By LaRae Free Kerr

Genetic genealogy is “the use of DNA to explore ancestral origins and relationships between individuals…another tool for the genealogist’s toolbox,” wrote Blaine T. Bettinger, Ph. D. at http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/wp-content/uploads/InterpretingTheResultsofGeneticGenealogyTests.PDF. Following is an example, based on a true situation but with the names changed, showing what YDNA can do and undo for researchers.

John Everyman was an early settler to New England. Over the years, several genealogies were written about the early Everyman family, showing connections between the two Everyman branches in New England and to the royally-connected Everyman settlers in Virginia and England.

Edward Everyman of New England married Abigail Public, the daughter of Thomas Public and Susannah Everyman. Susannah’s father was Eliphalet Everyman. So there were two main Everyman families in New England: that of Edward and that of Eliphalet Everyman, connected through Susannah Everyman Public’s daughter, Abigail. Claims were made that Edward was Eliphalet’s son who married his sister’s daughter. In addition, there was an Everyman family of Virginia, who claimed a coat of arms, and whose earliest American settler was called Colonel, an acknowledgment of his gentrified roots.

A modern-day researcher, Bob Everyman, started a DNA surname project for the earliest American Everymans. He wants DNA from many more Everyman men who can trace their ancestry to 1600s America before he will feel confident in his conclusions. In the meantime, his preliminary findings suggest new directions for research.

He discovered that two early male first cousins, sons of Everyman brothers, have no matching DNA.
Somewhere between the 1600s and now, a non-paternal event has occurred, meaning the legal father did not sire one or the other of these first cousins; or an adoption took place for which there are no records; or someone really blew the paper trail. The other problem is that this non-paternal event could have taken place in any of the generations from the 1600s to the 2000s, since DNA does not give the timing of such events.

The researcher also discovered that Edward Everyman’s male descendants do not carry the same YDNA as Eliphalet Everyman’s male descendants do. So Edward and Eliphalet are not related on their surname line, certainly not father and son. This means the ancestry of both must be revised to preclude a relationship between them.

The YDNA tests showed that the New England Everymans not only were not related to the royal Everymans from England but that they were not related to the family of Everymans in Virginia.
Therefore no coat of arms. (There wouldn’t be one anyway since Coats of Arms are awarded to individuals, not families). As you can see, the YDNA tests have blown away most of the assumptions about the early Everyman families in America.

Are these discoveries a benefit, then, of the YDNA test? Absolutely, and it’s called accuracy. First, researchers can look at both Edward Everyman and Eliphalet Everyman as separate problems instead of trying to make them into one. Records show that Edward Everyman was in America by 1664, apparently by himself. So researchers can now cast a wider net for his parentage – including overseas.

Eliphalet Everyman took an oath of allegiance in Connecticut in 1644, so the researcher will look for his parents to be a generation earlier than Edward’s. Many Everyman families resided all over England, so there is no need to search the same place for Edward’s and Eliphalet’s parents. The researcher may find a relationship further back, but there is no reason to expect one according to the YDNA.

Since the YDNA showed no relationship to the royal Everymans, the researcher can dump about seven “royal” generations from his database and make room for the correct ancestors. In fact, once the incorrect pedigree was dumped, it was easy to discover a skipped generation of Everymans in America and to add several generations on the wives’ lines.

Once many more Everyman men have submitted YDNA tests to the surname project, more connections can be made and perhaps more relationships thought to be true for generations can be released into the ether.

The family represented by the fictional surname, Everyman, is one of my ancestral families. Even though I cannot be tested for this family since I have no YDNA, the results of the YDNA test by others has resulted in a more accurate pedigree for me. So DNA testing can be a boon to research, but only if researchers understand this genealogical tool.

Initially, you must either find YDNA tests representing your ancestors through surname studies or company databases or take one or more DNA tests yourself. Of course, you may need to have a male relative take the test. Find YDNA surname projects by entering the following in a Google search: . Also check Cyndislist.com for to find others studying your surname.

Using YDNA results to increase the accuracy of a pedigree on the surname line is possible as shown by this example. For more information on how to make DNA work for you, and to understand what you will receive when you take a DNA test, see “Discover DNA” in the soon to be released ebook, The Least You Need to Do to Find Your Own True Ancestors.

LaRae Free Kerr, M ED, can be reached at
Itsallrelatives@sfcn.org and Itsallrelatives.net.