This is a follow-up to my January 7^th posting about the apparent non-paternity event (NPE) in my husband’s Hickey ancestry.  

I’ve found no trace of Gilliams in their lives after 1810 so it seems most plausible that the NPE occurred prior to that time.

The surname “Gilliam” was not common in Ireland -- even when one looks at variants (e.g., Gilham, Gillam, Gillian) -- and was even more rare in the area of County Tipperary. John Grenham’s website was an efficient source for my research. I was thoroughly entertained to pull Gilliam results with just a few clicks:

• Griffith’s Valuation shows only one parish with both Hickey and Gilliam households: Ballynafagh in County Kildare. James Hickey resided in Derrycrib townland, James and Patrick Gillian (not Gilliam) lived in Garvoge townland. The only other Griffith’s parish with Gilliams was Ballynacourty in County Galway, where Thomas and John Gilliam resided in Ballynacloghy townland.
• However, Griffith’s Valuation data was gathered in the 1850s, after the Hickeys emigrated. Similarly the 1864-1913 births, as well as the 1901 and 1911 censuses, report only a few Gilliams living in Ireland, but that was “after the horse was out of the barn” so to speak. Generally the Gilliams were located in Dublin, Galway or Northern Ireland. The 1911 census disclosed only one head of household in County Tipperary: Henry Gilliam, age 41, living in Graiguenow townland.
• A query of Roman Catholic baptisms disclosed only two Gilliam baptisms in County Tipperary. Baptised in Borrisokane in 1830, “Cath” and “Jane” were daughters of “Geo” and “Hon” Gilliam.  (Is Henry a descendant of Geo and Hon? Maybe.)

All interesting, especially because the Irish Gilliams were so few in number during the 1800s and early 1900s, and certainly easy to find thanks to Grenham’s work!

While I’ve only scratched the surface, I may not even be on the right track. Where was James Hickey born (circa 1790 or earlier)? Who were his parents?

Then again, maybe answering those questions won’t help resolve the NPE question. I went back to review the explanation that came to us after the FTDNA SNP/STR tests:

“Bill is from a line of guys -- L21-- begun some 5000 years ago or so, likely in western Germany or eastern France. There are six other Hickey Y-DNA lines we know about, at least 3 of which are also L21. Going down this chart, he's also descended from Mr. CTS4466, who lived about 2000 years ago in Wales or southern Ireland. Mr. A541 and Mr. A1135 (yes, these had to be actual people who had a mutation at birth) lived perhaps 1400 or so years go. Up to that point, Bill shares DNA with the other "South Irish" CTS4466 Hickeys. However, perhaps 1300 years ago, well before surnames came into use, Bill's ancestor was Mr. A195, while the other South Irish Hickeys we know of are from Mr. A11844. The fact that both groups ended up with the Hickey name is a coincidence.”

The year 1790 seems too far distant for research, let alone 1300 years ago.