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Bunyan/Bunyon

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About us

Y-DNA results:

Only males can test Y-DNA because it is the gene that makes a male a male. It is passed directly from father to son. Haplogroups are DNA signatures that are used to look at migrations of man. A resource on this topic is Spencer Wells, Deep Ancestry.

To learn more about the haplogroups and to see research and graphics of the Y-DNA tree, go to Additional information can be found by searching the internet for the haplogroup you are interested in. Be sure to specify Y-DNA Haplogroup.

The test kits have been sorted into their respective haplogroups. Those haplogroups listed in red are estimated by FTDNA. Those listed in green have been SNP tested to confirm the haplotype. More people are doing SNP tests because it can further refine what part of the haplogroup they come from. This is particularly true in Haplogroups E, G, I, J, and R.  A few people do not have assigned haplogroups because their haplotype numbers are somewhat unusual. Only a SNP test can confirm the haplogroup when a haplotype (set of scores shown in DYS Values) is rare. When this happens, FTDNA performs a free “backbone” test to confirm the haplogroup.

•Y-DNA Haplogroup I overwintered in the Balkans during the last Ice Age and some members of this group also overwintered in Iberia. The subgroup I1 today is found mainly in northwestern Europe; some I1’s are Norse Vikings, and others are Anglo-Saxons. The subgroup I1b expanded from the Balkans both northward and eastward. I2 also has a very wide spread. Many in this group get SNP tests to see if they are mainly Sardinians (I2a1), Slavics (I2a2), from the Germanics pread (I2b1), or the smaller Germanic group (I2b2).

• Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b is the most prolific haplogroup in Europe and its frequency changes in a cline from west (where it reaches a saturation point of almost 100% in areas of Western Ireland) to east (where it becomes uncommon in parts of Eastern Europe and virtually disappears beyond the Middle East. Two Bunyans (#70156 & #84334) are known to be related and belong to the R1b haplogroup. They are unusual in that their DNA is unique at only 12 markers and only match each other. In early New England records there is a statement that this family line was related to the preacher John Bunyan of Bedfordshire, England and owned a copy of his most famous book, Pilgrim's Progress. The family is doing genealogical work to prove or disprove the relationship. Another Bunyan (#N58235) is not related to the other two testers. He also is in the R1b haplogroup, and his 12 DNA allele scores match the R1b modal which is the oldest migration into Wales, and is found throughout the British Isles. When a male has many matches, it is best to upgrade to Y-DNA37.

mtDNA Results:

mtDNA test kits are also arranged by mtdna Haplogroups. mtDNA is passed from the female to all of her children, so both females and males have mtDNA, but males cannot pass it to succeeding generations. mtDNA Haplogroups with the same name as Y-DNA Haplogroups have no relationship with each other. An example is that mtDNA Haplogroup K has a different history from Y-DNA Haplogroup K. mtDNA Haplogroups show the deep ancestry of the tester and are described in Spencer Wells, Deep Ancestry. Descriptions are also available on the tester's personal page under mtDNA - Results. Additional information can be found by searching the internet for the haplogroup you are interested in. Be sure to specify mtDNA Haplogroup.

•mtDNA Haplogroup H (also known as Helena) comprises 40 to 60 % of the mtDNA gene pool in Western Europe and as such is considered the most successful of the mtDNA haplogroups in reproducing itself. It also comprises about 20 % of southwest Asian lineages, 15 % of central Asian lineages and 5 % of northern Asian lineages.

•mtDNA Haplogroup U (also known as Ursula) has a wide distribution. Most in mtDNA haplogroup U come from a group that moved northwest out of the Near East.Today they are found in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean at frequencies of almost 7% of the population. U5 is mainly found in Scandinavia and U6 is found mainly in North Africa.