Hello List!
I was recently asked off list some questions about the Carpenter Cousins Project. They
asked for a clarification of health issues that can be seen on Y-DNA tests and about the
project itself.
The following is what I wrote to them.
Often when I help people with their Carpenter genealogy, I am frequently able to help
resolve their genealogical line back to an immigrant. The Carpenter Cousins Project
supports the genealogical research that backs up the Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project. See:
http://carpentercousins.com/
Y-DNA markers rarely indicate health or medical issues. For example. Null values or
missing DYS markers where the Y-DNA marker value is listed as a numerical zero ( 0 ) often
indicates sterility. This of course is after confirming the lab results. The Carpenter
Cousins Project has had only one (1) such result in over 400 Y-DNA tests.
DNA tests that can focus on medical issues are often part of autosomal DNA (atDNA)
testing. See A) below for a brief on the different DNA tests.
One of the goals of the Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project is to help sort out the various
Carpenter/Zimmerman lineages using genetic Y-DNA tests. For example, Many lines
fraudulently documented in the past has been straightened out using Y-DNA testing. And
many incomplete lineages have been resolved. This last does not mean we are one hundred
percent (100%) successful. We list several lineages as incomplete or unattached in our
various groups. These are those who match genetically but who can not, for one reason or
the other confirm their lineage back to the groups ancestor. Please see our Carpenter
Cousins Y-DNA Project main page and lineage page for more details.
http://carpentercousins.com/carpdna.htm and
http://carpentercousins.com/generallineage.htm
It is important to know that we have over 107 different Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA genetic
profiles or fingerprints on file in some 35 organized and two other general non-matching
lineage groups. This means there is no single common ancestor within the genealogical time
period (say the last 750 years) for all of these Carpenter Cousins. Many Zimmermans (older
German word for Carpenter) came from Europe then Anglicized their name to Carpenter. Many
carrying the variant names such as Carpender(dar), Charpentier, Carpentier, Carpentero and
similar names did the same thing as the Zimmermans. But, some did not. Alternate names
for Zimmerman(n) include, but are not limited to, Simmerman and Zim(m)er. This is why the
project is called Carpenter Cousins!
Genetic genealogy, using a Y-DNA test, is often used due to road blocks or genealogical
dead ends. And to confirm the genealogical lineage by matching others on the same line
genetically.
Road blocks are those points in the lineage where one can not resolve who is whom in the
paper trail. This could be because of a dearth of names or an over abundance of names. A
Y-DNA test result could link you genetically to a known Carpenter/Zimmerman lineage. Then
reverse genealogy is applied using geographic time to place those Carpenters/Zimmermans
where your lineage ends.
Ideally, one gets a match breaking the road block. This often works, but it takes work and
patience. And occasionally you get tantalizingly close, but can not confirm the exact
relationship. For example, Y-DNA can not tell which of several sons or the father you
descend from. Why? Because the Y-DNA is passed virtually unchanged from father to son.
This is why we sometimes will place qualifiers on our posted lineages and still have
unattached lineages.
One of the goals of genetic genealogy is triangulation. This is simply person A matching
person B genetically then comparing their paper trail genealogy to determine the most
common ancestor (MRCA). When this is done we have a genetic and genealogical match. It is
a check recheck of the data. See B) below.
When we have a genealogical match but not a genetic match this is often a sign of a
non-paternal event (NPE). A NPE is a formal or informal adoption of DNA into a lineage.
Quite often this is as simple as a widow with a young child remarrying and the child
adopts the step-fathers surname. It can also be a sign of infidelity or a rape. On
occasion it could also be a sign of a genealogical issue.
Conversely, a genetic match without a genealogical match could indicate a paper trail
error. This is often found from copying unconfirmed or garbage genealogy off the internet.
Please remember that genealogy without good documentation has a higher probability of
error regardless of how many times it is repeated on the internet!
Please look over our Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project lineage pages. And if you have any
questions, please let me know.
John R. Carpenter
La Mesa, CA USA
Carpenter Cousins Project
http://carpentercousins.com
Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project
http://www.carpentercousins.com/carpdna.htm
Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project lineage page
http://www.carpentercousins.com/generallineage.htm
PS See also C) and G) below.
A)
There are different types of DNA tests. And some companies only do one type of test while
companies like FTDNA offer many types of tests.
Y-DNA Tests
As you know the Y Chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged over the
generations. This makes it ideal for surname testing.
When looking at a genealogical pedigree chart, the very top lineage is the paternal line
and represents Y-DNA heritage. This is the father’s father’s line.
Many companies used to have Y-DNA tests, but now only a few provide it. See comparison
chart link below. And these companies test some but not all of the same DYS markers. And
a few use different values (numbers) for the same DYS marker. Knowing when the test was
done and by whom will allow us to convert the values into a standard format.
Y-DNA tests come in different sizes like 12, 25, 37, 67, 111. Generally speaking the more
markers the higher the resolution or more markers to compare to. In general, one should
consider 37 markers as the starting level.
See:
http://isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_testing_comparison_chart
Mitochondrial DNA tests
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed from the mother to her children, but only her
daughters can pass it down to the next generation. Like Y-DNA this type of DNA is passed
down virtually unchanged over the generations.
When looking at a genealogical pedigree chart, the very bottom lineage is the maternal
line and represents mtDNA heritage. This is your mothers mothers DNA. Traditionally the
female assumes a married name each generation which makes it harder to track
genealogically.
MtDNA is tested in Hyper Variable Regions often called HVR1, HVR2 & HVR3. A complete
mtDNA test is referred to as mtFull at FTDNA.
See comparison chart at:
http://isogg.org/wiki/MtDNA_testing_comparison_chart
Autosomal DNA Tests
Ancestry and 23andMe focus on autosomal DNA (atDNA) FTDNA has a similar test called
Family Finder. Most people use these tests to see their ethnic heritages. So much
European, so much Middle Eastern, et cetera.
23andMe also uses atDNA type testing for medical genetic warning type tests as for Cystic
Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, Hereditary Hearing Loss and et cetera.
Some use it to compare DNA fragments to others for cousin similarity up to about 5
generations.
On a genealogical pedigree chart atDNA represents all your ancestry. You share 50% of your
DNA from each parent, 25% from each grandparent, then 12.5% by the next generation
followed by 6.25%, 3.125%, 1.5625% and further divided numbers back into time.
If you are surnamed Carpenter, any cousin match most likely will not be a Carpenter, but
from one of your other ancestors. For example, at 5 generations the likely cousin match
will be a Carpenter is 1/16 (one sixteenth),
To see the differences between these atDNA testing companies, please go to the following
link.
http://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_testing_comparison_chart
SNP Tests – Big Y
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP pronounced Snip) testing is a shotgun approach toward
the Y-Chromosome. Most Y-DNA tests can estimate the basic haplogroup. SNP testing
confirms the haplotyping of the Haplogroup. FTDNA calls theirs The Big Y. See the link for
comparisons between the different companies who provide this type test.
http://isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_SNP_testing_chart
Are there other types of DNA tests? Yes. But the ones above are the most common ones used
in genealogy.
B)
Triangulation – a goal of genetic genealogy
In genetic genealogy we use triangulation. Think of a triangle. Genetic triangulation is
rather simple. /_\
Person A & B match genetically and that forms the base of the triangle. _
Person A has a paper trail (genealogy) that goes back in time. /
Person B has a paper trail that goes back in time. \
The top of the triangle is the MRCA or most recent common ancestor.
Person A is who you are testing. Some living biological male 2nd, 3rd or better cousin
could be Person B. The most common shared ancestor is the MRCA.
If the genetics of Person A & Person B match and the paper trail goes to the MRCA,
then this helps prove they are related both genealogically and genetically. This is the
goal of genetic genealogy. When this is repeated several times back to a common ancestor,
we then can recreate the Y-DNA markers of that ancestor. All without digging them up!
See more at:
http://isogg.org/wiki/Triangulation
For many groups they have a recognizable common ancestor. For Group 2 (of the Carpenter
Cousins Y-DNA Project) it is the immigrant William Carpenter b. abt 1610 in England. With
triangulation we have re-created his genetic profile or fingerprint. The same goes for
Group 3 and a few other groups.
C)
We have a general discussion, query and help request page with the Carpenter Rootsweb
email list. See the following link to join it or to search past discussions. It can be
slow at times.
http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/surname/c/carpenter.html
We also have a FTDNA X-Site that has only FTDNA tested results. Unfortunately, they do
not allow us to add non-FTDNA member results to this page. See:
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/carpenter%20cousins%20%20dna/default...
G)
Here are a few helpful links regarding DNA and common DNA terms.
A glossary of basic DNA terms can be found at:
http://www.kerchner.com/books/glossary.pdf
The FTDNA version is at:
https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/glossary/
General stuff about DNA -
https://www.genome.gov/25520880/deoxyribonucleic-acid-dna-fact-sheet/deox...
See also:
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/introduction-what-is-dna-6579978
FTDNA info on Y-DNA testing:
https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/y-dna-testing/