There is significant interest in the deep ancestry of our ancestors (over 1,000 years ago). For the vast number of genealogical researchers, there will never be sufficient traditional documentation to trace our ancestors in the distant past and most genealogical researchers have not been concerned about ancestors over 600 years in the past since very little can be proven in that time frame. There are projects that are attempting to determine how clans must be connected based on combination of historical documentation that does exist for early clan leaders and DNA testing. The vast majority of genealogists are not concerned with this variation of genealogical research (past to recent research). Most genealogists have concentrated on adding one or two more generations to their pedigree chart (recent to past research).

With the introduction of DNA testing to complement traditional genealogical research, our deep ancestry is proving to be more useful to genealogists than in the past. Deep clade testing for males (Y-SNPs) can be reveal important information for genealogists to analyze that can affect traditional genealogical research. The number of deep ancestry branches of Y-DNA is constantly expanding as research of specific Y-SNP markers reveal ten to twenty new branches of Y-DNA deep ancestry every year. There now over 200 Y-DNA deep ancestral branches and some of these branches originate only 1,000 years ago. Deep ancestry is rapidly approaching the time frame. that is of interest to genealogists.

There are several reasons that genealogists should test some donors for their deep ancestry but only around 25 % of submissions benefit from these tests. The largest usage of deep ancestry tests is that it is very easy way to separate numerous submissions into smaller groupings that are more manageable to analyze. If submissions do not share common deep ancestry in the 1,000 to 10,000 year range, they obviously can not be related in the 200 to 300 year time frame. where most genealogists have hit a brick wall on their pedigree charts.

With over 200 Y-DNA deep ancestry branches known today (and growing yearly), this provides a quick filter to determine lines of interest and eliminates many lines that no longer warrant traditional research based new DNA evidence. Even though Y-DNA deep ancestry does provide an excellent first pass filter, there are numerous scenarios where there are multiple genealogical clusters are discovered within any grouping of submissions with common deep ancestries. Without deep ancestry testing, very large databases associated with common surnames would be extremely difficult to separate submissions into groupings.

In the past, most genealogists paid little attention the origin of their surnames since our ancestors started using surnames around 600 years ago – long before the time frame. that most genealogists were concentrating on. However, with the introduction of DNA testing, everyone is now very interested in which genealogical cluster that they belong to. Finding out which cluster that your line is related to is now directly influencing genealogists research. Genealogists are realizing how powerful that DNA testing has become as a filter for determining lines that are related enough to warrant further research.

For most surnames that are not very common (or common surnames with a limited number of genetic origins), Y-STR marker values combined with the surname provide a unique fingerprint to confirm that submissions are related (or not related). However, there is a major misconception that all submissions that have few mutations must be related – regardless of surname or commonality of the surname. In reality, many submissions have common DNA values and overlap with unrelated submissions – even if they are only a few mutations apart. This scenario has been called "overlapping haplotypes" by Mark Jobling and is not considered by many who are analyzing DNA submissions. Testing for deep ancestry can help break up these large groupings into true genealogical clusters.

With large groupings of submissions with the same deep ancestry, it is pretty obvious that there has to be multiple genealogical clusters within many groupings. Some groupings of submissions have the somewhat related submissions but are too diverse genetically to be genealogically related. For these groupings where all submissions can not all be closely related, testing for deep ancestry is being used to break up these groupings. If submissions do not have common deep ancestry, they can not be closely related in the genealogical time frame.

ANALYSIS OF DEEP ANCESTRIES OF THE CASEY SURNAME

The Casey surname is a clan based surname that has only six genetic origins according to studies on the origin of the Casey surname. With around 50 Casey related DNA submissions to date, DNA evidence tends to support six genetic origins. With only six genetic origins for the Casey surname, there can obviously be at most six deep ancestries associated with the Casey surname (ignoring NPE births as sources of even more genetic lines). With around fifty submissions in the Casey DNA Project, only five deep ancestries have been identified at the deepest branches available to date. Over half of the Casey submissions have the same deep ancestry. Below is a summary of deep ancestries tested to date:

1) South Carolina cluster – Three submissions tested positive for L221.
2) Munster, Ireland cluster – Two submissions tested positive for L221.
3) R1b1a2 grouping – One submissions tested positive for SRY2627.
4) E1b1a8a cluster – One submission tested positive for U175 (also tested
negative for more recent branches U290, U181 and P59).
5) J2 cluster – One submission tested positive for M172 (however, there are around 20 newer recently discovered branches that have not been tested for to date).

The testing of deep ancestry only helps if there are 37 or more Y-STR markers tested and where traditional documentation has been submitted to the Casey DNA Project for analysis. Here are the action items for further deep ancestry testing for each cluster:

R1b1a2 Cluster – This cluster has the most immediate gain for testing their deep ancestry. Most could test only SNP marker SRY2627 and determine their deep ancestry (this assumes that most in this grouping will probably test positive for this SNP marker). This test only costs $29 and would help break up the grouping if SRY2627 is not found on few submissions. Probably two or three submissions will not test positive for SRY2627 and a full deep clade test would be required for $89. The more closely related that your line is to submission 56479, the higher odds that your line will test positive for SRY2627. It is almost certain that most submissions in this grouping will test positive for SRY2627 but it is also very likely that two or three submissions will not test positive. It is highly recommended that several submissions in this grouping test for SRY2627. Deep ancestry testing should break up this grouping into at least two groupings.

South Carolina Cluster – Since all submissions are very closely related, there is at least a 95 % chance that all submissions will test positive for L226. However, all other submissions can verify their deep ancestry with only a $29 test. There is significant interest in analyzing this deep ancestral branch (known as Irish Type III). There are over 300 known submissions that are believed to belong to Irish Type III. The more submissions that have L266 confirmed via Y-SNP testing, the quicker that new sub-branches will be discovered. Only one submission for each proven line should be tested for deep ancestry.

Munster, Ireland Cluster – Since all submissions are reasonably closely related, there is at least a 80 % chance that all submissions will test positive for L226. The rationale for testing deep ancestry for the cluster is the same as the South Carolina cluster.

E1b1a8a Cluster – All three submissions in this cluster are known descendants of common proven ancestor, Sinclair Casey. Only one submission has been tested for deep ancestry and has tested for all known branches that exist today. It is not recommended that the other lines be tested.

J2 Cluster – There is only one submission in this cluster today. The deep ancestry for this submission was tested some time ago before many new branches were discovered. It is recommended that the full deep clade test be ordered again. Be sure to contact Family Tree DNA to ensure that the current deep clade test will test for newer branches that exist today.

HOW TO ORDER A SINGLE SNP MARKER FOR TESTING

Family Tree DNA does not make it very easy to order these tests, so I am adding instructions on how to order the L226 or SRY2627 SNP marker as single Y-SNP test for $29. Here are the steps in order to order individual SNP markers:

1) Log into the FTDNA web site using your submission number and password.
2) On the left side of the screen and under the section Y-DNA, click the link "Haplotree."
3) In the middle section labeled "Choose your own SNP," click the button "Continue to Choose SNPs."
4) Scroll down the haplotree chart to the SNP marker that you want tested. Select L226 for the South Carolina and Munster, Ireland clusters or select SRY2627 for the R1b1a2 grouping. Be sure to click on the marker that you want tested. Note: In the list labeled " Selected SNPs," you should verify that only one SNP marker selected.
5) Hit the continue button.
6) Hit the Next button.
7) Enter your billing data and complete the remainder of the screens as required.

HOW TO ORDER A "DEEP CLADE" TEST

Family Tree DNA does not make it very easy to order these tests, so I am adding instructions on how to order the full Deep Clad test for $89. Even if you have previously ordered the deep clad test and want it tested again, you have to pay for the entire deep clad test again. Also, the deep clad may not test for all defined branches and you may later be required to order individual SNP markers to determine the most recently discovered branches. Here are the steps to order the deep clad test:

1) Log into the FTDNA web site using your submission number and password.
2) On the left side of the screen and under the section labeled "Y-DNA," click the link "Haplotree."
3) Under the section labeled "You are eligible for an upgrade," click the button "Continue for more information."
4) Hit the Next button.
5) Enter your billing data and complete the remainder of the screens as required.

UPLOADING YOUR Y-STR MARKERS TO THE Y-SEARCH

For those who test the Y-SNP markers (deep ancestry), it is very important that you upload your FTDNA Y-STR markers to the Y-Search database. This database open to the public and is not limited to FTDNA submissions. Most projects that research deep ancestry (attempting to find new deep ancestry branches) only use this database as input to their research. If you do not upload to Y-Search, most groups that conduct deep ancestry research will not be aware of your testing. Also, if you test positive for L226, you should join the L226 project at the FTDNA web site (L226 project can be added like surname).

You can only upload Y-STR markers once, so you should wait until the results of all markers of your first test become available for review. After your first upload, you will have to log into Y-Search and add any new markers manually. Again, FTDNA does not make this procedure very obvious, so here is the procedure:

1) Logon to the FTDNA site using your submission number and password.
2) Of the left side of the screen labeled "Y-DNA," hit the link "Matches."
3) Under the middle section of the screen labeled "Additional possibilities for searching matches," click on the link labeled "Click here to upload to Ysearch.org."
4) Enter all the profile data for your submission (some is preloaded).
5) Hit the button "Save Information" at the bottom.

MORE INFORMATION ON L226 (IRISH TYPE III)

Since there is a lot of interest in deep ancestry research, there are web sites and FTDNA projects dedicated to this topic. When approached by these projects for information and additional testing, you should attempt to be cooperative with these requests as they will eventually have direct benefits to genealogists. For further information on the Irish Type III (L226), see the web site by Dennis Wright:

Irish Type III