Names, DNA, and Deep Ancestry

Deep Ancestry: Genealogy and DNA

Cathi Biggins, Sean Biggins, Roger Byrne, Michael Patrick Carroll, Maureen Lyons Carroll, Paul Drueke, Michael McDonnel, Sheila Carroll Krippner, Marc Matthews, Maureen O'Brien, Leo O'Brien, and N. J. Sharkey contributed to this story.

Genetic genealogy can tell us about the deep ancestry of our ancestors and, in some case, which tribe or sept our ancestors came from. This story addresses the deep ancestry of Peter and Marilyn Carroll Biggins through the use of Y-chromosome DNA, tested by Family Tree DNA. Y-DNA is passed down from father to son, much like surnames. By testing a living male, we can learn about the deep ancestry of his paternal line. Testing can also help determine how closely two people are related.

Abbreviated Y-DNA SNP Tree

IJK-L15 44000 BC Southern Iran 203,000 T

IJ-P124
39000 BC
South-eastern Iraq
76,300 T

I-M223
15000 BC
Southern Germany
7,300 T

Y63570
1000 AD
Ulster
13 T

BY75184
1350 AD
Ulster
3 T

K-M9     43000 BC     Western Pakistan     127,000 T
P-P226     30000 BC     Eastern Mongolia     111,000 T
R-M173     20000 BC     Eastern Kazakhstan     106,000 T

M420
15000 BC
Southern Russia
17,100 T

"Viking"

FGC11896
1200 AD
Scotland
155 T
Angus Og, grafted onto Colla Uais tree

M343     17000 BC     Uzbekistan     90,000 T
M269     4350 BC     Southern Russia     87,000 T
L151     3000 BC     Ukraine     76,000 T

P312 2800 BC Southern Germany 54,000 T "Proto-Celtic"

U106 2950 BC Poland
19,000 T

L21 2600 BC Southern England 31,000 T "Celtic"

DF27 2600 BC Pyrenees
10,600 T "Celtic"

U152
2550 BC
Italy
8,700 T

Z18
2200 BC
Poland
2,250 T

Z381 2650 BC
Northern Germany
14,800 T "Saxon"

DF21 2350 BC
England 3,300 T

CTS4466
300 BC
Munster
1,600 T

S1121
200 AD
600 T

Eoganacht

L226
250 AD
Munster
800 T

DC782
900 AD
100 T

Brian Boru

DF41 1850 BC
England 800 T

Z2961 2000 BC
England 5,700 T

Z195
2550 BC
Pyrenees
6,000 T

Z31644 2300 BC
Pyrenees 1,200 T

DF98
1950 BC
215 T

L1271
1250 AD
5 T
House of Wettin

Z301 2500 BC
11,000 T

Z3008
450 AD
England
330 T

Colla Uais

Ulster

Carthend

S953
550 AD
Tirkeeran
91 T

Z16291
150 AD
Munster
102 T
Ely Carroll

BY20010
1250 AD
10 T

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

A600
1450 BC
9 T
England

L745
1150 AD
200 T
Scotland & England

House of Stuart

M222
50 BC
5,300 T
Ulster

S588
300 AD
700 T

Fergus

FGC23592
700 AD
40 T

Cenel Moain

FGC6550
600 AD
80 T
Ulster

Hy Maine

Y5058
150 AD
170 T

Breassal Breac

Y5061
550 AD
Leinster
135 T

PH2047
2100 BC
Ulster
105 T

Northern Ui Neill

Z1513
1000 AD
Ulster
97 T

U198
1500 BC
1,480 T

L48
2400 BC
9,000 T

CTS10893
850 BC
600 T

BY93599
1650 AD
Ulster
2 T

BY3164
1350 AD
Ulster
7 T

Y5610
1050 AD
Munster
69 T

BY23501
850 AD
England
3 T

BY216377
1150 AD
Ulster
4 T

FT79210
950 AD
Leinster
4 T

BY3323
400 BC
Old Saxony
9 T

William Byrne 1864 AD
Albany, NY

Patrick Beggan
1807 AD
Drumgill, Cavan

Michael O'Brien
1815 AD
Brough, Cork

Wlliam Mathews
1644 AD
Wales

Daniel McDonald
1813
Ireland

Edmond Carroll
1835 AD
Ballyneety, Limerick

Johann Drueke
1743 AD
Elspe, Westphalia

Roger Byrne
kit 208416

Peter Biggins
kit 127469

Leo
O'Brien
kit 197598

Marc Matthews
kit 116493

Michael McDonnel
kit 252843

Michael Carroll
kit 198624

Paul Drueke
kit 230496

The year shown is a rough estimate by Family Tree DNA of the year the SNP was born. "T" is the number of testers at Family Tree DNA.

Definitions

DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, a chemical consisting of a sequence of hundreds of millions of nucleotides found in the nuclei of cells. It contains the genetic information about an individual and is shaped like a double-stranded helix.
SNP. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, a mutation in the DNA that happens when a single nucleotide (A, T, G, or C) in the genome sequence is altered. A person has many SNPs that together create a unique DNA pattern for that individual. Family Tree DNA offers Big Y, which tests a large portion of the Y chromosome and identifies SNPs that have occurred down to the present time. SNPs occur randomly. The number of SNPs can vary a lot by tester. On average over a large population for a long time period, Big Y SNPs occur every 120 years.
Haplogroup. A group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor having the same SNP mutation Haplogroups are assigned letters of the alphabet, and refi nements consist of additional number and letter combinations.

Myths, Legends and DNA

Portions of this tree are attributable to Myths, Legends and DNA, an attempt to reconcile the current archeological evidence and genealogical DNA evidence with Ireland's mythical origins, by N. J. Sharkey, 2023 revised.

Y-DNA Testing Results for PetersPioneers

Paternal Ancestor Birth Year, Place	Male Tested Relationship	Kit # Test	Haplogroup SNPs	FTDNA Projects	Comments
Patrick Beggan/Biggins 1807, Drumgill, County Cavan, Ireland	Peter Biggins	127469 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, L21, DF21, S971, F24434, Z3000, Z3006, Z3008, S953, ZZ13, FT14481, BY3164 (1350 AD). See The Story of My Y	Biggins, Clan Colla, DF21, Null 425	Sean's and Peter's ancestors had farms across the road from each other in Will County, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The name Biggins comes from beag, the Irish for little. BY3164 Biggins DNA includes people named Beggan, Beaghen, Bigham, and Little. See Biggins/Beggan Irish Roots. Sean's DNA matches Peter's, but it is not so close as to suggest that their ancestors were brothers or first cousins. Sean shares a SNP named FT17167 with Eric Began whose ancestor Michael Beggan was born in County Fermanagh in 1781. Peter does not have this SNP. Z3008 is the DNA of The Three Collas, brothers who lived in 4th century Ulster. BY3164 descends from brother Colla Uais and his grandson Carthend. Carthend lived in County Derry in the 5th century on the Faughan River in an area that was later called a barony and named Tirkeeran. The name Tirkeeran comes from the Irish T�r Mhic Caoirthinn, which means land of Carthend. See: Faughan River
James Biggins 1822, County Monaghan, Ireland	Sean Biggins, whose ancestor lived across the road from Peter's in Illinois	146867 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, L21, DF21, S971, F24434, Z3000, Z3006, Z3008, S953, ZZ13, FT14481, BY3164 (1350 AD), FT17167 (1400 AD)	Biggins, Clan Colla, DF21, Null 425
Johann Dr�ecke 1743, Elspe, Westphalia, Germany	Paul Charles Drueke, first cousin of Peter	230496 Big Y-700	R-L151, U106, Z301, L48, Z9, Z30, Z27 Z345, Z2, Z7, CTS10893, A6389, BY3323 (400 BC)	Drueke, U106, Germany, Anglo-Saxon	Paul has few DNA matches and none later then 400 BC. He matches men from England (Arnold, Bennett, Ozment, Phipps, Scott, Self, Wooten, Wright), Wales (Ellis, Price), Scotland (Armstrong, Reed, Russell), and Ireland (Moore). Many people with English names have Germanic origins. The term Anglo-Saxon is used by some historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Britain from the early 5th century up to the Norman conquest in 1066. Our ancestor is from the far southern part of Old Saxony.
William Mathews 1644, Wales	Marc Thomas Matthews, second cousin of Peter	116493 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, L21, DF41, S775, S745, A600, BY23501 (850 AD).	Matthews, L21, DF41/CTS2501	Marc and Peter are great grandchildren of William Peter and Elizabeth Berles Drueke. From S745 are descended the Royal Stewarts of Scotland.
Edmond Carroll 1835, Ballyneety, Limerick, Ireland	Michael Patrick Carroll, second cousin of Marilyn, once removed	198624 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, DF27, Y5058/A641, Y5061, FT44660, BY61861, FT79210 (950 AD)	Carroll, Breassal Breac, DF27, McCarville	Michael's DNA matches Ryan, O'Dwyer, Lee/Leary, Gorman, and Kennedy, as well as Carroll. These families descend from Breassal Breac who lived in Leinster around 200 or 100 BC. They settled in the 13th or 14th century in County Tipperary and County Limerick. DF27 DNA is the Gascon & Iberian branch of R-P312. See Breassal Breac DNA.
Daniel McDonald 1813, Ireland	Michael McDonnel, third cousin, once removed, of Marilyn	252843 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, L21, M222, S658, , DF104, DF105, S588, S603, BY3342, FGC23592, FT120288, BY216377 (1150 AD).	Gormley, Cenel Eoghain, Clan Donald (&LSP8J), M222	Michael's FGC23592 DNA is associated with a group called Cenel Moain (S603, FGC23592), a subset of Cenel Eoghain (S660, S588), a subset of Northwest Irish (M222). Northwest Irish was originally identified in a Trinity College Study and said to be descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, who lived in Ireland in the 4th/5th century. Michael's DNA group can be seen on Iain Kennedy's M222 tree and Alex Williamson's Big Tree. Cenel Moain surnames can be seen on Ken Graham's Chart and Micheal McNally's Chart. Aidan Byrne maintains a Facebook page for the S603 Community. A history of Cenel Moain can be found in Familia 1990: Ulster Genealogical Review, Number 6
Thomas Foy 1800, Derreennascooba, Mayo, Ireland	None. Looking for a distant Foy cousin of Peter			Foy, Fay, Hunt	There may be a possible tester among descendants, but none has been identified yet. See Foy/Fee Irish Roots.
Adam Berles 1794, Landenbeck, Westphalia, Germany	None. Looking for a distant Berles cousin of Peter				There may be a possible tester among descendants in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but none has been identified yet. Landenbeck is 16 miles northeast of Elspe.
John Francis Flannery 1788, Derreenmanus, Mayo Ireland	None. Looking for a distant Flannery cousin of Marilyn		Most likely R-L151, P312, L21, M222	Flannery, M222	There may be a possible tester among descendants in Green County, Wisconsin, but none has been identified yet. Clan Flannery sponsors a Flannery DNA project at Family Tree DNA. Of the Flannerys from County Mayo who had tested their Y-chromosome DNA as of June 2012, all match up with a group called Northwest Irish. Northwest Irish was originally identified in a Trinity College Study. Two of these Northwest Irish have ancestors from the townland of Sarnaught in the civil parish of Aglish, which is nearby Derreenmanus: kits 36430 and 221086. See Flannery Clan.
Y-DNA Related by Marriage
William Byrne 1864, Albany, New York	Roger Byrne (1962-2021), son-in-law of Peter	208416 Big Y-700	I-M223, P222, CTS616, FGC15071, M284, L1195, L126, FGC20063, FT2393, S7753, Y4142, Y4751, FTT7, BY3610, Y63570, BY75184 (1650 AD)	Byrne, M223, Null 425	Roger has "Isles-Scot DNA." His DNA matches closest with a Donald Austin Byrne (1934-2017), whose ancestor, Austin Thomas Byrne (1859-1934), was born in Dublin. He also matches closely with three testers named McGivern, which is associated with County Down. Byrne may be a form of McGivern. Alistair Moffat and James F. Wilson in the 2011 book, The Scots: A Genetic Journey, say that "One of the most ancient Y lineages in Scotland is known as M284." They say it developed a later subset called L126 which is more common in Scotland. It is "also seen in Ulster, not only amongst plantation families (migrants from Scotland and elsewhere, most of whom arrived in the seventeenth century) but also in those of older pedigree. This shows an ancient connection across the North Channel." See: Y-67 Genetic Distance: I-L126, FGC20063, FT2393, S7753, Y6162, Y4751
Michael O'Brien 1815, Brough, County Cork, Ireland	Leo O'Brien, uncle-in-law of son Edward	197598 Big Y-700	R-L151, P312, L21, Z253, L226, FGC5660, Z17669, ZZ31, FGC5628, FGC5623, FGC5659, ZZ34, DC782, Y5610 (1050 AD)	O'Brien, L226	Leo shares Y5610 (1030 AD) with Conor Myles John O'Brien of Dromoland Castle who traces his ancestry back to Brian Boru. Brian Boru was born circa 940 in what is now County Clare and died in the Battle of Clontarf, north of Dublin, on April 23, 1014. See Irish Type III DNA. L226 DNA type also is called Dalcassian and Irish Type III. See DC782 Brian Boru DNA

Hopefully, we will learn more about our deep ancestry through testing of more of our descendants.