Surnames S - Page 2: Shetland Y-DNA Surname Project |
STEWART 13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 17 09 10 11 11 25 15 19 29 14 15 17 17 (15341) R1b1c; Scottish Orkney - Celtic / Pictish; A title of honour for one who superintends household affairs for royalty, including tax collection, and the person at the right hand of the King in battle. Ultimately there was a Scottish Royal family of Stewarts - supposed to be descended from a line of Breton nobles. The Bruce and Stewart families were alligned by marriage and ultimately Robert Stewart, son of King Robert the Bruce, was crowned in 1371. Black makes that point that the name Steward became common since, for example, each bishop would have his own steward. Thus not every Stewart will be descended from the Royal household of Scotland - but it is possible that all Stewarts of Shetlands are true descendants. According to Martine, true descendants of the Royal family are descendants of Alan, Seneschal of Dol, a Celtic noble, and he also comments on how prolific this family was and implies that all Stewarts are Royal descendants and can trace their lineage to the Royal castle in Holyrood near Edinburgh. Lamb notes that the Stewarts were at one time Earls of Orkney; The participant"s family has maintained that "somewhere there was a connection to Robert Stewart Commendator of the Abbey Holyrood" and that the descent is via one of Robert's many known "formal" and "informal" relationships with women; John STEWART, born 1750, Whalsay (Brough); Whoever is the ancestor of those with this signature was indeed prolific. There are 208, 12 / 12 matches in the FTDNA database (the largest number known). In addition there are large numbers of matches at the 23, 24, and 4 at the 25 / 25 level. One of the latter matches is with a Stewart, and 2 of 8 of the 24/25 mathces are also Stewarts. At the 37 marker level, there are 34/37 matches with two CLANCEYs, and two STEWARTs. Work is ongoing to see if it can be shown that there is a DNA link to the Stewarts of the Mainland; It is possible that the signature we are seeing here is that of the Royal household of Scotland. In consulting with those connected with Scottish clan chieftains it was their opinin that the signature "Was Flaad, Senechal of Dol (traditionally Flaad "fitz Alan"). We need to get the DNA of someone like Stewart of Castle Stewart, Stewart of Galloway or Arrdvorlich or Appin, or another known male line descendant of Flaad" (DM). Clearly more work needs to be done in Shetland and on the Mainland, hopefully, as noted above, by testing someone known to be a Stewart Royal descendant. The DNA finding of S21 and S28 minus on these Germanic and Continental markers lends support to the contention that this haplotype is native Celtic / Pictish. |
SPENCE 13 25 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 (21822) R1b1c9; Scottish Orkney - German / Scandinavian; Name often found as "de Spens" or variants. Surname supposedly relating to a government official assigned to the role of custodian of the provisions. The name is frequently found in Scotland from the 13th Century. The earliest reference in Shetland is to Williams Spens, to whom Sir David Sinclair left land in Gloup, North Yell, in 1506; None recorded; Henry SPENCE, of Houlland, North Yell, son the above William SPENCE of Gloup; In the YHRD database there are 47 matches, scattered from Portugal to Poland with only one Scandanavian match at 9 markers. In the customer database at FTDNA there are 16 exact 12/12 matches. In the Haplogroup Database the only exact match is from Russia, and there are scattered matches from Spain to Russia, but with a greater than expected number of matches in the latter; This signature may be Anglo - Saxon, Norse or Danish Viking, or Norman. |
SMITH 12 23 15 10 13 15 11 14 12 12 11 28 16 08 09 08 11 23 16 20 28 12 15 15 15 (33398) I1a; Orkney Aboriginal - Norse; Occupational surname, the most frequently occurring in the English - speaking world. Recorded in Orkney from 1492. It is likely that most of the families in Shetland with this surname originated there, but this can not be said with complete certainty; None recorded; James SMITH, born 1772, Longhill, Sandwick son of Nicol SMITH and Catherine SINCLAIR; This participant has a very rare haplotype. The closest non - surname match in the 80,000 sample database of FTDNA is with NICHOLSON (22359) at 24/25. The only exact matches are 12/12 with SMITH 46134 and 37/37 with SMITH 74606 (with whom he shares a known ancestor in common). There are no exact matches in the Haplogroup Database, but by far the largest number of matches at 2 and above mutations is Ireland. The significance of this observation is not immediately apparent but may reflect a surname study. The Haplogroup Database is less biased and shows a tendency toward Scotland, Norway, Denmark matches suggesting a Scandinavian origin; Until more individuals with this surname are tested it is not possible to know if perchance all with the surname SMITH in Shetland share the same ancestry, or whether, there are a number of separate and unrelated SMITH families who settled in Shetland over the years. The evidence does suggest that there is a genetic connection between this participant and NICHOLSON worthy of investigation. |
SMITH 12 23 15 10 13 15 11 14 11 12 11 28 (46134) I1a; Orkney Aboriginal - Norse; See above; None recorded; Erick SMITH born 1800 Scarpness, Sandwick, son of Oliver SMITH and Marion DUNCAN married 1800 Sandwick; The match profile is the same as SMITH 33398 above. The haplotype is extremely rare and the only match at 12 markers is NICHOLSON (22359); and there is an 11/12 match with the above SMITH. There are no other matchs; See above. |
SMITH 12 23 15 10 13 15 11 14 11 12 11 28 16 08 09 08 11 23 16 20 20 28 12 15 15 15 (74606) I1a; Orkney Aboriginal - Norse; See above; None recorded; James SMITH born 1772 Longhill, Sandwick, son of Nicol SMITH and Catherine SINCLAIR; See above; See above. |