Exclusive offer for Ancestry.com Members:
Save 50% on Ancestry.com DNA Testing
FOR A LIMITED TIME

This is an incredible deal. Normally prices are $199 for the 46 marker test, and $149 for the less-helpful (but no less valid) 33 marker test. But if you get in on this deal, it will only cost you:

$99.50 for the 46 marker test and $74.50 for the 33 marker test.

Please consider taking this test! The more results we have, the more useful each result will be not only for us, but for all future W(R)en(n)s looking for their roots.

UPDATE 1 August 2008:

Someone just told me they believed they were not eligible for this discount because they are not a member of Ancestry.com. This is not true.

Ancestry offers a free membership option. You may purchase the test using the link above, and then create a free account with Ancestry. Or you may create the free account first, and then purchase the test, whichever you prefer.

Ancestry will not charge you for membership unless you opt to upgrade. They will, however, charge you for the cost of the test.

You can read more at the DNA Ancestry FAQ: “Will I have to become a paying Ancestry.com subscriber to view my results?”

Here are the details of the match:

Participant #1: A Wrenn from Tennessee, who says he can trace his line to Albert Walker Wrenn (1813-1889, Spotsylvania, Virginia).

Albert Walker Wrenn may be found on pages 99, 112, and 158 in John Howard Wren’s book, “Wren’s of Virginia.”

Participant #2: A Wren from California, who traces his line to Thomas W. Wren (b. 1836 in Haywood County, Tennessee, d. 1923 in Wood County, Texas).

Thomas W. Wren has been a brick wall in my research, as I’ve been unable to identify his father.

The DNA test resulted in a match of 42 markers out of 43, or a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) within six or seven generations (depending on what DNA charts you read; it could be six, it could be seven).

If the Wrenn from Tennessee is descended from Albert Walker Wrenn, then he is also descended from Nicholas Wren and Margaret Bell of Virginia, Albert’s ancestor…

…and if the Wrenn from Tennessee is descended from Nicholas Wren and Margaret Bell of Virginia, then so is the California Wren!

We can’t depend completely on DNA results to fill out our genealogy charts, but we can use it to point us in the right direction. Most of it still depends on our careful documentation of family connections. There is a chance that the paperwork isn’t complete to prove the above connection, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Tennessee Wrenn and the California Wren are still related.

What we must do at this point:

1. Cite all the paperwork documenting the Tennessee Wrenn’s line
2. Drum up more DNA participants!

The more participants, the more matches we’ll have to W(R)en(n)s from all over the world!

Wouldn’t it be grand if one day we find a documented male W(R)en(n) descendant of a cousin of Sir Christopher Wren — who is interested in joining the DNA project? That will be the day when we may finally put to rest — or hold up high — the long-disputed tradition in so many Wren(n) genealogies: that most American Wren(n)s are descended from Sir Christopher Wren.

Database updates:

I recently started inputting into our database the research of noted Wren researcher, John Howard Wren, author of “The Wren’s of Virginia.” Mr. Wren traced his line back to Nicholas Wren (1631-1701) and Margaret Bell (1650-1701), English immigrants to Virginia.

Mr. Wren very kindly gave me his permission to use his data some time ago but I have not yet had a chance to do it until now. I will be adding it over the next few weeks.

Alvin’s great-grandfather William Wren was brother to Nicholas Wren, the Texan war hero mentioned several times in the memoirs of Noah Smithwick, “The Evolution of a State.”

There was no braver or better man in the service than Lieutenant Nicholas Wren. I know not whence he came, nor whither he went, but had I been sent on a perilous mission, I know of no man I would have chosen before him to bear me company.

Noah Smithwick, “The Evolution of a State, or Recollections of Old Texas Days”

Nicholas and his brother William are solid brick walls in many a Wren researcher genealogy. The loss of Mr. Alvin Wren is a sad break in our tenuous link to the past.

His grandson kindly sent me a link to this obituary:

Alvin Lee Wren, 78, died peacefully Thursday, September 20, 2007, at his home.

He was born in El Dorado to Ollie Izora (Duggar) and James Milam Wren. He graduated from El Dorado High School in 1946, and belonged to the Delta Sigma fraternity. He was a businessman and entrepreneur. Among his businesses he either owned or co-owned at one time are Wren Realty, El Do Plastics, Plastic Sign Suppliers, and Signs and License Plates. Alvin loved the outdoors, especially his gardening and fishing on his beloved North Two and his nephew’s Forever Farm (which he named). He made an annual trip each year for over 50 years to Bear Creek Lake with friends and family. He was El Dorado’s Outstanding Jaycee of the Year in 1954.

While he was able, he loved traveling and taking his family and friends on vacations. Some of his favorite places to visit were relatives in South Louisiana, relatives at the Red River Ranch in Idaho, Bill Lindsey’s in Heber Springs, and casinos.

Alvin will be remembered for his excellent cooking, hosting, and distinctive laugh. He was the best cook and if you did not believe it, he would be glad to tell you. He loved telling funny stories from his life adventures.

Survivors include two daughters, Lynda Wren Cheek and April Wren; one son, David Lee Wren; one sister, Altha Dean Nash; two granddaughters, Carrie Oswalt and Mary Wade all of El Dorado; two grandsons, Odie Blackmon of Nashville, Tennessee, and Sean Wren of Knoxville, Tennessee; and eight great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and a host of friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, J. Milam Wren, and one sister, Edith Wren Reed.

He was especially fond of his trusted Hospice nurse, Andy Guinn, who he only knew a short time but looked forward to his visits each day.

The funeral will be at10:00am Monday in Young’s Chapel. Burial will follow at Arlington Memorial Park under the direction of Young’s Funeral Directors.

Visitation is Sunday from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

Memorials may be made to Life Touch Hospice, 2301 Champagnolle Rd., El Dorado, AR 71730, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Burn Unit, P. O. Drawer 2222, Little Rock, AR 72203-9984 or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Obituary: “Alvin Wren,” Youngs Funeral Home, El Dorado, Arkansas, downloaded 2 January 2008.

But we’re in a transition time, which means that if you want to take the DNA test this month, then there’s a special little procedure we have to follow (I’ve outlined it below.)

To make up for this inconvenience, Ancestry is giving us a 15% coupon off the DNA test. Normally prices are:

$149 for the 33 chromosome Paternal Lineage Test
$199 for the 46 chromosome Paternal Lineage Test

These prices are a little better than those at Relative Genetics — and 15% off means you can save a little over $22 on the 33 chromosome test and a little over $29 for the 46 chromosome test. (Go for the 46 chromosome test! Go for the 46 chromosome test! Goodness… did I just say that out loud?)

PLEASE NOTE: We are only working with the Paternal Lineage Test. The Maternal Lineage Test (Mitochondrial DNA) is of no use to our W(R)en(n) DNA surname project (although you may still want to take it for other genealogical purposes).

Instructions for Ordering a DNA test:

1. You may order by phone. If so, use this toll free number 1-800-958-9124 and skip to step 3 , or…
2. Go to www.DNA.Ancestry.Com
3. Click on the “Get Started” button, or the “Order” button, or use this link.
4. Make sure to use the Wren 15% discount coupon below. (Enter this in the coupon box before you check out, or tell the Ancestry associate if you are doing this by phone.)
   Project Wren
   Code 49HXVLX
   Expires 03/31/2008
5. FINAL AND MOST IMPORTANT STEP: When you receive your DNA results in the mail, send me a copy, and I will manually enter the data into my project at Relative Genetics.

After March 31 they’ll merge all data over to Ancestry.com, but for now this is how we’ll have to do it.

When the hot water fountained out of our concrete slab in the first week of January, I immediately started some heavy lifting (moving our office furniture, our workout equipment, ripping up the flooring, etc.)

“All I need is a plumber!” I cried as I flung it all hither and yon. “A few fans! We’ll be OK! Back to normal in no time at all!”

That’s what I said.

What actually ensued was almost three months of chaos, with me wildly insisting all would be okay “by next weekend!” to anyone who asked me how I was doing. Lordy, was I deluded, or what?

As it turns out, when you are recovering from a major home repair there is not only the debilitating chaos of Repairing the Home. There is also the mega chaos of Putting Everything Back the Way It Was Before, Especially After You Flung It So Energetically Into The Living Room.

My office is finally put back together, and now I am going through the correspondence that has piled up since early January. To all who have waited patiently for a response from me, I apologize profusely. To all who believed me when I said I’d be back online “this weekend!”… goodness, will you ever trust me again?

I’m so sorry, thank you all for your patience, and whatever you do, don’t ever underestimate the impact of a little hot water spouting out from under your tub.

Born in Virginia in May 1831 according to the 1900 U.S. Census, I tracked him from Warren County, Illinois in 1850 and 1860, to Appanoose County, Iowa in 1870, to Mitchell County, Kansas in 1880, to Umatilla County, Oregon in 1900, to Nez Perce County, Idaho in 1910.

His wanderlust probably came naturally. In the 1850 census his parents (John and Esther Wren) reported that Alexander’s younger siblings were born in Ohio.

Amarilla passed away between 1900 and 1910, as Alexander reported himself as a widower in the 1910 Census. I couldn’t find him in any other records between 1910 and 1920 but I did find some World Connect databases that say Alexander’s middle name was Andrew and that he died in December 1910 in Canada. Unfortunately they provide no sources I can check so I’ll leave him in Idaho in 1910, unless someone would like to provide more details about this family.

Speaking of sources, I want to thank a recent registrant who found some unsourced data in our Wren Kin database. As a rule I’ve tried to add only sourced information, but since that heads-up I’ve found more unsourced entries, most of them omissions I made while inputting data (a good reminder for me to SLOW DOWN).

In the meantime, if you find unsourced data or other errors, please remember that I welcome all corrections, additions, suggestions, etc.

And in my online cemetery hopping I found William E. Wren and his wife Pearl N. and their family, all from Iowa and apparently moved to Minnesota. William E and his son William Edward Jr. also appear to have been veterans: William E. Sr. in World War I and William E. Jr. in World War II.

And in more good news, we just had an Irish Wrynn join the Wren Family Association. He says he recently learned that his Wrynn surname was originally “Wren,” and that some of his great-grandparents would’ve had a lot of relatives emigrating to the United States.

More possibilities for your searches!

I’d like to use this opportunity to remind everyone of our goal to add every W(R)en(n) we can find into our database. If you would like to add your W(R)en(n) lines to the database, please let me know!

The database does not allow downloadable GED files. It does not reveal the identity of living individuals (unless we have the written permission of those living individuals) and it is password protected, meaning it is not searchable by Google or any other search engines. Our data is not for sale, either, so please consider sharing.

If you have Wrens from the Red River and Natchitoches Parishes of Louisiana, you might be interested. Surnames on this chart include:

• Wren
• Bamburg
• Pickett
• Breedlove
• Hubbard

If you find any errors, have any suggestions, or just want to offer some feedback, please contact me and let me know.