About us
The ARTERBURN Family in America was previously researched and the branches and several generations
of descendants identified and first published in The Arterburn Cousins (1977). Our primary goal in DNA
testing has been to determine our Y-Haplogroup (Y-SNP), which would confirm the human population of
our ancient ancestral roots and therewith disclose the Old World origin prior to the arrival in America of our
earliest patrilineal ancestor, which had not been discovered by the authors of The Arterburn Cousins.
Our primary goal was achieved initially through BIG Y – 500 SNP testing in 2018 (members may log-in
to our Results Overview and SNPs pages at DNA Results, on side bar) that yielded our current terminal
Y-SNP and Y-Haplogroup, R-Y46, a subclade of R-Y47 and R-Z94, which identifies our genetically
most recent common ancestor (MRCA). See The R-Y46 Story, below. *
An upgrade to the BIG Y – 700 ** is now required to confirm new subclades that will make possible
discovery of more recent ancestors on our branch of the Y-Haplogroup Tree, and is now underway thanks to
the generous support of contributors to our General Fund. *** BIG Y – 700 will be a legacy gift to
ARTERBURN descendants yet unborn who desire to know their deepest ancestral roots as our branch of the
the Y-Haplogroup Tree continues to grow. However, we may not see initial results from this new test until
September or October, 2025, based on current projections, despite the fact that “Big Y-700” is already
displayed (DNA Results > Y-DNA Results Overview, on sidebar) as the underlying test on our project chart;
watch this space for updates.
A descendant of Jemima (Arterburn) Collins has reported Ancestry DNA test results that indicates an
ancestral geographical link to the region identified as the Gulf of Khambhat, on the West Coast of
India, which borders the Indian state of Gujarat. European commercial interests, including the British
East India Company, were established on India’s West Coast early in the 17th century. This geographical
link derived from global DNA testing may ultimately correlate with our Y-SNP test results to more clearly
reveal our in-country ancestral home of origin as more of our Indian ancestors (MRCA) are identified on our
branch of the Y-Haplogroup Tree. We may reasonably surmise that the father (b. ca. 1665 or before) of John
Williams (b. ca. 1685 in America) was likely our ancestor who emigrated, whatever his circumstances,
during this period of British traders going to and from India.
The genetic evidence of our Old World patrilineal origin in India (R-Y46 = R1a1a1b2a2a1b1) is consistent
with the historical evidence as documented in 18th and 19th-century public records of Maryland, Virginia,
** Family Tree DNA (FTDNA): BIG Y – 700
*** We gratefully acknowledge and thank contributors (alphabetically) to our General Fund.
New contributors will be recognized unless anonymity is requested:
Charles R. Arterburn, William N. Arterburn, Catherine A. Felten, Linda L. Hope,
and Sherry C. Young.
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See Also:
Family Tree DNA (FTDNA): Forums
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG): Y-Chromosome DNA
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG): Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree 2019-2020 (line #648)
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG): Autosomal DNA (atDNA)
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG): Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
Find a Grave: Peter Arterburn (1711-1803)
Sharma, S., Rai, E., Sharma, P. et al. Journal of Human Genetics 54, 47-55 (2009)
https://doi.org/10.1038/jhg.2008.2