Part 21: Swinfield DNA update

We have the result of another DNA test which adds significantly to our knowledge of the relationship between the larger branches of our family. Andrew Swinfield of Sydney, New South Wales, commissioned a 37 marker test through Family Tree DNA. The results are now in. You can see and compare the results that we now have on the Swinfield DNA &Genealogy page hosted by FTDNA. What do they tell us? I have discussed these results in detail there.

To summarise what we know, we now have three men who have been tested. They are:

Andrew John Swinfield                       born 1957   Sydney, NSW          Family 3A         
Derrick George Joseph Swinfield        born 1928   Leicester                  Family 5F
Paul Frederick Swinfield                     born 1957   Crayford, Kent         Family 4 & 13

Andrew & Derrick match at 29 of 32 markers

Paul & Derrick match at 31 of 32 markers

Andrew & Paul match at 34 of 37 markers

Wolvey church

Only two of them are known to be related through genealogical records. Andrew is the 4^th cousin, once removed, to Paul, both being part of the extensive family which is designated as Family 3 & 4. They both descend from Thomas Swinfield and Elizabeth Hackett who married in the parish church of Monks Kirby, Warwickshire, on 21^st August 1803. They named their children in the neighbouring church of Wolvey from 1804 to 1820 before moving on to Mancetter where they named their last three sons from 1822 to 1827.

Andrew’s ancestor was William (1804-1876) who emigrated to NSW in 1848. He is the forebear of all living Swinfields in Australia. Paul’s great-great-grandfather, George Swinfield (born 1825), remained in England after his two oldest brothers, William and John (1806-1874), travelled to the other side of the World.

Derrick is part of my branch of the Swinfields, Family 5, an equally large lineage. Unlike me, through the unfortunate illegitimacy which resulted in my great-grandfather, in 1841 (see Part 6 of the blog), he would appear to have a “typical” Swinfield Y-chromosome. He has inherited this from his direct male ancestors. His almost exact match with the two representatives of Family 3 & 4 strongly argues that the two largest pedigrees are branches of one much larger family tree. If only records had survived from that early, it would be possible to show that all those named Swinfield descend from a single ancestor who assumed our surname in about the 13^th century when names became hereditary. 

It would appear that the "Swinfield haplotype" is:  

DYS	Value				DYS	Value
393	13				448	19
390	24				449	30
19	14				464a	15
391	10 or 11				464b	16
385a	11				464c	16 or 17
385b	14				464d	17
426	12				460	11
388	12				GATA-H4	11
439	11				YCAlla	19
389a	13				YCAllab	23
392	13				456	15
389b	29				607	14
458	17				576	19
459a	9				570	17
459b	9 or 10				CDYa	35
455	11				CDYb	36 or 37
454	11				442	12
447	24				438	12
437	14

We now need to test men from other branches to see if they have the same haplotype too. Volunteers please raise your hands!