Inviting all Ayers or related surnames to join the Ayres Ayers Aires Eyre Eyer, etc., Y DNA surname project at dnaheritage.com. The "join" page is at http://www.dnaheritage.com/oracle/join.asp?GroupUnique=63297... but if the link doesn't work, just go to the company website and search or surname project Ayres.
North American Ayr** are numerous and stem from many unrelated lineages. A knowledgeable Ayers researcher recently commented, "...the name "Eyre" comes from "Heyr" which is the same as the modern english word heir. This was a common Norman name in the late middle ages for someone who was an heir. There are also "Ayr" place names like Ayr, Scotland, and Ayre Belgium etc. From what I've seen in researching the name the famlies of Ayer and Ayres in Massachusetts have well documented connections to the Eyres of Wiltshire. The Ayers of N.C. and Virginia who immigrated from 1640 to 1655 came from Bristol and Plymouth and may have had ties to the Derby Eyres. The Derby Eyres were routed in the early part of the English Civil War with part of the family going to the US and part to Ireland...Ayers who came into N.C. after 1745 were Scotch-Irish. Those families have ties typically to Ayr County Scotland or Eyrecourt Ireland. In addition to those there are also Ayres/Ayers families from Ayre Yorkshire and The Town of Ayre in Belgium, and probably others."
DNA offers a swift, objective, and relatively inexpensive means to link your Ayres ancestor to any of several large family groups, and I encourage anyone with an Ayres "brick wall" to consider participating.
I'd be happy to answer any questions here or at the above address.
Jonathan