Park/e/s DNA Group 008 Research Update – Summer 2025
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Since it’s been so long since I shared news about our ongoing research, I’ll try to bring you up to date on every avenue of research we’re pursuing. Some of you may be aware of some of this, but I’ll try to give a broad overview as well as news about specific areas we’re working on so you’re all aware of where we are, and where we hope to be soon. I have had virtually no time to devote to adding content to the website, but hope to be able to get to that in the winter months if not sooner. When new content is added, I’ll send out a notice to those who’ve subscribed to the site.
THE BIG PICTURE
As many of you know, there are numerous Park/e/s lineages in the US and Canada which share a common male Park/e/s ancestry at some point in the past. We’ve accumulated information about these various lineages over the past 20+ years, largely thanks to Y-DNA testing at FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) the testing firm we use for our broader Park/e/s Surname Project. Our genetically-connected lines are found in the project’s Group 008. Links to that group information can be found on the www.parkesgroup008.com website. The page of lineage information about the Group 008 DNA test participants can be found here: https://www.parke.org/specific-group/haplogroup-i-m253/group-008%3A-i-m253-lk%3Dap-gz-ip-vn
With a few exceptions (we’ll note those below in a moment) most of the North American Park/e/s lineages in Group 008 have their roots in County Armagh in Northern Ireland prior to the Revolutionary War in the case of US lines, and later in the 19th century for most Canadian lines. We have several lines with known links to County Armagh through traditional record sources and family information, and others by inference through matching Y-DNA where a known immigrant ancestor is still undiscovered. There is a family poem that recounts the history of the Armagh Parkses which suggests they came to Armagh from Scotland in 1641, though no independent verification of that date has yet been found.
A couple of exceptions to the County Armagh origins in our North American Group 008 lines include one line with descendants in Western Canada whose roots go back to their earliest known ancestor, a John Park born about 1695, who died in Kendal, Westmorland, England in 1724. This line remained in England until a descendant, James Park, born 1889 in England, came to Saskatchewan, Canada sometime before April, 1923. Recent research developments suggest the early John Park may have been born in Scotland, or was perhaps a first-generation in that part of England.
Another non-Armagh Park lineage came from Dumfries, Scotland to Jefferson County, Indiana in 1818. The immigrant ancestor, Alexander Park, was born about 1764 in either Dumfries or Aberdeenshire, Scotland. More research is needed to confirm his place of birth, but the Aberdeenshire location fits with other recent participants in our Group 008 with roots in Aberdeenshire.
THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES
There are several lines in the southern colonies/state that match genetically but have not found their connecting generations as of yet. Y-DNA is the glue that binds them together and offers us clues to guide our research efforts.
SAMUEL PARKS of ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
This Samuel Parks (the name Samuel pops up in numerous lineages and generations) was born about 1725 and died in 1788 in Orange County, North Carolina. His wife was Mary and her maiden name may have been Vaughn, but this is still unconfirmed. This Samuel left a will naming several sons and two married daughters, but the will does not give us their married surnames. We have been able to track the descendants of at least two of the sons and have Y-DNA to confirm the genetic connection of this family to our Group 008.
Another lineage, that of Hugh Parks Sr., a Revolutionary War veteran, is believed to be another son, likely the oldest, of the above mentioned Samuel. Hugh Parks Sr. enlisted in the army from Orange County, North Carolina, married in Rutherford County, North Carolina and lived across the southern border in South Carolina before moving to Kentucky, then on to Scott County, Indiana where he died in 1838. The Y-DNA of Hugh Parks Sr. descendants matches our Group 008 profile, lending support to the supposition that he is a son of Samuel’s.
My own lineage, that of another Samuel Parks born between 1770-80 in North Carolina also matches the Group 008 profile, but no proven connection to the older Samuel has been found to date. Indeed, I am researching the possibility that my Samuel may have been the son of a William Parks who also lived in Orange County, North Carolina and who was about the age to have been a possible brother of the older Samuel.
Recent discoveries of deeds, court documents, and wills strongly suggest that the older Samuel Parks of Orange County, North Carolina may be the son of Joseph Parks Sr., born in the 1680s or 1690s who died in Brunswick County, Virginia in 1749. The lineage of Joseph Parks Sr. is known to the Parke Society as LK=OR, using their Lineage Key system of identification. However, the Parke Society records only contained information about one line of descent through his son, Joseph Parks Jr. I am working to fill out the rest of the family tree and have gotten in touch with several descendants about Y-DNA testing. No luck so far, but I believe I have made contact recently with a descendant who will be willing to test. That should tell us whether this lineage is genetically related or not. If it is, as I suspect it is, then this would represent a major breakthrough in our research, as Joseph may well be the immigrant ancestor of our southern US Parks lines. Look for updates in the coming weeks. If we can get a DNA sample to the lab in the next couple of weeks, we could have initial results by the end of the summer of 2025!
OUR QUAKER COUSINS
One interesting and somewhat puzzling addition to our Group 008 southern Parks lines is that of yet another Samuel Parks, born ca. 1720, supposedly in Nansemond County, Virginia who married Elizabeth Hudson in Perquimans County, North Carolina in 1744. This Parks line were Quakers, with several other Parkses in Perquimans, also Quakers, who were likely related to this Samuel. Since he is of nearly the same age as Samuel of Orange County, North Carolina, and shares the same given name, it would appear they cannot be brothers, but the genetic connection to our Group 008 is definitely there. There is another Parks lineage, that of Robert T. Parks, born ca. 1818 in North Carolina, whose descendant’s Y-DNA results strongly suggest he is likely descended from the Quaker Samuel Parks.
The Quaker connection is one which begs for more research. Indeed, several later generations of the Joseph Parks Sr. lineage were Quaker, though no evidence has been found to date that Joseph Sr. or any of his known or suspected sons were members of that church, though research along those lines has not been exhaustive by any means.
Since we know these southern Parks lines almost certainly had roots in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, it is worth noting that there was in fact a Quaker community in County Armagh at one time, though I’ve found no evidence to date of any Parks being members there. However, we note that James Logan, William Penn’s secretary and right-hand man in the colony of Pennsylvania was a Quaker and was born in County Armagh to a father who was born in Scotland and converted to the Quaker faith upon moving to Armagh. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Quaker Samuel Parks and his possible brothers in Perquimans County, North Carolina may represent descendants of another immigrant branch from Armagh who converted in Ireland before coming to America. Indeed, George Fox, the founder of the Quaker faith in 1652, visited lower Norfolk County, Virginia in 1672 and sent a letter to several Friends in Perquimans County, which was formed in 1679. Room for plenty of research here!
EARLIER SCOTTISH ROOTS
As we mentioned earlier, a family poem written in the 1920s relating the origins of the Parks in Armagh stated that the family came to Ireland from Scotland (no specific location mentioned) as early as 1641. But where in Scotland? Let’s see what the Y-DNA is telling us.
Within the past year we have had several DNA participants in the UK turn up with our Group 008 Y-DNA. Though they live in England, they trace their line back in Aberdeenshire, Scotland to a William Park born ca. 1650. Since his father, unknown at this time, would have been born sometime around 1630 or earlier, this places our genetic Park Y-DNA in Scotland, most likely Aberdeenshire, prior to the emigration of the County Armagh lines. Aberdeenshire is in the lowlands, mostly, especially the small towns where these Park ancestors were known to live. Aberdeenshire is in the northeast part of Scotland and the small towns are not far from the seacoast. Given that our Y-DNA ancient haplogroup is I-M253, which is often referred to as “Viking DNA” that is not out of line with an origin from some raiding party or early settlers in that area long, long ago. It is my belief, and it is only that at this time, that our genetic ancestors were in Aberdeenshire before and during the period when surnames were adopted, thus making this the homeland of our Park surname.
An interesting tidbit of information turned up recently, and we’ve had no time to follow up on it yet, but will definitely do so in the coming months. Looking at an early record of land transfers in County Armagh, there is a transfer of land from the Bishop of Armagh to a Symonds Parks sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. No other mention of this name has been found yet, but efforts have been superficial. Since Symonds is an unusual given name, it suggested that it could be a family surname of an earlier female line in the family tree. I did a bit of quick search engine searching and discovered there is indeed a surname of Symonds, Symons, Simmons, Simons, etc. and there are at least two Parks/Symonds marriages in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Obviously, an avenue of research begging for attention!
WHERE WE GO FROM HERE
Certainly, finding documentary evidence to support what the DNA evidence tells us will be an ongoing effort. More DNA testing will also fill out and help refine our genetic knowledge, and new lines in places as yet unexplored may turn up in the near future. Indeed, we know that there must be genetically-related Parks cousins in Australia and our goal in the coming months will be to locate them and bring them into the research effort and DNA project.
SUMMARY
To sum up, we can say that there are quite a few lines of research waiting to be conducted to fill in gaps and connect the various lineages where possible. More supporting documentation to confirm the DNA evidence is needed, but with the ever-increasing availability of access to records online, aided by the new power of AI in finding and transcribing records, I have no doubt we’ll be able to make progress in the years to come. No family history is ever complete, but considering where the research began on all these lines, not known to be related until the advent of DNA testing, I think our progress so far is nothing short of remarkable. No one person is responsible for all of our findings, it is always a group effort and built on the research of those who came before us. I often wish, though, that a number of relatives who were actively involved and interested in the early research who are no longer with us could have known what we’ve learned in the past few years. I know many of you can probably think of members of your own family who would have loved to know all this. The best we can do is to persevere and leave this body of knowledge for current and future generations of Park/e/s descendants.