Genetic genealogy has become a powerful tool to the genealogist in the past decade. The Y chromosome, which makes males male, is passed from father to son, without any admixture of DNA from the mother. Therefore, the sons Y chromosome DNA should match that of the father exactly, allowing for occasional tiny mutations along the way. Fundamentally, the Y DNA of Speak/e/s/es males, assuming they share a common ancestor, should match exactly or nearly for many many generations. Using this technology, we can establish which Speak, Speake, Speakes, Speaks, Spek, L’Espec genetic line men who carry a variant of the Speak surname descend from today.
While we expected that most of the Speak/e/s/es lines today would connect back to a single immigrant ancestor, Thomas Speake, wife Elizabeth Bowling, who died in 1681 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, that has not proven to be the case. In some cases, we have adoptions, but in others, it appears that perhaps we have more than one immigrant Speak/e/s/es male who descends from a completely different Speak/e/s/es family in England.
We have been searching for male Speak/e/s/es in various locations in England who are willing to take the test. We have some limited scholarships available for English Speak/e/s surname testing, so if you’re a male Speak/e/s/es from Great Britain, please contact Roberta at robertajestes@att.net.
Our DNA project is through www.familytreedna.com and can seem there at www.familytreedna.com/public/speaks. Please join us. We welcome you.
Speak(e)(s)(es) Family Association 