Canton Family History

Our latest Y DNA results are in, which you can see and compare with earlier results at

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/CantonSurnameProject/   and click on Y Results.

Hoping to make interpretation easier for all who visit this page, I have started a system of ‘groups’ with obvious connections.  

The results show, even at this early stage of the project, that line PL (earliest known ancestor in Lampeter Velfrey in late 18C) has developed quite separately from lines PM/S and PR (who are themselves quite closely related).

It’s a minor blow to the idea that all Pembrokeshire Cantons might be related but, looked at positively, gives an impetus to further testing in the hope of building up family groups - we should be on the lookout for other families related to either of these groups. We don’t, of course, know at present if most Pembrokeshire lines are comparable with  PL or with PM/S and PR.

GENETIC DIFFERENCES

To quote Chris Pomery (DNA and Family History, 2004), ‘DNA results do not lie, and if the difference between two DNA signatures cannot be accounted for by mutational change then clearly something else has caused it’.

Reasons for Y-DNA change may be found in any of the following factors:

1. An illegitimate male birth to a Canton female, with the child taking his mother’s name; this was more frequent than the case where the child’s father’s name was both known and taken by an illegitimate child (as in line PR). Often an unwed mother’s child would be brought up by, and known by, the grandparents’ name. As an extension of that, sometimes such a child was brought up as a late addition to the grandparents’ own children – if the family lives into the census era, it is possible to spot this sort of thing and seek documentary proof.
2. A male birth within a Canton marriage where the child is fathered by another man than the husband – no documentation of such events is likely to exist except, at certain periods, in parochial records relating to bastardy.
3. A woman marries a Canton male as her second husband and her male child from a previous marriage takes his stepfather’s surname.
4. A surname change of a legitimate male child of a Canton daughter, taken for reasons of inheritance or to ensure the name survives. I know of no real Canton example of this in modern times.
5. Canton in use as an alias, which becomes settled as surname in time – an example might be where a man took his employer’s last name at the end of his own patronymic name, to be distinguished from another man with the same personal name.
6. The misspelling of a similar name so that it looks like or is mistaken for Canton. This is unlikely to apply to the Pembrokeshire families we are currently studying, but it is certainly known in some English families. For example, the Jewish surname usually spelled Cantor in Britain is often misread in indexes, etc, as Canton and one such family, at least, has taken Canton officially in this circumstance.

[Family preoccupations over the next few days means that the above may, when time permits, be edited and revised.] 

The first two results at 37-markers have now appeared in the Canton Surname Project. These are viewable at the CSP public website:

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/CantonSurnameProject/

and click on the Y Results box.

As you will see there, the two men who were tested match in 36 out of 37 markers. Because they share the relatively uncommon surname of Canton, this indicates a highly probable link between the two - it’s too early, without further data, to say when, roughly, that link occurred. Nevertheless, these results are fascinating to view and compare and we look forward to seeing more.

Please remember to check this blog regularly.

ABOUT THE CURRENT RESULTS: 

Kit 107126 (line PM/S01) This is the line which was in Stackpole PEM and nearby parishes from about 1800. It is a very large line with numerous descendants, which is really a sub-division (for convenience) of line PM, the latter having been settled in Martletwy PEM from at least early 17C (tax lists, etc), with greater linkage documented in 18C. Thus, PM/S01 is partly a record of the genetic make-up of line PM.

Kit 107827(PR01) represents a line which descends from a George Canton alive in 1832 in Rhoscrowther PEM. ‘Which George Canton?’ has been the question for many years. There were two likely candidates (given that extensive searching of fairly complete 19C records failed to produce any more), one being my own 3x great-grandfather (born 1809) in line PM/P and the other being a man born 1815 in Manorbier (line PMn). The latter went to industrial Glamorgan in the 1830s and later disappeared from view (emigrated?). He had only daughters, as far as is known. However, there are collateral descendants of this line and a test involving one of them would (a) throw further, possibly confirmatory light on the origin of line PR and - for the wider good - (b) tell us whether PMn is related to other key Pembrokeshire lines.

HAPLOGROUPS

A brief word about the figures in red at the left of the DNA results, at present I1a (that is, capital i, numeral 1, a). As I am learning fast about this myself, I will simply give you some links - you will see that the two Cantons tested so far have their deep ancestry in Nordic Europe.

http://www.familytreedna.com/hap_explain.html 

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/yDNA_I1a/  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_I1a

OTHER NEWS

Kit 108320 (PL01) will, we hope, show us whether this line, in Lampeter Velfrey PEM since the late 18C, is related to any other lines. The kit is at the testing laboratory (University of Arizona) and we can hope for results in a few weeks. The first two results, outlined above, had 16 February as their EDA but were complete by 28 January. Receiving these results is quite exciting as they are sent in three batches: 12-markers, 25-markers, then 37-markers, and the tension mounts.

Kit 113261 (PM/NZ) is a welcome new recruitwho represents the Martletwy descendants who went to Reynalton (or Reynaldston) PEM, then emigrated to New Zealand and set up a veritable dynasty there.  Having a test from this line will, we hope, help us to validate connections way back in the 18C - the common ancestor is, we believe, John Canton born about 1730.

PROGRESS

I am personally very satisfied with the progress of the project so far, bearing in mind that we are not researching a prolific surname. The four people who have either tested or will soon be tested represent some key branches of the name. All are descendants of Pembrokeshire lines and I appreciate that the results are of greatest interest to those researching ancestors in that county. The positive aspect of this is that published results may quite soon attract further tests of other Pembs lines, so that some conclusions may be drawn about connections between the various branches. My immediate wishlist is for tests relating to: one (or two) descendants of George born 1809 (PM/P); one (or two) descendants of the Manorbier line (PMn), for the two reasons outlined above; one (or two) members of line PF, which can be traced back, when I last counted, 10 generations and which appeared, as if out of the blue, in the parish of Freystrop in mid-18C. Most other Pembs lines are extinct in the main line. In most main divisions or groupings of lines, two people, not very closely related, are advised but a single test is still worthwhile.

I have been attempting to ‘recruit’ in other lines (outside Pembs) but without success to date. However, I shall wear away at this and feel that, in due course, our published results will attract non-Pembrokeshire Cantons (etc). My first target in this direction is to test GL lines (from Gloucestershire and London) to see if, in fact, they represent migration of a Pembrokeshire line, say in Tudor times. Or not - either way it will be interesting. And then there are the Irish Cantons, who should, logically, share Pembrokeshire genes, for the name was taken to Ireland by Pembrokeshire knights. This is a vast untapped area about which I hope to write when some recent non-genetic research is more complete.

USEFUL LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Canton One-Name Study Guild Profile

 http://www.one-name.org/profiles/canton.html 

FTDNA page with useful information, Power Point display, etc:

http://www.familytreedna.com/dna101.html  

FTDNA Canton Surname Project Webpage

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/CantonSurnameProject/  

Canton Blog (for informal news about Canton research and DNA updates)

http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/canton/  

Chris Pomery’s DNA Portal

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~allpoms/genetics.html 

Worth reading for many reasons. Follow his link to the Mumma website to see some amazing results for Y DNA.

‘No news to report yet’, I wrote yesterday, and overnight there was some!

The first two tests sent off have been tested for 12 markers - a week or two later will come their results at 25 markers, then 37 markers.

The tests are by PM/S01 and PR01, and the results at 12 markers are identical. Because the testers share a surname, it is considered that this indicates a 99% likelihood that they have common ancestor in the period when surnames have been used. Further markers should narrow this time-scale down.

It’s early days but an exciting start, as my hypothesis has always been that the constant appearance of the surname in Pembrokeshire documents from the middle ages reflected a single family. These results keep this possibility open. 

To keep up to date with all Canton results go to http://www.familytreedna.com/public/CantonSurnameProject/

This is an informal summary: Line PM/S goes back into early 18th century  Martletwy (where a Canton family had lived since at least the mid-17th century). Line PR descends from an illegitimate birth in Rhoscrowther PEM in 1832 where, fortunately, the Canton father was named, though we really had no idea which line he came from.  

To narrow down the possible candidates, but also to expand our knowledge of  all the various Canton lines throughout the centuries and to solve similar genealogical mysteries, we really do need more people to test. Please remember that there are further discounts available to group members  - please apply to me direct. It is very important we keep up the present rate of progress.

I have mentioned the very kind offers sent at Christmas - though they have not yet been followed up we hope very much that they will be soon.

Once again, grateful thanks to the pioneers who took tests to start this exciting project off.

Variant Surnames In the Canton Surname Project

In the Guild of One-Name Studies website, you will see that Canton, Cantan, Canten, Cantin and Cantons appear as registered variants. Members are restricted to five variants, so I chose real, not theoretical, variant spellings found in 19-20th century records, for which I could compile at least a small pedigree chart.

In the Canton Surname Project I have now added some other names, which may or may not turn out to be connected. I’m mentioning this here as it may be confusing to suddenly see them appear. Briefly, they are surnames from place-names with a resemblance to the very early forms of Canton (in records as Canteton, Cantington, Caunton). It is now thought by many authorities that surnames from place-names, where they can be traced back, frequently have a single source. DNA testing has reinforced this belief in many cases. I have no documentary evidence to suggest that the extra names I have listed (see below) have a common origin but, as none of them are already taken as projects, it seemed wise to take them under our wing. I shall not go looking for them at this stage - I want to pursue the basic surname more thoroughly first - but hope that some will come across our project as time goes on.

The names are: Cannington, Caunton, Kenton - others may yet be added.

We have had various distractions recently so this blog has been quiet, besides which there is no news to report on the DNA Project just now. I said I would write about Canton surname-variants but am in the middle of a particular line of research and want to finish that first.

We are soon to spend a few days at the National Library of Wales, chiefly for John’s research, so that my own programme is quite flexible. If anyone has some fairly specific wants in parish registers, wills, deeds, etc - in other words, anything which cannot be seen online - please let me know by Saturday, when I have a day to myself to plan my research (visitors after that, so this is a strict deadline). Cantons have priority, but I am happy to look for associated families.

Please write to me at the one-name.org address (at the Guild of One-Name Studies site).

British History Online has an excellent section about Spital Square in London, where John Canton ran his school. From this I have learned that he lived at No. 3 Spital Square - sadly, the house is long demolished but, by visiting this site, it is possible to reconstruct what life there was like.
http://www.british-history.acuk/report.aspx?compid=50153

Also worth reading is the (earlier) section on Norton Folgate, the extra-parochial area where members of the Canton family lived - for example, John Canton’s grandson, Nathaniel John Canton, also a schoolmaster.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50148

The Royal Society, of which John Canton was a Fellow, has a good outline of his life and scientific work at

http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=5994&inst_id=18

You may like to know that the National Burial Index (published by the Federation of Family History Societies) can now be seen at www.findmypast.com (used to be 1837online.com). This is a fee-paying site, but units can be purchased quite reasonably - I always seem to have plenty in reserve, by the way, for anyone wanting a quick search. It has been rather overshadowed by www.ancestry.co.uk but has excellent BMD index search and certificate-ordering facilities and is steadily adding many unusual sources.  

I have the NBI in its beautifully produced CD format and it is a basic working tool for genealogy - 13 million names in the second edition. What, I wondered, could the online version add, especially as, intriguingly, it contains (only!) 10 million names.

When I compared the two versions for Canton (and variants) I found that several counties are not represented in the online version. A major omission is that London burials are missing, but these are available elsewhere, on a diferent fee-paying site. For a useful summary see

http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/genuki/MDX/ChurchRecords.html#Burials

I did, however, find about fifteen ‘new’ Cantons, added more recently to NBI. Some of these are early (17th century) and in unexpected places - they may represent lines which have died out, possibly with different origins from those which have survived. It’s impossible to pass judgement without seeing the original parish registers and I would observe that ‘Canton’ is very often misread in documents - perhaps a topic for another blog.

Among other new Canton entries are two offspring of Edwin James Canton (Line PM/P). Their deaths are registered as Pontardawe Registration District, a large area to search, but the burials took place at St John, Clydach, Glamorgan, which narrows the search and provides a new churchyard to explore!

These last are from Glamorgan FHS project work, which has covered a huge amount of ground and is shared generously. Key Canton areas such as Pembrokeshire are not covered at all in the published NBI. On the other hand, when I thought about it, I have many Canton burials for that county - fewer for other non-NBI areas - in my own records. I will look into publishing my list online.

A happy New Year to all readers!

My Christmas post included two further offers to take DNA tests, both from different and well-separated branches of the very large PM line (first certain ancestor in Pembrokeshire, Martletwy). This was marvellous news as these tests will provide most useful base information. Moreover, a female member of another key line, GL (descendants of John Canton FRS, born Gloucestershire), is going to approach close male relatives about taking a test.

Altogether, these were great Christmas presents!  Thanks to all who wrote to me about this.

News also came from Family Tree DNA that the first two test kits had been received at the laboratory. The predicted date for results is mid-February, though I imagine this is so as to be covered for unforeseen delays and that, in fact, we can hope for them rather earlier. It looks as if 2008 will hold a lot of new Canton information.

Just before Christmas I was in London at a family event and spent a few hours at TNA (the National Archives), this time looking at some Canton Divorce Petitions of the 1920s and 30s - just three in total. The TNA references are: J77/2665/2758,  J77/2293/1825 and J77/3322/1489. The online catalogue gives brief details of the parties involved.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

You can order copies of the papers online, or I am able to pass on details to anyone researching these lines (PL, GL/A3 and GL/A4). Bear in mind that divorce then, and indeed not so long ago, involved ‘guilty’ parties and a certain amount of dirty family linen. In terms of family history this is, of course, very interesting!

[Added later] For a detailed account of the problems attached to divorce in the not-so-distant past, read

http://www.worldwidewords.org/nl/wpbz.htm

I hope to be at TNA for a few days in late February/March (subject to it being open at the specific time) and would be very glad to meet London-based readers over coffee - do get in touch.

A very happy Christmas to everyone and I hope you enjoy this item:

You probably know that the Christmas card was a Victorian invention - here you can see an early one, published by Robert Canton, Lithographer, as well as his trade mark: http://www.scrapalbum.com/xmasp3.htm

Christmas Cards in Shire Publications <www.shirebooks.co.uk >  has three of Robert Canton’s cards as illustrations.

Robert William Canton was born about 1821, but not baptised until 1825 at St Leonard’s, Shoreditch, the son of William Lawrence Canton and Mary Brown. His father was the eldest grandson of John Canton, FRS, the 18th century scientist. Robert was his parents’ third son and the third child out of 11. In 1844 he married Anne Hurst Wright - they had only daughters so there are no Canton descendants of this line.

Robert Canton died 5 June 1893 in Wandsworth, aged 72 according to the GRO Deaths Index. His will, dated 20 Oct 1876, names him as Robert William Canton of Nos 22 & 23 Aldersgate St, City of London, Printer and Publisher (trading as and sometimes known as Robert Canton only)  and was proved to his ‘beloved wife Anne Hurst Canton’ on 4 Jul 1893.

This has turned out to be an exciting year for Canton research. I have not personally done a great deal of ‘paper research’ because I really had to give my energies to moving house in quite exacting circumstances. In the middle of all that, I happened to read the most recent article by Susan C. Meates about DNA-tests and genealogy (references are in one of the newsletters I sent and will be repeated on this blog soon). This really inspired me as it showed how DNA testing of the Y-chromosome (passed through the male line only, from father to son, normally with a common surname) could help to overcome the lack of early written sources.

Susan has her ear to the ground on these things and had noticed that the registered surnames of many Guild members were already taken as DNA projects, sometimes by people who had no great interest in the name apart from wanting to trace their personal line. She showed how it was possible to set up a project even if you didn’t have time to activate it at once, so I took a deep breath, read lots more, then set up a project with Family Tree DNA.

By October, finally settled in our new home, other factors contributed to make me activate the project. While sorting my papers I was observing how many once-strong Canton lines were dying out. I can immerse myself in Cantons of, say, the nineteenth century, finding out things which make them come alive to me, yet - it seemed - losing track of the fact that male survivors of several once-robust lines can be counted on one hand.  Once a line has expired, that’s it, and it’s too late to hope that DNA tests will come to the rescue.

I sent (at least) three long newsletters, covering most aspects of the Project, and I worried that the recipients would either be bored or, worse, that the letters would end up in trash folders - though I sent attachments by blind copy, such things often don’t get through filters and the like. However, I have been delighted that three male Cantons replied very quickly to say they would take part - I can’t say how much this has been appreciated. At the time of writing, all have applied for tests, two have received and returned the kits, and the third kit is even now winging its way from USA to UK. Results take something like 5-7 weeks to come through and we have Christmas in the middle …  However, they should be available quite early in the new year and they can be seen at https://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.aspx?code=B79774&special=True

To avoid the problems of e-mail newsletters, I have gone over to this blog-format as a means of communicating with everyone, so I will write something about the test results here as well.

I have found it very useful to go to the FTDNA homepage and search for other surnames in my family.  If you find one of your names, it’s worth checking the link to that webpage, where you should see examples of test results. For instance, in the further reaches of my Pembrokeshire family are ancestors called CODD (Bosherston and thereabouts in 18C). There is a Codd DNA Project, with only a few tests in as yet but some striking results. And, by the way, their history is not too dissimilar to that of the PEM Cantons.

Today I have taken advantage of a new facility of the Guild of One-Name Studies to publicise the Canton Surname Project. You can see this at www.one-name.org/members/register.shtml  and click on DNA websites. An important publicity advance is that on 1 Jan 2008 Susan Meates will have an article on the subject of the Guild of One-Name Studies  in a top US and Canadian genealogical journal. There is more and more interest in this subject, thousands more people visiting such sites as FTDNA and, we hope, coming across the CSP.

However, we still badly need more people to come forward from my existing Canton network, especially because their basic modern genealogy is usually well-established, and against this we can evaluate the new DNA information.  I have personally been scribbling (well, typing) like mad, spreading the word, not just around my (now few) male Canton cousins but also around their sisters, aunts and cousins.  Please reflect on your relations and how you could do the same!

If this has an end of year feel about it, that is deliberate as I shall be away from home three times between now and the end of December. I shall be checking my e-mails every two or three days, either at home or away, so will not be right out of touch, but this blog will be quiet for a while - unless you contribute, which would be very welcome. (I will gladly make an exception if we have new tests or results to report.)

In the new year I plan to cover more general Canton news, new family history sources, some specific Canton lines and variants of the surname.

I do hope that you will enjoy looking at A Canton Christmas Card on this blog.

Seasons greetings and all good wishes,

Sheila

MAIN BRANCHES OF THE CANTON TREE

In Canton Connections No. 2, I published an outline of the main known Canton lines, to help with indexing, and this list was then published in each subsequent issue. At present, it refers only to Canton lines of which the earliest known origin is in Britain and Ireland. I concocted a simple system, using letters based chiefly on the county/country and parish of origin attached to each earliest known ancestor in a particular line.

The system worked well during the life of the magazine and I haven’t found it necessary to change it. I wrote optimistically, ‘if/when we are able to attach one branch to another, it will not be too complicated to modify their “labels” further’. This has happened once, as far as I can tell, in that the then X-labelled Cantans of Kent became firmly PM/K. (Really, this should be just part of PM/J but it has been useful to distinguish them still.) 

More amalgamations may come about in the future – who knows what DNA testing may bring! 

The following are the chief lines identified so far:·     

• GL Gloucestershire (Stroud)/London. These are the descendants of John Canton, FRS, to a great degree London-based for two centuries. They form a very numerous branch, needing subdivision which it is easier to define by letters and numbers related to people, not places, in view of mobility within London. (London-based Cantons not yet connected to this line appear as XL).·First come the sons of John, FRS:
• GL/A descendants of William. This is a particularly prolific line, William having four sons with many descendants. Therefore this line is further sub-divided as:
  • GL/A1 descendants of William Lawrence
  • GL/A2 descendants of Nathaniel John
  • GL/A3 descendants of Charles James
  • GL/A4 descendants of George Augustus.
• GL/B descendants of Thomas
• GL/C descendants of John (if any)     
• GO Gloucestershire/Others. These include Cantons in several parishes, including Stroud, which have not been connected to the family of John Canton, FRS.·     
• I Ireland (sub-divisions unclear as yet).·     
• PA Pembrokeshire, Amroth.·     
• PB Pembrokeshire, Begelly.·     
• PC Pembrokeshire, Cosheston.·     
• PF Pembrokeshire, Freystrop; later Nolton Haven.·     
• PJ Pembrokeshire, Jeffreston (early residents, quite separate from PM/J).·     
• PL Pembrokeshire, Lampeter Velfrey.·     
• PM Pembrokeshire, Martletwy (including Coedcanlas). A very large branch, needing subdivision on occasion for extra clarity:
  • PM/J Jeffreston
    • PM/K Kent (19C) - often as CANTAN - is a sub-division of PM/J
  • PM/P Pembroke;
  • PM/R Reynalton, with further subdivision PM/NZ New Zealand
  • PM/S Stackpole.·     
• PMn Pembrokeshire, Manorbier.·     
• PR Pembrokeshire, Rhoscrowther.·     
• PS Pembrokeshire, Slebech.·     
• SE Sussex, Eastbourne.·     
• X Miscellaneous unidentified lines other than in London.·    
• XL Unidentified lines based in London. 

For new readers: Canton occurs as a surname in several countries of the world other than Britain and Ireland, with a variety of ‘meanings’ and I have not attempted to deal with them here, but this may change.

Postscript: Our first three tests, in date order, are from lines PM/S, PR, PL.