Saturday, September 30, 2017

Will of Peter Blake, Seaman belonging to his Majestys Ship Culloden - The National Archives PROB 11/1513, probated 14 Jul 1810

Peter Blake, the testator, names his father as Richard of Bethnal Green, London, This is in the Shoreditch area of London and there is a baptism of a Peter Blake 24 Oct 1786 (date of birth 1 Oct 1786) at Saint Leonards Shoreditch son of Richard and Catharine Blake.

I also found a baptism for William Blake 24 Mar 1784 (born 1 Mar 1784) at Saint Leonard Shoreditch son of Richard and Catharine Blake.

Peter mentions his sister Ann but her baptism was not located.

There was a marriage for Richard Blake to Catharine Anderson 2 Aug 1773 at Shoreditch.

Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 29 Sep 2017
Source:  The National Archives, PROB 11/1513
Name of testator: Peter Blake, Seaman
Place:  belonging to his Majestys Ship Culloden
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 2 Jul 1809, probated 14 Jul 1810

[In margin]: Peter Blake 3

1    In the Name of God Amen I
2    Peter Blake Seaman on board his Majestys Ship Culloden
3    No. on her Books 602 being in a weak state of health but of sound
4    memory and disposing mind do make this my last Will and Testament
5    viz First I commend my Soul unto the Almighty God and my Body
6    to the Earth or Sea to be intered in as decent a manner as
7    circumstances will admit of secondly I give and bequeath to
8    Seward Sault Seaman on board H. M. Ship Culloden all my wearing
9    apparel Bedding etc etc Thirdly I give and bequeath to my beloved
10    Father Richard Blake residing at No 6 New Nichols Street
11    Bethnal Green London all the wages prize money etc etc that are
12    due me from his Majesty Ship Culloden or any other Ship or
13    vessel to which I may have belonged or in case of his decease to my
11    beloved Sister Ann Blake residing at the place aforementioned and I do
15    hereby nominate and appoint my beloved Father Richard Blake
16    aforementioned my whole and sole Executor to ask claim demand and
17    recover the same as fully and effectually as I myself might or could do
18    being personally present or in case of his decease I do hereby Constitute
19    and appoint my beloved Sister Ann Blake aforementioned my whole
20    and sole Executrix investing her with full authority to secure the same
21    as aforesaid In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this
22    second day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight
23    hundred and nine and in the forty ninth year of his Majestys Reign
24    Peter X Blake his mark Signed Sealed and delivered where no
25    Stamp paper could be had in the presence of witnesses B J Pellew
26    Captain John Gayle Master Jos Gr. Fims purser
27    Proved at London the 14th July 1810 before the worshipful
28    Charles Townley doctor of Laws and Surrogate by the oath of Richard
29    Blake the Father and sole Executor to whom admon was granted he
30    having been first sworn duly to administer

Friday, September 29, 2017

Will of Peter Blake, Midshipman, belonging to his Majestys Ship Newcastle - The National Archives, PROB 11/904 - probated 18 Dec 1764

Peter Blake states that he is the son of Thomas Blake of Portsea.

There was a Peter Blake baptized 23 Sep 1739 at Portsea son of Thomas Blake.

Searching for all children baptized by Thomas Blake at St Marys Portsea, Hampshire

Thomas Blake was baptized 21 Dec 1735/ buried 4 Aug 1739 at Portsea St Mary
John Blake was baptized 16 Jul 1738
Peter Blake was baptized 23 Sep 1739
Ann Blake was baptized 30 Apr 1741
George Blake was baptized 29 Aug 1742
Sarah Blake was baptized 24 Jul 1743
Eleanor Blake was baptized 25 Nov 1744
Mary Blake was baptized 25 Dec 1745
Susanna Blake was baptized 24 May 1747
Thomas Blake was baptized 29 Nov 1749; buried 5 Dec 1757 at Portsea St Mary (possibly)

There was a marriage of Thomas Blake to Mary Farren at Portsmouth 23 Dec 1733. Other marriages for Thomas Blake in this time period are quite a distance from Portsea to be likely.  

Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 28 Sep 2017
Source:  The National Archives, PROB 11/904
Name of testator: Peter Blake, Midshipman
Place:  belonging to his Majestys Ship Newcastle
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 20 Jan 1756, probated 18 Dec 1764

[In margin]: Peter Blake

1    In the Name of God Amen
2    I Peter Blake of his Majestys Ship Newcastle Midshipman
3    being of sound and disposing Mind and Memory do hereby
4    make this my last Will and Testament first and principally
5    I recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God hoping
6    for Remission of all my Sins through the Merits of Jesus Christ
7    my blessed Saviour and Redeemer and my Body to the Earth or
8    Seas as it shall please God and as for such Worldly Estate
9    and Effects which I shall be possessed of or intitled unto at the
10    time of my decease I give and bequeath the same as followeth
11    that is to say I give and bequeath unto my loving father
12    Thomas Blake caulker of parish Portsea all such Wages
13    Sum and Sums of Money as now is or hereafter shall be
11    due to me for my Service or otherwise on Board the
15    said Ship or any other Ship or Vessel And I do bequeath unto
16    my loving Father Thomas Blake of the Parish of Portsea in
17    the County of Southampton Caulker all Sum or Sums of Money
18    Lands or Tenements Goods Chattels and Estate whatsoever
19    as shall be any ways due owing or belonging to me at the
20    time of my decease and do hereby nominate constitute
21    and appoint my loving Father Thomas Blake aforesaid my sole
22    Executor of this my last Will and Testament and I do give
23    and bequeath unto my said Executor all the rest and residue
24    of my Estate whatsoever both real and personal hereby
25    revoking and making void all other and former Wills by
26    me heretofore made And do declare this to be my last Will
27    and Testament In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my
28    hand and Seal this twentieth day of January in the Year of
29    our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty six and in
30    the twenty ninth year of the reign of our Sovereign
31    Lord George the second by the Grace of God of Great
32    Britain France and Ireland King defender of the faith
33    Peter Blake Signed Sealed published and declared
34    by the said Peter Blake as and for his last Will and Testament
35    in the presence of us who have hereunto subscribed our
36    Names as Witnesses in the presence of the said Testator
37    N Lloyd James Norman Geo: Scott
38    London July 23rd 1764
39    This Will was proved at London before the
40    Right Worshipful George Hay Doctor of Laws
41    Master keeper or Commissary of the prerogative
42    Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted on the
43    eighteenth day of December in the year
44    of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
45    and sixty four by the Oath of Thomas Blake
46    the father of the said deceased
47    and sole Executor named in the said
48    Will to whom Administration was granted of
49    all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits
50    of the said deceased having been first sworn
51    by Commission duly to administer

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Will of Patrick Blake belonging to his Majestys Ship Trent - The National Archives PROB 11/882, probated 6 Dec 1762

Patrick Blake does not appear to be part of the Galway Blake family as written up by Martin Blake but there are a lot of lines not traced down. In that his wife was of Waterford it would certainly be a good plan to attempt to trace him in this area. A project for the future perhaps time permitting!

HMS Trent was a frigate built of fir rather than oak and had a complement of 200 and more on this particular ship below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Trent_(1757)

HMS Trent was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

Construction

Trent was one of five frigates of the class built of fir rather than oak. Fir was cheaper and more abundant than oak and permitted noticeably faster construction, but at a cost of a reduced lifespan; the four fir-built Coventry-class vessels that did not get captured lasted an average of only nine years before being struck off.

The vessel was named after the River Trent, England's third-longest waterway. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644 of using geographic features for ship names; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns. With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.

In sailing qualities Trent was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her broadside guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed with ample space for provisions and the ship's mess, and incorporating a large magazine for powder and round shot. Taken together, these characteristics would enable Trent to remain at sea for long periods without resupply. She was also built with broad and heavy masts, which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and made her capable of carrying a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this comparatively heavy design were a decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.

Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers – a captain and a lieutenant – overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marines and 29 servants and other ranks. Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men – fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.

References

Winfield 2007, pp. 227–231
Manning, T. Davys (1957). "Ship Names". The Mariner's Mirror. Portsmouth, United Kingdom: Society for Nautical Research. 43 (2): 93–96. doi:10.1080/00253359.1957.10658334.
Winfield 2007, p. 240
Gardiner 1992, pp. 115–116
Gardiner 1992, pp. 107–108
Gardiner 1992, pp. 111–112

    Rodger 1986, pp.348–351

Bibliography
Gardiner, Robert (1992). The First Frigates: Nine-Pounder and Twelve-Pounder Frigates, 1748–1815. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0851776019.
David Lyon, The Sailing Navy List, Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.
Rodger, N. A. M. (1986). The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219871.
Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Seaforth. ISBN 9781844157006.

Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 16 May 2017
Source:  The National Archives, PROB 11/882
Name of testator: Patrick Blake
Place:  belonging to his Majestys Ship Trent
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 29 Jun 1760, probated 6 Dec 1762

[In margin]: Patrick Blake

1    In the Name of God Amen
2    I Patrick Blake Seaman belonging to his Majestys Ship
3    Trent John Lindsay Esquire Commander being in bodily health
4    and of sound and disposing mind and memory and considering
5    the perils and dangers of the Seas and other uncertainties of
6    this transitory life do for avoiding controversies after my
7    death make publish and declare this my last Will and
8    Testament in manner following (that is to say) First I recommend
9    my Soul to God that gave it and my body I commit to the
10    Earth or Sea as it shall please God to order and as for and
11    concerning all my worldly Estate I give bequeath and dispose
12    thereof as followeth that is to say all and singular my ready
13    Money wearing apparel Wages bounty Money prize Money
11    short allowance Money Smart money pensions tickets and
15    All other Sum and Sums of Money Lands Tenements Goods Chattles
16    and Estate whatsoever as shall be anyways I die owing or
17    belonging unto me at the time of my decease I do give devise
18    and bequeath the same unto my loving Wife Joan Blake
19    living in the parish of Saint John Town of Waterford in the
20    Kingdom of Ireland and I do hereby nominate and appoint
21    my said Wife Joan Blake sole Executrix of this my last Will
22    and Testament hereby revoking all former and other Wills
23    Testaments and Deeds of Gifts by me at any time heretofore
24    made and I do ordain and ratify these presents to stand
25    and be for and as my only last Will and Testament In
26    Witness whereof to this my said Will I have set my hand
27    and Seal the Twenty ninth day of June in the year of
28    our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty and
29    the thirty third year of the Reign of his Majesty King
30    George the Second by the Grace of God over Great Britain
31    etc The Mark of Patk Blake Signed Sealed published
32    and declared in the presence of John Lindsay Grove
33    Gilles Arc: Ingram
34    This Will was proved at London on the Sixth
35    day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand
36    seven hundred and Sixty two before the Worshipfull George
37    Harris doctor of Laws Surrogate of the Right Worshipful
38    Sir Edward Simpson knight Doctor of Laws Master keeper
39    or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully
40    constituted by the oath of Joan Blake Widow the Relict of
41    the said deceased and sole Executrix named in the said Will
42    To whom Administration was granted of all and singular the
43    Goods Chattles and Credits of the said deceased having been
44    first Sworn duly to administer

Genealogy Research - where am I at?

Life has finally slowed down somewhat for me in terms of "other things that I have been doing." Now I need to take stock of what I want to get back into in terms of my genealogical pursuits. I will likely add to/delete from this list as time passes!

a. I still want to complete the transcription of the PCC Blake wills and those wills that I have, some of the County Record Office that I have photographed, found on Ancestry, etc. Eventually I will put them into *.pdf documents by County. At the moment they are tagged by County making that process quite a bit easier. I hope to have a tree to go with each one (or more than one tree - certainly true for Hampshire thus far in my research and likely other areas as well).

b. I am now and will continue doing three newsletters a year - Blake Newsletter, Pincombe-Pinkham Newsletter and H11 Newsletter. I intend to, for a few days at the end of every month, prepare the applicable Newsletter. These Newsletters will let me release any new research that I have done, publish transcriptions of material that I have in my files which is not particularly available anywhere else and keep my two one name studies alive; for me they are very much alive but my blogging has not been very frequent the last year or so.

c. I have a number of DNA studies at FT DNA where I am administrator/co-administrator; their number has decreased simply because the number of administrators had increased in a couple of them and so I have moved away from regular work on them. Nevertheless, I continue working on the Blake DNA Study, the Pincombe-Pinkham DNA Study, and the H11 mtDNA study. I will continue working on those three studies but still remain caretaker of the others until someone comes forward to take them from me.

d. I continue building my family tree downwards from my ancestors (working on the siblings of my direct ancestors) and I am now working on my 2x great grandparents and will continue with that writeup.

e. I have been phasing my grandparents and will continue with that process. It is a work in progress as more and more cousins appear as matches where I am able to look at the chromosomes and add that information into my powerpoint file.

f. Recently another Pedigree Chart has been published by the Blake Museum, Bridgwater, Somerset and along with the other Pedigree Charts that are published and available to me, I would like to ensure that all of this information is into Legacy and hence produce a gedcom available to researchers in the future. Along with that I have a number of published Blake genealogies which will add greatly to these earlier charts but the time required to verify all the material is long. Nevertheless, I wish to continue with that project.

g. I have about 100 documents that I photographed at Kew in the last couple of visits there which I wish to transcribe and that is another project that I will slot in.

h. I have done quite a bit of research on our son-in-law's family which I wish to continue with; I am downloading the relevant documents and will prepare a written document to go with the Legacy gedcom.

i. I still have the Pincombe Charts produced by the earlier researchers and only two of them have been input into my Legacy software. I will continue with that work but it too is rather slow as I verify each entry. 

Blake Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 4, 2017

Blake Newsletter
Table of Contents

1.    Blake Pedigree Chart – Blake Museum at Bridgwater, Somerset
2.    Blake Surname Study - Progress
3.    Blake autosomal DNA Study at FT DNA
4.    Andover, Hampshire, England Parish Registers
5.    yDNA study FT DNA
6.    The Future

1.    Blake Pedigree Chart – Blake Museum at Bridgwater, Somerset was brought to my attention by one of the members of our DNA group. This is a recent addition to the website: http://www.bridgwatermuseum.org.uk/ 

On the left hand side of the website under the caption “New” there are 10 *.pdf documents which contain scans of this particular Blake Family Tree. I am just in the process of reproducing the original chart in order to examine it in detail readily. I will also put it into my genealogy program (I use Legacy) in order to compare it with other Blake Pedigree Charts that are available. The date of production for this chart is not given particularly but it does refer to similar documents mentioned on the Blake Pedigree Chart held by the Swindon and Wiltshire Record Office but is considerably more complete. I will attempt to learn more about the history of this particular chart. It is written primarily by one individual with additions. The handwriting is different from that found on the Blake Pedigree Chart at the Swindon and Wiltshire Record Office.

*

*Used with permission

Perhaps most interesting to me was the individual at the top of the Pedigree Chart – Robert le Blake of Quemberford, Wiltshire. I had postulated that Richard Blake might be Richard le Blak a merchant from Rouen Normandy. I need to now look at this Chart from the viewpoint of finding possible records for the descendants of Robert le Blake and putting these individuals into some sort of timeline. Records on the Blake family in this time frame are now available on line making the pursuit of this early history of the Blake family in England more accessible. I also found it interesting that the author of this particular pedigree has used a broken line to link the Blake family at Andover to this chart. Of that I am in great agreement as I do not think that the Blake family at Andover (my line) in the male line descends from the male line of this chart. This may prove to be one of the most fascinating additions to the Blake One-Name Study in 2017! Although within this newsletter (section 5) can be found an equally fascinating piece of research very much challenging this item for first place! Working on the Blake family is really a full time job and at 72 years of age I am finding myself less and less able to keep up with all the new and fascinating information. However, I do intend to try to keep this newsletter going for another eight years. The idea of a Blake Family Research Group has been part of many Blake researchers’ dreams and perhaps with this yDNA study (and autosomal as it grows) we will see fruition of such a group which can continue well past my activity in it. Although mitochondrial Blake DNA is of interest to many the loss of the Blake surname upon marriage in many cultures has made such a study very limited (and that includes myself!).

2.    Blake Surname Study – Progress: One Name Blake Study at the Guild of One-name Studies was originally undertaken by another researcher. I took it on as a project in 2011 when my husband was ill and we were spending all of our time at home while he convalesced. Fortunately, following surgery, he was able to again take on commitments that he enjoyed and my time to work on the Blake study diminished. Hopefully, as he steps back from some of his commitments, I will once again be able to become more fully engaged with my study. In that frame of mind, I say once again that I hope to soon return to blogging the Blake wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and other Registry Offices. Thanks to an email from a reader I have now corrected several “interpretations” that I have made about individuals mentioned in wills. As always my blogs are an ongoing memory of what I thought on any particular day with regard to my studies. As the study grew my ability to retain all of those thoughts diminished rapidly!

3.    Blake autosomal DNA Study at FT DNA
The Blake autosomal DNA study continues to attract new members but does need to grow considerably larger before it will benefit the members of the study. I will try to write up the results of this study in a way that protects everyone’s anonymity but does make some use of the interesting results that are arising.

I do need to have a family tree to go with new members and would mention that here. I will not share your trees with others unless you specifically give me such consent.  The autosomal DNA studies work best amongst cousins stretching all the way out to 4th and 5th cousins particularly if your family tree has traced down all of the siblings of your parents/grandparents/great grandparents etc. Thus far I have reached back to my Blake 2x great grandparents and their ten children. This couple had 49 grandchildren and several of these grandchildren had themselves more than 40 grandchildren. I am, at the moment, tracing down these children who, fortunately for the most part for me, remained in England making the task a good deal easier. I have thus far reached the third child although do have my line (their eighth child) complete to the present in as far as I know it. A match with one of the descendants of John Blake and Ann Farmer a couple of years ago (this set of my 2x great grandparents) proved that our mutual research is accurate. I continue to hope that more of my Blake family will test their autosomal DNA and to date I have several more distant cousin matches in this Blake line. My father was an only child and my mother’s only brother did not have any children so we do not have any first cousins and as it turns out we have very few second cousins since my mother’s father was, as an adult, the only one in his direct family line to have children. My father had a number of first cousins but not as many as one might expect given that his father was one of twelve children. World War I and World War II were hard on this Blake family and that is likely true for many families in the British Isles.


4.    Andover, Hampshire, England Parish Registers
Andover, Hampshire, England has often been said to be the “home of the Blakes” when I have been writing to people in Hampshire through the years. I would say that Calne, Wiltshire perhaps has a stronger hold on that particular title although there are a number of other areas in England where the Blake family has been for centuries. When I decided to transcribe the Parish Registers of Andover I was surprised to find that yes there are a number of Blake entries but there are far more Blake entries in Parish Registers in other parts of England as mentioned. In this issue, I will publish the marriages for Blake in the Parish Registers (grooms first and brides second). These records are taken from fiche which have scans of the original parish registers. The registers for marriage begin in 1588 and have provided me with a lot of details on the Blake family in Andover in the late 1500s and into the 1600s/1700s. Eventually I hope to complete my project of transcribing these Parish Registers for St Marys Andover beyond the early to mid 1700s.

   Groom Surname    Groom Forename    Parish    Brides Surname    Brides Forename    Parish    Grooms Father    Brides Father    Year    Month    Day    Details
Grooms                                               
    Blake    Roberd        Stronge    Margerrye            1588    July    9    widow
    Blake    John        Glour    Joan                1590    February    25   
    Blake    John        Borne alias Apnre    Joan                1595    October    13   
    Blake    William        Magick    Dorothye                1605    February    6   
    Blake    John        Cooper    Joane                1611    June    17   
    Blake    Robert        Syms    Christian                1618    November   
    Blake    Nicholas        Smith    Rebecka                1628    April    2   
    Blak            Dashford    Jane                1632    October    9    married at Dorchester
    Blake    John        Trollop    Jone                1641    October    11   
    Blake    William        Hellier    Ann                1644    September    5   
    Blake    Edmon    Ludgershall, Wiltshire    Kite    Annis    Wayber            1655    November    10   
    Blake    Charles        Framtan    Jane                1687    September    2   
    Blake    Robert        Russell    Elizabeth                1694    July    15   
    Blake    Thomas        Spring    Mary                1708    November    6   
    Blake    John        Kent    Margaret                1723    June    1   
    Blake    John        Clerk    Mary                1725    June    6   
    Blake    John        Rumball    Mary                1729    January    4   
    Blake    John        Miller    Frances                1733    April    16   
    Blake    William        Bounds    Ann                1734    June    10   
    Blake    William        Green    Mary                1738    September    26   
    Blake    Edward        Wooll    Ann                1740    April    7   
    Blake    William        Smith    Mary                1744    December    26   
    Blake    John        Dowling    Mary                1747    June    9   
    Blake    thomas        Stephens    Hester                1752    February    9   
Brides                                               
    Baylie    Richard        Blake    Joane                1605    May    6   
    Hopgood    John        Blake    Elsabeth                1605    June    18   
    Burmingham    Peter        Blake    Dorothy                1608    April    25   
    Hinxman    Joseph        Blake    Elenor                1610    December    10   
    Daniell    Richard        Blake    Anne                1612           
    Savage    ….hard        Blake    Margaret                1616    April    7   
   John    Wallop    Blake    Margaret                1629           
    ____________                           Blake    Mary                1633        20   
    Sedgwicke    Roberte        Blake    Joane        Blake, Mr. William    1635    January    6   
    Elton    Mr. John        Blake    Ann                1636    October    20    Ann blake is a widow
    Crab    _enrye        Blake    Ann                1637    October    7   
    Joyce    John        Blake    Elizabeth                1639    June    13   
    Genene    Richard        Blake    Marget                1678    August    27    widower,widow
    Standen    John    New Alresford    Blake    Lucy    Eastontowne        1679    February    9   
    Bishop    John        Blake    Elizabeth                1688    October    2   
    Lambert    Edward    Boyton, WIL    Blake    Mrs. Sarah            1688    September    11    married at Foxcott
    Hartland    Abraham        Blake    Mary                1699    July    9   
    Frances    John        Blake    Margery                1705    May    13   
    Hunt    Lawrence    Ham, Wilts    Blake    Sarah    Coomb            1706    July    27   
    Bandye    Garvis    Almsbery, Wilts    Blake    Ann                1707    October    5   
    Hardiman    John        Blake    Elizabeth    East Titherly        1708    May    21   
    Holdup    James        Blake    Margarett            1717    November    17   
    Knowles    John        Blake    Sarah                1720    February    16   
    Osborne    Thomas        Blake    Lydia                1721    June    18   
    Leach    Abraham    Lower Wallop    Blake    Ann    Edmunston, Wiltshire    1723    January    14   
    North    John        Blake    Lucy                1723    May    1   
    Baker    Robert    Abbots Ann    Blake    Elizabeth                1725    September    29   
    Temple    John    Winnal    Blake    Mary                1726    November    2   
    Chitty    Thomas        Blake    Elizabeth                1729    September    15   
    Spratt    William        Blake    Margarett            1734    December    24   
    Elcock    John        Blake    Hannah                1739    July    1   


5.    Blake Surname yDNA Project

yDNA studies are proving to be a very successful method of connecting back to your ancestral Blake line. Movement of people in particular emigrations has broken that connection for many Blake family lines.

A British Isles Ancestry
This group belongs to a haplogroup which is quite ancient to the British Isles. The haplogroup is found most commonly in the west side of the Irish Republic but also is represented all across the British Isles. The branch of the author is found in the Andover area dating back to the early to mid 1400s. Within this group there are at least two distinct lines known to the editor with the one being at Andover and the second being in the Romsey area also in Hampshire. Two members of this group trace their ancestry back to Ireland. A fifth member of the group traces their line back to England with no particular area mentioned.

B English Ancestry (1)
This group belongs to the I-M253 haplogroup with a few members having tested to a deeper level. This group was originally put together by another researcher and I have not done very much work on it. There are some strong similarities between all the members but any relationship is probably far in the past. A few believe they are descendant of the Blake Family at Calne.

C1 English Ancestry (2)
This group belongs to the I-M223 haplogroup with one member having done further testing. The members of this group share common ancestry back to Theophilus Blake who first came to the Americas in the 1700s into Pennsylvania moving later into the West Virginia area. The members of this group are a good match for each other and appear to have a common ancestor in the last three hundred years.

C2 English Ancestry (5)
The single member in this group belongs to the M-M223 haplogroup but is not a match for the above group.

D English Ancestry (3)
70% of British males belong to R1b and this particular group has one member who believes he is descendant of the Somerset Blake family at Plainfield (this was the family of Admiral Robert Blake). No one has tested with a known line back to this family so it remains a mystery in that respect. In that it is generally believed that the Somerset Blake family is descendant of the Calne Blake family it remains to be proven as no one with a proven paper trail back to the Calne Blake family has come forward to be tested.

E1 English Ancestry (4)
A second R1b group with English ancestry and several members are involved in a research project dealing with this group. They are all a fairly good match with each other although between the two members who have tested beyond 12 markers there is a genetic distance of 4 on 37 markers. This is still considered to be within the range for relatedness.

E2 English Ancestry – Somerset Blake Family
The single member of this group belongs to E haplogroup and does have a proven trail back several generations in Somerset. The E haplogroup is found in the British Isles around 2% and considered as part of the Neolithic movement.
More people testing with a proven line would be handy in the Blake Somerset family.

F1 English East Anglia (possibly descended from Peter and Elizabeth Blake)
All the members of this group belong to R1a and all the members are a good fit and likely related within the past 300 or so years. Most believe they are descendant of the Blake family at Swaffham Market but all members are from the United States and tracing back to Jasper Blake of New Hampshire.

R1a>R-M512/R-M198>R-Z283>R-YP5320

One member has tested to YP5320 and information on this particular subclade places it in the North Sea area which does help with the thought that these members do descend from the East Anglia Blake family. A match with a known descendant of this family would be most helpful.

F2 English East Anglia (Suffolk)
The single member of this group does trace with a paper trail back to the Blake family in Suffolk.

G Irish Ancestry (Galway-Towerhill, Kiltolla)
The members of this group have successfully traced back to the Galway Blake family. They carry the significant SNP FGC39971 which links them altogether (those who have tested). They descend from several different Galway Blake lines and are a very good match with each other.

R1b>R-M269>R-L159>R-FGC39971

Several members have tested to R-FGC39971 and ytree.net has listed two of these members under a long series of snp results:

http://www.ytree.net/DisplayTree.php?blockID=16   (search on Blake)

H Irish Ancestry (descendant of Sir Thomas Blake)
This is a group that was prepared by another researcher. In general they are a reasonable match with each other but do have rather distinctive differences. They would not be related in hundreds of years in some cases. Where known they do trace back to Ireland although one member believes his ancestry is back to Scotland. This member along with the member below him in the chart are interesting and could be a group on their own but do have some resemblance to this group.

R1b>R-M269>R-L193
R1b>R-M269>R-BY513

R-M269 dominates European R1b and represents 92% of males in Wales, 82% in Ireland, and 70% in Scotland. The members of this group do not likely belong together and I hope to find someone who can look at them and make such decisions. I have tried to become more knowledgeable on the Blake family in Ireland but I do not feel skilled enough to look at this group and make that decision. I do know that L193 generally points to the Argyll/Ayrshire area of Scotland and the area north of that. But with the constant back and forth between that area and Northern Ireland it becomes much more difficult to predict.

I British Isles Ancestry
This is a diverse group with some members matching each other. Most believe their ancestry is from Ireland although for some unknown or Wales or England is also stated. They belong to R-M269. Again I need assistance looking at this particular group.

R1b>R-M269>R-U152>R-DF21

J T-M70
This is a haplogroup from West Asia, Africa but also Europe. There is only one member of this group.

K German Ancestry
Possibly this group has undergone a name change on emigrating to the United States. They are not a cohesive group and have been put together solely on their stated German ancestry.

L G haplogroup
On the website, I mention that this is perhaps a descendant of a Roman Auxiliary given the G haplogroup. There is just the one member of this group. He does not belong to any of the other groups as far as I can tell.


M  E haplogroup
A second member of the E haplogroup but these two men are not related.

6.    The Future
I hope to continue with the newsletter for quite a while. At 72 years of age I realize that my time doing the Blake Study is limited so I would like to be able in the next ten years to hand it off to someone interested in continuing and keeping research ongoing into this ancient family. Although some believe that there is common ancestry for this family back to a singleton individual, that is simply not possible given the various haplogroups. The surname Blak[e] can be seen to have arisen spontaneously on the continent considering the number of males with the Blake surname who came to England between 1330 and 1550 from areas outside of England including various places in Europe and also Ireland.

The new chart on the Blake Museum website (Bridgwater, Somerset) has got me thinking about this family once again and hopefully in the next issue I will be able to discuss the chart and its possibilities

Elizabeth Kipp, kippeeb@rogers.com
Member #4600: Guild of one name studies – studying Blake and Pincombe
Blog: http://kippeeb.blogspot.ca/