Project Objectives

The Athey surname project has four main goals:

1. To obtain test results from American male Atheys who descend from each of the probable sons and grandsons of the immigrant, Capt. George Athy, who came to Maryland in about 1661 from Galway, Ireland. These results can show that such descendants are closely related, thereby confirming the family history research.

2. To help participants in the project who match the Capt George Y profile to discover just how they are related to Capt George. Genetics alone will probably not suffice for this objective.

3. To discover genetic markers that may serve to "label" the descendants of some early Atheys.

4. To determine whether all U.S., Irish, and English persons of the Athey/Athy/Atha/Athon/Athan surname are related.