y-DNA matches with different Haplogroups

[frankie-d]

In an attempt to identify the father of my maternal grandfather I arranged for a cousin to have a 37 marker y-DNA test with ftdna. There are 9 matches at a distance of 1-3 steps, sharing 3 surnames as follows-

Genetic Distance   Last Name   Y-DNA Haplogroup
1   Forester   R-M269
1   Forester   R-M269
2   Forrest     R-M269
2   Dick           R-M269
2   Dick           R-Z381
2   Forester   R-Z381
3   Forrest     R-M269
3   Forrest     R-U106
3   Dick           R-M269

Assuming that all these people are related on the male line within the past couple of thousand years, particularly the ones with same surname, I'd have expected them all to share the same Haplogroup. Can anyone explain briefly why they're different.

[DevonCruwys]

These matches are all in the same haplogroup. Some people have done more advanced testing and have a more refined haplogroup assignment. Z381 is a subclade of U106. U106 is one of the major branches of M269.

You can see the R1b tree here:

http://www.isogg.org/tree/ISOGG_HapgrpR.html

In situations where the surname is not known it's usually a good idea to upgrade to 67 markers so that you have more confidence in the match. That does of course always assume that some of your matches have also tested at this level.

It's also useful to do SNP testing to refine the haplogroup assignment. Z381 is more recent than M269 so if you are also Z381 then again this improves the confidence of the match. For SNP testing it's best to join the haplogroup project and seek advice from the volunteer project admins. In this case you might want to join the R1b and subclades project:

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/r-1b/about/background

[frankie-d]

Thanks DC

I need to do some more reading up!

[krswolf]

Hi Frankie-d!

I was doing a Google search on how a Y-DNA match could have a different haplogroup, and came across your post! Imagine my surprise when I saw that the names you had listed were Forrester and Dick! Because that is the line that I am researching!

I am wondering if we share a common ancestor. My earliest known ancestor (for sure) is Hugh Forster, who was born ca 1720 in Cecil Co, Maryland. His father may have been William or John Forster.

I have recently found that Hugh's lineage may be John Forster/Col. John Forster/William Forster/Rev Thomas Forster in Suffolk, England. Any of this sound familiar?

The main surnames in my father's tree are:  Wilson [CT/OH/WI/Iowa], Hunt [England/MD/PA/NC/IN], Hay [Scotland/Mass/NH/Iowa], Foster [NC/IN/Iowa], Forster/Foster [MD/NC/Iowa], Estes [Mass/NY/Ill/Iowa], Dicks [England/PA/NC].

Hope to hear back from you! By the way, I live in Iowa, in the US.

Sincerely, Kate Foster Wolf

[frankie-d]

Hi Kate,

thanks for your reply and welcome to Rootschat 

Unfortunately I think the partial overlap in our ancestral names is purely coincidental.
Most of the 9 men who match my cousin's yDNA are in the States, the ones who can trace back far enough all go back to the Borders area of south east Scotland, which is where the man I suspect is my g-grandfather came from, although his surname doesn't march any of them. Also as far as I know Forester/Forrest and Dick tend to be Scottish while Forster and Dicks are English.

If you haven't already looked you might find something about your Forsters in the Suffolk forum.

Good luck with your research.

Frank

[krswolf]

Thanks for the info, Frank! I will check out the Suffolk forum.  Kate