SECORD/SECOR/SEACORD SURNAME DNA 

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The surnames Secord, Secor and Seacord all originate from the French surname Sicard. Many people in North America with those surnames descend from Ambroise Sicard, Huguenot Frenchman who came with his family to New York in the 1680s.

DNA testing on the samples in the tables below was done by Family Tree DNA.

      DYS#
Ysearch Lineage *
H
a
p
l
o		 3
9
3		 3
9
0		 1
9		 3
9
1		 3
8
5
a		 3
8
5
b		 4
2
6		 3
8
8		 4
3
9		 3
8
9
|
1		 3
9
2		 3
8
9
|
2		 4
5
8		 4
5
9
a		 4
5
9
b		 4
5
5		 4
5
4		 4
4
7		 4
3
7		 4
4
8		 4
4
9		 4
6
4
a		 4
6
4
b		 4
6
4
c		 4
6
4
d		 4
6
0		 G
A
T
A

H
4		 Y
C
A

I
I

a		 Y
C
A

I
I

b		 4
5
6		 6
0
7		 5
7
6		 5
7
0		 C
D
Y

a		 C
D
Y

b		 4
4
2		 4
3
8		 5
3
1		 5
7
8		 3
9
5
S
1
a		 3
9
5
S
1
b		 5
9
0		 5
3
7		 6
4
1		 4
7
2		 4
0
6
S
1		 5
1
1		 4
2
5		 4
1
3
a		 4
1
3
b		 5
5
7		 5
9
4		 4
3
6		 4
9
0		 5
3
4		 4
5
0		 4
4
4		 4
8
1		 5
2
0		 4
4
6		 6
1
7		 5
6
8		 4
8
7		 5
7
2		 6
4
0		 4
9
2		 5
6
5
74DU5 Ambroise1, Daniel2, Daniel3  R1b1a2 13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 17 9 10 11 11 26 15 19 29 14 15 16 16 11 11 19 23 15 14 19 15 37 38 12 12                                                            
TKVHT Ambroise1, Jacques2, David3  R1b1a2 13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 13 13 13 29 17 9 10 11 11 26 15 19 29 14 15 16 16 11 11 19 23 15 14 19 15 37 38 12 12 11 9 15 16 8 11 10 8 10 10 12 23 23 15 10 12 12 16 8 12 22 20 11 12 11 15 12 11 12 12
  Elias of New Brunswick R1b1a2 13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 13 13 13 29                                                                                                              

The cells with blue background in the above table highlight the one marker on which member 74DU5 does not match the other two men.

The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation had an online database of DNA test results. That database included the results of a man named Seacord. As his first name was not given there, I have not been able to contact him. His line begins with Ambroise1, Daniel2, Jacques3. The Sorenson database did not include results for all of the markers listed above, but on the markers which they did cover, these four men match exactly except for 439, where 74DU5 has 12 and the others all have 13.

The DNA results presented here for these men are consistent with their paper trails back to a common ancestor, Ambroise Sicard, in the 1600s. TKVHT and Mr. Seacord descend from two different sons of Ambroise, and yet their results match. This tells us that Ambroise, their most recent common ancestor on the male line, would have had the same results as they have on the markers tested.

74DU5 and Mr. Seacord both descend from Ambroise's son Daniel, though their lines branch through different sons of Daniel at that point. 74DU5's line has obviously acquired a one-step mutation from 13 to 12 repeats at DYS439, as he differs from the other men on that marker. We know from Mr. Seacord's results that Ambroise's son Daniel presumably still had the 13 repeats there, in order to pass it down to Mr. Seacord. That indicates that the mutation must have happened somewhere between Daniel and 74DU5 himself.

      DYS#
Ysearch Lineage *
H
a
p
l
o		 3
9
3		 3
9
0		 1
9		 3
9
1		 3
8
5
a		 3
8
5
b		 4
2
6		 3
8
8		 4
3
9		 3
8
9
|
1		 3
9
2		 3
8
9
|
2		 4
5
8		 4
5
9
a		 4
5
9
b		 4
5
5		 4
5
4		 4
4
7		 4
3
7		 4
4
8		 4
4
9		 4
6
4
a		 4
6
4
b		 4
6
4
c		 4
6
4
d		 4
6
0		 G
A
T
A

H
4		 Y
C
A

I
I

a		 Y
C
A

I
I

b		 4
5
6		 6
0
7		 5
7
6		 5
7
0		 C
D
Y

a		 C
D
Y

b		 4
4
2		 4
3
8		 5
3
1		 5
7
8		 3
9
5
S
1
a		 3
9
5
S
1
b		 5
9
0		 5
3
7		 6
4
1		 4
7
2		 4
0
6
S
1		 5
1
1		 4
2
5		 4
1
3
a		 4
1
3
b		 5
5
7		 5
9
4		 4
3
6		 4
9
0		 5
3
4		 4
5
0		 4
4
4		 4
8
1		 5
2
0		 4
4
6		 6
1
7		 5
6
8		 4
8
7		 5
7
2		 6
4
0		 4
9
2		 5
6
5
TRVZP William1, Gilead2, Caleb3 R1b1a2a1a1a4a 13 23 14 11 11 14 12 12 11 13 13 28 16 9 10 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 15 16 18 11 11 21 23 15 15 17 17 36 37 12 12 11 9 15 16 8 10 10 8 10 10 12 21 23 16 10 12 12 15 8 13 22 20 12 12 11 13 11 11 13 12

The results for TRVZP are in a separate table because there are many differences in his results compared to those of the other three men. Evidently he does not descend from Ambroise along the male line, though he carries the Secord surname. The cells highlighted in blue are the ones in which TRVZP's results differ from those of the others.

TRVZP's paper trail goes back to William Secord, Loyalist, who came from New York to what is now New Brunswick, Canada in 1783. Elias Secord who also came to New Brunswick then is said to be William's brother, though I have not seen any documentary evidence of this. Both are thought to have been born in the 1740s or 1750s. It has always been assumed that they descend from Ambroise Sicard, but the connection was not known. David A. Avery, in a book called The Ancestors and Descendants of John Gunton and Eliza Jarvis (published by Mika Publishing in 1982) made the case that William and Elias were sons of Jacques and Jeanne (Bonnet) Sicard, with Jacques the son of Daniel Sicard who was the son of Ambroise. This has never been proven though, and there are known problems with this assumption. A descendant of Elias has tested and matches the other Ambroise descendants, as indicated in the first table above. This is consistent with his paper trail back to Ambroise. Whether Elias was the son of Jacques and Jeanne (Bonnet) Sicard or not, it is evident that Elias did descend from Ambroise along the male line.

There has obviously been a disconnect on TRVZP's line, somewhere between Ambroise and himself. On TRVZP's supposed paper trail back to Ambroise, the parentage of William the Loyalist is by far the weakest link, but only further testing of William's descendants will confirm whether the break happened at William. The disconnect could have resulted from a Secord family adopting a boy from a relative or friend's family with a different surname, and therefore different yDNA, and having the boy assume the Secord name. Or it could have happened that a boy was born out of wedlock to a Secord woman and was given the Secord surname though he did not carry the Secord yDNA.

For more information, please contact me, Caren Chandler, at caren.a.chandler"AT"gmail.com. (Replace the "AT" with @.)