New Member - 433459, Farrar, MDKA Canada, Ungrouped

Several sets of new Y-DNA results have been posted to the project over the last few months and several new ones are expected shortly. It's good to see the project growing!

I will be summarising these new results and how they fit in to the overall project in a series of blog posts over the course of the next few weeks. And to start off with, here is the first one.

Basic information

Kit Number: 433459

Name: Farrar

MDKA: John Farrow b 1810 PEI d 1872 - 1880 N.B. Can

Background: The Most Distant Known Ancestor (MDKA) is John Farrow born 1810 Prince Edward Island, died 1872-1880 New Brunswick, Canada. There is some uncertainty in the family if the ancestral surname is Farrow or Farrar as the two names were often used interchangeably. His ancestry was thought to be northern England, perhaps Norfolk, but do the DNA results bear this out?

Other projects: in accordance with our recommendations (see Getting the Most out of your DNA Test), he has joined several appropriate haplogroup projects including the following:

• R _R1b ALL Subclades
• R L21 and Subclades
• R1b-L1335

STR marker profile

He did the Y-DNA-67 marker test and has 168 matches at the 67 marker level but there are no Farrar’s, Farrow's or Farrell’s. In fact, the closest he comes to anyone in the entire Farrell DNA project is a Genetic Distance of 12 out of 37, which is very distant indeed and suggests no common ancestor for several thousand years with any of the Farrell group members. As a result, for now, this new member has been placed in the Ungrouped (Haplogroup R) section.

He also joined the Farrar DNA Project but has no close matches there either. So it may be that he is the first Farrar to test from his own particular branch of the Farrar family or that there was an NPE (non-paternity event e.g. adoption, infidelity, etc) somewhere along his ancestral line in the last 1000 years or so.

If there was an NPE, we could get a clue to as to where the Y-DNA came from by examining his closest matches. The most common surnames that occur amongst his matches include Campbell (x40) & Stewart (x8). And many of his matches come from Scotland and Northern Ireland, suggesting that his direct male line was originally Scots or Scots-Irish. The predominance of Campbell among his matches is highly suggestive of a Campbell being the progenitor of his direct male line.

SNP Marker Profile

Similarly, we can deduce from his closest matches what his terminal SNP is likely to be and this in turn might give us a clue as to the possible origins of his Y-DNA. The most common downstream terminal SNPs among his Y-DNA matches are:

• L1335 … x4
• L1065 … x4
• CTS7030 … x3
• DF13 … x3

I looked to see where these were situated on the YFull haplotree and FTDNA Haplotree, and here is what I found:

• DF13 is relatively upstream and the SNP progression is as follows ...
• L21 > DF13 > L1335 > L1065 / CTS7030
• L1335 sits below DF13 and was formed about 4200 years ago.
• L1065 is actually equivalent to CTS7030 (x3 matches) and CTS6838 (x2 matches). It sits just below L1335. It was formed about 3600 years ago.
• So the most likely candidate for his terminal SNP based on the above is L1065.

I looked to see if we could perhaps travel a bit more downstream. And indeed, several of his matches have other SNPs below this one. Looking at his list of matches, the following more downstream SNPs occur:

• FGC10117 x2 (a Campbell and a Ford), FGC10125 x2 (both Campbell’s). 
• YFull puts these SNPs as equivalent to each other (i.e. at the same level = they are the same or adjacent SNPs) and has its own name for the SNP, namely Y7359. 
• FTDNA has a slightly different placement but they all occur in more or less the same general area. 

So based on this data, it is most probable that this new member's terminal SNP is Y7359 or FGC10117 or FGC10125, as illustrated in the diagram below. In this situation, the next step would be to seek advice from the Haplogroup Project Admins on what additional testing options are recommended in order to confirm if this guesstimate for the terminal SNP is correct.

In fact, this member subsequently ordered the R1b-M343 Backbone SNP Pack (as well as the Y-111 upgrade). The SNP results came back with a negative result for FGC10125, but a positive result for  Z16325 (also known as S744). This became his new terminal SNP and in fact it is located on the adjacent branch to the SNPs that we guessed could be his terminal SNP. The diagram below shows their relative positions on the YFull haplotree.

The possible (red) and actual (green) terminal SNPs for member 433459 on the YFULL Tree

These results place this member in a distinctly Scottish cluster and his position on the evolutionary tree is nicely displayed in Alex Williamson's Big Tree here and partially reproduced in the diagram below. Note all the Scottish flags!

a small portion of the sub-branches below R-Z16325
(click to enlarge)

Next Steps

Further testing of additional SNPs (such as the L1065 SNP Pack for $119) would place this individual even further downstream in the human evolutionary tree, would identify on which sub-branch below Z16325 he currently sits, and would ultimately identify the likely surname of the progenitor of his father's father's father's line.

The L1065 SNP Pack and the SNPs it tests for (in pink)
Green SNPs = tested positive; red SNPs = tested negative

Maurice Gleeson

Feb 2016

The Origins of R1b-GF3

This is the first of a number of blog posts looking specifically at each of the "genetic families" identified so far in the project, and what the DNA of the members tells us about where each genetic family came from.

When we talk of our "Ancestral Origins" we have to keep in mind that this means different things at different times. For example, for those of us living in the US, our family may have lived here for several generations, but before that one line of the family may have originated from Ireland (for example) in the early 1800's, and we may have lived there for many centuries before that. And then when we get back to 500 AD, that particular ancestral line may have been part of a band of Vikings from Denmark, and going back even further, we may have emerged from Russia, 25,000 years ago, and Africa 50,000 years ago. So the concept of "origins" is relative to the time period in question. For most people doing genealogical research, the concept of "origins" stretches back about 500 years but not much further than that.

In previous blog posts, we have explored the possible origins of the Farrell surname based on what has been written in surname dictionaries (see here for the Farrell surname, and here for its potential variants). We know that Farrell is found in Ireland primarily, but there are many potential variants in both Ireland and the UK. Whether or not all these names are genetically related is the reason why we started the Farrell DNA Project in the first place. 

Our first group ... R1b-GF3

There are currently 8 Genetic Families in the project - two families belong to Haplogroup I1, one family belongs to Haplogroup R1a, and five families belong to Haplogroup R1b. Many project members who currently find themselves in the Ungrouped category are likely to be paired off with new members to form new genetic families as time goes on. In this way, the number of genetic families identified is likely to expand.

In this blog post, we are just looking at the family called "R1b-Genetic Family 3" (R1b-GF3 for short). We will look at the other genetic families during the course of the next several months. Below is a screenshot of the three members in R1b-GF3, and their Y-DNA results (out to 37 markers).

The 3 members appear to have the same MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor)

The first 37 markers show only two mutations altogether (1 pink, 1 purple)

(click to enlarge)

Indicators of Potential Relatedness

I have discussed in a previous blog post the rationale for why the three members of this group were grouped together. To recap, these included, first and foremost, the fact that the Genetic Distance (GD) between any two members is very small.  In fact, the genetic signature of the three members is virtually identical. There is only 1 or 2 mutational differences between the three members. 

After grouping them based on their GD, it became apparent that all three members seemed to have the same MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor) - one Gabriel Ferrel, who lived in Botetourt County, Virginia (about 1741-1803). This was very encouraging because they were initially grouped together on the basis of the similarity of their DNA profiles (their genetic signatures) and it only became apparent afterwards that they had a similar MDKA. Thus the genealogical evidence lends support to the original genetic evidence, further bolstering the contention that they are all closely related to each other. 

Another "post-grouping discovery" was that they all share a rare marker value of 26 for marker DYS449. This too supports the suggestion of a "close relationship" (or at least one within a genealogical timeframe, or in other words, within the last 1000 years). You can read more about these Indicators of Potential Relatedness for R1b-GF3 in my previous blog post here.

Origins based on Traditional Genealogy

Member 176224 of R1b-GF3 was kind enough to write a short summary of what is known about their MDKA, Gabriel Ferrel:

Gabriel Ferrel is our first known American ancestor, born c. 1741-43 (this is a guess).  He may or may not be our first immigrant ancestor. In theory, his family came from Longford, Ireland. Gabriel was a soldier in the French and Indian War enlisting in Lunenburg County, Virginia. He and wife Anne established a small plantation on Goose Creek in Botetourt County, Virginia, where they raised wheat, flax, and tobacco, and were holders of slaves (noted in 1804 will). Gabriel and Anna Haynes Ferrel raised four children, that we know of Stephen, Mildred, Abner, and Elizabeth. Gabriel was in Bedford County Virginia prior to Moving to Botetourt.

The Virginia plantation was sold in the early 1900’s by descendents of Gabriel Ferrel to purchase Medical Hall Mansion, in Maryland. Built in the 1700’s, Medical Hall was the home of Dr. John Archer, the first medical student to graduate in Philadelphia, and in the American colonies. William Hanyes family website: http://www.haynesfamily.com/ . Gabriel's will: http://www.gabrielferrel.citymax.com/wills.html

This information tells us that there is family lore of origins in Longford.

Origins based on the Most Distant Known Ancestors (MDKA)

As mentioned above, all three members have the same MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor) - Gabriel Ferrel, from Botetourt County, Virginia (about 1741-1803). So in this particular instance the MDKA for each individual is the same as the MRCA for the entire group (MRCA being the Most Recent Common Ancestor). This is fortuitous and gives us a place of origin for the members of this genetic family - Botetourt County, Virginia in the mid-1700's. 

Usually we are not lucky enough to be able to identify a common point of origin for group members. In fact, none of the other genetic families in the project have a clearly defined ancestral homeland. So this particular group is lucky in this respect, and anyone who matches this group may also have roots going back to Virginia in the mid-1700's.  

We can also use the DNA data to give us an idea of when (but not where) the MRCA lived. The small Genetic Distance  (GD) between members suggests a common ancestor some time in the past several hundred years. Estimates of when he lived (using the GD based on the first 37 markers) are in the region of 3-6 generations ago, with a range (90% Confidence Interval, using approximate 5% and 95% limits) of 1 to 14 generations ago. Assuming 30 years between generations, this translates into 90-180 years prior to their average date of birth, but with a wide range of 30-420 years ago. And if we assume the three members were born about 1950 (on average), then the common ancestor's year of birth was about 1815 (range 1530-1920). Upgrading to 67 or 111 markers might give a better estimate of when the common ancestor was born (but within a still fairly broad range). However, because we already know the MRCA (Gabriel Ferrel) and we know his year of birth (1741 or 1743), we can say that the estimated year of birth (1815) is out by about 74 years ... but still within the estimated range (1530-1920).

The information so far tells us that we have origins for the group in mid-1700's Virginia. But can we find out anything about where they came from before that?

The answer is yes. There are several clues that we can extract from the data. And the first place to look for clues is in their matches.

Origins based on the Matches' Surnames & MDKA Birth Locations

The 3 members of R1b-GF3 have 13, 15 & 29 matches respectively at 37 markers. We can get a clue to the origins of this group based on the surnames of the people that they match and the birth location of their matches' MDKAs. 

Here are the surnames they match and the origins of each match's MDKA ... where recorded. Most people have not recorded a location for their MDKA, which is very unfortunate, as this limits the usefulness of the comparison. Sometimes the MDKA is not known, but other times it is known but simply not recorded. If more people recorded the location of their MDKA's birth (or death) this would make this type of analysis much more informative. (Note that the number of separate individuals matched is only 1 in each case, apart from Lynch and McConnell, where there are 3 and 2 matches each respectively): 

Bailey
Burk
Clancy
Conley
Ferrel
Ferrell
Fletcher
Gillen ... ... ... ... ... Leitrim, Ireland
Gunn
Gunne-Thompson
Henderson ... ... ... ... ... Baltimore, US
Kannard
Kearns
Kelly
Knight ... ... ... ... ... ... Virginia, US
Lynch x3 ... ... ... ... ... Westmeath, Ireland
McConnell x2
McGarity
McHugh ... ... ... ... ... Sligo, Ireland
Meade
Moffett
Mooney
O'Kelley ... ... ... ... ... Meath, Ireland
Reilly
Spurling
Vaughn ... ... ... ... ... Virginia, US

Many of their matches' surnames are distinctly Irish (10 names in 13 individuals, marked in green).  Others are distinctly English (10 names in 10 individuals, in blue), or Scottish (2 names in 2 individuals, in orange). What we are hoping for is a preponderance of a particular "nationality" among the surnames' origins, but we do not see this in this particular example. So based on the above analysis, the origins of R1b-GF3 could be equally Irish or English (with Scottish as an unlikely outsider).

We could repeat the exercise for matches at the 67 marker level and the 111 marker level. Matches at these higher levels of resolution might be more "exact" and perhaps we should rely on them more. Only member 176224 has tested above 37 markers. He has tested to 111 markers. He has 43 matches at 67 markers and 5 at 111 markers (Bailey, Kearns, Lynch, McConnell, & Meade - 3 Irish, 2 English).  So even at the higher level of testing, the likely origins of R1b-GF3 remain elusive.

Origins based on Surname Distribution Maps
We can identify the origins of different surnames (and their relative frequency) at the excellent PublicProfiler website. This site also gives you surname distribution maps (keep on clicking on the maps to get to country and regional levels). Other sources of surname distribution maps include the Irish Times Ancestors website and the Forbears website.  Also, Howard Mathieson runs the excellent Facebook group Surname Distribution Maps which is a great place to get information and ask for help.

We could do a Surname Mapping exercise and generate a surname distribution map for each of the 26 surnames in the list (based on data from the 1850's for Ireland, and 1881 or 1901 for the UK). This would tell us where each of the surnames was most prevalent in the mid- to late-1800's and this area of highest prevalence might correspond with the origins of each surname. Then by looking at the degree of overlap among the various maps, we might be able to narrow down the possible ancestral homeland for our R1b-GF3 group to a much more localised area, an area where there is the greatest overlap among the 26 surnames in our sample.

There would be no guarantee that this actually is the "place of origin" of the surname or the "ancestral homeland" for the members of R1b-GF3, but it might be. The trouble with our ancestors is that they tended to move around. Especially after the Industrial Revolution of the mid-1800's. So the highest point of concentration of a particular surname in the 1800's does not always correspond with its point of origin (which was 500-800 years previously). But, it might do. In fact, based on the laws of probability, it might be the "most likely" location for the "ancestral homeland". At the very least, it is a good place to start looking for further clues. There are other confounders and biases likely to be present (including Convergence and NPEs, such as secret adoptions or infidelities) which are likely to have skewed the data in some way, so any interpretation must be taken with a grain of salt.

Surname Distribution Maps - where's the overlap?

So here are the distribution maps for 4 of the 26 surnames in the list. Do you see a pattern? Where is the highest degree of overlap? Is it in north-west Ireland? What about Lancashire (or is this simply an area of high Irish immigration to England)? So are we looking at an origin for R1b-GF3 that is Native Irish, Ulster Scots, or Northern English? At this stage it is still too difficult to tell from the data we have reviewed thus far. And repeating this exercise with all 26 surnames may not make it any more clear. Let's come back to this later (if need be).

Another source of clues is your Ancestral Origins and Haplogroup Origins pages which you can access from your FTDNA Homepage (see below). These tell you which countries your matches have put down as their "Country of Origin". These can reveal a preponderance of one particular "nationality" among your matches. For R1b-GF3, there seems to be a slight preponderance of Irish origins but nothing extremely convincing.

Origins based on the Terminal SNP

Haplogroups & the Tree of Humankind
The next clue is to look at the terminal SNP for the group as this determines to which haplogroup and subclade group members are assigned. You will find your own terminal SNP in the fourth column on the DNA Results page for the project (under the heading Haplogroup). FTDNA assigns everyone to a specific Haplogroup (usually based on your STR markers, but occasionally with some confirmatory SNP marker testing). A Haplogroup is simply a group of people with a broadly similar genetic signature.  Most people in Western Europe belong to  R1b, most people in China are O, and most people in Africa are A, B or E1b1a.

One of the great advantages of DNA its that we can use it as a marker to map the evolution of different species of animal, including our own species. In effect, we can use it to build a family tree of all humankind - the human evolutionary tree. In recent years, we have started to characterise the finer, more downstream branches of this tree (the subclades) and as we do so, we are moving forward in evolutionary time to the extent that we are now beginning to identify sub-branches of the tree that arose within a genealogical timeframe (i.e. within the last 1000 years). Eventually we should be able to identify markers for (some) individual genetic lineages, such as R1b-GF3, and determine who their nearest genetic neighbours are. This will also allow us to confirm whether or not the genetic data is consistent with the information in the Ancient Genealogies (of Ireland and Scotland, for example).

Below is a map showing the evolution of the major Y-DNA Haplogroups since the appearance of Anatomically Modern Humans in Africa about 250,000 years ago. You can see that R1b emerged about 25,000 years ago, somewhere near modern-day western Russia. 

(click to enlarge)

Haplogroup R1b is the old terminology (but it is still used). R1b is now usually written as R-M269 as this is the new terminology: the Haplogroup letter - R in this case - followed by the "terminal SNP" i.e. the SNP marker that defines the most downstream branch identified so far in that particular individual. So the fact that the most members in the Farrell DNA Project belong to Haplogroup R1b suggests that their ancestors came from Western Europe. What a big surprise. We kind of knew that already. But this is merely a starting point. What we are really interested in is what sub-branch of R1b do individuals belong to. And to answer that question we can examine the terminal SNPs of the members' matches.

The Terminal SNP of Matches
With the advent of more extensive SNP marker testing, it is often possible to "guess" your own SNP before undertaking SNP testing.  Simply look at the terminal SNPs of your matches and that should give you a clue. Below are the first 15 matches for one of the members of R1b-GF3, sorted by Y-DNA Haplogroup in order to show the terminal SNPs of the matches. The most frequent terminal SNP is R-M269, but this is a very upstream SNP. The second most common SNP is FGC11134 and this is very much more downstream. This information suggests that it is highly likely that FGC11134 is the terminal SNP for the group R1b-GF3. Thanks to other people testing we can predict the terminal SNP for R1b-GF3. And in fact this turned out to be true because member 176224 did the Big Y test and the results came back positive for FGC11134.

Matches sorted by Y-DNA Haplogroup to show the terminal SNPs

As an aside, there are several ways to undergo SNP marker testing:

1. you can test for individual markers (either with FTDNA for $39 or YSEQ for $17.50)
2. you can test for a panel of SNP markers, such as ...
• the R1b-M343 Backbone SNP Pack (139 SNP markers for $99)
• or a more specific Deep Clade Panel (the Haplogroup Project Admins will advise on this; the price is usually about $120)
3. you can test your entire Y-chromosome using an NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) test, such as FTDNA's Big Y test (which tests over 50,000 SNP markers for $575)

In general, the Haplogroup Project Administrator will advise on the best test to do.

The Importance of Haplogroup Projects

Another way of determining your SNP (especially if you have no matches) is to join the appropriate Haplogroup project. Everyone is encouraged to join any Haplogroup projects that are relevant to them. It's free, it's easy to do, and you are helping the advancement of science by doing so. You may also directly benefit from what these Haplogroup projects find, and the Administrators can provide you with useful information on what additional DNA testing would benefit you personally (and such targeted testing helps you avoid spending money on unnecessary tests). In essence, the Project Administrators will look at your Y-DNA data (your STR marker values) and compare yours to everyone else within the group. They will then assign you to a subgroup within the larger group. This subgroup (probably) represents a more downstream sub-branch of the human evolutionary tree. Some members of this subgroup may already have undergone SNP marker testing and it is likely that you would also test positive for the same SNP markers that they are positive for.

As a starting point, anyone who is assigned by FTDNA to Haplogroup R1b (a.k.a. R-M343 or R-M269) should join the R1b and Subclades project. The Project Administrators will in turn add you to additional projects that they think may be of benefit to you (or you may join such projects yourself). Such projects usually represent downstream branches of Haplogroup R1b, which are beautifully illustrated in the diagram below from Mike Walsh, one of the Administrators of the R1b and Subclades project.

Unfortunately none of the members of R1b-GF3 have joined the R1b and Subclades project yet (hint, hint), but two members have joined the Ireland Y-DNA project. This project has over 6600 members.  The administrators have grouped member 319357 into the subgroup R1b-L21 (a sub-branch of the larger group) and the other member (176224) into subgroup R1b-FGC11134 (a much more downstream sub-branch of R1b, represented by the orange group to the left of the midline and half-way down in the diagram above). In fact, this latter member has been assigned the terminal SNP FGC11134 as a result of taking the Big Y test (more on that below). Before the advent of SNP testing, Haplogroup projects were very useful (and still are) for predicting what terminal SNP you are likely to test positive for.

Participant 176224 is also a member of the FGC11134 project but it seems that not all his relevant matches have joined this project and therefore comparisons are limited. 176224 is grouped with a Kearns (kit 237483) and a Cairns (N116392) - one an Irish name, the other Scottish.

Placing the Terminal SNP on the Tree of Humankind
The old terminology for the FGC11134 sub-branch (or sub-clade) is the relatively unwieldy name R1b1a1a2a1a2c1c. The new terminology is simply R-FGC11134. The progression of the main SNP markers from the start of the R1b branch (and hence the major branching points along the tree) are as follows:

R-M343 > L389 > L752 > M269 > L150 > L23 > L51 > L11 > P311 > P312 > L21> DF13 > FGC11134

You can view the relative position of all these SNP markers on various websites including the FTDNA Haplotree (click on your "Haplotree & SNPs" button on your FTDNA Homepage), the ISOGG Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree, the YFULL Haplotree, and several others.  As these are largely experimental trees, with the branching pattern adjusted as new data comes in, there will be some discrepancies between the trees (but these will eventually be ironed out).

The YFULL Experimental Tree gives estimated timelines for the emergence of each SNP marker, and for FGC11134, they reckon it was formed about 4300 years ago. Here are the sub-branches that lie below FGC11134 but for now members of our R1b-GF3 group have not tested positive for any of these more downstream SNP markers.

Alex Williamson has done some incredible analysis of thousands of Y-DNA results from Haplogroup R1b and has generated a fantastic website called The Big Tree. Anyone joining the R1b and Subclades project can get added to the tree if they have sufficiently downstream SNP markers tested (usually via the Big Y).  Member 176224 of R1b-GF3 has been added to the tree and appears here. I also include a screenshot of the relevant section of the tree below.

Interestingly, Alex has postulated several additional terminal SNPs (i.e. downstream of FGC11134) specifically ZZ44 and several SNPs that do not have a name as yet so the location and bases are used instead, namely 19567651-T-C and 7716880-A-G. Also, Alex's SNP analysis suggests that member 176224 is closest to two people called Fitzpatrick, both of whom have Irish origin. I believe that both of these people appear as matches to member 176224 at the 67 marker level (with a GD of 7/67) but it is not possible to confirm this without knowing the matches' kit numbers.

Nevertheless, the evidence seems to point more toward an Irish origin.

Conclusions so far

• The dominant surname variant in R1b-GF3 is Ferrel or Ferrell. We would assume from this surname variant that the origins of R1b-GF3 could be either Irish, English, or Scottish.
• Family lore suggests that the origins are Irish.
• The 3 members share the same MDKA - Gabriel Ferrel, 1741-1803, Virginia, USA.
• The group's matches have surnames that are predominantly Irish (10) or English (10). The MDKA data from their matches is deficient and thus unhelpful.
• A Surname Mapping exercise may be helpful but a cursory review does not suggest a clearly-defined area of surname overlap.
• All members should join the R1b and Subclades project and any additional downstream subclade projects of relevance, in particular the FGC11134 project.
• FTDNA defines the terminal SNP for the group as FGC11134 which (according to the YFULL Tree) was formed 4300 years before the present.
• Alex Williamson defines the terminal SNP as 7716880-A-G. This terminal SNP is shared with two people called Fitzpatrick.
• The balance of evidence suggests that it is slightly more likely that the origins for this particular genetic family (R1b-GF3) are Irish. But where in Ireland remains to be discovered. It may be that a surname mapping exercise would be worthwhile as this may give further clues. Alternatively, as more people join the origins of R1b-GF3 will become apparent.

Which DNA test is best for me?

People frequently ask the question: which DNA test should I do? Well the response is simple: The test that is best for you very much depends on the sort of questions that you would like answers to.

Below is a selection of the typical kind of questions that people ask about DNA testing and some brief answers to them. Be sure to explore the links for more information. Hopefully this will help you understand what each type of test can do and that in turn will help you decide which one is best for you.

How many types of DNA test are there?

There are 3 main tests you could do, and you could test one of several members of your family - it depends on what questions you would like answered:

• Y-DNA traces your father’s father’s father’s line
• mtDNA (mito or mitochondrial) traces your mother’s mother’s mother’s line
• and atDNA (autosomal) traces ALL your ancestral lines and gives you your ethnic makeup.

Note that Y-DNA and mtDNA will only give you information about one ancestral line each, whereas atDNA gives you information on all your ancestral lines (but only has a reach of about 300 years, compared to 200,000 years with the other two types of test). You may wish to look at this YouTube video I made explaining the three types of test in more detail and giving examples of their application to genealogy.

Here’s a few examples of questions you might want answers to and the best test to address each one:

How do I find out about my ethnic origins?

• atDNA will tell you roughly what percentage of your DNA is from Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. It will also give you rough estimates on a sub-regional level (e.g. "Central Europe" or "France/Germany") but is unlikely to identify a particular country. Currently this ethnic admixture test (also known as biogeographical analysis) only gives crude estimates and will continue to be refined over time. Still, it makes for a pretty picture which the kids can print out and take to school.
• the general opinion among genetic genealogists is that 23andme gives the best genetic ethnicity estimates, followed by Ancestry, and then FamilyTreeDNA.  None of the tests are accurate enough currently to pinpoint ancestral homelands but they might point you in the right direction. Check out this blog post for more info - Making the best of what's not so good by Judy G Russell, The Legal Genealogist, 22 February 2015.
• both Y-DNA and mtDNA will tell you where that one particular ancestral line originated (eg Western Europe). And because both go back about 200,000 years to Africa, they will also give you the crude migration routes those particular ancestors took. More nice pictures for the kids school projects.

How do I find out more about my surname and where it came from?

• do the Y-DNA test. And test the oldest generation, so that would be your father, uncle, or grandfather. If you are male, your Y-DNA should be exactly the same as your father's Y-DNA and your grandfathers, etc all the way back on the direct male line.
• ... unless there has been an NPE along the way. NPE stands for Non-Paternity Event  or Not the Parent Expected. Common causes are secret adoptions, infidelity within marriage, and illegitimacy. These happen in about 1% of cases per generation.

• Start off with the Y-DNA -37 test from FamilyTreeDNA and be sure to join any relevant surname or haplogroup projects. You can find these by doing a search for your name on the FamilyTreeDNA website and it will give you a selection of relevant projects for you to join.

• After reviewing the results of your Y-DNA-37 test, ask the Admins of projects you have joined for advice on what additional testing might be warranted. This could mean upgrading to 67 or 111 markers, or it could mean doing SNP marker testing. The Project Admins will advise.
• If you want to explore your mother's surname, test her brother. He is the one who inherited the Y-DNA that goes with that surname.
• You can research ANY surname in your family as long as you test the appropriate male cousin who bears that particular surname.

How do I connect with genetic cousins?

• Y-DNA will connect you with genetic cousins with whom you share the same surname.
• mtDNA will connect you with cousins on your mother’s mother’s mother’s line but this is the least useful of all 3 tests - because mtDNA mutates so slowly, even an exact match could mean a common ancestor several thousand years ago (rather than several hundred years ago in the case of Y-DNA).
• atDNA will connect you with about 500-1000 cousins you never knew existed (if you have European ancestry). It gives you the most "bang for your buck". Most of them will be distant cousins, but you may spot a few familiar names in your list of matches. The majority will be unknown cousins who are related to you via unknown ancestors beyond your ancestral Brick Walls, or they will be "false positive matches" (particularly if the amount of DNA they share with you is small). You will have hours of fun (and I mean hours) trying to figure out how they are connected. This test has “Retirement Plan” written all over it. But there are two important questions to address:
• who to test?
• and which company to test with?

Who do I test?

• Anyone. Anyone can do a DNA test. But it’s always a good idea to test the oldest members of the family first, for two reasons:
• they will not always be around
• they have more DNA from particular ancestors than you do
• Your mother for example would be a generation further back than you, and thus she will have twice the number of matches on your maternal side of the family compared to you … because she has twice as much “DNA from the maternal side of the family” - each generation loses 50% of the DNA from that side of the family, because only half of it is passed on from parent to child. So your Dad would only have (roughly) 25% of his DNA from his grandfather, you would have only 12.5%, and your son would have only 6.25%. The percentage inherited from any one specific ancestor roughly halves with each generation.
• Testing yourself and a parent helps you isolate which side of the family your matches are from. So if you tested yourself and your Dad for example, any matches you both share in common have to be from his side of the family; and any matches that you have but he doesn’t, have to be from your mum’s side. Of course you could also test your mum to answer this same question, if she is still with us. 
• FamilyTreeDNA store the DNA samples for 25 years free of charge so this serves as a genetic legacy for future generations - could be important as the science of genetic genealogy progresses (and it has only been around for 15 years or so).

Which company should I test with and how much does it cost?

• there are 3 companies - FamilyTreeDNA, 23andme, and Ancestry.com. Each have their pros and cons.
• Re Y-DNA: if you want to research your surname, then only FamilyTreeDNA offer an infrastructure for surname research. You would have to test with them if you wanted to join the Farrell DNA Project (for example). 23andme will tell you what Y-DNA haplogroup you belong to (useful for knowing your crude migration path out of Africa) but that’s it.
• Re mtDA: only FamilyTreeDNA and 23andme offer this test, but not Ancestry. It is of little use for genealogy. 23andme have it as part of their single test (you get Y-DNA, mtDNA, and atDNA all in one test) and FamilyTreeDNA offer it as a separate test. I would start with the mtDNAplus test because it is cheaper ($69) and may give you all the information you need.
• Re atDNA: whichever company you test with, you should upload your atDNA data to Gedmatch (for free). Anyone can do this and it allows you to compare your data with that of people who have tested with other companies and who have uploaded their data to the Gedmatch website. This allows you to fish in 3 genepools instead of 1 (only partial pools in this instance because not everyone uploads their results to Gedmatch). Also, if you test with Ancestry, you should upload your data to FamilyTreeDNA (for $39) so you are fishing in 2 genepools instead of 1 (complete genepools in this instance).
• 23andme will give you a medical risk assessment as well as a ton of genetic cousins. However the medical component was suspended in the US by the FDA and only partially restored in 2015. You may get a more comprehensive range of medical data if you order the test via their outlets in Canada, the UK, Ireland, & Australia but you would need to ask them about this as the situation is likely to change. Also, you may have to use a friend with a Canadian address (for example) as a middleman if you are ordering from outside the US (Canada in this example).
• 23andme give you all 3 DNA tests (Y, mt, and autosomal) for $199 in the US. It is more expensive than the other companies.
• Ancestry just give you atDNA (no Y or mtDNA), usually for $99 although it can be $79 in their frequent Sales. There is very limited product support, no tools (such as a chromosome browser), and if you want to explore the results further you will need to upload to Gedmatch/FamilyTreeDNA. Also, no further testing is possible. The big advantage of Ancestry is that you can link your DNA results to your family tree and that will potentially allow you to compare your DNA with everyone else on Ancestry who has also done so. And many but not all have family trees ... so it can make finding the common ancestor a lot easier.
• FTDNA (FamilyTreeDNA) store your sample for 25 years. Further testing can be done on the sample whenever you want (e.g. Y-DNA or mtDNA, or any future tests). Their atDNA test (called Family Finder) is $99, Y-DNA is $149 (for 37 markers; $129 via the Farrell project) and mtDNA is $69 ($199 for the FMS full sequence).
• I have tested with all 3 companies. I like FamilyTreeDNA the best and have had most success with them (i.e. my closest matches are on FamilyTreeDNA . My guess is that if you have Irish ancestry you will find most of your close matches on FamilyTreeDNA  If you have US colonial ancestry, you will probably find most of your matches on Ancestry. 
• The cheapest option for atDNA would be to test with Ancestry ($99), then transfer your results for $39 to FamilyTreeDNA, and upload them for free to Gedmatch.
• There are also some other neat websites that offer additional third party functionality that are very useful, DNAgedcom offers some tools and I particularly like Don Worth’s ADSA spreadsheet but historically it has only worked with FamilyTreeDNA results. They are developing it for Ancestry and 23andme.

So which test is best for you? Probably the atDNA test from FamilyTreeDNA or Ancestry if you are interested in general genealogy, or the Y-DNA-37 test from FamilyTreeDNA if you are specifically interested in exploring your Farrell surname.

Maurice Gleeson

Jan 2016

New Contents Pages help Navigation

Now that the this project website has been up and running for almost a year, it is clear that some pages are very frequently visited, and to help people navigate the website a little easier, I have created a new set of Pages to the right which will help newcomers easily navigate the website and find the information they require.

The new pages include a revised version of the original Welcome blog (Jan 2015) as well as separate pages for people who want to join the project and who want to upgrade their test. There is also a new page which has lots of useful tips on how to get the most out of your DNA Test and everyone should check this out, even if you have been a member of the project for a long time.

Lastly, there is a new page where people can post their pedigree, their Farrell Ancestral line, going back to their most distant Farrell ancestor (their current Brick Wall). This will help people collaborate and may even help some people get a generation or two further back than they currently are.

Here is the list of new pages. Please feel free to copy and paste this pages list into any email you might send to prospective DNA testers.

• Welcome to the Farrell DNA Project
• Latest News & Recent Updates
• How to Join the Project
• How to Upgrade
• Getting the Most out of your DNA Test
• Post your Pedigree

Maurice Gleeson

November 2015

Boosting membership reduces the % Ungrouped

As an exercise, I compared the number of Farrell variants in the FTDNA database with the numbers in our project ... and boy was I in for a shock. There are 105 Farrell's in the database but only 26 of them are in the Farrell project!

I found these numbers rather stunning so I looked at all Farrell variants in the FTDNA database and compared them with the numbers in our project. The results are in the Table below and the bottom-line is quite amazing - there are 475 Farrell's or variants in the FTDNA database and only 66 in the project - that's only 14%.

Even if we assume half of these (237) are women (and therefore will not have Y-DNA data) and half of the remainder (119) have done some test other than the Y-DNA test, that only brings the percentage up to 55%. In other words, there are probably a lot of Farrell's out there who have Y-DNA results but have not yet joined the project. This could be an opportunity to boost membership of the project.

And what would happen if we did boost membership? Supposing we were able to recruit (in total) one third of all the close Farrell variants into the project? That would be (say) 35 out of the 105 Farrell's (an increase of 9 people), 20 of the 60 Farley's (up by 6), and 14 of the 41 Ferrell's (up by 3) - a total increase of 18 members. And if we added in the more distant Farrell variants (Farr, Farrar, Farris), we could potentially boost recruitment from 66 to 158 - an increase of 92 members.

And what immediate effect would that have on the project? It would increase the number of people matching with genetic cousins and would move more people out of the large Ungrouped category and into specific genetic families! This effect was observed by James Irvine in his Clan Irwin DNA Study. The more people who joined the project, the smaller the percentage of members who remained as ungrouped singletons.

I already sent a bulk email to these non-project Farrell's in February this year and this had the effect of gaining an additional 12 members for the project. And what were the consequences of that?

1. Several of the 12 new members moved immediately into existing Genetic Families thus boosting their numbers
2. More importantly, another 2 Genetic Families were created, allowing 3 people to move out of the Ungrouped category. And this is a very important consequence of boosting membership - the more people who join, the more people will move out of the Ungrouped category and into newly identified Genetic Families.

So how do we get more of these Lost Farrell's into the project? I'm glad you asked because this is where you as Project Members come in!

You may have some of these Lost Farrell's among your matches. So the first thing to do is to look among your matches and see if your close Farrell matches are already in the project. You can identify them by their Most Distant Known Ancestor. If you can't find them, email them, ask them if they are in the project, and if they are not, they can join by simply clicking on the JOIN button on the right in the photo at this link - https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/farrell-dna-project/about/background.

Tell them it's free to join and joining will help everyone with their genealogical research.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated!

In upcoming blog posts, we will be moving away from the genetic side and moving more toward the traditional paper genealogy side. We will begin by looking at each of the genetic families in turn and take a close look at what we know about each family, from a genetic perspective and from a traditional genealogical perspective.

Maurice Gleeson

16 July 2015

Farrell surname variants in Irish Surname Dictionaries

The previous post looked at the Farrell surname in Irish surname dictionaries. This post looks at some of the variants of the Farrell surname which may be genetically connected to the Farrell surname. Once again the dictionaries consulted are those of Woulfe (1923) and MacLysaght's main publications (The Surnames of Ireland, 1991; Irish Families, 1985; More Irish Families, 1996).

So far, apart from the 37 people with the surname Farrell, the DNA project has attracted a variety of Farrell surname variants, including the following (arranged alphabetically). The table also shows the number of people with each variant currently in the project and the numbers indicates which of the entries below refer to that particular surname variant.

Click to enlarge

Farrell surname variants in Woulfe (1923)

[1] Ó FAIRCHEALLAIGH—I—O Ferrally, O'Farrelly, Farrelly, Farley, &c.; 'descendant of Faircheallach' (super-war); the name of a distinguished ecclesiastical family who, until the suppression of the monastery, were coarbs* of St. Mogue, or erenaghs* of Drumlane, in Co. Cavan, and are now very numerous throughout the county. There was another family of the name in the neighbourhood of Duntryleague, in the east of Co. Limerick, but it has long since disappeared from that district and is probably extinct. (p520) ...

http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-faircheallaigh.php

[2] Ó FEARGHAILE—I—O Farrialla, O Ferralla, Farrelly, Frawley, Farrell, &c.; 'descendant of Fearghal'; a variant of Ó Fearghail, which see; sometimes metathesised** to Ó Freaghaile, anglicised Frawley. (p524) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fearghaile.php

[3] Ó FEARGHUIS, Ó FEARGHUSA—I—O Farguise, O Farris, O Ferris, O Farrissa, Fergus, Ferris, Farris, Farrissy, &c.; 'descendant of Fearghus' (super-choice); the name (1) of a medical family in West Connacht who were hereditary physicians to the O'Malleys; and (2) of an ecclesiastical family in Co. Leitrim who were coarbs* of St. Mogue, or erenaghs of Rossinver. At the end of the 16th century, the name was very scattered. (p524) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fearghuis.php

[4] Ó FEARGHAIL—I—O Ferrall, O'Farrell, Farrell, Ferrall, Farrahill, Frahill, Fraul; 'descendant of Fearghal' (super-valour); the name of several distinct families, of which the best known are the O'Farrells of Annaly, in the present Co. Longford, of which they were for many centuries the ruling race. The head of the family resided at the town of Longford, which was formerly known as Longphort Ui Fhearghail, or O'Farrell's fortress. In later times, the O'Farrells divided into two great branches, the heads of which were known respectively as O'Farrell Boy, the yellow O'Farrell, and O'Farrell Bane, the fair O'Farrell. The O'Farrells maintained their independence as a clan down to the year 1565, when Annaly was reduced to shire ground by the lord-deputy, Sir Henry Sidney. Though suffering severely from the plantation schemes of James I, the O'Farrells were able to take a prominent part in all the political and military movements of the 17th century, and many of them were afterwards distinguished officers in the Irish brigades in the service of France. This family is now very numerous. Other families of this name were seated in Wicklow and Tyrone. The name is also written Ó Fearghaile and Ó Firghil, which see, and sometimes, by the aspiration of the initial f, changed into Ó hEarghail, Ó hEarghaile, which see. (p523) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fearghail.php (this is also the subject of the previous post).

[5] Ó FIRGHIL—I—O Ferrill, O Phirell, O'Freel, Freel, Friel, Freal, &c.; 'descendant of Fearghal' (super-valour); a variant of Ó Fearghail, which see; the name of a family of Cinel Conaill who derive their descent from Eoghan, brother of St. Columcille, and were hereditary erenaghs of Kilmacrenan, in Co. Donegal. The name is still common in that county, but pronounced Ó Frighil, which see. O'Freel had the privilege of inaugurating O'Donnell as chieftain of Tirconnell. (p528-9) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-firghil.php

[6] Ó hEARGHAIL—I—O Herrall, O Herrell, Harrell, Harrel, Herald, &c.; a variant of Ó Fearghail (which see), owing to the aspiration of the initial f. (p563) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-hearghail.php

[7] Ó hEARGHAILE—I—O Harrily, O Harely, Harrily, Harley, Herley, Herly; a variant of Ó Fearghaile, which see. Compare with Ó hEarghail. (p563) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-hearghaile.php

[8] Ó FREAGHAILE—I—Frawley; a metathesised** form of Ó Fearghaile, which see. (p533) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-freaghaile.php

Other possible variants of the Farrell surname in Woulfe (1923)

[9] FEARADHACH, genitive -aigh, Farry, (Ferdinand); an ancient Irish name, meaning 'manly'; rather common in early times; retained until recently among the O'Maddens and O'Naughtons of Connacht, by whom it was anglicised Farry. Finally it was turned into Ferdinand. Latin — Ferdachus. ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/men/fearadhach-farry.php

[10] Ó FEARADAIGH—I—O Farry, O'Ferry, Farry, Ferry; 'descendant of Fearadach' (manly); a scattered surname, but found chiefly in East Ulster. ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fearadaigh.php

[11] Ó FHARRAIGH, Farry, Forry; a rare Mayo surname. ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fharraigh.php

Farrell surname variants in MacLysaght (1985-1996)

Surnames of Ireland (1991) lists the following surname variants:

[12] Farley A common English name used as synonym of Farrelly especially in Co. Cavan.

[13] (O) Farrelly Wolfe gives Ó Faircheallaigh but Ó Fearghaile, a variant of Ó Fearghail – see previous entry – is acceptable as an alternative. An important co–arb family. People of this sept are still numerous in its homeland as Map, not elsewhere. IF Map Cavan.

[14] Farris This has been used in Connacht and adjacent areas for Fergus. It is mainly found in Leitrim and Cavan. Fr Livingston informs me that in Co. Donegal Farris is an anglicized form of Ó Fearaigh. See Fairy, Ferris and Paris.

[15] (O) Farrissy Ó Fearghusa (fear, man - gus, action). Formerly an important sept in Mayo and Leitrim but now rare. Though seldom found now, it was also a Munster variant of Fergus; Ferris is much more often so used. MIF

[16] (O) Fairy Ó Fearadhaigh (for question of derivation see MacAree). A Donegal sept of the Cenel Conaill; as Ferry it is now quite numerous in Co. Sligo and frequent also in other parts of Connacht in sixteenth-century records.

[17] (O) Fergus Ó Fearghuis (fear, man - gus, vigour). The name of two Connacht septs: (a) a medical family with the O'Malleys and (b) an ecclesiastical family in Leitrim. The name has become Ferris in Kerry. MIF Map Mayo.

[18] Ferris In Kerry a variant of O'Fergus. It is also traditionally a cognomen of a branch of the Moriartys. In Ulster it is the name of a branch of the Scottish clan Ferguson formerly MacFergus. MIF See Farrissy.

[19] Frawley Ó Freaghaile. A metathesized form of Farrelly in Cos. Clare and Limerick. MIF

Irish Families (1985) includes an entry for (O) Farrelly:

[20] (O)FARRELLY, Farley O'Farrelly - Ó Faircheallaigh in Irish - is the name of a Breffny sept associated in both early and modern times principally with Counties Cavan and Meath. Their leading family were erenaghs of Drumlane, Co. Cavan, and were also coarbs of St Mogue until the suppression of the monastries in the sixteenth century. The Gaelic poet Feardorcha O'Farrelly (d. 1746) was born in Co. Cavan.

The O'Farrelly sept seated at Knockainy, Co. Limerick, mentioned as such by O'Heerin in his fourteenth century "Topographical Poem" and still numerous in Co. Limerick when the 1659 census was compiled are no longer to be found there: even a century ago O'Donovan commented on the fact that they had disappeared.

In parts of Ulster Farley is used as a synonym of Farrelly, which leads to confusion since Farley is common English name. Cardinal Farley (1842–1918), Archbishop of New York, who was born in Co. Armagh, is an example of the use of this synonym.

More Irish Families (1996) includes entries for Fergus (Ferris, Farris, Farrissey) and Frawley (Farrelly): 

[21] (O) FERGUS, Ferris, Ferguson The name Ó Farghuis or Ó Fearghusa take several forms in English. Apart from Farrissy, which in modern times occurs only occasionally, the two usual forms are Fergus and Ferris. Fergus or O'Fergus is seldom found outside Connacht. Persons so-called, who are mainly in Co. Mayo at the present time, are of the sept of O'Fearghuis, which provided hereditary physicians to the O'Malleys. Knox in his History of Mayo tells us that O'Fergus held the parish of Burrishoole in 1303 and ranked then as a minor Chief, a status no longer obtaining in 1585, since they do not figure in the Composition Book of Connacht, though we know from the Strafford survey that they were still considerable landholders in Burrishoole and Carra about the year 1635. In that document the name is spelt Farregish, Faregesie and O'Farressie, while in the Mayo Book of Survey and Distribution, compiled some 50 years later, it occurs frequently as O'Farrissy. It must also be remembered that in the Connacht County of Leitrim there was an ecclesiastical family of the same name who were coarbs* of St Mogue and erenaghs* of Rossinver: O'Connell in his work on the diocese of Kilmore calls them O'Ferguson. It was in the northern end of that county, adjacent to Co. Sligo, that Petty's "census" shows them, as O' Fergussa, to have been most numerous in 1659. In the Fiants of the previous century they appear chiefly in Co. Sligo. In the form of O' Fergus or O'Fargus it occurs there only once - at Spiddal, Co. Galway. It may be of interest to add that in 1362 an O'Fergus was vicar of Omey, an island off the coast of Connemara.

Ferris (alias O'Farris etc) is more numerous both in the old records and today than Fergus. The name Ferris is now very numerous in north-east Ulster where it is that of a branch of the Scottish clan Ferguson – Fairy and even O'Ferry have been used as synonyms of it there but these are properly [sic; probably?] anglicizations of Ó Fearadhaigh, a Cinel Conaill sept. Ferris is also well known in Kerry. W.F. Butler in his Gleanings from Irish History States that Ferris there is traditionally believed to be the cognomen of a branch of the O'Moriartys. There were 27 families of Ferris in the 1911 census of Co. Kerry and the name was there at least as early as 1586. It occurs to five times in the diocesan wills of Ardfert and Aghadoe in the eighteenth century. From Tralee came three interesting characters. The amazing and chequered career of Richard Ferris (1750-1828), ex-priest, spy, politician and business man, is outlined in Richard Hayes's Biographical Dictionary of Irishmen in France; his brother, Edward Ferris (1738-1809), was a distinguished priest who, after many vicissitudes in France and Rome, became the first president of Maynooth college; while a kinsmen of theirs, another Edward Ferris, was also a political agent in France.

Other notable men were the exile Father Cormac O'Fergus, who came to Cork from Lisbon in 1571 and, while preaching at Clonmel, was captured and thrown into prison; the two O'Fearghusas of the O'Naghten poetic circle about 1725; and Dr Fergus the well-known patron of Gaelic learning at the same period. Late Bishop of Achonry and secretary to the hierarchy was Dr James Fergus. O'Farys etc., was also in Co. Wexford in 1659 and is still there, but as Vargus and Vargis, until quite recently used interchangeably with Ferguson. Ferguson, of course, is itself a Scottish name and has numerous in the north-eastern counties of Ireland, whence came Sir Samuel Ferguson (1810-1886), one of the best poets of the Irish literary renaissance and founder of the Protestant Repeal Association.

There was also a Norman name occurring occasionally in mediaeval records which must not be confused with O'Farys: Mgr. de Farys, for example, was canon of St Patrick's Cathedral in 1302.

Carrickfergus in County Antrim is said to be named after Fergus mac Rough, the "Red Branch" Hero of the Tain and reputed ancestor of several Ulster septs. This legendary personage is not to be confused with Fergus Mac Erc, Prince of Dalriada in North Antrim, who in A.D. 470 crossed to Scotland and founded the Gaelic kingdom there. Map

[22] (O) FRAWLEY Woulfe's statement that Frawley (Ó Freaghaile) is a metathesized form of O'Farrelly is correct but he gives no further information about these names. In Irish Families (p. 140) I mentioned that a century ago O'Donovan commented on the fact that the Co. Limerick sept of O'Farrelly had disappeared from that county. It is true that the name in that form is no longer there but as Frawley it is numerous there, and even more so in the neighbouring county of Clare. The change from Farrelly to Frawley dates from the seventeenth century, Fraly and Frally being the usual forms in the eighteenth; many testators so called are in the diocesan wills for Killaloe and Limerick and in rentals such as that of Lord Kenmare's Co. Limerick estate.

These are a selection of the main variants but there will be others. It is quite clear that the surname variants are of multi-origin and this will likely be reflected in many different genetic signatures of the members of the DNA project.

However, there appear to be several broad categories based solely on the nature of the surname:

• those who are a close variant of Farrell (including Ferrall, Ferrell, Farrelly, Frawley) - there are probably several distinct groups (within this larger group) who will have a common genetic signature indicating a common ancestor.
• those who are a close variant of Farris (including Faris, Ferris, Farrissy, Fergus, Fairy, Farry, Ferry, and even Ferguson) - again, several smaller genetically distinct subgroups will probably emerge from this larger group.
• Farley - largely an English name, but sometimes interchanged with Farrelly, especially in Co. Cavan.
• Rarer categories, with no immediately apparent link to any of the categories above (Ferrill & Friel; Harrell, Harley & Herley).

Explanation of some terms in the text:

* coarb/co-arb, erenach/erenagh ... A coarb, from the Old Irish comarbae (Modern Irish comharba), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the later medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears interchangeable with "erenach" or "erenagh", denoting the episcopally nominated lay guardian of a parish church and headman of the family in hereditary occupation of church lands. The coarb, however, often had charge of a church which had held comparatively high rank in pre-Norman Ireland, or one still possessed of relatively extensive termon lands. Such lucrative monastic offices as “coarb” (comarbae “heir” to a saint) or “erenach” (airchinnech “superior”), otherwise transmitted by natural or nepotic descent within ecclesiastical families, which were often the politically displaced branches of royal dynasties.

** metathesisis = the transposition of letters, syllables, or sounds in a word, e.g. Farrelly becomes Frawley