Genetic relationships between R1b Stewarts (67 markers) at August 2009

Stewart Haplogroup R1b 67 Marker Relationship Tree – August 2009

Contributed by Belinda Dettmann

This is the second draft of a hypothetical Relationship Tree for R1b Stewarts. The first draft, devised in January 2008, was based on tests with 37 markers. Now that more 67-marker tests are available it is informative to analyze these results in the same way.

The dots on the graph represent DNA haplotypes from men with the Stewart surname, or men who have joined one of the Stewart Projects at FTDNA. Analysis indicates that there are two recognizable but separate groups of Stewarts, colored red and blue on the graph, and many unassigned Stewarts, colored yellow.

Large dots represent more than one test. Most of these consist of results from the same tester culled from two different sources. Long numbers represent kit numbers. Short numbers have been allocated to differentiate between tests labeled “Stewart”.

Red: Ancient Stewart Origin Group

The haplotype designated ORIGIN is believed to be that of Alexander Stewart (c 1220-1283), 4th High Steward of Scotland. He was the ancestor of the Royal Stewart kings of Scotland (via King Robert II), and the Royal House of Stuart in the United Kingdom (via King James I and VI), plus many other lines of Stewart or Stuart nobles in Scotland, England, Ireland and France.

The ORIGIN haplotype does not represent the test result of a single person, but has been inferred from the pattern of Stewart descendants. It is entered in Ysearch as QHV9S. No single tester is yet known with results that exactly match the ORIGIN signature. Three different testers are known to be at a GD of 1 from this configuration, through three different mutation from the ORIGIN haplotype.

The red group consists of Stewarts who have been tested to 67 markers and who match the ORIGIN haplotype at a genetic distance (GD) of 8 or less. These testers include several known descendants of the ancient line of the Stewart High Stewards of Scotland.

I believe that any Stewart with a 67-marker test result that falls into this category is likely to be a direct descendant of this line, whose lineage can be traced back to Flaald of Dol in Brittany (born about 1046).

Blue: Scots/Dalriada Group

The blue group is related to the Scots modal signature, also known as the Dalriada modal, or R1bSTR47Scots, differing from it by a GD of 8 or less. Some genealogists believe that this was the DNA signature of the early Dalriadic kings of Scotland.

Yellow: Unassigned Group

The yellow dots are well separated from the other groups in terms of their Y-DNA, so they are unlikely to be direct-line descendants of the Ancient Stewarts or the Dalriadic Kings of Scotland.