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My DNA test resultsIn summary, the results from Familiy Genetics showed I'm R1b1b2.(Whit Athey has a haplogroup predictor that's very good and it confirms the result). When I tested (late 2008) this haplogroup was known as R1b - the renaming shows how difficult it is to keep up with things! Being R1b1b2 means I belong to the most common haplogroup in England. When I tested, it was thought that my ancestors were Celts who survived the Ice Ages in Iberia or South West France and moved into North West Europe up the Atlantic over the many millennia after that. More recent research suggests this may not be the case, suggesting the group came into existence about 8000 years ago in the Near East, and migrated into Europe bringing the farming lifestyle with it. This is yet another example of how quickly this field is changing. Another problem is that this haplotype is common so it is difficult to pin down. Some aspects are clear. I'm not of proven Viking descent, although I could still be descended from a Viking who was descended from Celts! If anyone is really interested, the marker values are here. I found the Ballard site which suggest I'm an Angle (does this explain my mathematical interests<groan>) This sub-clade will have values of 23/11 at DYS markers 390 and 391. If one's known ancestry is in the British Isles and one has R1b of this sub-clade, the odds are tilted against that being an "indigenous" R1b and toward being a NW European continental R1b brought to the British Isles by one of the historic invader/immigrant groups from Brussels, Holland, NW Germany, and Denmark. This tilt should be incorporated into all the other surname and related information you have about origins of your R1b. This represents Anglo/Saxon England populations after the Roman occupation ended in 410 AD but before the Norman/Viking populations in the early 1000's AD. It also points to a fuller description of the haplotype on the Reivers site or McEwan's Site - see "R1b SNP result summary" for STRs vs SNPs. Eupedia has a breakdown of the subclades, including the old names. I have DYS454=10 - this is apparently not a common value, but I have yet to establisg what significance this has. Then I found another predictor - Jim Cullen's. That says: Haplogroups and probabilities are as follows: R1b =>62% R1b-S28 =>18% R1b-S29-Frisian2 =>6% R1b-S21* =>5% R1b-Frisian =>3% R1b-N.Irish =>2% R1b-M222 (NW Irish) =>2% S28 is also known as U152, a subclade of P312. There's a description here on the latest thinking on R1b1b2 When I put my results into YSearch I discovered a match with a guy called Ashworth in the Southern USA. I got in touch, and although our DNA suggests a good match on 21 markers, we had no common ground georaphically, his family being in the southern USA for 250 years, mine in South West Yorkshire. When I added my SMGF results (see below) the exact match disappeared. I think the match at 21 markers was just one of those coincidences that plague genealogy. Sorenson Molecular Genetics FoundationWhen I tested back in 2008, SMGF were doing DNA tests for free (they have now stopped) - so I enrolled. The downside was that not only were the results over a year in coming out, but they were not easy to discover as SMGF do not return them to you - you have to discover them by matching. Thankfully, the SMGF results matched FGs, but as a different set of markers were tested I now have 43 marker values. mtDNASMGF also tested my mtDNA, and the results were even harder to work out but I got there eventually. I believe I'm in haplotype U4 - my clan mother or "Daughter of Eve" is Ulrike, part of Ursula's clan (using the names from Bryan Sykes). The irony is, I do have Viking ancestry - on my mother's side. What's the FTDNA Project?4 of us have now had our DNA tested - we have a match between 2 of us, showing a probable link between 2 of the branches on John Micklethwait's site for which we have no other proof. Theyare of Viking origin (haplotype I1a). So bang goes the theory that WIlliam the Conqueror wiped out all the Vikings in South West Yorkshire in 1068. (The fourth test showed up as the uncommon I2b1 haplogroup) Also gone may be the theory that all Micklethwait(e)s come from the same family as we now have 3 distinct DNA branches, I1a, I2a, R1b. In fact my entire collection of 8000 Micklethwaites may be pointless, as one possibility is that in one of our lines there is a "Non Paternal Event" - ie. an adoption, a known step-child, or an illicit relationship - that means the true father is not the husband of the wife. If this is on my line... Being more philosophical, there are several possible explanations for the 3 strains - (1) more than one (unrelated) family left a village called Micklethwaite and became "de Micklethwaite" - seems pretty likely really. (2) a servant of the the "de Micklethwaite" family took the surname (3) NPE event as discussed above. I doubt we will ever know the answer. Now that more than one Micklethwait(e) has taken a DNA test, we've set up a project with Family Tree DNA. This gives fellow Micklethwait(e)s a small discount on the usual FTDNA prices, and encourages contact between tested members. If you're interested in a DNA test, check out that link - or contact me for info. Who said genealogy was simple! |