The mutation is on a slow moving marker (DYS393), the current stats and studies say it happens about once in every 500 male births in a line. Using about 30 years for a generation, an ancestor born ca 1780 would be about 6-7 generations back from today. If he had four sons and they each had four sons and so on, that 500 number would be reached after only 5 generations. Sounds good, with the caveat that this match may not hold up upon upgrading to 25 or 37 markers. If the participants upgrade and it does hold up, it would give the Willis descendant a possible path to work on to tie into the Ralph line, and possibly help both lines find a new lead that could help them push back even farther.

Interpretations of matches come in two forms, narrative and numbers. The numbers don't look as good as the narrative and, again, it is important to note that this is on a slow moving marker, i.e. the match may be even less strong than described. The narrative form, "interpreting genetic distance within a project", calls an 11/12 match

Possibly Related - You share the same surname (or a variant) with another male and you mismatch by only one 'point' on only one marker. For most closely related or same surnamed individuals, the mismatch markers are either DYS 439 or DYS 385 A, 385 B,389-1 and 389-2. To ensure that the match is authentic you should utilize additional markers.

***The representatives of these two lines signed the release form so they were each informed of the match and given the option to get in touch with each other. That is the sole function of the release, in case you were wondering; only the name and email address given when the testers signed up is revealed to matching testers who also signed the release - it does not release any info to anyone else. That leads to another piece of advice: if you are the researcher and someone is "testing for you" they may have no interest in being contacted, so make sure YOUR email is given and then you can be the representative of the line and handle all the contacts.

A beginning study of Stephen would show him as the son of Francis Braddock and Ann McClure of Laurens SC. However, further digging in the records produces more than strong evidence that he is actually the natural son of Alexander Adair. Therefore Stephen's DNA should match an Adair line, not a descendant of any of Francis and Ann (McClure) Braddock's other sons. Finding this potential Adair match is very exciting. It is one step to help three different research paths:

1. Provide further evidence that Stephen was the son of Alexander Adair.
2. Give the Adair tester a possible lead to help them push back on their line. There are Laurens Adair lines that went up to IN/IL and spread from there, this tester could prove to be from one of those lines.
3. Tie Alexander Adair to the other Laurens Adairs and offer interesting support of the Laurens County Adair DNA profile (if a tester from those lines tests and matches). Alexander immigrated late to Laurens (1767), well after other Adairs had already been there; the question has always been "Is he related to them?", or perhaps more along the line of "It would seem he just has to be related, but how?"

N.B. There is still work to do to solidify this match and make it fully useful, especially as it is out of the norm (looking for a different named ancestor, proving or disproving a "paternity event"). Tests are needed from other sons of Francis and Ann (McClure) Braddock to show that Stephen does not match them (if he does then the theory of his Adair parentage would fall). Tests are also needed from other well documented Laurens County Adairs to "triangulate" with the current Adair test (if they don't match, it would show that Alexander was not related to them). **The principle illustrated here is hugely important: tests are needed from different sons of any given ancestor in order to create an accurate DNA picture of that ancestor.

Whatever happens regarding this potential match, it's exciting to watch and ponder the implications and possible impact on the lineages involved!

Some Haplogroup Info:
N.B. As much as I read and try to keep up, I am NOT able to articulate the heavy-duty information, and new research and results are constantly coming out! So I am giving links to information about the R1b1 haplogroup (and others); they open in a new window. Because the R1b1 haplogroup is so common, it is being hammered away at in order to break it down and reveal more information. R1b1c already has 9 sub-branches! PLEASE NOTE: there are constant debates about the validity of older work and conclusions as more results come out; even the most widely respected authorities have their differences of opinion about when who arrived where!

Haplogroup Description Table
This page describes the original time and location of the various haplogroups. For now I've put the descriptions leading to the R1b1c group (that our results show) at the bottom of this page.

Y-Chromosome Haplogroups
This page is no longer updated but has very good basic info about the haplogroups.

Y-Haplogroups and Websites
This site lists the various haplogroups with links to more descriptions. (It is generally the middle column links you will want; the labels of the haplogroups on the left often lead to join-up pages, some with good descriptions, some not.)

Genetics and Human Migration Patterns
This page is a quick narration of the early human groups and their movement. In its own words "...studies attempt to show the distribution of ethnic genetic codes over certain geographic areas in relation to time. This page attempts to grasp at and to explain some of this research."

R: one of the genetic "Adams":
"After spending considerable time in central Asia, developing skills to survive in the harsh new conditions and exploit new resources, a group from the Central Asian Clan began to head west toward the European subcontinent. An individual in this clan was born with the new M207 mutation on his Y-chromosome. His descendants ultimately split into two distinct groups,; one group continuing westward onto the European subcontinent and the other turning south to ultimately end its journey in the Indian subcontinent."

R1: "Members of Haplogroup are descendants of Europe's first large scale human settlers. Their lineage is defined by Y-chromosome marker M173, which shares a westward journey of M207 central Asian steppe hunters. The descendants of M173 arrived in Europe around 35,000 years ago and immediately began to make their own dramatic mark on the continent. Soon after their arrival, the era of the Neandertals ended (Neandertals lived in Europe from about 350,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago)."

R1b (and R1b1): "About 30,000 years ago, a descendant of the clan making its way into Europe a man was born with marker M343, the defining marker for Haplogroup R1b. These travelers are direct descendants of the people who dominated the human expansion into Europe, the Cro-Magnon. The Cro-Magnon created the famous cave paintings found in southern France, providing archaeological evidence of developing artistic skills as humans moved into Europe.
Haplogroup R1b is now the most common Haplogroup in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum, 10 to 12 thousand years ago."