Monday, July 17, 2017

Are we Fairbairn or Elliott?

Donations are currently being called for to add to our knowledge of when the matching set of Fairbairn and Elliott results diverged on the yDNA tree of mankind - somewhere down from I-Z140 which branch formed about 4,100 years before present (ybp - present being 1950)
https://yfull.com/tree/I-Z140/

Summary:
We now know that a sub group of the I1 haplogroup matching Fairbairns (lineage 1e) form their own little sub branch at I-Y32666, Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) estimated to be about 225 ybp
https://yfull.com/tree/I-Y32666/
and that at least one of the group of matches between all the Fairbairn and Elliotts has confirmed as I-Y7277 - MRCA 3,100 ybp
https://yfull.com/tree/I-Y7277/

Donations for the BigY test are most welcome.
We have a willing participant from the Elliotts once the money is raised -  $525 US is called for.
If sufficient is raised we can extend that to either, or both, she says optimistically, of another ELLIOTT or the FAIRBAIRN waiting in the wings who also likely fits somewhere between I-Z140 and I-Y32666.

We anticipate awaiting another BigY sale before ordering, so please contribute to the General Fund for the Fairbairn/Fairburn project at
https://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx?g=Fairburn
marking in the note any specific focus for your donation if desired.


Thursday, May 18, 2017

Update for I1 Haplogroup FAIRBAIRNs

With one of the recent BigY sales at FamilyTreeDNA, the opportunity was taken to test four of the Lineage 1e FAIRBAIRNs, and analyse their results at yFull.com.

The latest version (5.04) of the yFull tree now shows that this has resulted in the creation of a new branch of the tree underneath I-Y7277 (which was estimated by yFull as having been formed 3400 ybp TMRCA 3100 ybp) which is where they are currently shown on FTDNA.


The new branch is I-Y32666, with an estimated formation date of 3100 ybp but a TMRCA (time to most recent common ancestor) of 225 ybp, ie 1725.

The DNASurnames Haplogroup tree which shows yDNA tree branches, along with line patriarchs and tested participants (if approved to do so, has been updated (http://dnasurnames.info/dchaplogroupi.htm#a20)

We believe, from papertrails, ySTR testing and a bit of "a miracle happens here" for one or two of the links, that all four tested descend from John FAIRBAIRN and Bessie FLINT whose children were baptized at Melrose, Roxburghshire from  1729 to 1740, and one at Smailholm in 1741.

So how much earlier were all the branches for the matching I1 Fairbairns formed?

That will take an interested party, or two, from any of other groups at
to also test BigY and analyse the results at yFull.
Any takers?

Friday, April 21, 2017

DNA Sales

Check out the overall DNASurnames blog for full details of the FamilyTreeDNA sale prices for DNA Day, and a link to sales at other sites.

Of particular interest for the Fairbairn Surname DNA project are those for
FamilyFinder - $20 off to $59 US
BigY down to $425US
SNP Packs down to $89
yDNA 37 to $129
yDNA 67 to $209

Please check with your project admin before rushing off into SNP Pack testing to ensure that you are purchasing a relevant pack for your haplogroup.
And if you are going to test BigY at some stage, save your pennies rather than duplicate your testing by also doing a SNP pack.

FYI we now have 4 BigY test results in the FAIRBAIRN project, all currently determined to be I-Y7277, and awaiting further analysis at YFull.com to see if there's any new sub branches to be found.
It would be good to see how the ELLIOT sub group in the project compare!

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Inventive indexing

Been a while since I posted an entry in this category:
Margaret Fair Caren, appears in the 1871 census for Selkirk in the Ancestry transcriptions.
She is Margaret FAIRBAIRN nee WATERS, (deserted) wife of Angus FAIRBAIRN Vocalist of the previous post, living with her parents at Newark Cottages.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Angus FAIRBAIRN, Vocalist

Tried to post this to the RootsWeb Fairbairn Message board but it wouldn't post, and sent it to the Mailing list, more out of curiousity to see whether or not either/both were still operating given the ups and downs of RootsWeb over the last few months ( or longer).

The below investigation was prompted by a posting on the Facebook Fairbairn Family group about Angus Fairbairn the Eminent Scottish Vocalist, performing in Barrie, Ontario
---
Can anyone prove, or disprove, my theory that Angus FAIRBAIRN, of the "Fairbairn Family of Scottish Vocalists" performing in Boston by 1878 is actually James Angus FAIRBAIRN son of Thomas FAIRBAIRN and Catherine ANGUS?

Evidence for the prosecution:
  • James Angus is shown as "Vocalist" on the 1852 bap. entry for son James George b. Newark, Selkirk;
  • 1851 census shows James (railway signalman) and wife Margaret with a dtr Jessie b. 1849 (Moncrieff Tunnell, Forteviot Perthshire).
    Which Jessie is not with Margaret in 1861
  • That 1861 census shows Margaret as married, FAIRBAIRN, with her parents (WATERS) and with her three sons, but no husband, at  Newark Cottages, Selkirk. 
  • This 1849 Jessie fits the age and birthplace of the Jessie dtr of Angus in 1861 with Angus and "wife" Mary Fairbairn in Greenwich, Kent
    Which census shows:
    FAIRBAIRN (indexed as FAIRBURN): Angus 36 scottish vocalist b. SCT; wife Mary 28  b. Middlesex; Sister-in-law Elizabeth ROBERTS wid. 36 Professor of Music b. Middlesex; Children: Jessie  12 b. SCT; Elizth 4 b. Middlesex; Mary A 2 b. Kent; Niece: Maria ROBERTS 7 b. Devonshire
    I believe Mary and Elizabeth are nee BENNETT but cannot find a marriage between Angus FAIRBAIRN and Mary BENNETT.

Throw in:
  • James Angus birth/bap. entry at Kirknewton is dated 15 Apr 1823 - about the right day, right month as shown on the 
  • death cert. of Angus FAIRBAIRN Vocalist, in Massachusetts (cert. #4622 for 30 Jun 1887 shows Angus F FAIRBAIRN as 65y 2 m 16 days, male, marr., died/ resid. 10 Humphrey Sq, b. SCT to Thomas and Catharine, both b. SCT; Buried Forest Hills)

What's a year between genealogists?
Particularly when data for Angus ranges from 1822 (dth cert)  to 1825 (1861) to 1830 (1880)
  • An 1887 death also explains actual wife Margaret changing from "married" but with no husband in the 1881 census, to widowed in the 1891 census.


Convinced?

Anyone with any sign of James Angus beyond the birth of son James George in Newark, Selkirk  in 1852?

Update:
An obituary was subsequently found that tied Angus Fairbairn the Scottish Vocalist dying 1887 in Dorchester, Massachusetts to his coming from "about Galashiels" which has fully convinced me that James Angus last seen at Newark, Selkirkshire is one and the same person as Angus.

The obit is rather damning as to his abilities however.




Friday, January 6, 2017

Small steps...

As mentioned in the last post it would be good if the Fairbairn Project could determine when the matching Haplogroup I1 lines diverged.
Perhaps we're all ancient ELLIOTs after all?
Do remember that the ELLIOTs in the FAIRBAIRN project are a very very small subset of the overall ELLIOT project.

Three BigY tests were ordered during the recent sales, all in Lineage 1e and believed to be descended from John & Bessie (FLINT) FAIRBAIRN (who married about 1728 Melrose, Roxburghshire).

There are hints that the first is nearly completed processing as a couple of BigY match emails have been received, even though the dashboard for the kit (F-16) shows "awaiting results".

Although the Haplogroup on his dashboard hasn't yet been changed from I-M253, his Haplotree/SNPs does however now show he is positive for
> Z141 > FGC22406 > Y7277
which YFull.com has at:
https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-Y7277/
a branch it shows in v5.01 of their I1 tree as forming 3300 ybp, TMRCA 2200 ybp (years before present, "present" = 1950).
Intriguing that the only three countries listed against those already analyzed are TSI, Italy and Hungary - but then the most youthful listed subbranch has a TMRCA (time to most recent common ancestor) estimated at 1500 ybp (ie around 450AD) so quite a way back from 1728.

We had already assumed the Z141 level from the prior SNP testing of our I1 group guinea-pig (F-17) who had tested positive for Z141 - so that branch was assumed to apply to all in the group.
He was also negative for two of the then known downstream sub groups of: F2642 and Z2535.
At which time specific SNP testing had ended.
No SNP packs or BigY were available at that time - how fast things change in this world.

Hopefully with this, and the remaining two results, once all analyzed at YFull, may create a more recent FAIRBAIRN sub branch.

For any of those in the I1 matching groups of the FAIRBAIRN project, be they FAIRBAIRNs, ELLIOTs or FARRIS or ... , FTDNA do offer both an I1-Z140 SNP pack which would quickly position any of the matching I1 group on the tree under I1-Z140 without the expense of the BigY test, but also without the contribution to science BigY gives.


This SNP pack includes the above FGC22406 sub branch, along with four successive branches.
and individual SNP tests for around this area.


So the more adventurous of you may wish to gamble by simply checking if you too are FGC22406 by ordering an individual SNP.

If you are considering doing BigY in the future - wait, save your pennies and do just that, both of the above would be superfluous.

If you do wish to explore this area of DNA testing please check with either your I1 Haplogroup project or the Fairbairn project administrator before ordering to make sure you are getting an appropriate test for your individual situation.