Friday, August 13, 2021

DeArmond Variants Y DNA results


The male Y chromosome


Shown just above is a list I compiled from my Y DNA matches pages at Family Tree DNA (ftdna.com). The list reveals the variety of surname spellings used by paternal line descendants of the native Irish clan of O'Duibhdhiorma. The surnames are listed in order of testing date match. The surnames are aligned vertically so that the "rm" consonant pair in each name is aligned with the other surnames. The Irish given name of Diarmaid/Diarmait was substituted for Duibhdhiorma (Doo[ve]-yearma) by Anglo-Irish recording officials who in turn anglicized the substitutions into a plethora of variations, however the current colloquial Gaelic language pronunciation (in County Donegal) of Duibhdhiorma (Dee-Yarma or Dee-Arma) still echoes its influence in some of the surnames.

The pseudo "French" appearance of some surnames became fashionable following the celebrated 1825 return tour of America by the Marquis de Lafayette. It was not uncommon for first language Gaelic speakers to interchangeably use either an O' or Mc patronymic prefix. It was incorrectly assumed by English only speakers that O' was Irish and Mc was strictly Scottish.

Short Tandem Repeat test or STR Level/ (12,25,37,67 or 111) indicates the marker test level of the match and /GD (Genetic Distance) means the total difference of the repeat count at that level. GD can be misleading however especially at lower marker test levels. That is why SNP testing is so important to insure accuracy.  Book Line is the documented immigrant ancestor listed by Roscoe C."d'Armand" in his work. SNP tested indicates whether separate testing was done for terminal Single Nucleotide Polymorphism FGC4113 which is inclusive of all clan paternal  line descendants. FGC7929 is a more recently discovered SNP present in an undetermined percentage of descendants who have not tested for it.

                                         Details concerning my Y DNA matches

Match #1 McDearmond: This was my first Y match at ftdna.com, which caused me to suspect a clan relationship. William Dearmond was the immigrant ancestor for this descendant. Little is known about him other than he died in 1799 in Georgia and was a native of Ireland. There is no SNP testing done by the Y descendant, yet the 37 marker STR chart shown just below strongly suggests that he would be positive for FGC4113 if tested.

Sample STR 37 marker chart of descendants of Clan O'Duibhdhiorma revealing distinct repeat count difference on four markers. It was possibly related to forcible 17th century removals from homeland of Inishowen in northern County Donegal to other counties of Ireland where a variety of unrelated local surnames were often assumed.

Match #2 McDermott: This match solidified for certain in my mind that terminal SNP FGC4113 encompassed the descendants of Clan O'Duibhdiorma, since we both tested positive for it. Tom McDermott's ancestor John McDermott emigrated from County Sligo to America during the 1840s Potato Famine. John's ancestors were likely forcibly removed from Inishowen in the late 1650s to make land available for British veterans who had crushed the mid 17th century Irish revolt.

Match #3 D'Armond: This was the first Y DNA test match of a documented descendant of James, Line A who was also Roscoe C. "d'Armand's" immigrant ancestor. This was scientific proof of the fallacy of Roscoe's story of paternal line descent from 17th century French Huguenot nobility who found refuge in England and Northern Ireland. He is listed as Kit #238163 on the James, Line A family tree chart shown below.

Match #4 Deyarmin: This match is my 4th cousin. We are both descendants of immigrant ancestor William Dearment of Donegal, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States about 1798 and may have fled Ireland after participation in the failed revolt of the United Irishmen. He died in 1836 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania and was the progenitor of descendants using the surnames Deyarmin, Deyarmie and DeArmey.

Match #5 DeArmond: This match brought Michael, Line D into the growing list of clan descendants. Line D descendants have included a U.S. Congressman from Missouri who tragically lost his life trying to save his grandson in a house fire. It also includes three successive generations of military generals and a corporate CEO.

Match #6 D'Armond: This was my 2nd match to a James, Line A descendant. He allowed his name to be shown as William R. D'Armond of Baton Rouge, La. He is a retired attorney and Harvard Law graduate who questioned me in depth about my sources of information and proof for my conclusions, I benefitted in the end and re-thought some mistaken assumptions I had previously made. He is listed as Kit #479363 on the James, Line A family tree chart shown just below. 

Chart showing descendances from James, Line A of Roscoe C. (book author) along with his three cousins who have all tested positive for Y DNA SNP FGC4113 at ftdna.com. It is purely of native Irish origin.

Match #7 Deyarmie: This is my son, who is a perfect match to me at the 37 marker STR level.

Match #8 DeArmond: This was my third match to a descendant of James Line A, shown above on the James, Line A family tree as Kit 829151.

Match #9 DeArment: This match is of great interest to me because he is a Y DNA descendant of John Cook Dearment who came to the U.S. about the time of the failed 1798 Revolt of the United Irishmen. He settled in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. My own immigrant ancestor William Dearment came to the U.S. during this time also.

Match #10 McDermid: This match represents some Clan migration to Glasgow, Scotland to obtain employment in ship building and industry during the early 19th century and then emigration to North America and Australia in the latter part of the century. 

Match #11 DeYarman: This match from Iowa is a representative descendant of an ancestor from a diverse group of immigrant men that Roscoe C. labeled as Line J and attributed to be sons of a Hugh Deyarmont of County Down, Ireland. After much searching through Irish records, I can find no conclusive evidence of any O'Duibhdhiorma anglicized variants in County Down before the mid 19th century. The immigrant men who were mentioned were in America by the 18th century. Apparently not until the 19th century did O'Duibhdhiorma emigration to North America from Irish counties other than Donegal occur.

Match #12 Duermit: This surname spelling which is found primary in southern Ohio, derives from a Hugh Duermit who arrived in New York aboard the Fidelia on 8 December, 1851 from Liverpool which was a major port of departure for impoverished Irish fleeing the Potato Famine. 

Match #13 McDermott: This descendant's immigrant ancestor, William McDermott, served in the British Army during the Revolutionary War. He deserted and joined the New Jersey Militia instead.

No Match: Dearmont: This descendant of whom Roscoe C. "d'Armand" designated as Line G of Maryland, did not test positive for FGC4113. Instead he was positive for R-Z16437. This SNP is associated with other test kit results tracing their immigrant ancestor to Munster Province in the southwest of Ireland. The Pender Census of 1659 reveals isolated pockets of anglicized variants of the Irish forename of Diamait/Diarmid in central and southwest Ireland. The same names were substituted for the O'Duibhdhiorma of Donegal. Although no documented evidence supports it, it is possible that the immigrant ancestor was a penal laborer who was transported to Maryland to work on the tobacco plantations.