A Grenfell DNA Project was launched in August 2015 which we hope will be effective  in establishing a connection between the various branches of the family. The home page of the project can be found at Grenfell DNA Project and an assessment of a DNA project can be found on the Guild of One-Name Studies website.

As can be seen on the Origins of the Name page the first reference to the ‘Grenfell’ name is found in the St Just in Penwith Easter Book of 1588 where it is believed that descendants of a junior branch of the land owning Grenville family of North Cornwall had settled.

The earliest baptism in the parish records was of Ann d. of Hercules Grenfield at St Just in Penwith in 1632, followed in 1634 with Mary d. of Isaac Grinfield. The earliest marriage was that of John Martin & Mary Grendfield in 1611, followed by Richard Grenfield & Anne Richard in 1619. Other records in the 17th century appear in the parishes of Madron, Paul, St Erth, St Ives and Zennor.

The Family Trees section of the website contains descendants of the following 9 Cornish marriages:

Hercules Grenfield and Jane Busvargus married St Just in Penwith 1631
Matthew Grenfield and Christian married West Penwith abt. 1650
Edward (Edmund) Grenfield and Cheston married St Just in Penwith 1670
John Grenfield and Sarah Gill married St Just in Penwith 1712
Richard Grenfell and Wilmot Bone married Gulval 1760
John Grenfell and Margaret Bray married Gwennap, 1763
Edward Grenfell and Charity Wallis married St Just in Penwith 1791
John Grenfell married Margaret Rowe Madron 1800
William Grenfell and Eliza Thomas nee Sampson married Redruth 1862

At present these family branches cannot be connected through traditional research methods although it is believed that the vast majority of, if not all, people carrying the Grenfell name are descended from  families in the far west of Cornwall. The DNA project will help to establish whether these families can be connected.