Cleeve mtDNA Project
The purpose of this Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Project is to develop a genetic “signature” for Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey based on mtDNA test results from her matrilineal descendants. By comparing mtDNA from Elizabeth’s proven matrilineal descendants with mtDNA from her probable or possible matrilineal descendants, we can confirm or refute theoretical or ambiguous lines of descent that have been developed through conventional genealogical research. Elizabeth was the daughter of George1 Cleeve, an early settler and founder of Portland, Maine who served as the Deputy President of the Province of Lygonia from 1643 until the final submission of its Maine towns to Massachusetts in 1658. Elizabeth was first married to Michael1 Mitton; she was subsequently married to Peter Harvey. In alphabetical order by given name, the proven, probable and possible daughters of Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey were:
- Anne (Mitton) Brackett, wife of Anthony Brackett
- Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews, wife of James Andrews
- Elizabeth (Mitton) Clarke, wife of Thaddeus Clarke
- Martha (Mitton) Graves, wife of John Graves
- Mary (Mitton) Brackett, wife of Thomas Brackett
The first project participant who can provide a well-documented line of matrilineal descent from Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey may be eligible to join the project for free! The first project participant who can provide a well-documented line of matrilineal descent specifically from Elizabeth’s possible daughter, Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews, may also be eligible to join the project for free! Because mtDNA is only transmitted along maternal (or umbilical) lines of inheritance, the only male descendants of Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey eligible for participation in this project are those whose mothers have known, probable or possible unbroken lines of matrilineal descent from Elizabeth.
Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey was the daughter of George1 Cleeve and she is usually—but probably incorrectly—identified as the daughter of George’s second known wife, Joan Price. There is reason to think that Elizabeth’s mother may actually have been an earlier and as-yet unidentified wife of George1 Cleeve. Elizabeth’s daughter, Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews, may have been born as early as 1626 (see details further below); if so, Elizabeth was born before George Cleeve married Joan Price in 1618 and probably before George Cleeve married Alice (―) Abrook in 1612. Neither Alice nor Joan was honored by the names of Elizabeth’s daughters, as listed above, but Anne was apparently the name of George Cleeve’s mother. For more information, please refer to the message threads linked-to below:
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/gen-medieval/2008-06/1213125575
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/gen-medieval/2008-06/1213364745
In similar fashion, there is uncertainty as to whether or not Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey was the mother of Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews. Per Robert J. Dunkle (“The Andrews-Cogswell-Page Bible,” The Genealogist, 3: 45-95), Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews, wife of James Andrews, was buried in the Old Granary Burial Ground, Boston, in 1695, aged 69; if so, she was born about 1626. Michael Mitton was reportedly married to Elizabeth Cleeves after his arrival in Maine about 1637; if so, Elizabeth could not have been Dorcas’s mother. However, Dorcas’s maternity is ambiguous, given the ambiguity associated with the age etched on Dorcas’ grave marker. According to Ogden Codman (Gravestone Inscriptions And Records of Tomb Burials In the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass. Salem, Mass.: The Essex institute, 1918.), the age stated on her grave marker is 60, rather than 69; if so, she was born about 1635. Given the general lack of precision in tracking one’s own age in that era, if Dorcas (Mitton) Andrews was actually born after Michael Mitton immigrated, it remains possible that Elizabeth (Cleeve) (Mitton) Harvey was her mother.
Obviously, we need to have mtDNA results from matrilineal descendants from each of Elizabeth’s known, probable or possible daughters in order to clarify ambiguities that will never be resolved through conventional genealogical research alone. If an mtDNA-based approach to confirming or refuting theories developed through conventional genealogical research sounds far-fetched, rest assured that it has already been done! For a history-making application of mtDNA testing, please see the following article:
Perry Streeter and Mike Morrissey, “Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Testing of Probable Eighth Cousins Confirms Their Kinship and Proves Their Matrilineal Lines of Descent from Aeltje Cornelis (Cool) (Van Couwenhoven) Stoothoff; Simultaneously Proving Two Long-Held Theories Developed Sequentially Through Conventional Research; Mary (Updike) Richey of Greenwood, Steuben County, New York Was a Heretofore Unidentified Daughter of Roliph5 Updike (John4, Lawrence3, Johannes2, Louris1 Jansen); Eleanor5 “Nelly” Lane (Gizebert4, Mathias3, Gysbrecht2 Laenen, Matthys1 Jansen) Was the Heretofore Unidentified Wife of Roliph5 Updike” (New Netherland Connections; April, May, June 2005; Volume 10, Number 2).
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~streeter/NNC/mtdna.pdf
For more information, please visit http://www.perrystreeter.com/cleeve/mtdna/
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