Addenda - even more results in.

So much for that theory (see jumping to conclusions posted earlier today).
No sooner were all the results to hand thought about, and conclusions updated, than the most interesting panel of the remaining markers was also available.
Of those in the small subsection of clump 2 Eckford:F-27 now looks more closely related to those in the trees we know less about, although (F-8) also has been mooted to be connected to the John and Helen (ANDERSON) tree. Inherited family documents show Thomas (b. 1784 marr. Elspeth REDPATH) as son of Robert (b. 1749, married Margaret PATTERSON), and the 1749 Robert as son of Robert (1716 - 1800), with this last Robert being the brother of John b 1714 and Patrick, all sons of the 6th generation John b. 1688.
Same references to "crest" and grave markers in Ednam, which makes it look most like this version of the John's on the Patriarchs page (but presumably with further details on Thomas' line included).
The provenance of the information does include data from Thomas' daughter, so it does contain some proven links to the past, with references also to more modern researchers.

2nd: Spoke too soon

The missing panel was only a day longer than the rest, and did indeed prove rather interesting.
At 67 markers David (F-7) turns out to be only a Genetic Distance of 2 from (F-8), one marker of which, 447, only (F-8) has as 21, so that probably typifies his line of Thomas & Elspeth (REDPATH) FAIRBAIRN, not that that helps fill in too many gaps to connect up David's Trotter FAIRBAIRN as yet.
The supplementary pages have been updated, as has a preliminary attempt at joining up all of "clump 2" of Lineage 1 into one signature chart (as opposed to the subset there previously).

67 marker results in for Goodfellow line

Results table has been updated to show the latest set of markers in - for Doug (F-6) of the line of James FAIRBAIRN and Helen GOODFELLOW.
Closest match is now with F-8 the descendant of the Rideau Canal Thomas (marr. Elspeth REDPATH), at a Genetic Distance (GD) 7 by the official FT dna reports, although bear in mind their response to my puzzlement over this, which said take some off that for those markers in the faster mutating range.

As to how close their Most Recent Common Ancestor is? This TMRCA web site may help explain (although it only goes up to 37 markers).
By reading this I finally realised that it isn't just the fact that marker x differs, but by how many steps on that marker, the values differ.

Remember however that mutations can creep in at ANY generation. I have 2nd cousins who show up at GD 1, and they share a great grandfather.

Rideau Canal connection holding up

Preliminary (12 marker) results are now in for F-8, the representative of the line of Thomas & Elspeth (REDPATH) FAIRBAIRN, and they show an exact match with the two last results, F-6 the James (GOODFELLOW) line, and F-7, the Trotter line, and are reported as being a Genetic Distance of 1 from Martin (F-1), Earl (F-2) and Roy (F-3), this latter being a descendant of William (marr. Jean WANLESS) reported to have also worked on the Rideau Canal.
So, on the face of it, there is indeed some connection between the two Rideau Canal workers, William and Thomas FAIRBAIRN (see the Patriarchs page for outline lineages).

8th kit - Thomas & Elspeth (REDPATH) FAIRBAIRN

8th participant welcomed, and Patriarchs page updated to shift his pedigree (that of Thomas FAIRBAIRN b. abt 1790 Gordon, BEW, married to Elspeth REDPATH) up into the "in progress" section.
Hoping to see if related to William & Jean (WANLESS) FAIRBAIRN of Wakefield Quebec, given that both Thomas and William worked on the Rideau Canal, and William was supposed to have a brother Thomas.
Still looking for participants from among the descendants of John FAIRBAIRN and Elisabeth MILLER, lived Hardenberg, NY.