Kelly Wheaton – Sheldon Genealogy

Ralph Sheldon & Shakespeare: What’s in a Name?

Kelly Wheaton — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 20:53:31 +0000

Not long ago we were contacted by a researcher who had a very intriguing new theory about who authored the works of SHAKESPEARE. What came as quite the surprise is that she had a previously unheard of candidate for the authorship of the works of SHAKESPEARE. And let it be known that there are many candidates—87 to be precise on Wikipedia’s latest list.

But this individual is not on the Wikipedia list, but is very well known to us as Ralph SHELDON born about 1537, son of William SHELDON and Mary WILLINGTON SHELDON. He died at Skilts, Warwickshireand was buried at Beoley St Leonard’s, Worcestershire 30th March 1613.

Effigies of Ralph SHELDON IV (1537-1613) and his wife Anne THROCKMORTON at SHELDON Chapel, Beoley

There are deeply held beliefs on many sides as to the authorship of Shakespeare’s works and we offer up the theory of Ralph Sheldon as author in the spirit of exploring all things SHELDON. On this link you will find the full manuscript of Nancy Peters Maude’s alternative theory, “Was Shakepeare a ‘Hydden Man’“. Whether you end up finding her theory compelling or not, her research is rich in details of Ralph SHELDON’s life and SHAKESPEARE.

Portrait of William Shakespeare from the 1st portfolio

Although Nancy provides lots of material in her “Was Shakepeare a ‘Hydden Man'” one very important detail that can not be quibbled with— is the oldest and best preserved copy of the First Portfolio was owned by William SHELDON (1589-1659) of Weston, Warwickshire. William was the grandson of Ralph SHELDON (1537-1613) through his son Edward SHELDON (1558-1643).

It later was in the possession of Ralph SHELDON (1623-1684) of Weston House, he was later known as “The Great Sheldon.” He was the great grandson of Ralph Sheldon (1537-1613) the subject of this article ans sometimes known as the Tapestry SHELDON. The copy of #10 of the First Folio is in the Folger Library in Washington DC and bears the SHELDON Coat of Arms on its cover.

First Folio No 10 Sheldon Courtesy of Folger Library.

We leave it up to the reader of Nancy Peters Maude’s Research to draw their own conclusions. Thank you Nancy for contacting us and sharing your research! And for giving us more details about Ralph’s incredible life.

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How Do We Know What the Y-DNA is Telling Us?

Kelly Wheaton — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 22:10:11 +0000

I received an inquiry from Jan Barrett, “Someone was recently asking me how I knew I was related to John 13 [John of Kingstown], since we obviously don’t have the DNA of an ancestor from hundreds of years ago. I found that I could not explain this! Could you give me a simple explanation of how we can trace our ancestry back to specific Sheldons using DNA?”

I jumped at the opportunity to make this into a teachable moment. Simply stated we have the YDNA of 14 descendants of John SHELDON of Kingstown, RI through various SHELDON male lines of descent and with minor differences their YDNA STR markers match– so we can make a strong assumption that the YDNA they all inherited was through John of Kingstown who was likely the son of Isaac of Windsor, CT [More on that shortly].

Her follow-up question: Does this mean that you have had 14 living male SHELDONs submit their YDNA to the project and you have found similarities in their results? YES, as you can see under the green B2 results below, there are 14 male SHELDON testers from John and they all match each other. [They also match a dozen descendants of Isaac of Windsor Group B1. That’s a total of 26 that all match each other]. They do not closely match any of the other 2 million FTDNA testers as closely as they match each other and they create one of 50,000 Y-DNA branches in the human Y-DNA tree.

With minor deviations over time, a man passes his YDNA from father to son, son to grandson and grandson to great grandson and so forth. So, John of Kingstown’s YDNA is essentially the same as any of his strict patrilineal male descendants or ancestors. The only difference will be a different YSTRS value at a marker or two and occasionally a YSNP (mutation) that will further identify a branch in which it occurred. [YDNA does not go through the process of recombination like autosomal DNA.] Please see my DNA terminology for definitions.

Let’s look at a screen shot of the SHELDON project YDNA results. The first two groups are descendants of Godfrey of Bakewell and a Bakewell SHELDON descendant still living in England. The second two green groups are the descendants of Isaac SHELDON of Windsor CT [Group B1 ]and John of Kingstown RI [Group B2]. If you look at the string of values you will see the orange group have similar values as the green groups for the first 4 markers but at markers 5-6 things diverge broadly. Moreover note in the 5th column, the E-M35 of the orange group vs R-M269 of the green group. The Letters E and R refer to the major Y-DNA Haplogroups. Any two people in two different Haplogroups (even with similar markers) cannot be related in a reasonable amount of time—and most likely 5-10,000 years ago or more. So we know that Group A and Group B are not related in a genealogical time frame.

From the FTDNA SHELDON project.

The number after the E is the name of the marker: ie. M35. Markers are named with a letter(s) for the lab and a chronologically assigned number based on when the marker was discovered. The Haplogroup markers (YSNPS) are different from the Y STRS markers which make the many columns we see above. The Broad Haplogroups are based on a mutation that typically happens just once in the history of mankind and all men carrying that marker will have a common ancestor. In the case of the marker M35 (Haplogroup E) the common ancestor is 15,000- 20,500 years ago. For Haplogroup R M269 the common ancestor is 4,000-10,000 years ago. So Haplogroup E is much more ancient than Haplogroup R. The oldest Haplogroup is A and the letters are assigned in alphabetical order. The other values seen after the E or R are markers and those listed in green have been tested usually through a Big Y test, those in red are predicted.

Here is an annotated Beta time tree of Group B:

Courtesy of Family Tree DNA

I have put a red box around the date 1000 Current age (aka as AD). We have a match with a descendant of a GRIFFIN whose common ancestor with Group B is about 1,000 years ago. You can see the defining marker for Group B is BY35166 about the year 1500. Then we have a branching in descendants of John of Kingstown and Isaac Jr of Windsor about 1600-1650. Having the marker A20644 is definitive for a John 13 descendant. Having the marker FGC74472 is definitive for an Isaac Jr descendant. So if you are a male SHELDON and test positive for marker A20644 you are a John of Kingstown descendant!!!

Another follow up question: Why can we make a “strong assumption” that they inherited their DNA from John….why not someone from else? Because in addition to the matches on YSTRS we have 12 Big Y testers who are Group B SHELDONs and they all match YSNPS with each other but no other surnames are positive for BY35166 so this would be considered conclusive evidence that the surname of the progenitor was SHELDON. Now it is always possible that Isaac was surnamed something else but from him forward they are all surnamed SHELDON. We know we don’t match the Group A group from Derbyshire. The twelve Big Y testers surnamed SHELDON claim Descent from Isaac of Windsor or John of Kingstown. We have two major branches below R-BY35166 which further defines Isaac Sr’s sons Isaac Jr and John of Kingstown.

I hope that answers your questions! Thanks Jan for asking.

If we look closer we can see that some members of Group B1 (Isaac) and Group B2 (John) have identical YSTR markers. They share the same BY35166 and other non-DNA evidence suggests that John of Kingstown is likely the son of Isaac of Windsor—thus brother to Isaac Jr of Windsor. You can read more about that here.

The Sheldons of Derbyshire: New DNA results and their implications

Kelly Wheaton — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 22:58:11 +0000

We are extremely lucky to have 6 English DNA testers that are all descended from Derbyshire Sheldons! This is in addition to the 10 John of Providence descendants and 11 Godfrey of Maine descendents (Note Richard 22 descendants have been folded into the Godfrey line. See blog post here for information on Richard). So in total we have TWENTY-SEVEN descendents of the first known Sheldon of Derbyshire! With this many testers we are starting to see some patterns and make some educated guesses. First off thank you to all who contributed funds to make this and other English testing possible. Please note that you can make contributions to the FTDNA Sheldon project vis this link. Just click on the blue donate button and you can make as large or small donation as you would like. You can also make it specific to a certain purpose—like for Big Y testing or English testing or specific to a particular individual. We recently purchased 4 additional kits for English testing.

In the Tree end of things Dale has entered (or is entering) all the trees of the English participants and has added the information from the 1926 J. Gardner Bartlett article in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register titled “The Sheldons of Bakewell, Derbyshire, England : and Isaac Sheldon of New England“. We are attempting to build out the tree on the English side of the pond. (Please note the information on Isaac of Windsor, Connecticut being of the Bakewell, Derbyshire Sheldons has been disproven—although the other information in the article may still be reliable.) All this information can be found under the Family Tree tab on the SheldonGenealogy.org website.

PHYLOGENETIC GROUP A Tree

So first a look at the phylogenetic tree for Group A. This is based on Big Y testing of individuals in Group A. Big Y tests YSNPS, which are mutations that happen once in the history of mankind. They are definitive, that is if you share a SNP you are descended from the same man in which that SNP occurred. In the case of the SNP FGC73449 all men alive today have a “C” at this marker, except the descendants of one man who had a mutation from “C” to “T” and that man was a Sheldon. So take the marker at the top of our tree FGC73449. This SNP was discovered in the test of Geoffrey Sheldon and is estimated to have occurred in an individual about the year 1500. All men that have a “T” are descended from that Sheldon of Derbyshire! That is why I call this determinative. Whereas YSTRS (the markers in a Y37 test) are indicative. They tend to put you in a family grouping but sometimes Genetic distance can be misleading due to markers adding or losing a repetion at YSTRS.

You will see that the common ancestors for the left side include John of Providence AND Geoffrey’s line. The SNP FGC73475 with an estimated age of about 1600 is shared by both Geoffrey and the John of Providence descendants. So the common ancestor of both Geoffrey (whose line stayed in England) and the John of Providence who immigrated to America is likely in that 1500-1650 time frame! On the other hand the descendants of Godfrey do not have that SNP and therefore the common ancestor to both groups is likely. That is significant because it separates two branches of the Sheldon Family Tree in England. The Visitation of Derbyshire published in 1662 highlights ten generations of Derbyshire Sheldons beginning with Richard of Monyash in 1385. However the earliest man of record to take the name SHELDON a Roger de Scheladon of Bachequell (Bakewell) appears in a deed 25 July 1306 and 1307/08 served with a debtor’s notice over the purchase of 2 sacks of wool, valued at 12 marks a sack. So we have at least 13 generations of Sheldons to the year 1665. So that could make for a very large tree with many branches. We can try testing some of the English Sheldons for the SNP FT148289 and see if we get any positive results. To that end we can look at who is most likely closely related to Geoffrey and who is not. To that end I have made a matrix of the 6 English testers:

RELATIONSHIPS OF ENGLISH TESTERS

This shows the genetic distance (GD) between each pair of English Sheldon testers. The GD is also sometimes referred to as mismatches.

So each individual is represented and his GD with any given match. So the closest two individuals are Nick and Mark. At a distance of one they would be expected to be related in a fairly recent time frame. FTDNA has given us a tip to estimate the age to a common ancestor. Looking at Nick and Mark this is that “TIP” result. So this anticipates they share a common ancestor at about 60% in the past 100 years; 90% in the past 200 years and 99% in the last 300 years.

The next closest match pair is Nick and Geoff at a GD of 4 . That gives us this so Nick and Geoff are about 50% probability of being related in the past 200 years. About 77% in the last 300 years and 92% in the last 400 years.

So where can we go from here? Well I might suggest that Nick test the marker that Geoff shares with the American John of Providence Sheldons FGC73475. If he is positive that puts him on the left side of our phylogenetic tree. My guess is they he will be negative. The other possibility is below.

Looking at the individuals most GD apart Ron and Tom. We can see the chance of their being related in the past 100 years is less than 1%. But in the last 400 years we get up to 63% and within the last 600 years we are up to 91% Based on this I would expect their line of descent from the original Sheldon would be quite different . The only way to resolve is through another Big Y test in the Group A3 (English Testers) or through spot testing.

Just to test my hypothesis I took a look at George Sheldon’s closest English match which turns out to be Nick! So comparing Nick (English tester) and George (American tester) we get a 50% probability that they are related within 200 years (which we know from genealogy not to be the case). But in 300 years we get about 79% chance and in 400 years 92% chance. My guess is the common ancestor is about 1520-1620. When I looked up the SNP for Godfrey descendents: SNP FT148289 it states the estimated age of that SNP is 1550. So my guess is Nick might well be positive for this SNP. Nick has a closer relationship to his American cousin george than he does to his English cousin Geoff! And based on SNP testing he may indeed be closer to the descendents of Godfrey in America than say the descendants of John. It is my educated guess that based on the DNA so far John of Providence and Godfrey of Maine may be distant cousins and not likely to be brothers or first cousins. Time will tell with more testing.

TRADITION GENEALOGY

So through a combination of traditional genealogy we may edge ever closer to sorting out the tree on the English side of the pond. This is a matter of collaboration to collect as much genealogical data as we can on the Derbyshire Sheldons working backwards and forwards. And with some DNA help we may get much closer than we ever thought possible. Thank you to all the testers . Further questions can be submitted here .

Geoff Sheldon’s Reminiscences on the Passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Kelly Wheaton — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 18:09:04 +0000

The death of a Monarch always puts down a Marker (Historically speaking). I remember, as though it was yesterday, the occasion of King George 6th and his death (from cancer) in 1952. Then Princess Elizabeth became the “Queen”whilst on holiday, at the Tree-Tops in Kenya. The Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. It also occured with the announcement of the first successful climbing of Mount Everest accomplished (May 29, 1953) June 1st. Then, the Coronation !

At home, we had just 4 months previously acquired a Television set. Black & White and with a 14″ screen. T.V. then…only transmitted its programmes, for 2 hours per day. 1 hour from 5-6pm & then 7-8 pm. My father had spent £110 on it. But that was the time of great advances, although some” foods” were still ‘rationed’ (after WWI), technology, adventure, science, music, jobs & demands for coal miners to produce more Coal, to feed the demand for much more energy.

It is fair to assume that the full length of the Queens reign ( 70 ) years, will not be equalled.

CHARLES I & CHARLES II

There is a more personal ‘link’! “The Queen is dead, long live the King!” The new Monarch is King Charles 3rd. It is 422 years, since the First of the “Charles” Kings. King Charles Ist was born in 1600 and his successor Charles 2nd in 1630. Of course, the connection here, is that the Sheldon- surname has become synonymous, with the very close relationship of Gilbert Sheldon to both of those Kings (Charles I & Charles II). Gilbert Sheldon became adviser / chaplain to both of them in turn Charles 1st was executed in about 1650….Beheaded. ! Conflict occurred between those who sided with Charles 1st..and those who sided with the Politicians led by Oliver Cromwell. Gilbert, became, almost a referee between the two groups and his approach to the nation caused him to have much respect and he became involved with the Church of England at the time known as the Restoration. Charles 2nd died about 8 years after Gilbert’s death.

Rev. Gilbert SHELDON c. 1665 © The Trustees of the British Museum

Gilbert, was the youngest child of Roger ( later to become ) Lord Roger Sheldon….and the next youngest child of Roger was Ralph Sheldon ( who with his wife, had 4 boys ) – the first of the four boys was Joseph Sheldon, who became Lord Mayor of London. So both boys achieving notability.

ANOTHER SHELDON CONNECTION

Charles Room of the Lygon Arms where allegedly William Sheldon met with King Charles

In another interesting side note unrelated to Gilbert Sheldon is a William Sheldon, of the Broadway Sheldons. Both King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell stayed in Broadway during the war, although not at the same time. At one such visit during the Civil War, Charles I met with William Sheldon who at the time had extensive land holdings which were acquired by William and Francis Sheldon from King Henry VIII from previously catholic held lands at the dissolution of the monasteries.

Meet Ames Sheldon

Kelly Wheaton — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 18:05:41 +0000

Sheldon Genealogy is delighted to present to you our first video chat featuring a Sheldon of note. Please let me introduce you to Ames Sheldon historian and author.

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Ames Sheldon

Ames Sheldon grew up in Wayzata, Minnesota. After graduating from Northrop Collegiate School, she attended Bryn Mawr College, where she majored in English. After graduating, she worked in the legal department of a multi-national chemical company, as a reporter at two newspapers, as office manager of a start-up auto salvage yard, and eventually as a grant writer and development officer for a variety of nonprofit organizations, ranging from the Sierra Club in San Francisco to the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minneapolis Public Library. She has an M.A. in American Studies.

Ames decided she wanted to be a writer at the age of nine. Many short stories and poems later, she worked as lead author and associate editor of the ground-breaking Women’s History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States (Bowker, 1979), which contains descriptions of collections of original primary source materials pertaining to the history of tens of thousands of women and women’s organizations from the colonial period through the 1970s. In the process of working on this monumental 1,100-page reference book, Ames discovered her love for women’s history and for using primary sources for research.

Ames’ Sheldon Genealogy

While arranging to interview Ames I researched her lineage and found that Ames and I are 5th cousins once removed. Our shared ancestor is Isaac Sheldon born in South Kingston Rhode Island in 1730 son of Thomas Sheldon and Harriet Winters. Thomas is first recorded in Pawling, Dutchess County New York in February of 1747. Isaac appears on the records there from 1756-1778. In 1777 Isaac Sheldon served on the Committee for Sequestration during the Revolutionary War. By 1800 Isaac has moved to Willsboro, Essex County, New York. He dies there in 1813. Isaac and his wife Sarah Gifford have 15 children together; Kelly’s ancestor Justus is the 7th child and 3rd son; Ames ancestor Nehemiah is the 13th, and last child of this union and the 7th son. One more child is born to Isaac and Deborah Haight, the 15th! Sheldon Genealogy’s President Dale is also a descendant of Isaac through his son Gideon the 6th son and 12th child.

Lemons in The Garden of Love: Synopsis

It’s 1977 and Cassie Lyman, a graduate student in women’s history, is struggling to find a topic for her doctoral dissertation. When she discovers a trove of suffrage cartoons, diaries, and letters at Smith College belonging to Kate Easton, founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts in 1916, she believes she has located her subject.

Digging deeper into Kate’s life, Cassie learns that she and Kate are related—closely. Driven to understand why her family has never spoken of Kate, Cassie travels to Cape Ann to attend her sister’s wedding, where she questions her female relatives. Her quest to ascertain the truth about Kate unearths painful family secrets. Soon Cassie is shocked to find herself in the same challenging situation Kate faced.

SHELDON Serendipity

Kelly Wheaton — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 19:44:14 +0000

Header image: Louise and Lois Eurette SHELDON on Grand River Stock Farm (note the large barns)

Most every Sunday, SheldonGenealogy.org sponsors a free Zoom chat, where anyone with SHELDON ancestry around the globe can join in to exchange information or get help on their SHELDON genealogy. Well this weekend we were joined by Steven SHELDEN who told a story about his grandfather and great uncle being surrendered to a VFW home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, after their mother died and their father was unable to care for them. Steven belongs to the Godfrey line of SHELDONs which traces back to Derbyshire, England and I to the unrelated John SHELDON of Kingstown, Rhode Island, speculatively from Warwickshire. I have never been to Eaton Rapids, but knew the place immediately. The VFW home is located on a farm previously known as the Grand River Stock Farm. I found this plaque (sold) on Ebay—another touch of serendipity.

The 472 acres was originally acquired from the government by Matthew La “Rue” Perrine in 1838. At Perrine’s death in 1894 it was purchased by my great grandfather, Justus Warren SHELDON. Where according to the book The Only Eaton Rapids on Earth by W Scott Munn c 1952 Uncopyrighted: ” J Warren Sheldon, [who] erected a commodious farm house, a mammoth barn and outbuildings and it became known as the Grand River Stock Farm.” (p352). It was later purchased by Corey J Spencer who was instrumental in making the VFW Home a reality.

The farm which was originally timbered was the source of the oak that was used to build Justus Warren Sheldon’s Home in Eaton Rapids. More on that in a later post. Here is a colorized photo of my great aunt and great grandmother on the farm.

There are 2.43 BILLION acres of land in the US. What are the odds that two people would have knowledge of a 472 acre plot of land with connections to two different SHELDON families? Things like this happen everyday in the genealogy world. I guess that’s what I love about genealogy.

And a further bit of serendipity was shared by Steve SHELDEN. He had posted in a local Facebook Group in England where the Derbyshire SHELDONs hark from and lo and behold there are still SHELDONs living there!

Special Birthday Wishes for John Sheldon, World War II Veteran

Kelly Wheaton — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 14:37:53 +0000

John Sheldon, a descendant of John (13), is celebrating his 100^th birthday in August 2022 month!

Born August 24th, 1922, John followed in the military tradition of many of his ancestors, as he fought in World War II in the 3165^th Fire Control Company, 615^th Ordinance Battalion. John’s family had its roots in Canada, and he learned French at home which was extremely valuable in his communications with the Europeans during the war.

As part of the European invasion troops that landed at Omaha and Utah Beaches, he saw great fighting. He was also in one of the deadliest conflicts of the war in the Battle of the Bulge. John also saw action in Paris, Chaumont, Metz, Marce, Frankfort, and Bridge at Remagen. One of John’s primary responsibilities during the war was to obtain and repair the electronic and communications equipment on military vehicles.

John received numerous medals and awards for his service. In recent years the French government sent French Navy Captain Philippe Petitdidier to John’s hometown to present him with the highest French civilian award, The Legion of Honor Medal.

Following John’s Army service, he had a successful career. He worked on Wall Street in New York City and then was a troubleshooter for a phone company in New York, traveling across the state to solve problems.

In August John will be joined by his three sons, a number of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other family members to celebrate his 100 years.

Special thanks to Jan Barrett for providing the information and photos about John Sheldon. Join us in saluting and thanking John for his service as part of the Greatest Generation.

Refinement of Group B SHELDONs DNA

Kelly Wheaton — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 18:07:43 +0000

For background information I suggest checking out our page on Ancient Origins of Group B SHELDONs here. This blog post is a slight update on that page. I am using a screenshot from Alex Williamson’s YDNA Haplotree to illustrate GROUP B SHELDONs Most recent ancestor SNPS (mutations). In this screenshot you can see we share the SNP BY17999 & FGC62072 with a number of other surnames. These were the focus of some inquiry a few years back. We were hoping that geographic origins of related surnames might bring us closer to ours—but that goal remains elusive.

Alex Williamson’s Big Tree

PHYLOGENETIC PATH

Our condensed Phylogenetic path looks something like this. This is a series of Y-SNPS each getting closer in time to the present.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Quoting and paraphrasing Dr. Ian McDonald with his permission :

“Tracing down from R-U106 to R-DF96, we can be pretty sure that our ancestry was from the Corded Ware culture, then passed into the Unetice culture. The part up to R-Z304 is attested by ancient DNA, and the distribution of R-DF96 around central Europe is very similar to that of R-Z304. That takes us to about 1700 BC, when the Unetice culture dissolved. After this, the ancestral path becomes much less certain, and we’re essentially reduced to guess-work. Most of the distribution of today’s R-DF96 population can be explained by a spread from the southern end of the Unetice culture into the part of the Tumulus culture that occupied the Danube valley around Vienna. In the absence of other evidence, this is probably the suggested route for R-S11515 (the a major part of R-DF96) in the first few centuries following 1700 BC.”

R-S15663 is much younger, probably around the time of the Roman Empire. We’ve got 72 members in the U106 project at this level, which is just about enough to make some guesses. The countries of origin include Germany, Norway, and a small group in Finland, plus the ubiquitous population from the British Isles. The German families may be mostly in the west of Germany, but there aren’t enough of them to adequately sample the German population. The Finnish group is essentially one small family that probably arrived there in historical times. There’s not enough information to assign this clearly to a Germanic or Celtic population: the cultural pathway from the Tumulus culture is more typically Celtic, the Norwegian component suggests Germanic. At the time, the frontier between the two cultures was sweeping across modern Germany and its surrounds.

Below R-S15663, we don’t have accurate ages estimated, but we can guess on the basis that one SNP in BigY-700 typically occurs about once per 80-90 years on average (since SNPs occur randomly, there’s a big variation in any one line). On this basis, R-FGC62079 might (!) be considered early medieval. We have one German and one Norwegian in this group out of a total of 14 people, which is fairly typical of a haplogroup equally spread throughout north-western and north-central Europe.”

So we can expect that since we share FGC62072 with many surnames that this SNP happened before surname adoption in the 13th and 14th centuries. And likely the SHELDON GROUP B SNP also around this time. So we may find ancient matches spread across Europe. We do have an upstream match with the alleged gladiator known as 3-Drif6 in York, England (during Roman occupation about 100-300 of present age) and a more distant match in the sample I11149 U106>Z381>Z156>Z307 Teversham, England, which is about 3 miles east of Cambridge. This skeleton is dated about 2400 years before present or about 200 BC. It is not possible without more ancient samples to determine when our SHELDON ancestor migrated to Britain and how far his descendants spread. It is likely that their waves of his descendants arriving at different times and settling in different areas. The hunt continues.

The Sheldons of Sheldon, Warwickshire 1189-c. 1350

Kelly Wheaton — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:03:59 +0000

Beginning

The story of the Sheldons in Warwickshire begins with the first use of the name in 1189 when Oenus de Scheldon [Owen de Sheldon] appears in the Pipe Rolls of the first year of the reign of Richard I. This is both first use of Scheldon as a hereditary surname in Warwickshire and the first recording of the place of Scheldon which later becomes Sheldon. This to settle a debt owed.

Oenus de Scheldon Pipe Roll 1 Rich I

The Setting

In 1086 the place Machitone, later Mackadown is listed in the Domesday book. This was the site of the Anglo-Saxon Macca’s tun or ” Macca’s farm.” It’s current location is at the intersection of Tile Cross Road and Mackadown Lane in an area now occupied by Tile Cross Park. Mackadown later becomes a part of Scheldon. On the map below Kent’s Moat encompassed a 12th century sub-manor house of Sheldon known as the West Hall. Sheldon Hall at Tile Cross being the East Hall [on the map below called Mackadown Farm.] The Sheldon Hall Manor, now on Gressel Lane, was built in the 12th century. It was replaced in the early 16th-century with a timber-framed manor house which is still known as Sheldon Hall. It appears on the Map below as the Chestnuts.

Ordnance Map of Original Sheldon Halls

Machitone in 1086 had 14 households. By comparison with the other places in order Merstone [now Marston Green] 6 Households, Elmedone [Elmdon] 0 households, Winchicelle [Wiggins Hill] 0 household, Dercetai [Dotshill] 9 households, Witecore [Nether Whitacre] 8. The closest large community was Coleshill with 54 households. Coleshill would be the jurisdiction in the Hundred of Hemlingford.

1086 Domesday Book: Machitone [Sheldon], Marston, Elmdon, Wiggins Hill, Dotshill, Whitacre

By comparison Birmingham was but 9 households, Coventry 69 and Nuneaton 85. So back in the eleventh and twelfth centuries things looked very different than today. This portion of John Speed’s 1610 map shows the relative size of the towns 500 years later. The towns with yellow rectangles are those on the same page in the Domesday Book. Those in orange are all the places mentioned in the earliest records for Sheldons.

John Speed’s 1610 Map of Warwickshire part showing Sheldon

In 1911 the population of Sheldon was 451. Today the borough of Sheldon is about 22,000 souls, part of the greater Birmingham area. Coleshill has about 6,000 and Coventry 73,000. So Coleshill did not take off in the same way as Birmingham or even Coventry. Nether Whitacre went from 8 households to a population of about 950. In any event when Owen de Scheldon makes his first appearance it is a small hamlet with Coleshill being it closest larger village.

Next Generations

Next in the record is Anselm de Scheldon who appears in the Roll of the Justices of Eyre for Warwickshire for 1221 for 1/2 Knight’s Fee and then again 1235-1242. He is listed as a witness on an undated land grant by Jordan de Whitace to Helias son of Helias of Makinton [in the Netherlands Helias is known as the Knight of the Swans]. We have a mention of a William de Sheldon as a witness to a Quitclaim for Lady Margery do Nerbon widow which places this about 1245-55. We do not know what his relationship to Anslem de Scheldon is. We do know that Anselm’s son Henry was his heir and succeeds him as Lord of Sheldon in 1288. We know that Anselm’s was a knight in 1221 and typically a knight would have been at least 21 so this places his birth around 1200, which is consistent with him being the son of Owen. So Anselm’s estimated lifespan c.1200-1288

It is Anselm’s son Henry that has the first church built in Sheldon dedicated to St. Giles about 1250.

St Giles Church Sheldon

In 1260 Henry confers a house and 2 acres to a William de Scheldon [perhaps the same as above, possibly a brother?] who was the parson at Sheldon. I am surmising this “may” be the land shown below the church as the Sheldon Rectory. The church is just a short way south of the previous map.

Sheldon Church & Rectory from Ordnance Survey Map

About 1278 Henry de Scheldon is part of the Inquisition and survey of lands in Warwickshire. It is unclear to me if this is the same Henry de Scheldon or perhaps a son Henry. In about 1279 he is acting as the King’s Commissioner and by 1282 he has received 1/2 Knight’s fee for service to the King. So our Henry seems quite ambitious working his way up to knighthood, like his father before him! And as previously noted succeeding his father in 1288 as Lord of Sheldon. His son Nicholas de Scheldon appears to succeed his father about 1315 as Lord of Sheldon, placing his father’s lifespan at about (1225-1315). If so both very long lived.

At this point there are several Scheldon families including the William previously mentioned who witnesses additional deeds. And a William the son of William de Scheldon. In 1291 there is a Deed from Robert called de Engelond of Scheldon listed as a merchant to a William Brown of Coleshill. He appears in a second deed as a witness. We also have a William son of Osbert de Sycheldon deeding land to Thomas de Wridfren. In 1296 we have a Ralph de Scheldon as a witness and clerk to a deed in Wroxall. Then we have a Richard de Scheldon in 1300 deeding to Sir John de Clintone land in Coleshill with witnesses Sir Henry de Scheldon, knight and a Robert de Scheldon. Another deed in 1300 speaks of the land of Robert de Scheldon in Merston [now Marston Green].

The Rise of Nicholas de Sheldon

Nicholas de Sheldon Coat of Arms from History of the County of Warwickshire

The first record we have for Nicholas de Scheldon c 1283-1349 is as Nicholas Lord of Sheldon in 1304-05 where he is mentioned in a land deed. In 1306 King Edward I put out a royal proclamation that all esquires eligible for knighthood should come to Westminster to be knighted in turn by their future king [his son Edward], and then march with him, against the Scots, to avenge the murder of John III Comyn [killed Feb 1306] and the desecration of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries by Robert the Bruce. On the 22th May 1306 [Whitsuntide] on the occasion of the knighting of his son Edward, Prince of Wales, and then Duke of Aquitaine, 266 men, the largest number ever knighted at one time, received the Order of Bath at Westminster Abbey at an extravagant ceremony.

Edward I Knighting Edward Prince of Wales 1306

A huge feast followed called the Feast of the Swans in the neighbouring hall, the assembly took a collective oath to defeat Robert the Bruce. Nicholas de Sheldon appears as one of the men knighted that day in The Institution, laws & ceremonies of the most Noble Order of the Garter by Elias Ashmole c. 1672 pg 38-39 A rather auspicious beginning for young Nicholas.

Order of Bath Knighted 22 May 1306 from The institution, laws & ceremonies of the most noble Order of the Garter 1677 page 38

He appears in December of that same year as witness to a deed between Thomas de Boyvil and Sir Richard de Wytacre of land in Little Packington as Nicholas de Sheldone and Knight. Then in 1316-17 he becomes Lord of the Manor of Sheldon and parson at St. Giles Church. September 3rd 1318 he is again listed as Nicholas de Schedlon Knight as a witness to a gift. In 1332-3 Nicholas de Scheldon, Knight deeds to William de Bromleye chaplain and William, servant of the rector of Scheldon a messuage, land, meadow etc in the Manor of Scheldone which William de Hurst held in Sheldone, a lease for life. Then on the 17th July of 1339 Nicholas de Sheldon is a patron to the Priory and Convent de Maxstoke.

Nicholas de Scheldon Antiquities of Warwickshire pg 616

Maxstoke castle shown below is about 6 miles from Sheldon Hall and the Priory about 1 2/2 miles south of the Castle and about 5 miles from Sheldon.

Maxstoke Castle from Antiquities of Warcs. pg 728

In December of 1342 Nicholas de Sheldon becomes vicar of the church of St. Giles. As we see commemorated in this plaque in the Church.

St Giles Church Rectors of the Parish Plaque

Nicholas de Sheldon also appears in the History of Sheldon in Dugale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire pg 726 as the second prior of St. Giles church at Sheldon, after Thomas de Stodham.

St Giles Church Sheldon p 726

Nicholas dies probably in 1349, as a new prior is installed in July 1349. There is a deed which is dated first year of the reign of Edward III which would be about 1327 and mentions “the late Nicholas de Scheldon” which many other records prove must be incorrect, including those shown above. I suspect there was an arrangement that took place in 1327 and was not proven until Nicholas’ death in 1349.

We have a document recorded at Lenton Abbey in Nottinghamshire, which is an enrollment of a grant by Thomas de Stodham who we know was the first Rector of St. Giles church in Sheldon [Nicholas de Schedlone being the second], reciting the lands he had as gift of Nicholas de Scheldon, knight which is listed as undated. Then there is the enrollment by Sir John Hothum, bishop of Ely, witnessing that Henry son and heir of Sir Nicholas de Sheldon, knight granted the use of lands in Sheldon to have for the term of the Bishop’s life. If the bishop should die in less than 10 years the said lands and advowson would remain with the bishop’s executors to the end of 10 years. With Henry’s assent Nicholas de Scheldon’s wife Lady Joan, “late the wife of Sir Nicholas Sheldon 10l yearly for her life from said lands.” This is dated 21 Oct Edward III which I believe to be an error. There are a couple of other recitations all bearing the same date. The final one is a enrollment of release by Henry to the said bishop for life of his right in the manor of Sheldon and in the advowson of the church; granting the bishop the reversion of all lands of the manor pertaining to Henry after the death of the tenants excepting lands that Robert and Thomas de Scheldon, brothers of Nicholas de Sheldon and Walter de Freynes hold in the manor. We have it that Henry de Scheldon dies without heirs and the estate passes out of Sheldon hands.

Henry de Scheldon lack of heirs Antiquities of Warcs. pg 725

Nicholas and Joane de Scheldon had a son Henry de Scheldon, and Henry and wife Beatrice failed to produce heirs; at their death the Manor of Scheldon passed to others. However, the aforementioned brothers of Nicholas: Robert and Thomas carried the lines forward. They would have been entitled to the arms of their father Anselm, but that is lost to history.

In our next chapter we will explore the records of Robert and Thomas de Sheldon, as well as a Agnes, a John and a William de Sheldon all living in and around Sheldon and Birmingham during this same time period as Nicholas. Since we know Nicholas’ line ended with his son we must look to the others for the continuance of the line.

Doorway at St Giles Church, Sheldon

New Ancient DNA Results – New Sheldon Matches

Kelly Wheaton — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:36:50 +0000

New Finds in Ancient DNA

You may have seen one of the recent news articles [Ancient DNA Analysis Reveals Large Scale Migrations Into Bronze Age Britain] about newly DNA sequenced ancient skeletons in Britain. My friend Roberta Estes is just out with a new Blog Post DNA from 459 Ancient British Isles Burials Reveals Relationships – Does Yours Match? and it made it easy to do a deeper dive into some of our SHELDON DNA groups. So now we have some older matches than those with the “Headless Gladiator” skeletons of York which matched Group B. Group C matches a skeleton from 4200-5000 years ago. Alas, there were no YDNA Haplogroup E included in the newest release, so no matches for Group A or for Group F1 which is Haplogroup J. However we do get early hits on several of our other Groups. [Please click here for an explanation of our current DNA Groups.]

Our DNA project represents the following YDNA Haplogroups E, G, I, J, and R. The earlier in the alphabet the earlier in time a Haplogroup was formed. In Great Britain, the most common YDNA Haplogroup is R followed by I. This new study has individuals of Haplogroups R, I and G. But we need more definition as Haplogroup R breaks into R1b and then subdivisions under that and some of our groups have no Big Y tests or further Haplogroup definition. This leaves us with the following groups that had enough information to match up with ancient skeletons. The big winner is Group D with 25 matching samples from across England. Followed by Group C which is represented by 5 samples I have listed the oldest. This is the famous Amesbury Archer which had a recent article that is a great read Family Ties: Deciphering the Amesbury Archer and his companion.

Stonehenge

New Sheldon Matches

Group B: R-Z156 Sample I11149 (Male) Location: England, Cambridgeshire, Teversham (Marshall’s) Evaluation Age: 733-397 BCE

Group C: There are 5 samples for R-151 Selected Sample: I14200 (Male) Location: England, Wiltshire, Amesbury Down Age: 2470-2239 BCE Widespread

Group D: R-DF13 25 samples! see article. Widespread. Too many to choose from.

Group E: I-M253 Sample: I16453 (Male) Location: England, Cornwall, St. Mawes, Tregear Vean Age: 800-1 BCE

More Information

So as increasing analysis of ancient remains becomes available we make strides in connecting our recent histories with our ancient ones! If you need more information on understanding YDNA please see:

Sheldon DNA

Exploring the Y

The hunt continues…if you have not done a YDNA Big Y test you may want to consider upgrading to one if you are interested in connecting with your ancient ancestors!