Massachusetts Jamesons YDNA Project

Results from testing just the Y-Chromosome (only present in men and only passed down from father to sons) gives us a clear picture of the unique patriarchal history (pedigree) of this early Massachusetts Jameson family line. That is because the part of the Y-Chromosome tested, goes back thousands of generations and is the same in all living males, from a common ancestor. So, with any test, when compared to any other test, each person is either a match on not. Newer parts of that same chromosome will have differences, but the part that concerns us, will be the same and is what makes this kind of test so important and useful to genealogists in general and to anyone connected with this Jameson family, in particular.

The Numbers

Y-DNA test results are usually expressed as a string of numbers, often called markers. These numbers are not medically informative or personally identifiable. However, for our purposes, a Y-DNA profile from any living male descendant of this Jameson family can be compared to a profile of any other male, worldwide, and if any two tests have a Y Chromosome DNA match and one of those people can otherwise identify and prove an ancestry (any ancestry), then the other matched person can assume that ancestry is his also, at least as far as some common ancestor, somewhere in their past. Conversely and just as important, if a Jameson male has Y-DNA results that does not match others of those in our known Jameson family, he cannot claim to be part of this family, at least genetically, regardless of any paper trail.

What's Important

There are two important parts to Y-DNA test results, The Haplogroup, and the DYS panel, each informative in their own way. The Haplogroup is a general anthropological category grouping and the DYS numbers which collectively is basically your Y-DNA "profile". The Haplogroup is determined mostly by the part containing what are known as SNP marker results and the Y-DNA profile is a collection made up from newer STR marker results. SNP marker results, which make up the Haplogroup, are very old and very stable and are useful for understanding deep, deep origins and things like general migration patterns and so forth. The latter STR marker results are more useful in more modern terms, still possibly thousands of years old, helpful in determining and understanding modern relationships. Both sets of results are useful in determining family connections. However, even with these Y-DNA results, one has to have a more traditional way (provable paper trail) to fully understand the correct relationship within a family of matching results.

Haplogroup

This Massachussetts Jameson family is descended from James Jameson (1620-1661). There are no known DNA tests from any descendant of this family, as of yet. 

The Panel

The panel below is a brief summary of all the Y-DNA tests, we know of, taken by descendants of just this particular "Massachusetts" Jameson family. This then can be said to be the general Y-DNA "profile" for this family. A larger and more detailed Y-DNA analysis of this family can be seen here. and the FTDNA Jamieson Y-DNA project of overall Jam?son families beyond just this Jameson family, can be seen here.

Each row below represents a single Y-DNA test result. The meaning or significance of these numbers are not as important as is it's representation as a "profile," thereby established for that entire family.

Understanding Y-DNA test results can be a little daunting, or at least a little confusing. That need not be, at least on the most basic level. DNA testing for use with genealogy is generally speaking, just a comparative science, at least as far as an overall understanding goes. You need only to compare one test result against another test result and like with a fingerprint, if they match, these two people are related, if they don't match, these two people are not related. There can of course, be more to it than that, nuances that can reveal degrees of separation, ethnicity, anthropological details and so on. However, that is where one needs to know more about the science and nomenclature. For a basic genealogical understanding, you only need to know if the tests match or not. Thing is, you always need to have some other test to compare with, otherwise a DNA test isn't much use for genealogical purposes.