Elements on this site are still under construction
Overview of website
This site had begun it's life as a location where my father and I can share the research we have undertaken to try and locate our Rutherford ancestors and Rutherford's in general throughout history and the world. Our research has been combining Y-DNA and genealogy.
However, due to the genetics, and the realisation that my Rutherford's do not fit with the main group, this site has changed its focus to be about the surnames (and the men) that have been brought together due to having the same/similar genetics.
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This website has been created to form one location where the men that are in the same genetic group as my father (they fall under R-ZP78, also known as FGC14794) can pool their information.
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You will find a mix of information from new research undertaken by various people and information from research under taken by people in the past.
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This website includes (will include) information concerning the surnames:
- Rutherford / Rutherfurd
- Reckless
- Berkley / Bartlett / Barkley / Berkeley
- de Ridale / Riddell
and other surnames who have genetic links between themselves and the men in the genetic group.
An example of how the genetics are changing the genealogy
"All Rutherford's are related"
There are many ideas about the history of the Rutherford's dating back centuries (some not that long ago). While exploring documents, transcripts of original documents and Y-DNA a number of these long held ideas no longer stand up in their entirety or altogether.
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AN example of is, is the saying "All Rutherford's are related". Since discovering Rutherford as the biological surname for my father's male line ancestors, I have always come across this statement. However, due to various Rutherford/Rutherfurd men testing their Y-DNA this statement has been discovered not to be true, or at least not true for thousands of years.
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There are 2 distinct Y-DNA genetic groups: R1b-P312, R1b-U106. The origins of these haplogroups (after separating thousands of years ago) are:
R1b-P312 - Proto-Italo-Celto-Germanic (eg. Altanic Celtic, Ibero-Atlantic, Italo-Gaulish, Nordic)
R1b-U106 (also known as S21) - Proto-Germanic
There are a couple of Rutherford's with other haplogroups including E, I and J.
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My father's Y-DNA along with other men of the following surnames form a small (but growing) group that sits under R1b-U106 --> FGC14794 (also known as ZP78).
Surnames: Rutherford, Rutherfurd, Riddell, Berkley, Berkeley, Bartlett, Barkley, Carleton, Carlton, Roberts, Shettle/Shettell, Wilson, Stevens, Preston, Lawson, Reilly, Holt, Wilson, Chase, Martin
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NOTE: --> this arrow covers a number of SNPs that fall between U106 and FGC14794