On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 11:10 PM, Maureen Schuelke via
<carpenter(a)rootsweb.com> wrote:
My brother had his DNA tested and we have the results back. How do we
have
it checked out with the Carpenter DNA project.
If he tested at Ancestry, it was an autosomal test, which means it wasn't
surname-related. Most of his matches will have no direct connection to
Carpenters, let alone actually carry the Carpenter surname. Am I correct
in assuming that he himself is a Carpenter? If so, then his Y chromosome
is an undiluted Carpenter heritage, but the rest of his DNA is not. Half of
it came from his mother (presumably not a Carpenter); half of the other
half came from his paternal grandmother (also presumably not a Carpenter);
half of the remaining quarter came from a great grandmother; and so on.
Is it possible we are not "Carpenter's" at all?
An autosomal test can't answer that question, but the Carpenter project can.
The Carpenter Cousins DNA project is focused on the Carpenter surname
(and other related names, like Zimmerman), and so we cannot use the
autosomal results, but only Y-DNA, and specifically only STR markers.
Basically, your brother will have to start over with a Y-STR test at Family
Tree DNA to find out where he fits into the Carpenter picture -- assuming
his surname is indeed Carpenter.
John Chandler