Research Projects
Recent conversation with new family members reveals that there is interest in pursuing a variety of special genealogy research projects. I have assembled a list of suggestions which may draw the interests of others who might like to collaborate on the various aspects of the research.
All projects require someone to act as project co-ordinator. This administrator should be someone who is familiar with the topic at hand, or at least willing to put in the time and effort to learn and lead a team of volunteers to meet the objectives of the group. In that capacity the administrator would provide necessary background information concerning the project topic and a direction or plan for investigation. The plan would be posted here along with the names of persons participating in the activity. Updates as to the progress of the project should be posted as well. If you have a topic that could serve as a project for investigation which you would like help with, please feel free to make suggestions and respond at the bottom of this page.
DNA Project: -Commencing May 2012
DNA testing can help us to understand our ethnic make-up and pedigree affiliations among the various global branches of the Sambell / Sambells / Samble / Sample etc families. There are nearly two dozen different types of DNA tests available all with specific information depending upon your sex. However, for the initial DNA project I would suggest that we investigate the degree to which we share the same paternal line. Since surnames are passed down from father to son, like the Y-chromosome, this test would be for males taking a Y-DNA test. Results from different branches separated by many generations would help us to draw probable inferences about our paternal ancestral origins.
Dene Sambells (New Zealand) has volunteered to head up the Sambells DNA project. Dene is the logistics manager for RD1, New Zealand’s largest rural supplies retailer servicing dairy farmers and a one-stop-shop for all farming and lifestyle products. He has prepared a very informative article on DNA testing to help us understand the kind of genealogy information which may be gained from these tests. Please click on the following title for access to his article.
- The Sambells DNA Project A background article
Family crest project
Family crests, or a coat of arms, are fashionable images to display a family’s heritage. Although they have lost their purpose as a recognizable blazon in times of war, crests nevertheless are held as a proud symbol of a family’s roots. There is no singular family crest that has been in continuous use by the Sambell/s family. Nevertheless, there are a variety of “charges” (symbols) that could be incorporated into a family crest that would have significant relevance in reflecting the families ancient heritage in both England and France. ( see the article in on “Heraldic Symbols” in the Cultural Heritage pages of this website.) Families do create their own contemporary family crests. This project is looking for persons interested in researching the development of a coat of arms, the meaning of colours and symbols, and the selection of meaningful charges which could be combined to create a new family crest.
Medieval research project
The Medieval Research project seeks to find the ancient documents necessary to piece together the migrations of our medieval English patriarch and his descendents from 1200 to 1500 AD. This would necessitate that volunteers in this group acquire membership to pay-per-view research sites such as British History Online as well as the National Archives of Britain. As website curator I have made some good progress in this regard and suspect it will take me several years of research to make the breakthrough discoveries that will link the Cornwall clan to the earlier medieval ancestors in Yorkshire, Nottingmanshire and Lincolnshire.
International contacts project
The International Contacts project is intended to locate and identify additional branches of the family surname. There are a considerable number of variations of the surname spelling which are very likely to be related. The goal would be to search for and to make contact with members of these families. Identifying their known ancestors will help us to determine the migration patterns of people from England to various other locations in the world.
Help Us Out
The invitation to assist with these projects is open to anyone of any age. High school students and college/university students are welcome to take advantage of the expertise available through this website to take on a project of their own, or to assist us.