Genealogy of the Joss/Joyce Family

It is difficult to summarize all the progress the Joss/Joyce family has made in the last seven years, as is evident by the following research reports. Beginning with a small group of genealogists who specialized in the Joyce family of Rockingham and Stokes Counties, North Carolina, they were determined to break a lingering family mystery: the parents of Alexander Joyce (1720-1778) and Thomas Joyce (1722-1780). The founders of this Joyce family in early Virginia and North Carolina, the revelation of the parentage of Alexander and Thomas Joyce would forever the history of the Joyces. When it was first discovered that the two Joyce brothers had Ulster-Scots roots from County Down, Northern Ireland, and before that an ancestry to Scotland, the cultural identity of the family began to evolve. Where once it was assumed, they had origins from Galway, Ireland, like many other Joyce families, they could now specifically proclaim where Alexander and Thomas Joyce were from. This was achieved largely in-part due to the emerging science of Y-DNA, which has helped form a foundation for all successful genealogical inquiries concerning the Joss/Joyce family. Today, as a result of the research of this small band of genealogists, it planted the seeds of change, ultimately leading to the formation of the Joss/Joyce Family Association five years later. Where once the Joyce family of North Carolina was the primary focus, there is now an international community of Joss/Joyce relatives dedicated to preserving their genealogies.

The genealogical reports compiled in this book contains seven years of genealogical research. Beginning when the Joss/Joyce Family Association did not exist yet in 2016, the initial research by early Joyce researchers has been preserved for future generations. This foundation is complimented by more recent reports utilizing autosomal, Y-DNA and traditional genealogical research conducted by the Joss/Joyce Family Association. In these documents, the focus shifts to the international Joss/Joyce family by addressing numerous genealogical brick walls. From investigating the Joss family of Australia and New Zealand, the Joyce family of County Armagh, Northern Ireland to discovering new Joss lineages in Scotland, the work done by new genealogists is also documented.