Help needed re subclades?

[jeanettemarie]

I dont know anything about DNA projects in genealogy, but I have just had contact with a person who is related to my family, but I dont understand what he means in his email can sombody please clarify for me he stated that he has taken the 67 site tests and the ten tests to see which subclade of R1b1c he is, but he doesnt fit any and is R1bic, this to me is gobbledegook:confused:

[Charles Rignall]

Hi -

All males pass the Y chromosome down to their sons. As this goes on, bit by bit the Y chromosome collects mutations - little changes that do no harm, and happen only once in a great while. What the DNA people are doing is collecting people's mutation sets, lumping them together statistically and with lots of really keen maps, and saying that if say 1000 people have exactly the same set of mutations, then that group of 1000 people is related. If your set is different, well, depending on how different, you may be more or closely related.

Now, this person who has taken the Y67 test is obviously very enthusiastic, since getting 67 markers tested ain't cheap. Unfortunately, R1b1c is, I believe, one of the most common mutation-sets (or haplotypes, if you insist on jargon) in Western Europe. So the appropriate response would be, in my opinion: "That's nice. Now show me the paper trail - that is, the real BMD and parish record and census work. Then maybe you can come to tea."

Regards,

Charlie Rignall
Connecticut

[jeanettemarie]

Hi Charles
Thank you for you reply, you have now answered a very confusing question. And I believe I understand, so it looks as though the gentleman I have had contact from is going only by surname,and not with any definate proof as to relations, not like us trawling through paperwork.
Thank you again
Jeanette

[Border Reiver]

I have taken the 37pt. Y-Chromosome marker test with Family Tree DNA and I too belong to the R1b1c haplogroup - it is one of the most common groups in Western Europe.

Unless there is a positive match with a male ancestor of yours who's also taken at least a 25 point marker test then his claim to be related is pretty meaningless.

[jeanettemarie]

Unless there is a positive match with a male ancestor of yours who's also taken at least a 25 point marker test then his claim to be related is pretty meaningless.

Thank you, I thought as much,it did seem to be odd to say we are related when I didnt even know what the tests were, but I suppose if he is only going by that method, it is a case of clutching at straws.(or surnames) I did tell him that I was going by the tried and tested paper trail,and that I have proved my ancestry thus far by the conventional route.
Jeanette