Eaton (Y-DNA)

Status summary

As of September 18, 2016:

• Results for Eaton Y Elite kit JZ7P3 have been returned and are being analyzed

Paper Trail

First Generation

Francis Eaton, son of John Eaton and Dorothy Smith, was baptized September 11, 1596, in Bristol, England. John and Dorothy had a number of children, but (with the exception of Francis) they all either died in infancy or in Mar 1603/4.

Francis Eaton was married a total of three times. First by 1619 to Sarah _____ by whom he had one son (Samuel). Francis married second, about 1622 to Dorothy _____ who apparently died soon, leaving no (surviving) children. Francis Eaton's third married by 1626 to Christian Penn, who survived Francis and married Francis Billington in Plymouth in Jul 1634. By this final marriage, Francis had: Rachel, Benjamin, and a child called "an idiot" in 1643.

Francis, his son Samuel, and his first wife, Sarah, were aboard the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower to Plymouth. Both of Francis' sons have surviving direct paternal line descendants who have done some level of Y-DNA testing.

Second Generation

Samuel Eaton was called by Gov. Bradford as "a suckling child" when the family came over on the Mayflower. As such, he was likely born late 1619 or early 1620. He married twice: First by 1646 to Elizabeth ______, who died after 5 Oct 1652. He married second, 10 Jan 1660/1 to his step-sister, Martha Billington.

Benjamin Eaton, son of third wife, Christian (or Christiana) Penn, was born in New Plimouth in Mar 1627/8. He married at Plymouth 4 Dec 1660 to Sarah Hoskins.

DNA Results Z37884

Previous Y-DNA testing

Previous Y-STR testing through the Mayflower DNA Project and the Eaton DNA Project (administered by the Eaton Families Association) has identified a Y-STR haplotype for the Mayflower Eaton lineage, which likely belongs to the R1b-M269 Y-DNA haplogroup, which is quite common in Western Europe. Testing involved descendants of both of Francis Eaton's known sons, Samuel and Benjamin. Y-STR results (specifically DYS390=23) provide some indication that the Eaton lineage belongs more specifically to the U106 subgroup of R1b-M269.

NGS/WGS testing

JZ7P3 Tested with Y Elite v2.1a; results returned September 18, 2016; previously tested as kit # 126810 / E-62. Y Elite results for kit JZ7P3 (descendant of son Benjamin) have confirmed that Francis Eaton and paternal line descendants belong to haplogroup R1b-U106. Further, the results have revealed that the lineage can be classified more specifically by the haplogroup-defining marker, U198 (also known as S29). A preliminary analysis of results suggests that the lineage belongs to a relatively rare U198 subclade, Z37884. Additionally, 31 new markers (named FGC53175 through FGC53205) have been identified, which are, so far, unique to this Francis Eaton descendant's paternal lineage. Analysis is ongoing and this section will continue to be updated.

Lineage of DNA tester

• Francis¹ Eaton
  • Benjamin²
    • Benjamin³
      • Francis⁴
        • Benjamin⁵
          • Joseph⁶
            • William E.⁷
              • Oren H.⁸
                • private⁹
                  • private¹⁰
                    • private¹¹
                      • private¹² (Kit JZ7P3)

Paternal lineage has been verified by the GSMD.

References and External links

• Van Antwerp, Lee Douglas, revised by Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families through Five Generations vol. 9 Eaton General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA 1996
• Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Passenger References, (from contemporary records & scholarly journals) [www.stewartbooks.com Stewart Publishing & Printing], Canada. Second edition 2015
• Anderson, Robert Charles, The Mayflower Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth, 1620 New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. 2020, pp. 80-83
• Thompson, Neil D., The American Genealogist vol. 72(1997):301-4 "The Origins and Parentage of Francis¹ Eaton of the Mayflower
• Greene, David I., The American Genealogist vol. 72(1997):305-09

• Eaton Family Y-DNA Project
• Eaton Families Association