Richard Rich of Eastham, Cape Cod and his son Richard has
been tested. He turned out to be an exact match to one Rich and only one marker
off from another who is also a Richard, Jr. descendant. Additional participants,
especially descendants of Richard, Jr. and Samuel would be very helpful to make
sure that we have a balanced grouping.
Three more Nicholas/Thomas Rich descendants have been tested. The results for
two of these appear to match those of other Nicholas and Thomas Rich descendants
very closely. Only one Nicholas descendant has the “modal haplotype.” Two of the
new participants are only one marker off from this “modal” data set and could be
descended from either Thomas Rich of Brookfield or Nicholas Rich of Salem, MA
I have begun to research additional male Rich descendants of Michael DeRich.
There are several additional male Rich lines which may link up to my John Rich
(1811-1884). John DeRich (abt 1676 – aft 1732) had two sons, John b. 1703 and
Paul b. 1711. Paul Rich (1711-1756) had five sons who may have survived to
adulthood. Thaddeus b. 1738, Jonathan b. 1740, Jethenial b. 1743, William b. abt
1748 and Paul, b. 1755. We already know of descendants of Thaddeus and Jonathan.
There may be a number of male descendants of the others.
Another descendant of Jacob Rich of Fayette County, PA has signed up for the DNA
test. This Rich lives in Southern Ohio, where the other Jacob Rich participants
also live. His results are not yet available. It would also be helpful to have
more descendants of John Rich of Maidstone, Vermont. Jacob Rich and John
Rich/Reich are both believed to have emigrated from Rheinduerkheim, Hesse,
Germany in the mid 1700’s. We have made contact with a Reich in Germany, but he
has not yet agreed to sign up for the DNA test. We also hope to sign up another
Reich living in Connecticut.
We have matching results from three apparent descendants of William Rich of
Talbot County, Maryland. We still have one William Rich descendant from Maryland
whose DNA does not match. I have contacted another Rich descendant from this
Maryland family, but have not yet been able to persuade him or one of his sons
or nephews to join the program. At least two of these Rich men currently live in
the Boston area.
There are still 11 Rich men whose DNA matches have not yet been found. One Rich,
who is a descendant of James Rich of Lynn, MA was found and has agreed to be
tested. If he matches with the other James Rich descendant OH, we may be able to
persuade him to upgrade his Oxford Ancestors test.
Since the summer, I have spoken to the Cape Cod Chapter of the Sons of the
American Revolution about the Rich DNA project. In January I will be giving
another presentation to the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement at UNC
Asheville.
If I have not mentioned your your Rich line it not because I have forgotten you.
There may be no new results or other news to report. Please keep me informed
about your research as inspired by the DNA results.
If you know any other Rich men who have not yet participated, urge them to
contact me at drdickrich@aol.com. The
process is completely painless, with a simple cotton swab rubbed on the inside
of the cheek.
We were able to raise $411 for the Rich Family DNA project through the sale of
art at the September RFA reunion. Other contributions will be welcome at any
time. Only a few Rich descendants have been unwilling to participate due to the
cost, but we need to be able to assist when needed.
The DNA test program with DNA Heritage
is open ended. New participants can be added at any time. You can learn more
about Y-Chromosome DNA testing from their web site or other Internet
web sites. Megan Smolenyak and Ann
Turner have written an excellent book which explains genealogical DNA testing
for the non-scientist. (Smolenyak, Megan Smolenyak and Turner, Ann, “Trace Your
Roots with DNA,” Rodale, 2004.) Buy this paperback through the Rich Family
Association
Bookstore link to Amazon.com. Another interesting book is “Deep Ancestry,”
by Spencer Wells, National Geographic, 2006. This book by the director of the
Genographic Project is very helpful in explaining the ethnic branching and
migrations of the world populations.
Last updated 25 November 2007
Craig R. Rich