(R1b-A12020)
Michael Cooley
There are any number of reasons the CF02 Group of the Cooley DNA Project is interesting. For starters, it may be the oldest Cooley clan in the United States. But we interests me is that it's genetically diverse and static at the same time. And genetic genealogists don't like test results that lack in diverse markers — except when we do.
There are two kinds of Y chromosome markers that are tested for: SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) and STRs (Short Tandem Repeats). SNPs tend to be stable — once mutated, the tend to stay mutated — whereas STRs can go either up or down in value over short periods of time. I refer to SNPs as the genetic world's Himalayas and STRs as the shifting sands of the Sahara. (Of course, rules are made to be broken and they frequently are in biology. For example, SNPs can live in unstable regions of the Y chromosome. In that case, they simply become footnotes.)
To look at STRs alone, one would easily infer that each tester probably descended from the same man. And that we did, that man seemed to be Benjamin Cooley (1615-1684) of Springfield, Massachusetts. But advanced SNP testing has revealed a much more diverse story. The testing told us that his descendants have the markers A12022 and A12024, now dubbed the Benjamin markers. That in and of itself doesn't prove descent from Benjamin. Ben's brothers would likely have had the same markers. Still they're fixed, "Himalayan" markers that aren't going to go anywhere anytime soon.
The Samuell Coley (1615-1684) testers (of which there are too few) have the "parental" A12020 marker but lack the Benjamin markers. This was surprising; some thought Sam to have been Ben's brother. That's now extremely unlikely. Further, Daniel Cooley who left Samuell territory early on for Goshen, New York has a whole new set of markers (but still the parental A12020). Altogether, four subclades of A12020 have been found. None of that is even hinted at among the STRs.
Corydon Cooley, included on the SNP tree, is an interesting case. Until a descendant tested, we had no idea where he belonged. Although he has the Benjamin markers, he was born 220 years later than the old man. It seems likely Corydon was descended from him but Benjamin, indeed, might have had a brother, cousin, etc. with that same marker. The genealogy sill needs to be done.
The following table is simply a bare summary of the results and can be copied and pasted into a spreadsheet. This is helpful for keeping track of larger projects. With the exception of those indicated by an asterisk, the novel SNPs (novel variants) can be tested at YSEQ.net for $18 each and a one-time kit fee of $6 for the first order.
| KIT | TREE | MRCA | TEST | NOVEL VARIANTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #661477 | | FTE1302 FTE10871
| #IN122574 | FTD74766 MF685017 FTD73863 FGC60239
| #899687 | FT132779
| #666728 | FT383416 FT382121 FT382255 FT382406
| #266911 | --
| #39649 | --
| #MK24633 | --
| #217358 | FT425349
| #959733 | Y79492 FTC48395 FTC27546
| #128108 | --
| #1018923 | 21593370=TA 22314445=CT 8584371=GA
| #383738 | FTB76477 FTB77106
| #267595 | FTE6275 FTE6173
| #826013 | BY203701 BY135678 BY202632
| #945724 | FTA76596
| #B3646 | A20348
| #996427 | M11656
| #323365 | --
| |
* SNP cannot undergo Sanger testing
A SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) occurs when there's a genetic change at a single position, for example an A mutated to a C. Each marker listed in the tree below is a SNP, and each one was manifested at the birth of a single man. This doesn't happen every generation but, if we had enough data, they'd all line up one after the other in a timeline. In other words, each of these markers is a direct representative of a specific man born at a specific time and place. For that reason, I like to say that "SNPs are people too." It's not literally true, of course, but conjures an image that is reasonably apropos.
Every marker above is a direct genetic representation of the first man born with that marker. However, each marker could represent three or four more men not born with a new, unique marker.
Count the number of markers upstream of any one kit. Then multiply that by four generations. I'll leave it to you detemine how many years makes a generation. This can be done for all kits descended from any one haplogroup. Average the grand total to get an average timeline for the haplogroup. The word "average" is, however, the key. The more participants, the more that number will change.
This is a simplified, barebones, stripped-down SNP Tree (as above). It's called a Quick Tree merely because it can be created once new results are downloaded. It has the advantage of allowing a tested group member to easily trace their SNP lineage.
| FTE1302 FTE10871
| FTD74766 MF685017 FTD73863 FGC60239
| A12022 A12024 FT383416 FT382121 FT382255 FT382406
| A12022 A12024 FT425349
| A12022 A12024 Y79492 FTC48395 FTC27546
| A12022 A12024 FTG38174 --
| A12022 A12024 FTG38174 FTB76477 FTB77106
| A20351 A20349 A20350 BY203701 BY135678 BY202632
| A20351 A20349 A20350 FTA76596
| A20351 A20349 A20350 FT437335 A20348
| A20351 A20349 A20350 FT437335 M11656
| FT122534 FT132779
|
Total SNPs: 51 |
STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) are the markers found on the results page of every FTDNA project. They're completely different from SNPs. For example, the number in the first column for the following markers, labeled DYS393, is merely the count of the number of times the sequence AGAT is repeated in the tester's cells. More about the markers can be found on the Wikipedia page for List of Y-STR markers.
The top line in this graphic, in gray, is the modal value. It represents the most common value found among each tester. The total number of mismatches any one tester has to the modal is noted in blue parenthesis next to the tester's kit number. This number is referred to as the genetic distance or GD. For example, a tester might be a GD of 1 from the modal's CDYb marker but with a total GD of 5 from the modal as a whole.
Here we compare the genetic distance between each tester rather than to the modal. This gives us a better idea as to how closely the testers are related to one another as opposed each to the modal, or mutual ancestor. The results tend to clump together by haplogroup. However, due to the volatile nature of STRs, the clumping is often inconsistent, as shown by the same graphics in the somewhat larger YP4248 Subclade Project. For this reason, STRs are unreliable for phylogeny. Nevertheless, the study can help direct us toward those kits that could provide the greatest impact on the project for Big Y upgrades.
The color version results from replacing the numeric values with color values. This doesn't tell us much for small groups but can be informative for groups of ten and more.
