The Pamunkey Hendricks are one of many family lines with similar surnames. It is but one subset of a much broader project encompassing all variants of the Hendrick, Hendricks, Hendrix, and Hendryx surnames. Information about this project can be found at this link:
Home Page of the “Hendricks” Surname DNA Project
Origins of the Pamunkey Hendrick Family
Pamunkey Hendrick descendants have proven to be unrelated, or at best very distantly related, to other groups with a similar surname. More than two dozen participants who identify themselves as definite or probable descendants of Pamunkey Hendrick ancestors have been tested. (The test is a painless analysis of saliva to identify values for number of specific elements in the Y-chromosome.)
Their test results indicate a Norse origin for the family in the distant past — that is, a set of distinctive DNA results that indicate an origin perhaps 3,000 years ago in or near what is now Denmark. (This origin would, of course, predate the use of familial surnames by many centuries.) While we cannot say for sure where the Pamunkey family’s Hendrick surname originated, we can observe that persons with the same DNA markers are in modern times heavily concentrated in Sweden and Norway, with somewhat lesser concentrations in surrounding countries.
The DNA results also suggest that it is possible to identify a few distinct branches within this family. That is, some branches of this family appear to exhibit distinctive mutations that may help to confirm or resolve the genealogies of some participants. For a more complete explanation of these results, contact the study administrator.
Results
Tentative Lineage Chart for Pamunkey Hendrick DNA Participants (an older chart, as of 3/31/2011)