Genetics - Paulk

The PAULK DNA Surname Project in conjunction with the extensive genealogical research resources of the Huxford Genealogical Society and the Jessie H. Paulk genealogical database will help determine

(and prove) which of the many PAULK families in the U.S. & Great Britain are descendants of a common Great Britain (or other world location) PAULK ancestor.

Surname genetic testing is the newest tool available to genealogists. The genetic genealogy tests verify a man’s direct paternal ancestry in a quick and easy way. These tests save time, prevent mistakes and provide invaluable data for genealogists that can not be otherwise obtained.

The PAULK Surname DNA Project is open to all persons with the PAULK surname (all spellings) world-wide. This project is also open to anyone who believes they are (or could be) a direct male descendant of one of the PAULK families, even if their surname is not PAULK. This project is primarily a Y-Chromosome study (direct paternal line); however, those (men or women) interested the in mitochondrial DNA testing (direct maternal line) may join this project as well.

Membership in the Huxford Genealogical Society
is not required (but highly recommended)
to join the PAULK Surname Project.

Many surnames were changed during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries due to adoptions, out-of-wedlock births, family disagreements, etc. Under these circumstances, the Y-DNA for many descendants may not match other descendants with the same surname. Therefore, this project will assist PAULK researchers on common or related families to work together to find their correct common ancestors, when that hasn’t been possible via the examination of the traditional paperwork trail.

You are hereby cordially invited to participate in this historic project. PAULK family members requesting participation are requested to supply Robert B. Noles with their known genealogy.

SURNAME ORIGINS *

Paulk (1,679) 1. Variant spelling of Scottish POLK, a reduced form of POLLOCK. 2. Shortened form of German PAULKE, a pet form of PAUL.

Polk (7,607) 1. Scottish: Reduced form of POLLOCK. 2. German (of Slavic origin): From an altered pet form of the Slavic personal name Boleslav, composed of the elements bole 'great', 'large' + slav 'glory'. This name was a favorite during the Middle Ages among the gentry class in Silesia. 3. German: Ethnic name for a Pole.

Pollock (9,468) 1. Scottish: Habitational name from a place in Glasgow, apparently so named from a diminutive of a British cognate of Gaelic poll 'pool', 'pit'. The surname is also common in northeastern Ulster. 2. German: Ethnic name for someone from Poland. 3. Americanized form of Jewish POLAK.

* The origins for the surnames above are provided by: Dictionary of American Family Names, by Hanks. The DAFN surname entries are structured to provide the surname (with alternate spellings), a comparative frequency of the surname in the U.S., the source language and origin of the surname, original spelling, typology, etymology and, in some cases, an identification of forebears.

Palk - Paul - Paulk - Polk - Pollock
comments by Jessie H. Paulk

The PAULK surname was originally PALK in Watertown and Boston Massachusetts (not sure of Germanic spelling at this time). My brother met a German in Germany who stated his name translated into English was PAULK.

Robert Bruce Pollock fled Scotland and landed in Maryland and later migrate to North Carolina. When he signed his will, he signed it Robert Bruce Polk. The President James Knox Polk was his descendant. The Pollock people took the name of Polk to escape the Scottish persecution. The Polk family of North Carolina is not related to the Palk/Paulk family of Tolland County Connecticut

The POLLOCK Clan fled Scotland after being defeated in a war, some went to Canada and some to the states. None of the Pollock people went north of Maryland except for the group that went to Canada.

The PALK people arrived in the English Colonies at Watertown, Massachusetts in the early 1600's. England is loaded with Palk descendants, but I have never been able to make a connection.

The connection to the Pollock clan was made by one of the Paulk people in error and has been corrected even though there are still some who want to claim the Pollock lineage. However they can offer no proof of any connection.

The connection to the Paul family was done by a researcher who stated "I took a leap of faith because the names and dates were similar in the Boston area." There is no proof of a family connection between Palk/Paulk and the Paul family.

Note by Project Administrator: Men with the surnames PAUL, POLK and POLLOCK are invited to join the PAULK Surname DNA Project to help set the record straight, although they are not expected to match the descendants of the PAULK line from England that immigrated to the Massachusetts Colony in the early 1600s; which is the primary focus of this genetic genealogy project.

The Paulks of America,
by Jessie H. Paulk & Delma (Wilson) Paulk (1990)
A genealogy of Samuel Paulk, his descendants and related families

First Families of South Georgia: PAULK,
by Jessie H. Paulk & Delma (Wilson) Paulk (2005)
Descendants of Micajah Paulk and Mary C. Young of Irwin Co, Georgia

Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Vol. 1 - 12,
by Folks Huxford & the Huxford Genealogical Society
Biographical and genealogical sketches for the
Wiregrass Georgia Region pioneers and their descendants

Samuel PAULK (b c 1630) (England)
ò
Samuel PAULK (b 1665) (England)
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Jonathan PAULK (b 1703) (Massachusetts)
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Micajah PAULK, R.S. (b 1733) (Connecticut)