HIS NAME IS MY NAME TOO A Y‐DNA STUDY OF THE OWSTON SURNAME AND ITS VARIANTS James M. Owston, EdD Draft Version 6.2 5 February 2012 The Owston One‐Name Study is registered with the The author is a member of the ABSTRACT In 1990, three family researchers had the fortune of discovering each other nearly simultaneously and began sharing information that became the basis of this study. While nearly all discovered Owstons and Oustons could be traced to one of three families having their origins in the original East Riding of Yorkshire, there was no evidence proving that familial connections existed among the three groups. These families originated in Ganton, Sherburn, and Thornholme in the parish of Burton Agnes. By utilizing Y-DNA testing at 43 markers, this study sought to discover if the three families could be linked genealogically, although traditional records signifying such did not exist. If connected, it would likely to have been prior to the adoption of English parish registers in 1538. Although the study is ongoing, preliminary reports link members of all three families to a common ancestor in the past. Seven of the 10 original participants share common markers of the I1 haplogroup. Of the remaining three participants, two Thornholme subjects did not match anyone else. Since genealogical data has a confirmed paper trail to the earliest known ancestor of the Thornholme family, it has been determined that non-paternity events occurred in these two lines. In addition, one Sherburn family member did not match any other participant due to an adoption in his ancestral line. Additional results are forthcoming and may assist in determining an Owston ancestral haplotype. At the present, the Owston modal haplotype or legacy Y-DNA appears to exist in the form of 43 identical markers that are shared among a participant in each of the three families. While an exact common ancestor cannot be plotted, it is assumed that the three individuals who have 100% matches are between twelfth and fourteenth cousins. Currently, six additional individuals have been secured for testing and results should be available in the near future. Although related, one new participant is not likely to match as his Owston surnamed second great grandfather was illegitimate and took his mother’s Owston surname. Four additional men will be sought to continue this study bringing the total to twenty individuals by summer 2012. In conjunction with the Y-DNA study, an autosomal project also confirms a predominance of the I1 haplogroup among Owston males of the North American Line of the Sherburn family. Of the fifteen participants, a total of seven Owston surnamed males are members of this sister study – all but one carry the I1 haplogroup. Two of the autosomal participants also were tested in the Y-DNA study. ii His Name Is My Name Too | James M. Owston TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..ii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………iii Table of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………vi Table of Maps…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..vii Table of Plates..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….viii Table of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….x Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Research Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 The Three Owston Families………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 The Ganton Family …………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 Ganton Family: Potter Brompton Branch ……………………………………………………………8 The Sherburn Family………………………………………………..….……………………………………………….12 Sherburn Family: Scarborough Branch………………………………………………………………14 Sherburn Family: Thorpe Bassett Branch………………………………………………………….17 Sherburn Family: Holderness Branch………………………………………………………………..20 Sherburn Family: George Owston Branch…………………………………………………………23 The Thornholme Family…..……………………………………..……………………………………………………27 Thornholme Family: Michael Owston Branch……………………………………………………27 Thornholme Family: William Owston Branch..……………………..…………………..........30 Owston/Ouston Populations……………………………………………………………………………………………………33 Population Density……………………………………………………………………………………………………….33 Population Distribution………………………………………………………………………………………………..35 Social Media…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 Surname Variation Distribution .………………………………………………………………………………….40 Diminishing Numbers of Owston Males……………………………………………………………………….41 Attrition.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………42 Linking the Families .……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….46 Surname Origins Based On Existing Locations………………………………………………………………50 Surname Origins Based On Population Distribution..……………………………………………………58 iii His Name Is My Name Too | James M. Owston Unfounded Assumptions………………………………………………………………………………………………62 Hypothesis ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………63 Method……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………64 Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….64 Non-Paternity Events..………………………………………………………………………………………65 Other Surname Anomalies .………………………………………………………………………………68 Subject Selection………………………………………………………………………………………………………….71 Study Penetration…………………………………………………………………………………………………………73 Population Drift...…………………………………………………………………………………………………………73 Sampling Bias……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….74 Marker Resolution..……………………………………………………………………………………………………..74 Problems/Issues……………………………………………………………………………………………………………76 Persistence Failure...…………………………………………………………………………………………76 Participation Abstinence…………………………………………………………………………………..76 Haplogroup Deviation……………………………………………………………………………………….76 Results .……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………77 Haplogroup I1...……………………………………………………………………………………………………………77 Haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1b3...……………………………………………………………………………………….80 Haplogroup G2a……………………………………………………………………………………………………………82 Haplogroup I2a2a…………………………………………………………………………………………………………85 Ramifications of Different Hapolotype Results……………………………………………………………..87 Autosomal and Y-SNP Testing ………………………………………………………………………………………89 Specific Results for I1 Participants………………………………………………………………………………..90 Participant Similarities………………………………………………………………………………………90 Genetic Distance……………………………………………………………………………………………….94 Generational Computation……………………………………………………………………………….96 Non-Owston Matches……………………………………………………………………………………….96 Confidence of Results……………………………………………………………………………………….98 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..100 Epilogue ...……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..101 References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….102 iv His Name Is My Name Too | James M. Owston Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….111 Appendix A: Owston Family Charts..…………………………………………………….……………………111 Appendix B: Owston/Ouston Longevity..…………………………………………………………………..120 Appendix C: Pre 17th Century Surnames & Bynames Similar to Owston……………………122 Appendix D: Relationships among Participants...……………………………………………………….124 Appendix E: Owston Autosomal DNA Project…….………………………………………………………125 Appendix F: Genetic Matches in the Owston Autosomal DNA Project…………………….…126 Appendix G: SNP Values from Owston Autosomal DNA Project……………….………………..128 Appendix H: Comparison with the I1 "Greater Complex" & I1 Clan AAA STR Cluster.….130 Appendix I: Owston Y-DNA Results…………………………………………………………………………….131 Appendix J: Observed Owston Y-DNA Haplogroup Cluster Map………………………………...132 v His Name Is My Name Too | James M. Owston TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Abbreviated tree of the Ganton Family and its Potter Brompton Branch .……………….7 Figure 1.2: Abbreviated Sherburn tree showing its current and extinct branches…………………….13 Figure 1.3: Abbreviated tree of the Scarborough branch of the Sherburn family……………….….…14 Figure 1.4: Abbreviated tree of the Thorpe Bassett branch of the Sherburn family………………….17 Figure 1.5: Abbreviated tree of the Holderness branch of the Sherburn family…………………..……20 Figure 1.6: Abbreviated tree of the George Owston branch of the Sherburn family..…………….…23 Figure 1.7: Abbreviated tree of the Thornholme family……………………………………………………………27 Figure 1.8: Comparison of Owston/Ouston Birth Registrations for England and Wales…………….41 Figure 1.9: Birth, Marriages, and Deaths in England and Wales 1837-2006………………………………44 Figure 1.10: English & Welsh Owston/Ouston children with mother’s birth name……………………66 Figure 1.11: English & Welsh Owston/Ouston birth registrations 1911-2006...………..………………67 Figure 1.12: Male Owstons/Oustons born in England and Wales…………………………………………….67 Figure 1.13: Marker comparison between Thornholme02 and Owston Modal Y-DNA…………….82 Figure 1.14: Marker comparison between Thornholme03 and Owston Modal Y-DNA…………….84 Figure 1.15: 12 Marker comparison between Sherburn04 and Owston Modal Y-DNA…………….85 Figure 1.16: Marker comparison between Ganton02 and Owston Modal Y-DNA.……………………90 Figure 1.17: Marker comparison between Sherburn02 and Owston Modal Y-DNA.…………………91 Figure 1.18: Marker comparison between Sherburn03 and Owston Modal Y-DNA……………….…92 Figure 1.19: Marker comparison between Thornholme01 and Owston Modal Y-DNA…………….93 Figure 1.20: Marker comparison between the Greater Complex & Owston Modal Haplotypes.98 Figure 1.21: Longevity of Owstons/Oustons by Decade: England & Wales 1866-2006 .………...121 vi His Name Is My Name Too | James M. Owston TABLE OF MAPS Map 1.1: Outline map of Yorkshire.……………………………………………………………………………………………5 Map 1.2: Owston Islands (from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, 1965)……………………………16