[4qd-bannvalley] Y-DNA Project

[4qd-bannvalley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Tira)]

Dear Iain,

The results of a Y-DNA test do not prove ancestry, but they can indicate 
that two people of the same surname had a common ancestor within a certain 
number of generations.

My cousin Boyd Elder kindly agreed to be tested for the Y-DNA Elder Surname 
Project and the results state Boyd had 12 of 12 marker matches with another 
man surnamed Elder who also took this test. This means Boyd "... and the 
other person match in all 12 loci. If you share the same surname or variant, 
this means that there is a 99% likelihood that you share a common ancestor 
in a genealogical time frame."

I searched the family line of this Elder match and find Henry (II) Elder, of 
Garvagh. Now, Garvagh is the only place I have found all four of my family 
lines in one town -- Robt. Elder was there because he married Eliz. (II) 
Sharkey who was born and raised there. There are also a lot of Craigs in the 
1st Pres. Burying Ground there -- the one behind the library by the river. 
Alex. Sharkey (brother of Eliz. II Sharkey) and his wife Jane Marshall are 
buried in the other Pres. Burying Ground there -- the one on the main street 
with the extant church. As are Maria Sharkey and her husband William 
Whiteside. This places all four of my lines in one place at one time --  
except, of course, I don't know that the Craigs are my Craigs.

But, given the Y-DNA connection, I am inclined to concentrate all my 
investigations in Garvagh for the time being, as this seems the best place 
to pick up the disparate threads.

Robert Elder's father was Samuel Elder of Drumagosker and Ballyness, 
L'Derry. (I think Drumagosker is a townland and know Ballyness is a 
farmland.) I need to find out who Samuel Elder's parents are. My mother and 
I have been working this for over forty years in total -- most of it on her 
watch -- and I would love to be able to tell her I have moved the line back 
one generation.

To learn more about family tree Y-DNA and Mito-DNA projects you may go to:
http://www.familytreedna.com/default.asp

Best Regards,
Tira Brandon-Evans

ELDER, SHARKEY, CRAIG, MARSHALL
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~inchelder/index.html