Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:14:11 -0230 (NDT)
From: dapike@math.mun.ca (David Pike)
To: PIKE-DNA-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: [PIKE-DNA] Emails about matching results


First, a quick update:  another set of 12-marker results came out about a
week ago for one of our project members (kit number 40227), and revealed that
he is a near perfect match for the Western/Atlantic Modal Haplotype that is
the basis for our 3rd collection of grouped results.

A second quick comment:  we now have 3 surname variants represented in our
project:  Pike, Pyke and McPike.

Next I thought that I would share something that I got asked about not long ago.
As FamilyTreeDNA processes more and more DNA samples, some of us will receive
automatic emails notifying us that new genetic matches have been discovered
with some the newest FamilyTreeDNA customers.  This is particularly so for those
of us who have gone into our personal webpages with FamilyTreeDNA and selected to
have our results compared against the entire FTDNA database, instead of the default
option which is to restrict things so that comparisons are only made with other
members of the Pike DNA Project).

So some of us have been receiving (and will continue to receive) emails that tell
us that genetic matches have occurred, sometimes with people whose surname is not
Pike or one of its variants.  Most often this will happen with 12-marker results.
As for how some of us could have similar results as other people with different
surnames, there are a number of possible explanations:

1.  It could be that about a thousand years ago when surnames were first
    adopted, some relatives adopted the Pike name while others took on
    different surnames (like Smith, for example).  When we fast-forward
    to today, the DNA tests from both groups would reveal that there is
    a relationship (especially if there had been few or no mutations
    in their Y-DNA since their split).

2.  It could be that some of the other surnames that are turning up with
    DNA matches to Pike's were actually once Pike's (or vice-versa).
    This might be the result of an unreported adoption, an intentional
    name-change by somebody in the past, etc.  It could also be the result
    of a case of illegitimacy sometime in the past, in which a male child
    inherited his father's Y-DNA but his mother's surname.

3.  Or it might be coincidence.  Thanks to the random nature of mutations,
    there's a chance that a given Pike Y-DNA signature and that of another
    unrelated person have "converged" to be close to each other, but many many
    generations ago the Y-DNA signatures were further apart.  For example,
    suppose that many generations ago, A.Pike had a 9 for a particular marker
    and that Z.Smith had a 13 for the same marker.  Suppose also that in the
    Pike line, the 9 mutated to a 10 after a few generations, and then mutated
    again to an 11 after several more generations, so that today there is a B.Pike
    with an 11 for the hypothetical marker we're discussing.  Over the same time
    frame, but on the Smith side, suppose that the original 13 mutated to a 12
    and then to an 11, so that today Y.Smith has an 11.  We find that B.Pike
    and Y.Smith both have 11 today but they are not actually related.

The general rule of thumb to try to figure out if matches are cases of
coincidence or not would be for people to upgrade to more markers and
then compare the results.  Most close 12-marker matches between different
surnames will cease to be close when 25 markers are compared.  But if there
is still a close match at 25 or 37 markers, then there's an increased likelihood
for one of scenarios (1) or (2) above, which means that the folks involved
might find it helpful to start comparing their genealogical notes to find out
if their ancestors ever lived near each other.

As for why somebody might want to be told about matches with people who have
other surnames, let me give my own personal reasons.  In my own Pike genealogy,
I'm still stuck in North America and have little hope of ever being able to rely
on historical records to get back any further than about 1810 or so.  My hope
is that genetic matches with other people (Pike or otherwise) might eventually
give me some insight as to where my ancestors came from (that is, if the people
that I end up matching have been able to trace their family origins back to
some place in England, Ireland, or somewhere else).

Another reason is because there might be cases of adoption, illegitimacy, etc.
that might be revealed, and I want to be made aware of them if/when genetic
evidence about them is detected.

That's about it for now I think.

- David.