Auvo Kostiainen, The Roots of John Morton in Finland. A Study in History and Genetic Genealogy.. Kustantaja Hatialax, Turku 2024, 221 pp.

Our study is a rare case exploring in detail the ethnic roots of John Morton (1725-1777), a leading politician from Pennsylvania and the Signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He stood out from many other Signers, since his roots were in Northern Europe. Morton descended from the settlers in the colony of New Sweden (1638-1655) on the Delaware.

A key factor to study Morton’s disputed roots is his great-grandfather, Mårten Mårtensson, Sr. When he arrived in 1654 in the colony, Finland was a province of Sweden. He was one of the Finns that migrated previously to Central Sweden and were known as “Forest Finns”. He established his home in what is now Prospect Park, PA municipality.

Our research brings together information on John Morton's roots in Europe and colonial New Sweden, while explaining the colonial culture. Thereafter, we will focus on the genetic male Y-DNA research. Genetic tests show that John Morton represented the specific haplogroup N which prevails in Eastern Finland. He was descended from the population of South-East Finland, but his deep roots are in South Karelia or the Karelian Isthmus.

Price includes postage to Finland.