About us
The Sproat family of southern Scotland seems to have a very long history with the area around Kircudbrightshire, Wigtownshire, and Dumfriesshire (the 3 traditional counties now commonly referred to as Galloway), likely going back at least 800 years. There are references to Sproat men around Kirkcudbrightshire from very early on, including Hugh Sprot of Urr in 1262. Hugh is the first known Sproat to be recorded in Scotland, and is possibly related to the lines of Sproat men in northern England and London in the 11th and 12th centuries. From the 1500s on, many families were connected to Brighouse, in Borgue parish, Kirkcudbrightshire.
There seem to be even earlier references to the surname during the reign of King William I (William the Conqueror). In his Domesday Book of 1086, an Ulf Sprot of Yorkshire is named, though we don't know if that man is truly an ancestor or it's more of a coincidence of surnames. Even further back in 988 is a Wulfric Spot/Sprot, an Earl of Mercia (which at that time was a region in the Kingdom of England, ruled by King Æthelred II the Unready). Wulfric Sprot died in 1010 but it is not known if he is connected to Wolfric 76 years later. Surnames were more often used as titles in this timeframe, and the standard of passing them down was not yet formalized so long ago. However, in his will, Ulf's father Leofwine mentions certain lands in Essex. This might help to explain the occurrence of Sprots in London and Essex in the early period of England's history.
Today, members of the Sproat family can be found all over the globe, with the majority being in North America. One of these families founded a shipping line and also possibly a ship building enterprise. They shipped from KKD to Liverpool and all over the English ports. They were involved in building ships on Prince Edward Island in Canada.
From advanced Y chromosome testing via the "BigY," we know that this main line of Sproats belong to the general Haplogroup R-DF27. More specifically, they are further downstream and are so far defined by 3 specific mutations on the Y chromosome named BY22197, BY22201, and BY22202. The general genetic structure of the family known so far can be seen here:
Genetic Tree of the Sproat family of southern Scotland
The block of 3 mutations listed at the top of all currently tested male Sproats represents a period of approximately 400 years, likely back into the 10th or 11th century. Further testing by more distant Sproat males has the potential to clarify this time period and give us a much clearer idea of the origins of our family, whether in southern Scotland or perhaps in central England.
(The genetic tree above also displays the closest families we connect to from before surnames were established...the Pratts of London and area, the Welsh family of northern England, and the Williams family, who possibly settled in Wales. We all share the exact same Y chromosome mutation, BY22194, which first occurred in a common male ancestor to each of these families sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries somewhere in England)
There seem to be even earlier references to the surname during the reign of King William I (William the Conqueror). In his Domesday Book of 1086, an Ulf Sprot of Yorkshire is named, though we don't know if that man is truly an ancestor or it's more of a coincidence of surnames. Even further back in 988 is a Wulfric Spot/Sprot, an Earl of Mercia (which at that time was a region in the Kingdom of England, ruled by King Æthelred II the Unready). Wulfric Sprot died in 1010 but it is not known if he is connected to Wolfric 76 years later. Surnames were more often used as titles in this timeframe, and the standard of passing them down was not yet formalized so long ago. However, in his will, Ulf's father Leofwine mentions certain lands in Essex. This might help to explain the occurrence of Sprots in London and Essex in the early period of England's history.
Today, members of the Sproat family can be found all over the globe, with the majority being in North America. One of these families founded a shipping line and also possibly a ship building enterprise. They shipped from KKD to Liverpool and all over the English ports. They were involved in building ships on Prince Edward Island in Canada.
From advanced Y chromosome testing via the "BigY," we know that this main line of Sproats belong to the general Haplogroup R-DF27. More specifically, they are further downstream and are so far defined by 3 specific mutations on the Y chromosome named BY22197, BY22201, and BY22202. The general genetic structure of the family known so far can be seen here:
Genetic Tree of the Sproat family of southern Scotland
The block of 3 mutations listed at the top of all currently tested male Sproats represents a period of approximately 400 years, likely back into the 10th or 11th century. Further testing by more distant Sproat males has the potential to clarify this time period and give us a much clearer idea of the origins of our family, whether in southern Scotland or perhaps in central England.
(The genetic tree above also displays the closest families we connect to from before surnames were established...the Pratts of London and area, the Welsh family of northern England, and the Williams family, who possibly settled in Wales. We all share the exact same Y chromosome mutation, BY22194, which first occurred in a common male ancestor to each of these families sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries somewhere in England)