I am trying to find an association between the Phethean and Phythian surnames which seem to be derived from a common root in Cheshire, Uk around 1600. The Phythian name is now occurs mainly in west Lancashire whereas Phethean is almost unique to the Bolton area.
I am sure that at some stage in the past the surnames will merge since the spelling of the names seems a purely phonetic difference.
I would be interested if anyone with the surname Phythian who's male ancestors come from Lancashire or north Cheshire would be interested in participating in a DNA study. I have already submitted a sample to the Sorenson Database (
http://www.smgf.org/ ). This is free provided you can supply a four-generation pedigree to go with it and agree to their terms and conditions. What they don't do is send you the actual Y-chromosome marker values, but there is a way of deducing it from their data. There is already one Phethean name in their database submitted by an American branch of the family which connects with mine 8 generations back. There are no Phythian pedigrees as yet so I would be very keen if someone was prepared to submit a sample so that a comparitive study could be undertaken.
Once you have submitted a sample you can currently get a discounted commercial test carried out by Relative Genetics (
http://www.relativegenetics.com/relativegenetics/index.jsp) for $95 for a 26-marker test compare to their normal $155.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating.
Best wishes,
Stuart Phethean
Hampshire, UK