It was no secret my paternal grandfather surname was actually his mother's maiden name, and the identify of his father was unknown. Therefore further research of his paternal line was consigned to the bottom of the in tray.

Then with the advent of DNA, my brother and I both sent off our tests, and months later we unexpectedly received a match. With our matches help and a newly found newspaper article when my great grandmother had taken the father to court in an attempt to seek financial support for her baby son. The newspaper revealed the name of the father, whereby we had now identified the biological father of my grandfather to be William Toynbee. They do say the clue is in the name and in this situation was proven to be the case.

My grandfather William Toynbee Jackson was born Aug 1899 in South Kyme, Lincolnshire, my great-grandmother Sarah Jackson was at the time a servant in the village. Here she met farm labourer the now known William Toynbee, this relationship saw the birth of grandad. Sarah registered my grandfather under her maiden name Jackson, hence we carry her surname. The research of the Toynbee's has taken us on a new family journey, my autosomal DNA test, has revealed many matches to the Toynbee's not just in the UK but in Canada and the USA. To finally remove any doubts my brother has done the Big Y - DNA, and one 111 Toynbee match which have confirmed I am a direct descendant of the Toynbee's from Lincolnshire.

In conclusion my paternal grandfather bore the name William Toynbee Jackson. Although his parents did not marry and his father was not formally recorded in civil documentation, subsequent Y-DNA analysis has demonstrated a paternal-line connection with the Toynbee lineage. This genetic evidence aligns with a contemporary newspaper report naming the biological father, together providing compelling confirmation of paternal identity.

Subsequent research has extended the Toynbee paternal line into the seventeenth century, with evidence of later emigration to North America. Autosomal and Y-DNA matches to Toynbee descendants in Canada and the United States provide independent corroboration that the biological father of William Toynbee Jackson belonged to this established Toynbee lineage.

Today, due to the surname issue the Toynbee line for us has technically died out despite Granddad having male descendants. 

The Surname

It is evident this surname is uncommon, failing to appear among the top 1000 surnames. This has led me to register the surname with the Guild of One Name studies, as we work discovery the Toynbee surname journey .

Lincolnshire Links

My research has identified the surname is prevalent in Lincolnshire and my Toynbee's descend from the Toynbee's of Coleby, Lincolnshire. I previously mentioned I have traced direct descendants from my Lincolnshire Toynbee's to Canada and the USA, and with whom I am now in touch. We are working together on building the Toynbee tree. and to ascertain if those who emigrated are linked back to Colbey, so far the evidence is proving that to be the case.

To date the Toynbee tree goes back to 1565 - 10th GGF William Toynbee.

Further research has identified at least seven interrelated Toynbee families originating in Lincolnshire, with documented emigration to Iowa and Canada during the nineteenth century. DNA matches to descendants of these emigrant families provide independent confirmation of a shared paternal lineage. 

I am now in the process of collating the data. sources  on each person in the tree which so far has 356 Toynbee named persons.Further research has identified at least seven interrelated Toynbee families originating in Lincolnshire, with documented emigration to Iowa and Canada during the nineteenth century. DNA matches to descendants of these emigrant families provide independent confirmation of a shared paternal lineage. This wider kinship network places the biological father of William Toynbee Jackson firmly within an established Lincolnshire Toynbee community, parts of which formed a coherent diaspora in North America.

Before the eighteenth century surnames were written phonetically and spelling was not standardised. Clerks recorded names as they sounded in local pronunciation, producing multiple forms for the same family. Early records of the TOYNBEE surname therefore appear under several variant spellings.

Examples identified in Lincolnshire records include:

Timeby – Tynby – Tinby – Toinby – Toynby – Toyneby – Toynbee

These forms represent the same surname and occur within the same family groups in Waddington and Coleby between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. The variation reflects differences in dialect, literacy, and clerical practice rather than separate origins.

By the late eighteenth century the spelling Toynbee became established and remained the dominant form thereafter.

Researchers should search using wildcards (Toy*, Tyn*, Tin*, Toi*) when consulting early records, as relevant entries may be indexed under any of the above forms.

The surname can be located in areas of Lincolnshire including Coleby, Waddington, Heckington, North Kyme, Billinghay, a lesser number in London, and Kent.

Canada -Prince Albert City, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada, Winnipeg, Canada

 USA - Minnesota, Lafayette County, Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa, USA,Coloma, Waushara County, Wisconsi

Probable Origin of the TOYNBEE Surname

The earliest known record of the surname occurs at Waddington, Lincolnshire, with the marriage of William Timeby and Anne Newcome in 1595. The spelling reflects early phonetic recording before surnames became standardised.

Parish registers show a continuous family in Waddington from at least 1609, followed by movement to the neighbouring parish of Coleby by 1662, where the surname remained established. The very short distance between the two villages indicates local relocation rather than migration from another region.

Nineteenth-century census data demonstrates a strong concentration of the surname within Lincolnshire, supporting continuity from this early settlement.

The name contains the Norse place-name element -by (“farmstead”), common in the Danelaw, and most likely derives from a minor or lost settlement in the Waddington–Coleby area. The available evidence therefore identifies this district as the earliest recoverable population centre and probable locality of origin of the TOYNBEE surname.No confirmed occurrences of the surname have yet been identified prior to the Waddington marriage of 1595. The absence of earlier verified records suggests the name had already developed locally before the beginning of consistent parish recording, with 1595 representing the first recoverable documentary appearance rather than the beginning of the surname itself.

Following a DNA match with a 4th cousin in Canada, it has now been established my 2nd great uncle Charles Toinbee (Toynbee) b.1838 in Dorrington, Lincolnshire (the family settled in North Kyme, Lincolnshire)  in 1854 along with his two brothers emigrated to Wisconsin, USA, they joined their maternal aunt and uncle Francis and Jane Weaver and settled in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States of America, Francis was a farmer.

Charles in 1861 joined the Confederates 13th Louisiana Regiment and saw action in the civil war. It is not known if his brothers joined. After the war Charles married and with their  2 sons moved to Mason City, Iowa, USA, Here he settled remarrying after for death of his first wife. Charles died in  1910.

It transpires also in 1853 another Toynbee family - Charles Toynbee (b 1820) second cousins to Charles moved and settled in Coloma, Waushara County, Wisconsin, United States of America. 

I am now in touch with descendants of Charles family in Iowa.

I since discovered another Lincolnshire family emigrated to New Jersey circa 1860.

A very distant relative - Joseph Toynbee -b. 1815 in Heckington, Lincolnshire - d. 1866 - London.  Joseph Toynbee FRS was an English Otologist, whose career was dedicated to pathological and anatomical studies of the ear.

One of the most famous of the Toynbee name is the historian Arrnold J Toynbee  (1889-1975), whose best-known work is the 12-volume Study of History

Current Research Status and Future Work

Research has established the Waddington–Coleby area of Lincolnshire as the earliest identifiable settlement locality of the TOYNBEE surname, with continuous records from 1595 onwards. Earlier occurrences have not yet been confirmed and the surname is believed to predate surviving parish registers.

Current work is focused on completing full parish reconstructions for Waddington and neighbouring villages in order to document all early family groups and determine patterns of local expansion. Particular attention is being given to identifying related branches within the immediate surrounding parishes and tracking movement outward during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Future research aims include:

• examination of manorial and land records within the district

• investigation of field-names and minor place-names that may preserve the original settlement name

• identification of probate material relating to early family groups

• continued collection of later national and overseas branches to document surname dispersal

Researchers with early occurrences of the surname outside Lincolnshire, or with variants not listed on this page, are encouraged to make contact as part of the continuing development of this one-name study.

Lincolnshire, England 

London, England

Iowa, USA

Winnipeg, Canada

Toronto, Canada

To date the data confirms:-

• A resolved paternity case

• A medieval Y-DNA lineage placement

• A documented 17th-century surname line

• A multi-family emigrant network

I have taken the autosomal test, my brother has taken the YDNA test with FTDNA, we belong to the Toynbee name interest on FTDNA

During the research two significant matches who are also direct Toynbee descendants located in Canada and the USA, we are now working on mapping all our DNA to ascertain more Toynbee descents world wide.

Previously  all Toynbee matches come through autosomal tests, now we have updated to the Big YDNA test we an be more specific about the Haplogroups. 

My brother's YDNA to the Big Y test has provided a change to his Haplogroup to be - R-FT395523

These results have provided a single match on 111 Y Haplogroup R-YP609 to a Toynbee living in Canada, but originally from London, England

 4 matches on 67 markers / 6 steps - 2 matches with the Y Haplogroup R-YP609, 

1 match with Y Haplogroup R-M198

https://www.facebook.com/groups/toynbeeonename.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/toynbeeonename.org/" target="_blank">Toynbee One-Name Study Facebook Group</a>

https://one-name.org/name_profile/toynbee/