Following a letter, from Carolyn (Ludlow) Sweeny, to over 600 English Ludlows, I am getting an increasing amount of information from other people interested in Ludlow family history. That is great because it means we can “join up the dots” by adding known relationships to the two databases: ‘keithplus.ged’ and ‘irishplus.ged’. But it is important that I only add information where the sources can be clearly listed in the databases and it is important to use similar conventions where this is possible. I have written some suggestions for contributing data and illustrated the conventions I have used in http://www.ludlowfamilytree.org/contributors.
Robin Ludlow is working on a very thorough collection of published records of Ludlows, from the 12th Century till the present. The study extends to four volumes and has been deposited at key libraries. A fifth volume is now available and it summarises and indexes the previous four. Copies can be downloaded from http://www.ludlowfamilytree.org/robin5/robin5.pdf. Or you may get a large format version from: robin.ludlow@btinternet.com.
Oxford Ancestors provide a DNA analysis of the Y-chromosone which is passed, usually unchanged, from father to son. It should therefore follow surnames. A small group of Ludlow namesakes have already had the analysis done and the results indicate that the first male Ludlows were Celtic, rather than Saxon, Viking or Norman. The DNA analysis suggested that the Ludlow surname is shared by at least two or three family groups but further volunteers are needed to make the analyses meaningful. Details of the analysis are available in a .PDF file: http://www.ludlowfamilytree.org/dna/dna.pdf. This is a draft in progress and was written on 10th Feb, 2007.
To arrange a test, you need to visit the Oxford Ancestors web site: http://www.oxfordancestors.com. If you plan to have the analysis done, let Robin know robin.ludlow@btinternet.com. and he will make the arrangements. Be sure to tell him of the results so that we can compare you to ourselves and other Ludlows.
An excellent index of nearly all DNA sites is available at http://www.alldnainfo.com. This is a one-stop destination for anything you can think about DNA. This DNA Directory is designed to help its users find DNA information: source, companies, products and services.
A brief summary of Ludlows in history is given in: www.ludlowfamilytree.org/robin/robin1.html. Much more detail will be available in the fifth volume of Robin Ludlow’s work, due in late 2005. For more detail Email: robin.ludlow@btinternet.com.