Do you "believe" Prince Henry Sinclair was in North America

Will 2017 be the year people stop "believing" in the Prince Henry Sinclair story and begin to use the word "evidence?" I'm skeptical, but there are interesting research projects which have a chance of giving the story some actual evidence. At least one will likely be available to the public within the year.

My friend Zena Helpern will soon be publishing a book on a journey which somehow or other (I've not seen the manuscript) proves that Prince Henry Sinclair made the trip, at least to Oak Island. While the Prince Henry involvement in the story is but a very small part, I'm told that our family might want to keep an eye out for Zena's upcoming book. While I haven't seen the book yet, I'm familiar with enough of the research to say it's almost entirely new work rather than the usual re-hash.

Keep you posted, 

Steve

The Enigmatic Sinclairs - Original Research Makes It the Top Resource for Sinclair Researchers

As you can see, I've already marked a ton of information in my copy

Gerald Sinclair and Rondo B B Me's new book The Enigmatic Sinclairs is, in a word, extraordinary.  

Before its publication, researchers like me relied on books like:

R.W. Saint-Clair’s The Saint-Clairs of the Isles, being a History of the Sea-Kings of Orkney and their Scottish Successors of the Sirname of Sinclair - published in 1898

Thomas Sinclairs, The Sinclairs of England - published in 1887

Leonard Morrison's Sinclair Family - published in 1896

Each of these books is useful in its own way. Saint-Clairs of the Isles relied much on the work of Father Richard Augustus Hay who was a solid researcher. Sinclairs of England has some good information mixed with speculative, unsupported leaps. Sinclair Family picks up much of the same myth-making which is in the other two about Rollo the viking being our common ancestor and our Norse origins. That said, each is useful and I recommend them all as part of your research library.

Now we have something entirely new - years and years of newly researched facts written into an incredibly readable, thoroughly engrossing resource which I recommend every genealogist own and study - even if you're not a Sinclair, just to learn and then use Gerry and Rondo's methodology.

Sinclair DNA is just numbers without such historical facts

I've said it many times - DNA without solid records research is just a string of numbers. Now we've got a surprising new resource for a ton of historical facts. But the book doesn't stop with the facts. Rondo and Gerry fully researched and understand the historical background within which the Sinclairs had to navigate. Their story is told in the context of the time in which these medieval Sinclairs lived. Rondo and Gerry clarify the connections between the facts and write the history of our family that was in real danger of being assumed, glossed over, and forgotten by the past 5 generations, especially our Dan Brown generation.

Listen to my interviews with Rondo and Gerry

Gerry and Rondo have agreed to do a series of podcast interviews with me to discuss their book, their conclusions, and more. These will remain up for as long as I maintain this website and likely longer.

Podcast 1 -

Forgive the ad in the first 30 seconds. Blog Talk Radio has to make a bit of money.

Podcast 2 - 

An ad starts this show out as well. Please be patient.

Happy Father’s Day to the Sinclair DNA Study

Every year since 2004, when Stan and I started the Sinclair DNA study, I call my dad up and say, “Thanks for the YDNA, Pops.”

Every year I once again explain what it’s all about and how DNA helps solve genealogy questions. What we involved in here, friends, is a very obsessive hobby. Not many people understand it, even those who gave us our DNA.

As I think back over the last 11 years, we’ve learned a great deal about the fathers of our fathers. We could never have done this without the men and women in our family who have embraced this new methodology so completely.

Now, with Family Tree DNA’s Big Y test, we’re able to get all the data that can be extracted from our DNA and compare it to others to learn the final branches of our family trees.

In my own L193 study, Gary and I have both taken the Big Y. We now know our “Family SNP.” Because we both descend from Alexander Sinkler, and we both took the Big Y test, we now know our terminal (family) SNP is ZS4576. It will be instructive to learn the timing of the MacRae family, just above us who currently show the non-terminal SNP ZS4585.

(Click to enlarge)

Up right above the L193 SNP in the chart is the name Jolley. Apparently that name has Norman origins and shows up in medieval records there and in England (Yorkshire, for instance).

Alternative spellings of the name:

• Giolif
• Jolliffe
• Joliff
• Jolyman
• Jolyf
• Yoly

So, being obsessive, I'm now looking into medieval records for any mentions of benefaction of the Giolif family to medieval abbeys and priories.

I recommend that every lineage in our study get two people to take the Big Y. Then you will know your own family SNP, and it can be compared to the others in the study. For those who are already in the YDNA study, it’s $565. It is literally the last test you will ever have to take.

Click here to access the full chart from above.

Jolliff Family Website

William the Conqueror DNA?

This past week, I discovered a web post called "Conquering William's DNA." I was immediately skeptical. After all, William the Conqueror (WC) left no well-defined male lineage to trace; and thousands of unrelated people (of completely unrelated SNPs) claim descent from him. When I started reading the blog post, I quickly gave up my skepticism.

The blog is run by Michael Maglio, a professional genealogist, writer, and speaker. He's got 30 years of experience in genealogy.

Michael used 37-alleles to define a Modal Haplotype. A modal haplotype may be determined for any genealogical surname group or pool of test subjects. Said simply, it's a well-defined group based on specific parameters.

After analyzing 3,800 YDNA samples, Michael arrived at a total of 27 names, in the image he created at the right.

One of the coolest techniques Michael used in his study was a scatter plot. You can see the plot on his website and the explanation that makes it so useful. He expected to find well-defined clusters rather than a large mass. The I1 haplogroup showed a large mass with no clustering. This means they all relate to one another at a time well before the Conqueror.

The R1b group of names he chose showed clear clustering.  Michael also used a "control group" just to be sure. Using genetic distance among the smaller cluster, he was able to claim that they relate about the time of WC.

In a comment exchange on the blog, Michael mentioned that the 37-marker modal shows a L21 correlation. He plans to extend this modal out to 67 markers.

The William the Conqueror Modal vs Sinclair DNA

I used Michael's WC Modal compared to an Excel spreadsheet of our full list of Sinclair DNA participants to see which showed up.

First, I simply worked left to right across the alleles. This produced a 31/37 match with our Glasgow Lineage (L21, L193).
We're off on these particular markers from his WC Modal:
Our DYS 456 - 570 = 17,16,19,17
CDYa-b = 36, 37

Then, allowing for a mutation on DYS 390, which we've seen in our Caithness Lineage.
I allowed for DYS390 to equal all options.
I allowed for DYS458 to equal 16 & 17.
DYS 389ii to equal all options.
DYS439 equal all options.
DYS 391 equal all options.
DYS19 equal all options.

Even opening up all of the above alleles to other possibilities, I still end up showing our L21 Lineages matching Michael's William the Conqueror Modal DNA.

My earlier attempts at this used a less scientific method to try to understand the families of WC. They included studying those families who were granted the best / largest land holdings in post-Conquest England. That research led to a list that included:
Beaumont, Gifford, and Warenne (Warren), among others.

I also studied the names on the Auchinleck Manuscript. Unlike the Battle Abbey Roll, it's a slightly more reliable document of those who came with WC.

Back in March 2009, I posted this web page attempting to identify the DNA of the Conqueror by understanding the families with good claims to a direct paternal connection. This required a lot of research. My best candidates were:
Devereaux
Hereford
Norton
Pearsall
Clifford
Ramsey

Richard II's DNA?

It's important to understand that this isn't necessarily the DNA of William the Conqueror, or his grandfather Richard II. Michael points out that Giffard and Beaumont are descendants of Duvelina, Gunnora's sister. Gunnora was Richard I's wife/concubine. So the YDNA we're seeing may be from the close circle of William the Conqueror.

According to Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Gunnora was of noble Danish origin. This fits nicely with the family of Warenne (Warren). I wrote a great deal about the Warenne family on our website at this link.

The timing of DNA testing

We've just received the latest important SNP for our St Clair of Herdmanston test subject. He's confirmed P310+, P312-.

This is important because it's definitive. Even though the time frame that this SNP mutation occurred is quite old (about 4,300 years), it's absolutely certain that he shares an ancestor with everyone else who has this SNP.

How long does it take?

Explaining the timeline and order of events in DNA testing for genealogy helps new folks understand what to expect. I'll use our new St. Clair of Herdmanston test subject as an example.

4/3/2013 - Kit reached FTDNA's lab. (see a tour of the lab here)
4/16/2013 - 12 marker STR results completed
4/24/2013 - 25 marker STR results completed
4/25/2013 - 37 marker STR results completed
5/3/2013 - 67 marker STR results completed

Once his 37 or 67 STR markers were completed, I could look at the results and make an educated guess as to which SNP test he should take.

4/28/2013 - Ordered the P310 SNP test
5/16/2013 - P310 results completed
5/18/2013 - Ordered the P312 SNP test
6/17/2013 - P312 results complete

STRs first. SNPs next.

STRs are the gateway into DNA for genealogy. They point the way and help to determine recent relatedness. But too many people are using them to make claims. The reason they're unreliable for such claims is that the markers (otherwise known as alleles) mutate. They can mutate up or down. They can mutate on the same marker multiple times. And some of them mutate quite quickly. On average, they're now believed to mutate about once every 300 - 500 years.

SNPs are single-nucleotide polymorphisms. DNA folks just call them "snips" for short. They are believed to only mutate once, and then never again. This makes them much more useful for understanding ancient relatedness. Experts like Tim Janzen calculate the time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) for many of the SNP groups, then project administrators like me look at their calculations and apply them to our studies. These SNP experts look to studies like ours to verify their theories and to point the way to more SNPs.

The Sinclair St Clair DNA study is now focused heavily on SNPs. We encourage our members to test out to at least 67-markers so that we can more accurately predict which of the $39 SNP tests they should take.

Even when your STR markers are saying you match someone in a recent time-frame, it's important to verify it with a SNP test. We've read about one test subject who matched someone on 61 of 67 markers, and naturally assumed they were related. They weren't, and SNPs proved it. In fact, they don't share a common ancestor for several thousand years.

Read the full DNA and historical report on the Herdmanston lineage of the St. Clair family here.

A Reminder for Sinclair DNA Researchers

From time to time, I look up on the wall of my office where I keep the following pinned up -

"Objectivity in science is a value that informs how science is practiced and how scientific truths are created. It is the idea that scientists, in attempting to uncover truths about the natural world, must aspire to eliminate personal biases, a priori commitments, emotional involvement, etc. Objectivity is often attributed to the property of scientific measurement, as the accuracy of a measurement can be tested independent from the individual scientist who first reports it." source 

A DNA study is by its very nature a scientific enquiry. How are you approaching yours? Are you:

• Looking for proof of a conclusion you've already reached?
• Emotionally involved in the titles or nobility your ancient ancestors might have held?
• Starting with the surname you were given and immediately looking back at medieval people who held the same surname?

Or are you:

• Starting by finding two records for each person in your family history - grandparents, their parents, and so forth?
• Using reasonable methodology to look across the divide from where you're stuck to where you MIGHT connect?
• Forming loose hypotheses based on DNA SNPs rather than STRs?
• Testing those hypotheses using reliable historical resources rather than those created in the 1800s by questionable historians? (note: I'm sure there are some good ones from the 1800s)
• Precisely quoting your sources so others can independently repeat your research and question your conclusions?

Source - Wikipedia "Objectivity (science)"

Sinclair DNA Shows Kerr Connections

If your Sinclair DNA is showing the L21 SNP, then don't' be surprised if you see the name Kerr in your name matches. One of our Sinclair DNA L21 member shows a match with a Kerr on 33 out of 37 markers tested. Another member matches a Kerr/Carr participant on 103 of 111 markers. That is an extremely close match. 

According to the author Bruce A. McAndrew, a cadet line of the St Clair family of Herdmanston held the barony of Cessford from 1376 to 1416.

The lands of Cessford are in the border region, about 13 miles north of Jedburgh Abbey. Later, in 1450, powerful Cessford Castle was built here by Andrew Ker.

Did the Sinclairs leave their DNA here in Cessford?
Did a Kerr take the name Sinclair from the local St Clair land baron?
We don't have enough evidence to make a decision at this point.

 Through more SNP testing and lots of records research, we hope to get the answers.

The "Holy Grail" of DNA?

A study of People of Medieval Scotland and several other medieval records bring up a cast of characters you might wish were in your SNP name matches. In this case, there is one SNP group that has a very interesting set of names matching them.

On the U106 group, there's a cluster called - Z18> Z14> Z372> L257+

(I should point out, no Sinclair family members currently in the DNA study share an ancestor with this group for over 2,000 years)

Among the 27 total names listed on the Family Tree DNA public study (as of today), are:
Dunbar
Mandeville (armorial bearings at right)
Cockburn
Ridale (Ridel)
Roche
Matheson
Preston

There's another group dedicated to Z18+ L257+ people. This group uses the four alleles of DYS464x to divide the group even further, and this separates these names. Some of the TMRCA's they're arriving at are as recent as 327 years ago. For my area of interest, that's too recent. (Never thought I'd say that about DNA :)

If I'm reading correctly, the TMRCA for L257+ is 2,298 years ago. (source)
They also have:
Fraser
Cockburn
Dunbar
Mandeville
Riddell
Preston
Roche

This is like a Who's Who of families in medieval England and Scotland. 

The reason I got so interested is, after looking up the Ridel surname in Keats-Rohan's Prosopography, I found that Ridel and Basset were different surnames among brothers. They were directly of the same father. Specifically, (Keats, p. 1107) Gaufrid Ridel was the son of Richard Basset of Great Weldon, Northamptonshire.

Another Ridel / Basset connection - In c. 1120, Matildis Ridel married Richard Basset.(Keats, p. 1108)

The Basset family became very important in Scotland. They're interesting because they witnessed a land exchange of Roslin and Catcune. "Alexander, king of Scots, gives notice that, since Henry of Roslin, tenant of his lands of Roslin (MLO) and Catcune (nr Borthwick, MLO), has resigned and quitclaimed these lands to him by rod and staff, he has given to William Sinclair, knight, said lands of Roslin and Catcune, doing service of half a knight." (Source)

The Fraser family also witnessed that grant from Alexander III.

The Mandeville family got me very interested because Hamo St. Clair (who received the creation of the baronies of Eaton Socon and Walkern) was closely alligned with de Mandeville. (Vincent, p. 243) 

The contributions of the Dunbar and Cockburn families to early Scottish history under Alexander III are well known.

The Roche family is interesting to me based on their history in England.

In a previous blog post, I mentioned G.W.S. Barrow and a paper "Companions of the Atheling." Barrow credits Malcolm Ceannmor as welcoming a group who opposed William the Conqueror. His list:
Lindsay
Vaux
Ramsay
Lovel
Touris
Prestoun
Sandelandis
Bisset
Sulis
Wardlaw
Maxol (Maxwell)
and many others unspecified.

I think we should keep an eye on this L257+ SNP.  With more Saint Clair participation in England, we could someday see a match with this group.

Printed Sources - 

Barrow, G.W.S., "Companions of the Atheling" a paper presented to Anglo-Norman Studies, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2002, Volume 25," edited by John Gillingham, The Boydell Press, 2003 ISBN 0 85115 941 9

Vincent, Nicholas, "Warin and Henry Fitz Gerald, The King's Chamberlains" The Origins of the Fitzgeralds Revisited. Presented to "Anglo-Norman Studies 21: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1998," edited by Christopher Harper-Bill, Boydell & Brewer, 1999

Keats-Rohan, K.S.B. Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066-1166 II: Pipe Rolls to `Cartae Baronum' (Vol 2) (Hardcover), Boydell Press (April 15, 2002) ISBN-10: 0851158633, ISBN-13: 978-0851158631

Note to a young St. Clair Researcher

 Today, I received an email from a young researcher in our family. She had found us via the Sinclair DNA website. Her note included some well-thought-out questions and points. I realized the answer I sent her may be of value for others, so I'm answering her here.

On Sat, Feb 2, 2013 at 12:29 AM,

....I was reading The Da Vinci Code and it mentions the St Clair's going back close to Anglo-Saxon period so I decided to do some research and I found your website. However, when I look up facts about us the only one I can seem to find consistent is that our origin is French which then changed to Scottish during the time of William the conquer. Also that it dates back to about 1060 ad and we we're in Normandy at some point. A few things in The Da Vinci Code mentions Templars and freemasons and I was wondering if you have some more information about our history considering you had historians helping your investigation. I would be really interested into learning some of the things you know.…

Hi M.,

Thanks for your note. That's very funny that your dad's name is the same as mine. I've found a few others out there as well.

First, the "mythical" history of the St. Clair family from the books Dan Brown likely used to research us. By the way, I used the spelling St. Clair when talking about the wider family because that was the spelling found in the oldest known surviving documents. That or "Saint Clair."

The books I mention above are fun to read. You can find them and many others at the Sources page on our Sinclair DNA website. 

A group is currently putting together what I’m sure will become the definitive books on the real history of the Saint Clairs in Normandy, England, and Scotland. If you watch our websites, you’ll learn more when it comes out.

1. We St. Clairs, Sincelers, Sinclairs (etc.) are all descended from the Viking Rollo (Rhalf Granger), who invaded Normandy in 911. He was from Norway, so that makes us of Viking descent.
2. We are supposed cousins of William the Conqueror, relating to his ancestor Richard I of France.
3. We had at least 1 ancestor who crossed the English Channel in 1066 as a knight with William the Conqueror to defeat the English army at the Battle of Hastings.
4. We supposedly have an ancestor, William 'The Seemly' Sinclair, who went to Scotland instead and later fought against William the Conqueror.
5.  Our ancestors in both England and Scotland did well with the various kings and acquired lands and titles.
6. In 1307, when King Philip 'the Fair' decided to take the land of the Knights Templar and rounded them up to burn them, some got word early and fled to Scotland, to Rosslyn in particular.
7. The Sinclair family were closely involved in the order of the Knights Templar.
8. These Templars supposedly had a great treasure which may have included either the Holy Grail or, according to Dan Brown, documents which can prove a supposed bloodline of a union of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdeline. The movie seems to indicate that they may have moved the body of Mary itself. Others think they moved the actual head of Jesus.
9. All this was supposedly buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel, 7 miles south of Edinburgh, Scotland.
10. William St. Clair, who directed the building of Rosslyn Chapel near his castle in 1446, built secret symbols into it as clues about the treasure.
11. William's grandfather, Prince Henry Sinclair of northern Scotland, supposedly travelled with some of the treasure years earlier (1398) to keep it from the Catholic Inquisition. How the timing on this works out and why there was something left behind to be buried at Rosslyn 48 years later has never been adequately explained to me.

The history of the Saint Clairs is much more complex than those who wrote the books about us could have possibly have known. Because we have the family DNA study, we've got some unique data which those who wrote the old books about us didn't have. Here's what we've learned since 2004, when we began the DNA study -

There are 12 distinct branches of our family (so far), and likely will be more when we get additional participation from England and France (which we hope to do over the next 2 years).

Now, in light of DNA research, a more factual version of our Sinclair / St. Clair history -

1. Hundreds of families think they descend from Rollo, William the Conqueror and that bunch.  People with completely different DNA haplogroups who don’t share a common ancestor for 35,000 years still think they share an ancestor who lived in 911 AD.  At least 3 or 4 of our branches were likely in Normandy during the time frame to make parts of the "mythical" story true. We know this based on their DNA SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms). Those can be traced and pinned loosely to a general geographic location during a general time frame. The other cool thing about SNPs is that other families who have matching ones can help us determine our history. If we have a Sinclair participant who matches, for instance, the Kincaid surname in a SNP study, then we can get an idea of when they match and the rough geography where they might share a common ancestor. This is important because, imagine we match a surname who had close ties with Rollo. Then we might be able to make some reasonable guesses.  The problem is no one knows for sure where Rollo came from. There are arguments that he’s from Scandinavia, and others that he’s from Denmark. One company called Explico claims to be getting permission to DNA test the ancient bones of Rollo’s grandchildren. Rollo’s bones are missing. That would help. A lot of these stories about being related to Rollo, the Templar Knights, etc. were invented in the 1700s and 1800s by supposed researchers who were selling phony genealogies to rich Scottish earls. Are we descended from Rollo? Hopefully, time will tell. Personally, I very much doubt it. Most researchers would tell you that true Norse DNA is either R1a (M420) or I (M253). But time, further testing, and good research may eventually lead to an answer.
2. Are we related to William the Conqueror. Like the lengthy answer above, time will tell. Right now, no one in our family can honestly make such a claim.
3. Were members of the Saint Clair family at the Battle of Hastings? Very likely. But even this is sketchy. The reason I say this is a lack of first-hand evidence. Many people might have benefited from forging the information to be found on ancient documents that were eventually copied into the Battle Abbey Roll or the Auchinleck Manuscript Roll, a similar document. Some researchers say the Battle Abbey Roll was a list of family names present at Hastings rather than a list of specific individuals. See the this Wikipedia page for an overview -
4. While our cherished family stories tell of a William “The Seemly” Sinclair, there is zero documentary evidence that he ever existed. The name was almost certainly invented to bridge a gap in a very sloppy genealogy by the genealogists mentioned above so they could get a quick profit from an unsuspecting Scottish earl.
5. This is true. Our ancestors in England and Scotland did quite well. They became important landowners. They witnessed important charters and documents (see the Declaration of Arbroath). And they would have been privy to conversations with important people of their time.
6. The “rounding up” of the Knights Templars as portrayed in The Da Vinci Code is over-simplified In fact, it took months, even years, before all European countries imprisoned Templars. And the trials took place much later. My advice is to read - Barbara Frale, “The Templars, The Secret History Revealed” - Sharan Newman, “The Real History Behind the Templars” - Stephen Howarth “The Knights Templar”
7. The Sinclair / St. Clair family cannot yet be proven to have had anything whatsoever to do with the Knights Templar. I’ve spent months looking through any available trial records to get to the bottom of this. While I’m certainly not done, so far I don’t see our surname in any records. To join the Templar Order, a man had to give up all his land and worldly possessions. The Saint Clair family being important in England and Scotland, I highly doubt they thought to give all that up.  But even without giving up their property, they could have donated lands to the order. Many other families did. After extensively digging, I’ve still found zero evidence our family made any donations whatsoever to the Templars. 
8. The Great Treasure of the Templars – There’s actually no proof of a treasure, nor a fleet of Templar ships sneaking it out of Europe to Scotland. Zero actual proof. 
9. Is that treasure now buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel?  Zero proof. 
10. While Rosslyn has unusual symbols for a chapel, they’re probably not pointing to a treasure. For instance, there are many carvings of the “Green Man” in Rosslyn. This is not unique in European churches. See this Wikipedia page for a quick overview. A favorite of grail hunters is the carving of what is supposedly two men riding on a horse in Rosslyn. This is supposed to represent the Templar symbol of being a poor knight and sharing a horse. Only one problem: It’s one man riding a horse and one standing behind the flank of it. You can study a photo I took of it above. This is from a cast made by Rosslyn Chapel. 
11. The story of Prince Henry Sinclair had become more an more popular in recent years. Unfortunately, despite some interesting circumstantial evidence, there is zero physical evidence. 

Thanks for the note. I hope this wasn’t too much reading. 

Please keep up with the DNA study at our blogs, website and social media. 

Steve St. Clair

Sinclair DNA Data Combining

By Steve St Clair

Data can come from many areas. One of the keys to getting more from your participation in the Sinclair DNA study is to be open to where you get new information.

Study the names in your STR matches, and especially your SNP matches. (The SNP matches are irrefutable.) If you're a student of medieval history, you might recognize some of them from their time in England or when they first got into Scotland.

Keep in mind, the time you share a common ancestor with them might be before the time that surnames became fixed. In my own SNP matches, a researcher found a name that came north into Scotland and received land in Scotland from the de Morville family. He thinks they changed their name to the new land they were living on. If you didn't know this, you'd think they were one of the traditional Highland families. This is throwing off many of the researchers in my SNP.

Think those Irish names in your Sinclair DNA matches originated in Ireland and are proof you're pictish? Check them carefully and read the books on ancient history. You might find out they got to Ireland right after the Norman Conquest of England.
The video above has two different ways of combining DNA name-matches with historical research.

1. Using FTDNA's Family Finder's name matches, then going in to look for mentions in Google Books.
2. Using SNP matches, then looking into good medieval records online.

 The key is to keep digging.

Another Way St Clair DNA Got to Scotland

By Steve St Clair

I had this information sitting in a large pile of research notes I sift through again and again looking for new inspiration. You have to appreciate the source to fully understand why I'm so blown away by it.

The Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies was founded by R. Allen Brown in 1978. It takes place annually and accepts only papers of the highest standard. It was described by Frank Barlow in 1999 as 'a golden treasury with a steadily expanding scope.' The research in these annual volumes has inspired my research for years.


The particular paper that just jumped out at me again is -
Barrow, G.W.S., "Companions of the Atheling" a paper presented to Anglo-Norman Studies, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2002, Volume 25," edited by John Gillingham, The Boydell Press, 2003  ISBN 0 85115 941 9

Wikipedia says, "Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow DLitt FBA, FRSE, Honorary FSA Scot, is a British historian and academic. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh, and arguably the most prominent Scottish medievalist of the last century." I wholeheartedly agree.

In this paper, Barrow agrees with Boece, who credits Malcolm Ceannmor with bringing in a group of outsiders who opposed William the Conqueror. William proscribed all those he judged to be friends of Edgar the Atheling, who fled to Scotland, where they were welcomed and given land. Their surnames were: Lindsay, Vaux, Ramsay, Lovel, Touris, Prestoun, Sandelandis, Bisset, Sulis, Wardlaw, Maxol (Maxwell) and many others unspecified.

Boece says many others came from Hungary - Crichton, Fotheringham, Giffard, Maule, Borthwick. "There were also, surely much more convincingly, families from France: Fraser, Sinclair, Boswell, Mowat, Montgomery, Campbell, Boyce, Betoun, Tallefer, and Bothwell."

Wikipedia has this on Hector Boece "(also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen."  He lectured on medicine and divinity. In 1527 he published his "Historia Gentis Scotorum."

For more on the Battle Conference, Click Here.

Different surnames. Same blood.

By Steve St Clair

[post updated and corrected 11/4/12 based on information from David Vance. Thanks David] 

If you're following this blog, you'll notice that I'm obsessed in tracking down particular medieval families who changed their second names. I don't even call them "surnames" because of their fluid use of land-based names.

Here's another case:  Dalston = Vaux

Richard Ferguson (p. 286) has Robert, Baron of Dalston as the brother of Hubert de Vallibus (the Latinized spelling of Vaux).

The Dalston Barony was granted by Ranulph de Meschines to Robert, brother of Hubert de Vallibus, Baron of Gilsland.

reference url

That Hubert was the Baron of Gilsland, grandson of the founder of Pentney Priory.

Hubert and John de Vaux had come north at the invitation of David I.

Many older books state that they were brothers, but there's no primary evidence of this.

Hubert received Gilsland from Henry II.  John received Dirlton in East Lothian, Scotland, on which he later built Dirlton Castle, about 13 miles north of the Morville family seat of Saltoun Castle.  The Morvilles were giving gifts to Lanercost Priory, witnessed by the Maitland family, among others.

The descendants of Hubert's brother John patronized Dryburgh Abbey.

Hubert's son Robert founded Lanercost Priory beside Hadrian's Wall in 1169.

My current obsession with Dalston started after seeing the spelling Dalton in the STR matches of a particular lineage in our Sinclair DNA study, and them bumping into the connection in the records pointing to a blood relationship with the de Vaux family and the Morvilles.


Sources -

Ferguson, Richard Saul, "Cumberland and Westmorland M. P.'s from the restoration to the Reform Bill of 1867, (1660-1867.)" C. Thurnam and Sons, 1871

Website - 1066, Medieval Mosaic - http://www.1066.co.nz/library/battle_abbey_roll1/subchap180.htm

Guidebook to Dirleton Castle, which I picked up at the castle in October, 2012. Published by Historic Scotland.

Barry, T.B., "COLONY & FRONTIER IN MEDIEVAL IRELAND: Essays Presented to J.F.Lydon" Continuum International Publishing Group, Nov 1, 2003

Redver, Moreville, and St Clair Connections

By Steve St Clair

Shown above is a 19th century print of the ruins of Montebourg Abbey in the diocese of Coutances, Normandy.

Richard de Redvers was buried at Montebourg in 1107. Lewis C. Loyd had the Moreville family holding land of Reviers (Redvers) in England after the conquest.  Many researchers believe the Saint Clairs of England came north to Scotland with Hugh de Moreville. He later granted them lands which became their Hermanstoune holdings.

William de Moreville" donated property to Montebourg abbey, for the souls of "his wife Mathildis and his son Eudo. Son Eudo confirmed it in 1174. Roger de Stuteville (Stotvilla) witnessed Eudo's confirmation. The Stuteville name is quite interesting in our history. A Helwis (Heloise) de Stuteville was married to a Hugh de Moreville. There was more than one Hugh de Moreville.  The one who married Stuteville was the Forester of Cumberland.

Robert de Vaux and Roger de Stuteville were Sheriffs of Cumberland and Northumberland, 1170 - 1185. Their families were, at one time, both prominent. They worked together in silver mining and minting.

William d'Aubigny (Albini), the Earl of Arundel, granted lands to Montegourg Abbey. He also gave to Thetford Priory, as did the de Vaux, Warenne, Haga (Haig), Malet, Bigot, and Longespee (Earl of Salisbury).

In 1175, Gilbert de Hunfrancvilla (Umfranville) gave his chapel of Douna to Montebourg Abbey for the well-being of his soul and those of his family living and dead. Among the witnesses was Philippo le Ver (Vaux).


Sources -
Loyd, Lewis C., “Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families,” edited posthumously by Charles

Anonymous, “Calendar of Documents Preserved in France: Illustrative of the History of Great Britain and Ireland. A.D. 918-1206, Volume 1,” Edited by J. Horrace Round, M.A., Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by Kyrk and Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty. 1899


Lyttelton, George, "The History Of The Life of King Henry the Second, And of the Age in which He Lived…" printed by Sandby and Dodsley, 1767

Doherty, Hugh, "Robert de Vaux and Roger de Stuteville, Sheriffs of Cumberland and and Northumberland, 1170 - 1185." A paper for the Battle Conference 2005. Printed in "Anglo-Norman Studies XXVIII: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2005" edited by Christopher Piers Lewis

R1b in St Clair, Sinclair DNA

By Steve St Clair

The Sinclair DNA study has 12 distinct lineages. Some of these lineages have many different surnames in their DNA matches. Others will find that they have almost none outside of our family.

Early on in the recent history of DNA, we were told the reason for all of these name matches was:

1. The fact that we are part of the R1b haplogroup

2. The R1b haplogroup were successful breeders since the last Ice Age. 

But this theory became suspect when some of our R1B members had almost zero name matches, and others had nearly 1000. The question of why some people have so many name matches has never really been resolved by Family Tree DNA, or other groups on the Internet. And then there's the question of the surnames among the name matches.

Today I'm going to propose a new theory, based on research underway in the Sinclair DNA study.

Some of our Sinclair DNA name matches show nearly 1000 different surnames. Setting aside the standard reasons that this might be the case, what other reasons might account for having so many name matches?  I offer the theory that perhaps we have an ancient ancestor who was very active, siring many children. The candidate that comes to mind is Charlemagne.

Derek Wilson's biography "Charlemagne" indicated that the man had 20 children, some legitimate and some illegitimate. Sir Francis Palgrave indicated that Charlemagne had seven sons who reached maturity.

History.com suggests that Charlemagne had up to 18 children. Those would be the documented and prove-able ones. 

Other researchers have suggested he had 4 or 5 wives and 5 concubines. Click here >

Beryl Platts, a researcher whom I quote often in the Sinclair DNA study, has suggested that many of the Flemish of Scotland are direct mail descendants of Charlemagne. If you  study the counts of Boulogne, you will see that they have descendants who have surnames like Graham, Lindsey, Oliphant, Seaton, Stewart, Montgomerie, Hay, Umfraville, Douglas, Crawfurd, etc. These are the surnames Platts focused on in her research of the heraldry of Flanders. These are also surnames that show up in many of the Sinclair DNA study's L21 SNP participants' name matches.

Charlemange (Charles the Great) was born about 742 AD and died in January 814. He was the son of Pepin "the Short" and the grandson of Charles Martel, famous for winning the Battle of Poitiers against the Umayyad Caliphate.

No one can yet prove the DNA of such people. 

Other Reading

Great writeup on the Rutherford website

Flemish Migrations

The Flemish Influence in Scotland, by Annette Hardie-Stoffelen

Sinclair DNA Friends

By Steve St Clair

The link to the letter you'll see below points to a website maintained by our Clan Sinclair U.S. Commissioner, Mel Sinclair. Mel got into the DNA study early and has kept up with it ever since, taking any new SNP tests that might add value for the rest of the family.

 I should point out, our DNA study is not a part of the Clan Sinclair organization, but many of our clan have taken the test and, as you can see from this letter, we get a great deal of support and advice from our clan leadership. Mel, in particular, has been very helpful over the years.

 A lot has changed since this letter from my partner Stan St. Clair was posted:

•  We're now recommending 67-markers with 37-markers the lowest we recommend. 
• That link to our UK website doesn't work any more because the participation there has been relatively low and it was expensive to maintain.
• We're very focused now on SNP studies.

And several things haven't changed:

• Stan St Clair remains a great partner. 
• Mel Sinclair remains a wonderful resource. 
• And the family continues to benefit from participation in our Sinclair DNA study. 

 Click here to review the letter about the Sinclair DNA study on Mel's website.

Twelve Lineages of the Sinclair DNA Study

And counting...

The definition of a Lineage in the Sinclair DNA study has changed quite a bit since we started back in 2004. If you're participating in an active DNA study, it's important to understand just how dynamic they are. As new distinctions come along, a good administrator will give the different groups unique names. Early on, we grouped people by numbers - Lineage 1, Lineage 2, etc. This was based in part on how old their genealogy was.  Then we switched to early SNPs like R1b.  Those who follow DNA studies know that this is now ridiculously broad. But back then we were working with the data we had. As time has gone by, the R1b group has split up into over 8 Lineages.

Even those Lineages we divided up have had to be further segregated. We've still got some people calling lineages by the names we used in 2004. One group was called Lineage 4.  It's changed because SNP studies have proven that the members within Lineage 4 split into 4 groups who don't share a common ancestor for about 2,300 years (based on the current accepted calculations).

Dynamic means you have to keep up with Sinclair DNA

One reason I started this blog is because its more fluid; easier to populate with content. So if you're looking for the latest views on our Sinclair DNA study results, this is the place. The focus of all active family DNA studies now is SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms).  These are coming out now at a rapid rate thanks to the Walk the Y project by Family Tree DNA. As a result, the Sinclair DNA study is benefitting from all the new low-cost tests available.

Is your lineage waiting for the next SNP?

These new SNPs seem to come in fits and starts. Once one is cracked open, several others often come out very quickly. Witness the L48 SNPs of Z8 and Z1. This added a lot of knowledge in our study in particular. There are other SNPs in our study which came out very fast recently. So if you suddenly find yourself in a holding pattern, just wait a few months. There will shortly be a new SNP coming out for you to take.

More Lineages coming

We will soon have even more SNPs coming out. And that means more distinct Lineages. Keep an eye out here over the next six months. I'm sure we'll be dividing the Sinclair DNA up into even more Lineages.

Joining the St Clair Sinclair DNA Study

The Sinclair DNA study helps interpret the DNA of over 200 members worldwide. We can help you figure out your genealogy using DNA.

Click here to understand which of our 12 lineages you match. DNA and SNP studies are the most powerful way to get beyond genealogy brick walls in the Sinclair family.

Click here to join the Sinclair DNA study.

The Sinclair DNA study also has a very active discussion group. Click the contact link here to learn more.

Follow the Sinclair DNA study on Facebook.

Sinclair DNA Mystery Lineage

By Steve St Clair

As much fun as it is getting to the answers using genealogy and DNA, it's also fun when one still has mysteries to solve. It's sort of like the anticipation of Christmas, and a slight let-down when it's over.

In our Sinclair DNA study, we have one lineage which I call the mystery lineage. We don't know the precise geography where the members connect, and we have not identified a common ancestor. While none of our lineages know their common ancestor, several know the general geography where their ancestors were, within a general time frame.

Within the Mystery Lineage, there are currently 10 members who carry our surname. One interesting thing about this lineage is the fact that the genetic distance seems to point to a common ancestor in the 1400s. Many of the members have family stores that point back to the Edinburgh area and Rosslyn. Some of these stories are quite specific.

Yet another Sinclair DNA SNP

The mystery lineage is showing the SNP P310. The common ancestor for P310 is quite far back in time, so the Sinclair DNA study will not be of much help yet using pure DNA. However what we're currently doing is working together with as many of the members of this lineage as possible to compare their genealogies. To this end, we are going to line up another blog talk radio show so that all the members and others in her family can join in the hunt for a common ancestor within a genealogical time frame. Given all the stories of the members of this lineage, we believe that common ancestor is probably in Scotland or northern England.

If you're a member of the family, with any of our variant name spellings, please join the Sinclair DNA study.

The main website for the Sinclair DNA study is at this link.

Follow the Sinclair DNA study on Facebook.

Clues for Sinclair DNA in Frisia

A gentleman whom I follow and admire, Dienekes Pontikos, alerted us to a paper back in April which is quite telling. This subject has been much discussed, but the paper which Dienekes alerted us to adds real data to the discussion. 


The point made is this - The SNP R-U106 is well-represented among those with "authentic" Flemish surnames. Also very telling; U106 is not well-represented in the Île-de-France or in Nord-Pas-de-Calais.


        Details of the paper -  "In the name of the migrant father—Analysis of surname 
       origins identifies genetic admixture events undetectable from genealogical records" 
       by M H D Larmuseau, J Vanoverbeke, G Gielis, N Vanderheyden, H F M Larmuseau 
       and R Decorte.  You must register to receive it in full. Click this link >> 


The paper acknowledges something far too many amateur genealogists won't - that family records aren't reliable before the 16th century. Then the paper points out that surnames were moving in large numbers during the demic migration from French-speaking parts of Normandy to scantily populated parts of Flanders. And I'm assuming that resulted in the densities we're seeing on the chart at Dienekes blog post. 


However, what's interesting about the percentages of French among the Flemish is that most (if not all) of the St Clair / Sinclair DNA study participants were already located in the U.K. long before this demic migration took place. 


Does this mean that the actual numbers of French DNA among Flemish, as well as Flemish DNA among the French, was much lower before this migration? I'm not certain yet. But the French among the Flemings is a very low percentage among modern DNA study participants.

If the St. Clair / Sinclair surname originated in France, then how and when did those with the DNA SNP called R-U106 obtain it so long ago? Especially if they were across the border in Flanders?

I think the answer is there can't be an answer yet.  DNA subclade studies of the U106 SNP will lead to more answers for the Sinclair DNA study very soon. Already we're down to the Z1 SNP, and that's getting relatively recent in terms of when their common ancestor was alive in Europe.


The demic migration was certainly not the only such event. We know that William the Conqueror recruited far from the borders of Normandy for his invasion. Surely there was other mixing going on; both with large groups and smaller numbers.


We have 3 groups in our Sinclair DNA study who show U106

That's quite good data. And, while our U106 groups members show 3 distinct SNPs downstream of U106, they all share an ancestor within the last 4,000 to 4,500 years, possibly sooner. It's currently believed that all the visible SNPs beneath U106 all share a common ancestor who lived on mainland Europe, not in the U.K. So there's still a long way to go before we have clear demarkations in the groups who showed up in the U.K. versus those who stayed behind in mainland Europe.

Sinclair DNA in the Shetlands, on Limited Data

By Steve St Clair

This web page, posted by David Faux of a Shetland DNA study, gives a good ideas of just how little we all knew about Sinclair DNA in the early days. The posting was from March 21, 2004, not long after Stan and I started the St. Clair / Sinclair DNA study.

Click here to read a post made with very limited data about Sinclair DNA ... but that's all any of us had at the time.

It's human nature to want to figure things out, even with limited data. And we certainly had limited data in the early days of the Sinclair, St Clair DNA study. In fact, we had about 12 or 25 markers; no more. In hindsight, making judgements based on such limited data seems futile. Given that, we still made some very good decisions.

In this case, David Faux noticed the migration of Sinclair DNA from Caithness up into Shetland and Orkney. His logic was good and has still held up to scrutiny.