Our Family, the Spartanburg Confused

In Appendix Y of this history of my Alexander family, I analyzed the matches and mismatches on markers of Y chromosomes in samples from several Alexander family groups and concluded that most groups were at best very remotely related through their male lines; that is, their common male-line ancestor lived several thousands of years ago. At that time, I did not have access to any SNP results for most of these groups and could not have used SNP deviations for analysis even if I understood the meaning of each of them. From the analysis that I did, I concluded that three Alexander groups were relatively closely related to one another, having a common male ancestor less than one thousand years ago. I also concluded that their Alexander surnames probably had a common source. In this history and several other data sites, these three groups have been labeled the Spartanburg Confused, the Confused Too, and the Campbelltown Alexanders.

At present, SNP tests are available for most of the Alexander groups although no one from the Spartanburg Confused group had SNP results until two of us tested very recently. We are in haplogroup R-FTC62030, while the Confused Toos are in haplogroup R-FT100543, and the Campbelltown haplogroup group tested in haplogroup R-BY166028, although some Campbelltowns tested further downstream. Based on comparison of the SNP results of the three groups, it appears certain that my conclusions were incorrect. Geneticists who work with SNPs have concluded that the SNP mutation (DF105) that separated the Spartanburg Confused from the other two groups occurred about 1600 years ago. This estimate of separation time has a 95% confidence level which means the actual time could be several hundred years earlier or later.

To explain the significance of the new SNP results to our Spartanburg Confused, Floyd Owsley, a volunteer administrator for the Alexander DNA project wrote a letter to some of us. Until the last paragraph, he is only providing us data for our records. The final paragraph gives the important explanation. With Floyd's permission I have excerpted the following from the letter.

". . . your SNP lineage beginning with R-M269:
M269 > L23 > L51 > P310 > L151 > P312 > Z290 > L21 > S552 > DF13 > Z39589 > DF49 > Z2980 > Z2976 > DF23> Z2961 > Z2956 > Z2965 > M222 > Z2959 > S658 > DF104 > DF105 > FGC36289 > A223 > BY3339 > A225 > A224 > A1774 > FGC32899.

Some researchers have often wondered how closely related the Spartanburg Confused group is with the Campbelltown Scotland and Confused 2 groups in the Alexander DNA project. In my explanation, I will refer to you as the Spartanburg Confused group.

Here’s the SNP lineage for the Campbelltown Scotland group:
M269 > L23 > L51 > P310 > L151 > P312 > Z290 > L21 > S552 > DF13 > Z39589 > DF49 > Z2980 > Z2976 > DF23> Z2961 > Z2965 > Z2965 > M222 > Z2959 > S658 > DF104 > DF105 > DF85 > S673 > S668 > FGC8740 > BY3344 > FGC40093 > BY168440 > BY166028.

Here’s the SNP lineages for the Confused 2 group:
M269 > L23 > L51 > P310 > L151 > P312 > Z290 > L21 > S552 > DF13 > Z39589 > DF49 > Z2980 > Z2976 > DF23> Z2961 > Z2956 > Z2965 > M222 > Z2959 > S658 > DF104 > DF105 > DF85 > S673 > S668 > FGC8740 > DF97 (FGC8739) > Z236 > FGC19851 > BY3345 > FGC19846 > FGC19848 > FGC57795 > FT101936 > FT102660 > FT100543.

As you can see, the SNP lineages for all three groups are the same until after SNP DF105. Afterwards, the Spartanburg Confused group is different from the other two groups. So, the Spartanburg Confused group connects with the other two groups with the birth of SNP DF105. According to Big Y experts, the SNP DF105 occurred about 1,600 years ago, which was a long time before the utilization of surnames. This means the members of the three groups share a common paternal ancestor who was born about 1,600 years ago. The Campbelltown Scotland and Confused 2 groups also connect at SNP FGC8740, which occurred a few hundred years after SNP DF105. So, the Campbelltown Scotland and Confused 2 groups are more closely related to each other than with your Spartanburg Confused group."