What an interesting family history! I have also been able to get back a very long way in several of my branches, to the 1500's in some cases. I also have a close ancestor that was convicted of treason! My tree just looks very lopsided with many generations on mum's side and dad's mum's side, and only as far as my dad on his paternal side! DNA has not helped me with that missing side, nor has anything else, and I have been doing this for 30 years. My dad was also given his mother's surname. It was a very common name in the area the family lived for centuries. My dad was not told he was illegitimate until he joined up just before war broke out when the army needed his birth certificate. He was always told his mother had married a man with the same surname - which happened a lot, and that he died. Grandma pretended she was a widow all her life, she wore a wedding ring and was known to everyone as "Mrs".