Brewster (Y-DNA)
Contents
Status summary
As of December 30, 2015:
- Brewster surname project contacted
- Recruiting Brewster for Y Elite test
As of June 30, 2020:
- Three Big Y-700 tests results for descendants of Elder William Brewster (two for descendants of Johnnathan and one for descendant of Love)
Background
Paper trail
Elder William Brewster was born circa 1566[1]" in or near Doncaster, co. York, England, the son of William (II) Brewster & Mary SMYTHE Simkinson.[2] He is the grandson of William (I) and Maud Mann and this William is said to be son of another William who died at Bently cum Arksey (next to Doncaster), Yorkshire in 1521.[3] Elder William died at Plymouth on 10 Apr 1644[4], and Bradford called him "nere fourskore years of age" (ie nearly age 80).
Brewster married about 1592[5] to Mary _____ (maiden name unknown despite an extensive search). They had one child who died shortly after birth, two daughters and three sons: Johnnathan, Love & Wrestling (who never married). Y-DNA descendants of both Johnnathan and Love have completed DNA testing and verified the Y-DNA of Elder William.
References
- ↑ Brewster deposed in a Leyden affidavit dated 25 Jun 1609 that he was then "aged about forty two years", NEHGReg 18:20
- ↑ NEHGReg 124:250-51
- ↑ TAG 41:1-5 and NEHG Reg 124:250-54
- ↑ Gov. Bradford erred, when he stated Brewster died about 18 April. The "Brewster Book" (written by his son Johnnathan) stated William died 10 April 1644. See also NEHGReg 18:18-20
- ↑ Johnnathan Brewster is believed to be the eldest son. He recorded his birthdate in a bound volume now called the "Brewster Book" where he states he was born 12 Aug 1593. See MD 1:Frontspiece as well as article 1-ff.
Y-DNA Descendants
First Generation
William and Mary had three sons, but their son, Wrestling never married. Thus the Y-DNA descent comes down through their two sons Johnnathan & Love. Y-DNA STR and Big Y-700 testing have been done on both lines, and they match up, thus proving the Y-DNA signature for William Brewster. Currently, the descendants of Johnnathan (14 in number) have DYS19=16 while descendants of Love (4 in number) have DYS19=15. It is likely a STR mutation happened within the line of Love, but exactly when it occurred is not currently known.
Second Generation
Johnnathan[1] - Three sons, but the two oldest (William and Johnnathan) are believed to have emigrated back to England, and their further history is unknown. This line continues through son (Capt.) Benjamin.
Love - Three sons, but eldest son (Nathaniel) had no children. This line continues through sons (Deacon) William & Wrestling.
Third Generation
(Capt.) Benjamin - Four sons, Jonathan, (Capt.) Daniel, William & Benjamin (II)
(Deacon) William - Five sons, Nathaniel, William (II), Benjamin, Joseph & Joshua
Wrestling - Three sons, Jonathan, (Dea.) Wrestling (II) & John, but John's only son never married so descent from only two sons.
- ↑ He consistently wrote his name with this unusual spelling in his "Brewster Book"
Results
Y-DNA testing
The Brewster/Bruster DNA Project has recorded a number of individuals who descend from both sons of Elder William Brewster (ie Johnnathan & Love). Almost all of them have only done STR testing to date, with the majority being either 37 STRs or 67 STRs. There are currently three individuals in the project who have done the Big Y-700 test (two descended from Johnnathan and one from Love) and their results (as of 30 Jun 2020) all are under I-M253>Z17954>FGC47136><S2304>Z17942>Z17928>Z17926>Z17924>A9783>A19407>FT1754. Additionally, the two descendants of Johnnathan Brewster have tested positive for a mutation the descendant of Love has tested negative (FT759). This mutation had to occur somewhere between Johnnathan Brewster, his son Benjamin, and his son William (as the two testers descend from different sons of William).
The International Society of Genetic Genealogists is a volunteer body which attempts to maintain a Y-DNA Phylogenic tree. Due to the explosion of results from Next Generation Sequence testing (such as the Y-Elite test from Full Genomes and the Big Y from FTDNA), ISOGG has not been able to keep up with all of the most recent developments. Their tree (as of 2 Jul 2018) only goes down as far as: I1c1a1 Z17926. The Brewster clade includes Z17924 (a subclade of Z17926) then A9783 (a subclade of Z17924) and finally I-A19407 (a subclade of A9783). The I-A19407 clade consists of five currently equivalent SNPs (A19407, A19406, A19409, A19410, FT1238). Four of these were originally discovered in the older Big Y-500 test with FT1238 being discovered in the newer Big Y-700 test.
Lineages tested
The following are the lineages of the individuals who have taken the Big Y-700 test.
Elder William Brewster (1566-1644) Johnnathan Brewster (1593-1659) (Capt.) Benjamin (1633-1710) William (1669-1728) William (II) (1695-p1764) John (c1746-1806) Tartulus (1775-1848) Morgan Lewis (1804-1874) Joshua (1844-1922) William Vernon (1879-1943) Kenneth Leon (1911-1984) father tester Ebenezer (1702/3-c1774) (Deacon) Charles (1724-1790) Eliphaz (1747-1828) Lewis (1774-1837) Oliver B. (1799-c1864) Herman (1824-p1860) Charles H. (1852-1919) Eugene (c1881-1913) Francis W. (1912-1965) father tester Love Brewster (c1607-c1650) (Deacon) William (1645-1723) Benjamin (1688-1752) Simon (1720-1801) Joseph (1763-1805) James (1788-1866) (Rev.) Joseph (1822-1895) James Henry (1856-1920) Oswald Cammann (1896-1958) grandfather father tester
Summary of findings
(to be added)
External Links and References
FTDNA The Brewster/Bruster DNA website Y-DNA STR results
Wikipedia article on Elder William Brewster
"A Genealogical Profile of William Brewster" by Plimouth Plantation & the NEHG Society
1908 Brewster Genealogy (2 vols.) by Emma C. Brewster Jones
Caleb Johnson biography on William Brewster
Pilgrim Hall biography on William Brewster
The Elder William Brewster Society
FTDNA The Mayflower Society Y and mtDNA Project
Find-a-grave entry for William Brewster
Full Genomes Corp. and Y-Elite 2.1 test
YSEQ which uses traditional Sanger Sequencing to test for Y-DNA SNPs
wikitree entry for Elder Brewster and links to his family
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants
"Five Generations" Project (Silver Books & Mayflower Families in Progress)