The Science: Proving the Lineage Through DNA

Not a Theory. A Biological Fact.
Most historical family trees suffer from automated guesswork and "wishful thinking," where amateur researchers blindly accept internet hints to attach themselves to prominent lines. This archive operates differently. Every generation mapped here has been cross-examined and proven through autosomal DNA matching.

Because our ancestors belonged to the tightly interwoven Anglo-Irish gentry of County Limerick and County Clare, their family branches did not just grow outward—they folded back inward.

The Double-Cousin Phenomenon Explained
Our DNA matches exhibit a distinct genetic signature known as Pedigree Collapse. Because our ancestors married within their own social and familial circles to preserve property, our living generation carries a highly concentrated genetic inheritance:

  • The First Loop (1872): My 2x great-grandparents, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Lloyd and Emma Georgina Studdert, were full biological first cousins. They shared the exact same set of grandparents (Colonel Thomas F. Lloyd and Ellen Lloyd of Beechmount House).

  • The Second Loop (1900): Their son, my great-grandfather Thomas Richard Beamish Lloyd, married Marion Georgiana Lloyd. She was the daughter of Colonel Richard Barclay Lloyd—who was the full biological brother of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas.

When the children of two brothers married, it created a double-first-cousin marriage.

What This Means for Genetic Researchers
If you are a DNA match to this archive on platforms like AncestryDNA or MyHeritage, you will notice that our shared centimorgans (cMs) may appear significantly higher than standard genealogical charts predict. We share overlapping segments of Lloyd, Studdert, and Barclay DNA from multiple angles. This archive serves as the definitive reference point for clearing up automated matching errors across these specific midwest Irish gentry lines.

An old, weathered house with a dark roof, ivy growing on the side, and a grassy foreground.
Located on the Stafford O'Brien estate and occupied by the Reverend Rickard Lloyd in the mid 19th century, when the buildings were valued at £27. Miss Catherine Lloyd was the last Lloyd occupant. The property was sold 1910-1913.
Clonderlaw House was either built or bought by a branch of the Studderts of County Limerick in the mid-eighteenth century and it remained their home until the mid-twentieth century. In 1786, Wilson refers to it as the seat of Mr. Studdert
In the 1680s Bunratty was the principal seat of the Earl of Thomond. In the early 18th century the castle and demesne were leased to Thomas Studdert by the Earl of Thomond and the castle became a Studdert residence. In 1786

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