Maple Origins

Surnames/tags: MAPLE_ORIGINS maple mapel

It is estimated that there are nearly 10,000 people in the world with the surname Maple or Mapel. Over 1000 of these live in the United Kingdom, where the Maple surname is believed to have originated. Over 6000 live in the United States, and most of these are believed to be descendants of a single Englishman (Benjamin Maple) who immigrated to New Jersey in the late 17th century,

This project is examining the questions:

1) Do most U. S. MAPLEs really descend from a single progenitor?

2) Can a genetic link be found between MAPLEs/MAPELs of the United States and MAPLEs of the United Kingdom?

3) Can we define one or more Y-DNA haplogroups for the MAPLEs, and use this to determine how the paternal ancestors of the MAPLEs migrated through Europe into England?

The manager of this project is Bruce Maple.

Will you join me? Please post a comment here on this page or send me a private message. Thanks!

If you are a male with the MAPLE surname, you can help us determine how your MAPLE paternal line migrated through Europe into England. See Space: MAPLE Y-DNA Haplogroup.

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Contents 1 DNA Testing 2 Documented Maple Lines: 2.1 Benjamin Maple Sr of New Jersey 2.1.1 Background 2.1.2 Discussion 2.1.3 Project Goals and Results 2.2 Maple families of Kent, England

DNA Testing

If you are a male with the MAPLE surname, please consider doing a Y DNA test at Family Tree DNA. A 37 marker Y DNA test (regular price now $129) is sufficient to determine common ancestry among American MAPLEs.

If you can afford it, consider doing a Big Y-700 test at Family Tree DNA (regular price now $449). Big Y testing has identified 24 novel Y chromosome mutations that occurred after about 350 AD and are shared by descendants of Benjamin Maple Jr. These mutations are making it possible to create a sort of Y-DNA family tree for the MAPLEs, and for all of humanity!

Most of those novel mutations can also be tested for just $18.00 each by a company called YSEQ. A test for the single SNP R-FGC46245 might be the most cost effective way to screen for possible distant relationships. (Note that the while the Mapley families of England have been shown to be related to American MAPLEs by Big Y-700 testing, they are not close enough to be called "matches" by 37 marker testing at Family Tree DNA). See Space: MAPLE Y-DNA Haplogroup for more information.

The Maple Surname Y-DNA Project at Family Tree DNA has some funds available for free testing of individuals interested in participating in this project. If you have any questions, please contact Bruce Maple.

The findings of Maple Y-DNA test results will be summarized on this page. For detailed Y-DNA results and for findings about autosomal and X chromosome DNA matches, see Space: Maple DNA.

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Documented Maple Lines:

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Benjamin Maple Sr of New Jersey

Background

Most Americans bearing the surname MAPLE are thought to be descendants of Benjamin Maple Jr, son of Benjamin Maple Sr, who died in Middlesex County, New Jersey in 1727. It is suspected that Benjamin Maple Sr was born in England -- here is a timeline of related facts:

1684 (May 8) -- a Benjamin Maple of Ipswich (Suffolk County), England contracted for 4 years of indentured service as a husbandman in Barbados, and sailed from Middlesex, England on the vessel "Friendship".

1692-3 (March 7) -- Benjamin Maple appeared in a list of residents of Nottingham Township, Burlington County, West Jersey.

1695 (June 4) -- "Benjamin Maplin" was married to Elizabeth Lee at the Revell House in Burlington, West Jersey by Justice of the Peace Thomas Revell.

1698-9 (March 18) -- a Benjamin Maple was listed in a deed to a group of men, all of Maidenhead, Burlington County, West Jersey for a 100 acre tract of the West Jersey Society's 15000 acres, to be used for a meeting house, burying ground, and schoolhouse.

1712 (January 1) -- Benjamin Maple was present at a meeting in Maidenhead, Burlington County, New Jersey, where he was listed (among others) as subscribing to the formation of a new county.

1727 (May 13) -- Benjamin Maple Sr of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey signed a will naming his wife Elizabeth, son Benjamin Maple Jr, and stepson David Lee.

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Benjamin Maple Sr. is thought to have had 6 grandsons with the Maple surname; all were born in Middlesex County:

Benjamin Maple III - inherited the family farm in 1777.

Benjamin is presumed to have died in Middlesex County, New Jersey after 1800.

Benjamin's grandchildren lived predominately in New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.

David Maple Sr. - Administered the estate of his father, Benjamin Maple Jr.

David migrated to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and he is presumed to have died in Jefferson County, Ohio after 1807.

David's grandchildren lived predominately in Ohio and Indiana. Later generations spread into Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Thomas Maple Sr - Deeds from Benjamin Maple Jr to his sons Jacob and William mentioned adjoining land of Thomas Maple.

Thomas may have died in New Jersey before 1790.

The descendants of Thomas are not well understood.

Jacob Maple Sr - A 1772 deed of land from Benjamin Maple Jr to Jacob Maple stated that Jacob was Benjamin's son.

Jacob migrated to Washington County, Maryland, and he is believed to have died in Coshocton County, Ohio after 1820.

Jacob's grandchildren lived in Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa.

William Maple Sr - A 1772 deed of land from Benjamin Maple Jr to William Maple stated that William was the son of Benjamin AND his wife, Sarah.

William migrated to Washington County, Pennsylvania, and he died in Jefferson County, Ohio in 1812.

William's grandchildren lived in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Washington.

John Maple Sr - appeared in 1772 mortgage and tax records for Middlesex County, New Jersey.

John migrated to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and he is presumed to have died in Lewis County, Kentucky after 1820.

John's grandchildren lived in New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.

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Discussion

The name, "Friendshipp", of the vessel on which Benjamin sailed suggests that it was associated with the Society of Friends. It also suggests a pathway by which Benjamin might have ended up in New Jersey, as the Society of Friends had a strong presence in Barbados at that time, and West Jersey was founded largely by Friends. There is no direct evidence, however, that the Benjamin Maple who sailed to Barbados is the same Benjamin who lived in Burlington County, West Jersey. There is no record of a Benjamin Maple living in Barbados, and it should be noted that there was a high mortality rate among indentured servants working in Barbados.

It is not clear why Benjamin's surname was written as "Maplin" in the marriage record of 1695. Maplin might have been a contraction of Maplisden, a possible precursor of the MAPLE surname. It should also be noted that MAPLIN is a surname in its own right. MAPLINs were listed in the 1841 UK Census, and they were present in Russia during the 19th century as well.

The 1841 UK Census shows that the MAPLE surname was present in southern England (including Suffolk) in 1841, with the highest incidence being in the county of Kent. The MAPLES surname had a very different distribution at that time, with peak incidence occuring in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In the United States, the MAPLE and MAPLES surnames are thought to represent distinctly different families, with the MAPLES being mostly of southern U.S. origin.

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Data for the early U. S. Maple families is sparse. For many present day Maple families, it is not clear which of Benjamin Maple's grandchildren they descend from.

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Project Goals and Results

Historical Evidence:

If you find any records that could relate to Benjamin Maple's origins, please post your comment or send Bruce Maple a private message.

If you have any records that might help Maple families connect to one of Benjamin Maple Sr's grandchildren, please enter the data into the appropriate WikiTree profiles.

DNA Evidence:

In the absence of historical records, DNA studies may be the only way to connect some Maple families to Benjamin Maple Sr.

So far, 6 U.S. MAPLEs have joined the Maple DNA Study. These members have done advanced Y chromosome SNP testing, and they have been placed in Y-DNA haplogroup R-FGC46245 (see Space: Maple DNA). R-FGC46245 is a branch of the R-U106 lineage that is found in Europe, ranging from Eastern Europe to its highest frequency in Central Europe and the British Isles. The FGC46245 haplogroup is estimated to have originated around 350 AD, and 7 members of this haplogroup have paternal ancestry tracing to Scotland and Ireland.

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Maple families of Kent, England

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Descendants in the United Kingdom

See the descendants of Stephen Maple (1620-1682) of Kent, England.:

Also, the descendants of Daniel Maple (1780-1832) of Sussex, England.

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Descendants in Australia

See the descendants of Thomas Maple (1816-1893) of Yankalilla, South Australia.

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Descendants in the United States

See the descendants of Thomas Maple (1812-1887; born in England).

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If you have Maple ancestors that are not mentioned here, please post a comment or send Bruce Maple a private message.

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