The numbers do mean something specific, and I will try to explain it a bit
in a email to you off-list. But the most that genealogists really need to
understand is the notion of genetic distance. The higher number of matches
among the columns between two testers, the better the probability of
relationship. But there are other factors:
The surname needs to be the same (or a good reason, such as adoption, as
to why it's not) and the family histories need to coincide.
For example, I match to 12 markers to someone in India. Chances are we're
not related. :)
Ron and I match to 12 markers BUT we have the same last name and a family
history that matches. BINGO.
So far, nearly every Cooley who has matched to 12 markers has been proven
to be related. So far, there are three "problem" testers. 1: Jim's John
who married Martha Bearden. We can't place his John, but we have a match
in DNA, a match in name and a match with a placement in early Missouri. 2:
The Perrin C Cooley descendants. Again, a match with DNA, a match with
name, a clear match in place, and a match in the uncommon first name of
Perrin, which is recurrent in our Cooleys. But who's son was he? Not
Perrin Jr--they're too close in age. Perhaps Perrin Sr but Perrin Jr is
probably his. 3: The James Cooley of Jack county TX. We have a match in
name, in DNA, and of later residence in Texas near Mathias BUT a BIG
mismatch in his birthplace of PA. This is puzzling, as I've discussed. If
he is not Mathias's brother, James M Cooley--who matches in birth
year--then his presence suggests a collateral line not of Stokes county
NC.
One rule of thumb: if two testers match to the first 12 markers and match
in the other ways I described, there's a high probability that they are
related. If they match 11/12, the probability is good, but lesser.
Anything less than that and it's very unlikely they are related, even if
we find matches in place, etc. An example of that would be the two
distinctly different Cooley clans of Allegheny county PA.
Anyway, DNA mutates. Overall, on the Y chromosome, you get something like
an average mutation of one per 3 or 4 generations. That's why we see a
genetic distance of 2-4 among our clan--we're 6-9 generations removed from
one another. And that's why it's potentially significant that Jim is a
37/37 match (a genetic distance of 0) to the William Matthews Cooley
descendant. That could really, really mean something in the placement of
Jim's John. On the other hand, that just may have been the way the cookie
crumbled. In Jim's case, we really need to find some good
documentation--or get better genetic resolution.
Mary, I know you're new to the list and some of these examples may not be
familiar to you. Shoot me a private email with questions.
-Michael
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> ----------MB_8CF2ED227B35D68_BBC_1E5020_Webmail-m114.sysops.aol.com
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
> Michael, you sound like you understand that DNA stuff really well.
>
> We had it done through ancestry on my dad, got results and it just doesnt
> m=
> ake any sense to me at all. of course it has nothing to do with the Cooley
> =
> line.=20
> Someone told me those numbers have very specific meanings, more than what
> A=
> ncestry. com tells you
> love to have youlait all when you have time
> thanks mary
>
> =20
>
> =20
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Cooley <michael_at_newsummer.com>
> To: John Cooley Mailing List <undisclosed.recipients_at_johncooley.net>
> Sent: Thu, Jul 12, 2012 11:38 pm
> Subject: Results for 12th tester coming in
>
>
> I've spent a couple of hours on the phone this evening with Ron Cooley, a
> Sangamon county IL descendant. (We've discussed this group just recently.)
> This makes him a descendant of John Jr.
>
> He is kit #238610. The first 12 markers match. This means the remainder
> will be very close--probably no more than a genetic distance of 2 from the
> rest of us.
>
> http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cooley/default.aspx?section=3Dyresults
>
> He has an interesting family story that comes close to Chuck Cooley's
> story passed from Charles Edward Cooley. Ron didn't mention the Jacobites,
> but it sure sounds like a close match to their story, and that of the
> massacre of Culloden Moor and the many Scots and other English Jacobites
> who were transported to the colonies or otherwise felt obliged to hightail
> it.
>
> He also talked of a distant relative who keeps closely clutched to her
> breast a family bible that is said by the family to represent the early
> generations of the Cooleys in the country. It would make some sense that
> such a bible might have passed down through John Jr, one of the older
> sons and the namesake of our guy. Hopefully, we'll learn more.
>
> Ron is now on the list. Say something Ron when you have a moment. There's
> about 50 of us out here.
>
> More later.
>
> -Michael
>
> --
> <a href=3D"http://newsummer.com/distlist">distlist 0.9</a>
> See http://ancestraldata.com/listarchive/johncooleylist/ for list
> informati=
> on.
>
> =20
>
> ----------MB_8CF2ED227B35D68_BBC_1E5020_Webmail-m114.sysops.aol.com
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
>
> <font color=3D'black' size=3D'2' face=3D'arial'><font color=3D"black"
> face=
> =3D"arial" size=3D"2">
>
> <div> <font face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Michael, you sound like
> y=
> ou understand that DNA stuff really well.<br>
> <br>
> We had it done through ancestry on my dad, got results and it just doesnt
> m=
> ake any sense to me at all. of course it has nothing to do with the Cooley
> =
> line. <br>
> Someone told me those numbers have very specific meanings, more than what
> A=
> ncestry. com tells you<br>
> love to have youlait all when you have time<br>
> thanks mary<br>
> </font>
> </div>
>
>
>
> <div> <br>
>
> </div>
>
>
>
> <div> <br>
>
> </div>
>
>
>
> <div
> style=3D"font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----=
> Original Message-----<br>
>
> From: Michael Cooley <michael_at_newsummer.com><br>
>
> To: John Cooley Mailing List <undisclosed.recipients_at_johncooley.net><=
> br>
>
> Sent: Thu, Jul 12, 2012 11:38 pm<br>
>
> Subject: Results for 12th tester coming in<br>
>
> <br>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <div id=3D"AOLMsgPart_0_87ce083e-2171-4a86-b12f-2b0129afcdc8"
> style=3D"marg=
> in: 0px;font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif;font-size:
> 12px;col=
> or: #000;background-color: #fff;">
>
> <pre style=3D"font-size: 9pt;"><tt>I've spent a couple of hours on the
> phon=
> e this evening with Ron Cooley, a
> Sangamon county IL descendant. (We've discussed this group just recently.)
> This makes him a descendant of John Jr.
>
> He is kit #238610. The first 12 markers match. This means the remainder
> will be very close--probably no more than a genetic distance of 2 from the
> rest of us.
>
> <a
> href=3D"http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cooley/default.aspx?section=
> =3Dyresults"
> target=3D"_blank">http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cooley/d=
> efault.aspx?section=3Dyresults</a>
>
> He has an interesting family story that comes close to Chuck Cooley's
> story passed from Charles Edward Cooley. Ron didn't mention the Jacobites,
> but it sure sounds like a close match to their story, and that of the
> massacre of Culloden Moor and the many Scots and other English Jacobites
> who were transported to the colonies or otherwise felt obliged to hightail
> it.
>
> He also talked of a distant relative who keeps closely clutched to her
> breast a family bible that is said by the family to represent the early
> generations of the Cooleys in the country. It would make some sense that
> such a bible might have passed down through John Jr, one of the older
> sons and the namesake of our guy. Hopefully, we'll learn more.
>
> Ron is now on the list. Say something Ron when you have a moment. There's
> about 50 of us out here.
>
> More later.
>
> -Michael
>
> --
> <a href=3D"<a href=3D"http://newsummer.com/distlist" target=3D"_blank">h=
> ttp://newsummer.com/distlist</a>">distlist 0.9</a>
> See <a href=3D"http://ancestraldata.com/listarchive/johncooleylist/"
> target=
> =3D"_blank">http://ancestraldata.com/listarchive/johncooleylist/</a> for
> li=
> st information.
> </tt></pre>
> </div>
>
> <!-- end of AOLMsgPart_0_87ce083e-2171-4a86-b12f-2b0129afcdc8 -->
>
>
>
> </div>
>
> </font></font>
> ----------MB_8CF2ED227B35D68_BBC_1E5020_Webmail-m114.sysops.aol.com--
>
> --
> <a href="http://newsummer.com/distlist">distlist 0.9</a>
> See http://ancestraldata.com/listarchive/johncooleylist/ for list
> information.
>
Received on Fri Jul 13 2012 - 00:33:06 MDT