Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Dorling
Variants: Dalding, Dalling, Dauling, Dawlen, Dawling, Doiley, Doily, Doldan, Dorland, Dorlding, Dorlen, Dorley
Category: 3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.
Guild hosted website: dorling.one-name.net
DNA website: www.familytreedna.com/groups/dorling
Contact: Mrs Karen Hemmingham
The Dorling one-name study started after I had collected a lot of information about Dorlingas in Suffolk and was stuck on my own Dorling family. I joined the Guild of One-Name Studies and in 1984 i wrote to all the Dorlings in the UK telephone dirctories in 1984. As I included an SAE and a form to complete, I had a good rate of response. This, combined with birth, marriage, death registrations, census records, and other records such as wills, enabled me to identify most of the Dorlings in the twentieth century and place then in family trees.
My research has continued over the years, both at record offices and using internet sources. I also run a Dorling DNA Project at Family Tree DNA which established which Dorling branches were related. The only branch not yet YDN tested is the Framsden branch.
Dorling descendants have contacted me over the years, shared their photos and information about their families. Many newspapers are now searchable online and this has started to reveal some interesting information about the Dorlings. There is always new information to find! Please email me at dorling@one-name.org to share your Dorling photos and information. I am very happy to tell you more about your Dorling ancestors.
I sometimes add to my Dorling blog site to add new information of interest and to keep people informed about the study's progress. This can be seen here at Dorling Family History
The Early Dorlings: My research found that the Dorlings came mainly from the East Anglia area (Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk). I found that in the Middle Ages the surname was spelt as Dalling and de Dalling, predominantly in Norfolk. As the Dorlings became more prevalent in Suffolk in the 1500s and 1600s, the spelling changed to Dawling, Dauling, Dorley etc and, for most families, standardised into Dorling. The one Suffolk family that retained the Dalling spelling was the family originating in South Elmham and Bungay, probably because they were literate. They married into the Wyndham family of Felbrigge Hall and Earsham.
More Recent Dorlings: I have information on nearly all 19th century Dorlings, so if people can trace their Dorling ancestors back to around 1911 or 1939 I can usually provide information on their ancestors back into the 1800s, and often further back.
Family Trees: I have placed most Dorlings into family trees, having identified the main branches whose origins are all in Suffolk. Branches are named after the place where the founding couple lived - Bury St Edmunds, West Stow, Bacton, Herringswell, Nacton, Dennington, Framsden. Also, I have family trees for the Dallings of Bungay, Suffolk and the Dallings of Westerham, Kent. A future plan is to look at the Dalling families of Devon and Cornwall areas.
Many of the Dorling trees are now available on the FAMILY SEARCH website under the banner of The Guild of One-Name Studies. They are occasionally updated with new information. Search for your Dorling ancestor under "Genealogies" and select "Guild of One-Name Studies" in the left hand menu to find Dorlings in my trees at Family Search. The trees on Family Search only contain basic genealogical information. I have far more information and photos, so please contact me to see if I have information on your family. Future plan is to add pdfs and photos to Family Search for individual Dorlings. Do send me autobiographies and biographies of your Dorlings so I can add to individual details. This will help future generations of Dorling descendants to find out about their family history.
I also have many trees on Ancestry.co.uk Some of these are public, but I many are private, especially when I'm working on them. However, I am very happy to invite interested people to view any private ones.
The Dorling DNA Project began in 2006 as a YDNA project to find out if the main Dorling branches were related to each other. The project is now with FamilyTree DNA (FTDNA), and now also accepts members with autosomal results e.g. Ancestry DNA tests, FTDNA Family Finder, 23andMe etc. The YDNA study showed that two of the major branches, "Bury St Edmunds" and "West Stow", share a common ancestor. This ancestor has yet to be discovered. We have recently upgraded the YDNA results to provide an estimate of when this common ancestor may have lived - results show a 62% chance the common ancestor was born around 1570, a 90% chance the common ancestor was born around 1450.
As part of the Dorling DNA Project there is now a Dorling Autosomal DNA Group on facebook open to anyone with a Dorling ancestor who has done an autosomal DNA test e.g. with Ancestry, My Heritage, Living DNA, Family Tree DNA, 23 and Me, and who has a gedmatch kit number. It is easy to register with Gedmatch and follow their instructions to upload your results to get a kit number.
Dorling Branches 1800-1899: As at Dec 2017, Of all 764 known male Dorlings born between 1800 and 1900, 93% can be assigned to a branch, and another 7% of unknown branch to Suffolk.
Originally the surname Dorling was spelt Dalling (to ryhme with 'falling') in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. The surname has been spelt variously over the centuries as Dawling, Dawlin, Dorlin, Dorlen, Dorlen, Dallen, and even Dorlding. In South Suffolk there were also variants of Doyland, Doiland, Doiley, and Dorley, possibly due to the Dorley / D'Orley / Doily family.
I have a tree on Ancestry and Family Search for the Dorley / Doiley family of Hollesley and Alderton in South Suffolk whose ancestor was William Dorling, married 1750 Sudbourne.
I have researched the Dalling families of Bungay / Earsham, Suffolk and of Westerham, Kent and their trees are on Ancestry and Family Search.
There are also some small early Dalling families in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The West Country Dallings are still to be investigated.
The origin of the Dallings of Westerham, Kent (previously from Buckland, Surrey in the 1500s) is as yet unknown. However, the Dallings of Westerham used the Coat of Arms that are associated with Simon Dalling, and his nephew (believed to be nephew) William Dalling died 1501, both of whom were Masters of Trinity College, College, Cambridge. This coat of arms also began to be used by the Dallings of Bungay/Earsham, and a book written about Bungay says the Westerham and Bungay family are related. However, despite viewing family records in the Norfolk Record Office I have found no proven link between the Dallings of Westerham and the Dallings of Suffolk. But I did discover that in 1664, in the book "Discliamers in the Herald's Visitations" the Heralds Visitation had refused John Dalling (1634-1696) of Bungay the right to a Coat of Arms - probably due either to lack of evidence or incorrect evidence. Unfortunately, no Dorling YDNA descendants are known of from either branch.
The Dennington / Epsom branch of the Dorling family has some of the most well known Dorlings including Henry taprell Dorling (Taffrail) 1894-1968 Royal Navy and author of sea stories, books on medals etc.
Henry Dorling, clerk of Epsom race course, Grandfather of Francis Holland Dorling, Henry Taprell Dorling and
James Wilfred Sussex Dorling. His step-daughter was the well known cookery writer Mrs Beeton.
Rear Admiral James Wilfred Sussex Dorling 1889-1966WW1 - Specialist in wireless and torpedoes. Appointed Rear Admiral Malaya in 1941 to take charge of naval establishments in Singapore. Formerly Assistant Controller of the Navy specialising in torpedoes and wirelss. Also commanded the signal school at Portsmouth for 2 years. Served on The Lord Nelson under Admiral Sir Cecil Thursby. Later served on The Queen Elizabeth under Admiral Sir David Beatty.
The Dalling family of Bungay - John Dorling b. 1731 Bungay d.1798 Earsham Hall, as Major Dalling (light infantry) he was present at the Battle of Quebec in 1758. He was Governor of Jamaica 1777-1782.
West Stow branch
Bedfield branch:
Rev William Dorling 1931-1912 of Buckhurst Hill, Congegational Minister and writer.
In 1851 just over 400 In 1881 about 570 In 1901 about 1031 In 1911 about 1372
In 1921 430 male Dorlings and 471 female Dorlings are listed in the index on Find My Past.
As at 2018 we have photos of over 100 male Dorlings born over a hundred years ago, and plenty of female dorling photos too.
The earliest Dorling photographed is West Stow branch James Dorling born 1808 Ingham, Suffolk who joined the Cold Stream guards, the first of 4 generations of his family to do so.
By the 18th and 19th century there are several branches of Dorlings, each of which originates from a known male ancestor in Suffolk,UK. The main aim of the original DNA study was to see if any of these distinct Dorling branches shared a common ancestor.
The original Dorling DNA Project started with DNA Heritage in 2005 and used 43 markers. 9 participants representing 6 branches were YDNA tested, but more followed. DNA Heritage ceased operating and the Dorling DNA Project transferred to Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) in 2011. All results, except the Epsom/Dennington branch, were transferred to FTDNA and most of these have now been upgraded to a higher level of testing. The DNA sample from the Dennington/Epsom Dorlings is no longer accessible and we also have no-one tested from the small Framsden branch. male Dorling volunteers from these two branches would be very welcome.
Two distant cousins, descendants from each branch, are needed to match to confirm the DNA signature of a branch. This has been done for all the following branches:- Bury St Edmunds (BSE) Dorlings West Stow Dorlings Nacton/Easton Dorlings Barton Mills/Herringswell Dorlings Bacton Dorlings.
The results for these branches revealed that the 2 largest branches (Bury St Edmunds and West Stow) are related through a common ancestor who was probably born between 1450 and 1570. We have yet to discover who this common ancestor is!
The other main branches are not related to each other.
Bacton YDNA is classified as J2 DNA and Herringswell / Barton Mills is I1b1a DNA. These two YDNA groups are rare in Europe.
2019 Update: The Framsden branch still needs a volunteer.
I sometimes put Dorling information in the 'notes' on the Dorling Ancestry profile page on facebook. However, there is more information on the Dorling trees I have created on Ancestry.co.uk
Some photos are available at the dorlingfamilyhistory blog
I have also created photo albums on Facebook that anyone can access and these are organised by branch and give some biographical details (though not of living Dorlings unless they ask to be put on). They can be viewed by anyone (you don't have to join Facebook) at: West Stow branch Bacton branch Australian West Stow Bury St Edmunds Barton Mills Bedfield branch Herringswell branch
When the photo album comes up, double click on the first photo and it will be enlarged, then click on next / previous to move through the album. Unfortunately the links for these Facebook album seem to expire after a period of time, so if you can't view them sent me an email and I will send you a new link.
I would be really grateful for any contributions of photos, so if you can contribute any photos, please email them to me and let me know if you if you are happy to share them for others to view on the internet.