Did your STAFFORD ancestors seemingly appear out of nowhere in west Yorkshire, north-west Nottinghamshire, east Lancashire/Manchester, north-east Cheshire or even London during the 18th or 19th centuries? If so, they may have originated in Derbyshire and migrated seeking work in the associated developing industrial centres. Those researchers who have been able to document links to Derbyshire ancestors may now face another challenge; how to be confident that the John, William, James or Anne, Jane, Margaret STAFFORDs that you have located, for example, are actually the right family. Others may have family folklore that relates of links to the aristocratic or landed gentry STAFFORD families. If you can trace your STAFFORD family back to Derbyshire, you might be lucky by association since there are two seemingly ancient STAFFORD families centred on Eyam and the environs of Mellor (Botham or Bottoms Hall), respectively. Both of these families were armigerous; their arms, Or a chevron gules between three martlets sable, suggesting they were related. However, published pedigrees claim that they were separate families, though the scholarship has been disputed and no links to the aristocratic STAFFORD barony line were documented. Indeed, tantalising clues exist, e.g., the same arms were used by the STAFFORDs of Staffordshire viz. Sir Richard STAFFORD de Pipe (1305-1381)  and his son Edmund STAFFORD. Nevertheless, this has not prevented a great deal of speculation and several claimants of the STAFFORD barony made their interest public in the 19th century, based on their Derbyshire heritage. Although new documentary evidence may not be forthcoming, family historians have a new tool in their armoury; DNA testing. Given the long association of STAFFORD families with Derbyshire and its comparative pre-industrial remoteness, we might expect less variation in the pattern of STAFFORD y-DNA results than amongst the general population or in English counties that industrialised. If, in addition, it proves possible to establish reference haplotype(s) for Derbyshire STAFFORD males it might provide for a useful tool to help other STAFFORD researchers find their ancestral homeland.

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y-DNA is passed from father to son, usually unchanged. However, random mutations do occur and this makes it possible to biologically identify separate ancestral male family lines that would prove impossible to confirm using conventional genealogical methods. 

A thriving STAFFORD y-DNA project exists at FTDNA and we encourage all STAFFORD males to submit a sample for testing. If you have a documented ancestry that originates in Derbyshire (England) there may be funds available to support initial testing. 

You can view the STAFFORD project results by following this link.