Rainy Saturday

 The dogs manage a rainy saturday very well; rain or shine they are out and about. They like the rubdown when they come in as well. Still missing their family but coping. Each dog has its own coping strategy. 

Yesterday I started my new chapter for the Pincombe/Pencombe book - the autosomal DNA and its impact on the study. Initially when I tested at Ancestry I matched one of my 4th cousins in the Pincombe family and we chatted back and forth and she offered to test her Dad's y-DNA at FT DNA to kick start a Pincombe yDNA study. What did I anticipate all those years ago now? I had tested my brothers and knew that our yDNA line was ancient to the British Isles - Deer Hunters they were dubbed by Ethnoancestry. I also did Chromo2 and there were fourteen who basically matched this ancient line in the British Isles. An expensive test so not a lot of testers at that time. What does it mean to be ancient to the British Isles? Basically these Western Hunter Gatherers were thought to have arrived via Doggersland perhaps as much as 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. If one looks at the yDNA study for the British Isles on FT DNA than one can see these ancient family lines scattered across southern England but all over in different areas of the British Isles.  The families in the north Hampshire area all date back in the Parish Registers and for Blake they are found in the land records prior to 1538 when the Parish Registers do begin for a number of the parishes and soon after for most of the others in these areas where the yDNA for ancient British Islanders exists. Amazing to see so many still in particular areas. But I did not assume anything whilst waiting for these results and they are Continental and the earliest Pencombe families found by me were in Herefordshire at least back into the early 1300s but I do not find this surname in the England's Immigrants 1330-1550 Database at the National Archives. No details on why not but suffice it to say a known individual from the Low Countries to the east of France and south of the Netherlands did arrive at this time or earlier and take up the surname Pencombe possibly from the Parish of that name. What we do know is that a John Pencombe arrived in North Molton in 1486 with John Lord Zouch. What I do not know is the capacity in which they arrived together. Since John Lord Zouch was attainted by King Henry VII for assisting Richard III one is left to assume unless the records show more that he was either an attendant or a jailer ensuring that John Lord Zouch remained at North Molton until the King gave him permission to leave. So that was fascinating learning so much about the Pincombe yDNA line and we share Robert Pincombe and Elizabeth (Rowcliffe) Pincombe as our mutual 3x great grandparents (the daughter of the tester) and of course he is my 3rd cousin once removed since they are his 2x great grandparents. Since then many other known Pincombe cousins from my line John Pincombe (son of Robert and Elizabeth (Rowcliffe) Pincombe and Elizabeth (Rew) Pincombe tests verify this line. This was a huge family in Middlesex County, Ontario. 

 Interestingly, over time, the Pencombe line did move to the Pincombe spelling but also Pinkham resulting in a rather interesting conundrum with the American Pinkham family (for the most part this family is descendant of the Pinkham family of Old Dover, New Hampshire) but some American cousins use the Pinkham spelling as there were a few lines coming out of North Molton that are American but still proving how they descend back to North Molton. The Pinkham family though in general in the United States settled in the 1600s around Old Dover, New Hampshire and do not carry the same yDNA signature. However, once again their signature shows ancestry back to the Western Hunter Gatherer and it is well known that England did not use surnames prior to the coming of the Normans in 1066. The uptake of surnames happened at various paces in the different areas. The Pinkham surname first appeared earlier than 1486 in Devon and I need to relocate that reference. I wrote it up in the Newsletter I believe so will have a glance at that. 

So the time with the dogs moving along and we are at day 13 and counting down. The older one still is looking for them and waiting for them to come in the usual door. The young one tends to transfer to me when she stays with me and is just plain happy having a rest for the moment after a busy run around. The cats very happy and the fish are fish. 

More work to do and brewing tea so will do my solitaire puzzles next.