Looking like we are Fairbairns, not Elliotts after all????

The Fairbairn Surname DNA project is gradually plugging away at upgrading different lines of the Haplogroup I1 Fairbairns and their matches to BigY.
One of the benefits of this, especially when the resulting files are added to yFull.com, is that  timescale estimates are added to the branches being created on the yDNA tree of mankind.

A snapshot of the resulting tree as at Nov 2018 is on the Guild of One Name Study Histories pages
copied here:

Our Fairbairn (& matching Elliott) sub branch of I-Y7277 is
I-Y32666/ which as of Nov 2018 yFull estimated was formed 3800-2300 years before present, average 3000 (where "present" is 1950). The Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) is estimated as 600 ybp (average of 900-325 ybp).
Underneath that branch we now have one branch without close matches on the known sub branches.

Then come two main sub branches:

• one estimated to have formed 600 ybp (average of 900-325 ybp), with a MRCA of 225 ybp 
• one estimated to have formed 550 ybp (average of 900-225 ybp), also with a MRCA of 225 ybp

The former has two of our matching Elliot kits in it
The latter has two separate branches of our Fairbairns, namely the Cockburnspath, Berwickshire branch and that of John Fairbairn/Bessie Flint who married abt 1725 in Melrose, Roxburghshire

So, with the earlier generic branch being a Fairbairn, it does look like these Elliotts sprang from a Fairbairn around 1400, or 1725, depending on whether you use the branch formation or the MRCA date.

It's sale time again at FamilyTreeDNA until the end of December, so an excellent time to get more branches represented by BigY testing (hint hint)
 
Some background reading from Roberta Estes DNA-explained blog as to Why the Big Y
 

When did lines diverge?

With the current FamilyTreeDNA sale, the opportunity has been taken to kick start more of an investigation into when assorted lines diverged:

• The Elliots and the Fairbairns who so closely match at yDNA STR testing (the 37/67/111 marker tests)
• Lineage 1e from the others in haplogroup I1

just for starters (yes I'm biased, my FAIRBAIRN branch is Lineage 1e).

The test used here is BigY (currently $50 off on sale with further $$ off vouchers arriving weekly that may apply - I've heard some were for $100 off, the most I've found were $75).

It is only available if the male concerned has already tested his yDNA, so isn't visible on the normal product page (https://www.familytreedna.com/y-dna-compare.aspx). No re-scrape necessary if sufficient DNA remains in storage.

This test runs hand in hand with SNP testing, and has an advantage over any SNP packs that FTDNA advertise in that for the latter you are playing catch up all the time as the tree advances, and have to keep re-testing to see if you match the newfound branch.

For BigY you are helping science as well as your curiousity by leading that charge down the tree to the present day.  As new branches are found, your results are automatically updated, at least on YFull.com who do further analysis of the results for a one-off fee.

From prior individual SNP testing before BigY became available we know that the guinea pig tester for the FAIRBAIRNs, and by implication the group, had made it down to I-Z141 - which is equivalent to the I-Z140 one of the ELLIOT kits has tested for - https://yfull.com/tree/I-Z140/ - formed 4,300 years before present (present = 1950).

We must be able to do better than that.
One group down from the I-Z140 link above has a Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor of 50 years, yes that's 50 !

As for all DNA testing, it cannot be done in isolation, it needs comparisons.

Any takers from the ELLIOTs?

From other groupings in the I1 lineages?

We do need at least one other BigY test within the group to compare against to get full value from this.

A new set of vouchers will be arriving soon, so if interested, check out the FAIRBAIRN project activity feed to see if any are available.

As an example of what can happen, take a look at the Runciman project diary where we were trying to determine how long ago the four matching lines diverged. Question not yet answered, as they were still on the same branch estimated at around 550 ybp. We have hopes that another test will revise that further.