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Creed

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Results Discussion

STRs (short tandem repeat) and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) are two different types of Y-DNA marker. STR markers are tested by FTDNA in panels of 12, 25, 37, 67, and 111 markers. Approximately every few generations, randomly, a variation occurs in a marker (which is subsequently passed on to subsequent generations), and analysis of variations allows us to predict how closely related individuals with matching Y-DNA marker results are. For this reason analysis of STR markers is the main focus of a surname study. In contrast to STR markers, new SNP markers occur with much less frequency. All samples that are subjected to Y-DNA STR marker testing will be provided with a basic haplogroup and SNP prediction. Deep clade testing can refine the haplogroup by testing further SNPs downstream of the predicted SNP (i.e. newer than the predicted SNP). At the current time few SNPs of age less than 1000 years are known, and therefore people who share a common SNP are likely to possess a wide variety of surnames since the SNP may be thousands of years old signifying that the individuals who share that SNP may not have shared a common paternal ancestor for thousands of years. Each SNP developed first in a single individual, and all people with that SNP descend directly from him. More recent SNPs are of some use to a surname study, but as new SNPs are discovered regularly SNPs may one day equal or surpass STR markers in their utility within the context of a surname project.

Group A:  (kit#70201, kit#124413, kit#291855)

Kit#70201 (111 markers tested with FTDNA) traces paternal ancestry to Matthew Creed, born c.1730, d.1790, who lived in Socastee, Horry County, South Carolina, USA.

Kit#124413 (25 markers tested with FTDNA) traces paternal ancestry to James Creed, born c.1847.

Kit#291855 (37 markers tested with FTDNA) traces paternal ancestry to Robert Creed, born c.1780s. He married Elizabeth Reed in c.1822 in Tennessee, and they later settled in Texas where Robert died c.1833. In a published biography of their son Captain James Creed (in “Portrait and Biographical Record of Clinton, Washington, Marion and Jefferson Counties, Illinois” Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1894, page 206) we are informed that “Captain Creed’s parents were natives of South Carolina, and were of English and French descent respectively”. However, in the 1880 census their son David’s parents were documented to have been born in North Carolina.

All three samples match one another very convincingly, and therefore all share a common Creed ancestor. Kit#70201 and kit#124413 match one another perfectly on the 25 STR markers for which they have both been tested, while in the same range kit#291855 differs from these two by one step on two separate markers (kit#291855 has a value of 24 for DYS447 compared to a value of 25 in the other two samples; kit#291855 has a value of 19 for DYS448 compared to a value of 20 in the other two samples). On the 37 markers for which kit#70201 and kit#291855 have both been tested they do not differ on any further markers. We cannot assume, on the basis of their exact match, that the submitters of kit#70201 and kit#122413 are more closely related to each other than they are to the submitter of kit#291855 because we cannot exclude the possibility at this stage that the two markers on which kit#291855 differs could be the result of mutations in recent generations. Although they cannot trace their Creed ancestors to before their arrival in America, they most likely came from Britain (or, perhaps less likely, Ireland). This appears to be reflected in the aforementioned biography with reference to Robert Creed b.c.1780s. This DNA match would appear to favour South Carolina rather than North Carolina as the birthplace of Robert Creed, but more research is needed.

Kit#70201 is confirmed to be I-M253+, and I-M253 is the SNP that defines haplogroup I1. Kit#124413 and kit#291855 have been estimated by FTDNA, on the basis of their STR markers, to be I-M253+ (and therefore haplogroup I1) also. The SNP I-M253 is believed to have first occurred approximately 4000-5000 years ago (previous estimates that it is 15,000 years old are now widely regarded as inaccurate). There is strong evidence that I-M253 originated in Scandinavia. It seems certain, therefore, that these Group A Creeds can claim Scandinavian paternal ancestry. However, it is likely that their direct ancestors had already settled in Britain (or possibly Ireland) when they assumed the Creed surname – possibly as Saxons, Vikings, or Normans. Surnames came into use in Britain approximately 900 years ago (and in Ireland approximately 1000 years ago), so, although these Creeds brought their Y-DNA from Scandinavia, their Creed surname is presumably British (or Irish) and not Scandinavian. It is hoped that further Creeds who genetically match these men will be found, allowing us to determine where earlier generations of this family are likely to have lived.

Group B:  (kit#38798, kit#41769, kit#48358, kit#B4200)

The four members of Group B also belong to haplogroup I1, but while the members of Group A and B share a common paternal ancestor in the last 4000-5000 years (since I-M253 first occurred), it is extremely unlikely that the members of Group A share a common ancestor with the members of Group B in the last 1000 years, and therefore they presumably share the Creed surname by coincidence rather than by descent from a common ancestor who lived sufficiently recently to have used the surname Creed. To illustrate this latter point, when we compare at 67 markers kit#70201 (Group A) with the two Group B Creeds who have also tested to 67 markers (kit#38798 and kit#48358), using FTDNATiP methodology, we calculate a probability of just 0.11% (i.e. approximately 1 in 900 chance) that this Group A Creed shares a common ancestor with these Group B Creeds within 24 generations (allowing 30 years per generation, 24x30=720 years).

Kit#38798 (67 markers tested with FTDNA) traces paternal ancestry to Matthew Creed Sr., who was born c.1730 in Virginia, USA, residing in Orange County in that state. He later resided in Surry County, North Carolina, where he died in 1798. He was married to Margaret McKinney.

Kit#41769 (25 markers tested with FTDNA) and kit#B4200 (30 markers tested with ancestry.com but results transferred to FTDNA) have both been submitted by men who trace paternal ancestry to Elijah Creed Sr., who was born c.1749 in Orange County, Virginia, USA. He later resided in Surry County, North Carolina. He is believed to have died in Kentucky in 1829. He was married to Mary Rucker. The most recent common paternal ancestor for the submitters of both of these kits was James Madison Creed, grandson of the aforementioned Elijah Creed Sr., who was born in Lexington Co., Kentucky in 1812 and who died in Monroe County, Missouri in 1872. The submitters are third cousins once removed. The submitter of kit#41769 is the great-grandson of James Madison Creed’s son Elijah Samuel Creed (b.1843) by James Madison Creed’s first wife Martha Jane Wilson. The submitter of kit#B4200 is the great-great-grandson of James Madison Creed’s son George Washington Creed (b.1855) by James Madison Creed’s second wife Milvina Mildred Hill. Although Elijah Samuel Creed and George Washington Creed were just half-brothers, they shared a father and therefore the fact that they did not share a mother would not have influenced their Y-DNA in any way.

Kit#48358 (67 markers tested with FTDNA) traces paternal ancestry to Bennett Creed Sr., who was born c.1747 in Orange County, Virginia, USA. He later resided in Surry Co., North Carolina, where he died in 1816 or 1817. He was married to Mary Estes.

Through conventional genealogical research it has been speculated that these three patriarchs (Matthew Creed Sr., Elijah Creed Sr., and Bennett Creed Sr.,) are likely to have been close relatives – possibly brothers, or close cousins, or even a pair of brothers and their cousin. Forenames such as Bennett and Matthew are common to their descendant lines, and all three lived in Orange County, Virginia, and in Surry County, North Carolina, at a similar time. Y-DNA analysis proves that the four sample providers share common paternal ancestry. All four kits can be compared on the same 22 STR markers, on which kit#38798, kit#41769, and kit#B4200 show identical results. Kit#48358 differs on just one STR marker, with a value of 15 for DYS385b compared to a value of 14 in the other two samples. When kit#38798 and kit#48358 are compared on the 67 markers for which both have been tested, they differ on the aforementioned DYS385b, and on just one other marker – DYS534 – for which kit#38798 has a value of 18 compared to a value of 17 in kit#48358. With a genetic distance of 2 over 67 markers for these two kits, using FTDNATiP methodology, we calculate a probability of 85.53% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 8 generations, and a probability of 97.09% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 12 generations. Kit#B4200 has a value of 9 for Y-GATA-H4, compared to a value of 10 for this marker for kit#38798 and kit#48358. Kit#41769 has not had this marker tested. Kit#41769 and kit#B4200, which have both been submitted by descendants of Elijah Creed Sr., match exactly on all 22 STR markers for which they have both been tested.

All three FTDNA kits have been estimated by FTDNA (and by ancestry.com for kit#B4200), on the basis of STR markers, to be I-M253+, and I-M253 is the SNP that defines haplogroup I1. The SNP I-M253 is believed to have first occurred approximately 4000-5000 years ago (previous estimates that it is 15,000 years old are now widely regarded as inaccurate). There is strong evidence that I-M253 originated in Scandinavia. It seems certain, therefore, that these Group B Creeds can claim Scandinavian paternal ancestry. However, it is likely that their direct ancestors had already settled in Britain (or possibly Ireland) when they assumed the Creed surname – possibly as Saxons, Vikings, or Normans. Surnames came into use in Britain approximately 900 years ago (and in Ireland approximately 1000 years ago), so, although these Creeds brought their Y-DNA from Scandinavia, their Creed surname is presumably British (or Irish) and not Scandinavian. It is hoped that further Creeds who genetically match these men will be found, allowing us to determine where earlier generations of this family are likely to have lived.

As discussed above, the two members of Group A also belong to haplogroup I1, but while the members of Group B and A share a common paternal ancestor in the last 4000-5000 years (since I-M253 first occurred), it is extremely unlikely that the members of Group B share a common ancestor with the members of Group A in the last 1000 years, and therefore they presumably share the Creed surname by coincidence rather than by descent from a common ancestor who lived sufficiently recently to have used the surname Creed. To illustrate this latter point, when we compare at 67 markers the two Group B Creeds who have tested to 67 markers (kit#38798 and kit#48358) with the Group A Creed who has tested to 67 markers (kit#70201), using FTDNATiP methodology, we calculate a probability of just 0.11% (i.e. approximately 1 in 900 chance) that these Group B Creeds share a common paternal ancestor with this Group A Creed within 24 generations (allowing 30 years per generation, 24x30=720 years).

Group C:  (kit#38799, kit#173567)

Kit#38799 (25 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great-grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte Creed, who was born in 1853 in Carter County, Tennessee, USA. He died in Carter County in 1920. He married Delia Catherine Blevins in Carter County in 1876. Napoleon Bonaparte Creed was the son of William C. Creed, who was born c.1821 in North Carolina, USA. He relocated to Tennessee, and died in Carter County, Tennessee, between 1860 and 1865. He married Rebecca Heatherly in Tennessee in c.1841.

Kit#173567 (37 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great-great-great-grandson of George Washington Creed, who was born in 1842 in Carter County, Tennessee. He died in 1929 in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, USA. He married Nancy Combs in Carter County in 1866. Like Napoleon Bonaparte Creed, George Washington Creed was also the son of William C. Creed and Rebecca Heatherly.

Therefore, the submitters of kit#38799 and kit#173567 are third cousins twice removed, and William C. Creed (born c.1821) was their most recent common paternal ancestor. Not surprisingly, the two men are a very close genetic match. On the 25 markers for which they have both been tested they differ by just one degree on one marker – DYS464c – which is a rapidly mutating marker (kit#38799 has a value of 17 for DYS464c and kit#173567 has a value of 16 for DYS464c). Using FTDNATiP methodology we calculate a probability of 27.24% that the sample providers share a common paternal ancestor within 4 generations, and a probability of 57.78% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 8 generations, reaching a probability of 97.57% within 24 generations. This supports the relationship that had already been determined by conventional genealogy. It is hoped that further Creeds who genetically match these men will be found, allowing us to determine where earlier generations of this family are likely to have lived.

Both kits have been estimated by FTDNA, on the basis of STR markers, to be R-M269+, and R-M269 is the SNP that defines haplogroup R1b1a2. Haplogroup R1b1a2 is Europe’s most common haplogroup, existing in high or very high frequencies in all Western European populations. Both men also match the 12 marker “Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype” – an erroneously named haplotype which is the most common Y-DNA signature within haplogroup R1b1a2. It is particularly common in Western Europe (which forms the coast of the eastern Atlantic, not the western Atlantic as the name misleadingly suggests). Haplotypes are characterised by shared STR markers, whereas haplogroups are characterised by shared SNP markers. The latter are far more stable. The haplogroup of these men could be further refined by deep clade analysis to determine SNP markers downstream of (i.e. more recent than) R-M269 that these Creeds possess, which may well help to determine where in Western Europe the ancestors of these particular Creeds came from.

Group D:  (kit#53865, kit#219695, kit#295003)

Kit#53865 (25 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great-great-great grandson of Joseph Bennett Creed, who was born in 1788 in Sturgeon, Prince Edward Island, Canada. He died on Prince Edward Island in 1868. He was the son of Captain William Creed, who, it is believed, was born c.1739 in Co. Limerick, Ireland, and earlier generations of his Creeds came from England. Captain William Creed emigrated to North America, initially settling in Rhode Island but later moving to Prince Edward Island, Canada, between 1786/7, where, for some time already, he had business interests. He had several children by Mary Spencer, his partner of seventeen years, to whom he was not married. He left her, and in c.1783 he married Elizabeth Prince. Elizabeth was the mother of three of his sons, the second of whom was Joseph Bennett Creed. Captain William Creed was, at various stages, a politician, a harbour master, and a road surveyor. He died of cholera in 1809 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Kit#219695 (67 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great-great-great grandson of Job Prince Creed, who was born c.1785 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He died in 1867 in Sturgeon, Prince Edward Island, Canada. He was the eldest son of Captain William Creed and Elizabeth Prince, and brother of Joseph Bennett Creed.

Therefore the submitters of kit#53865 and kit#219695 are fifth cousins, and Captain William Creed is documented to have been their most recent common paternal ancestor. This is substantiated by Y-DNA, as the two men are an exact match on the 25 markers for which they have both beentested.

Kit#295003 (37 markers tested with FTDNA) was submittedby the 6th great grandson of Francis Creed, who was born in c.1670 in Co. Limerick, Ireland and died in Ballynanty, Co. Limerick in c.1744. It is likely that Francis descended from Francis Creed, gent, who was documented in Ballyshonedehy townland, Kilquan parish, Co. Limerick in the 1659 census of Ireland (which is believed to have been a tax survey). The family came from England, most likely during the Cromwellian plantation. A branch of this family lived at Ballygrennan Castle near Uregare, Co. Limerick during the 1700s. The submitter of kit#295003 matches the samples from the descendants of Captain William Creed very convincingly. He differs on 2 of the 25 markers for which he and kit#53865 have been tested, and on 3 of the 37 markers for which he and kit#219695 have been tested. It is not known who the most recent common ancestor of all three men was, but this was probably one of the three generations of Francis Creeds.

Kit#53865 is confirmed to be C-M130+, and therefore haplogroupC. C-M130 positivity implies that the sample is also positive for the SNPC-M216. Kit#219695 has been estimated by FTDNA, on the basis of his STR markers, to be C-M216+ (and therefore haplogroup C) also. Kit#295003, also of haplogroup C, has tested positive for the SNP C-V20. The SNP C-V20 is downstream of (i.e. more recent than) C-M130 and C-M216. No doubt kit#53865 and kit#219695 would also test positive for it. Haplogroup C is a very old haplogroup, estimated to be over 60,000 years old. It is found in highest frequencies in Mongolia and other parts of Asia, but is believed to have crossed to the Americas 6000-8000 years ago where it is found in indigenous American populations. It is found with very low frequency in Europe. Interestingly, the C-V20+ subgroup (known as C6 in the current ISOGG haplotree) is commoner among European males, although when the haplogroup entered Europe is still unknown and opinion is divided. Some believe that C-V20 may represent the first migration of Homo sapiens into Europe approximately 45,000 years ago, making it a very old European haplogroup. Against this is the fact that it is extremely rare in Europe. Although two of these Creeds belong to a family that has been based in North America since the 1700s (where haplogroup C is found among indigenous Americans), the direct ancestors of the third Creed (kit#295003) did not emigrate to North America, and therefore we can be certain that this unusual haplogroup was the haplogroup of the Creeds in Ireland (before they emigrated to North America).

Group E:  (kit#121908, kit#289771)

Kit#121908 (67 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great-great-great-great-great grandson of Richard Creed, who descends through Richard’s son James. James Creed was born in West Pennard, Somerset, England in 1757. His father Richard was born c.1730. Although Richard lived in West Pennard, it is not known where he was born, but he was presumably also a native of Somerset.

Kit#289771 (37 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by a male-line descendant of William Creed who died in 1845 in Barton St. David, Somerset, England. He was born c.1765. Research suggests that William may have been the son of David Creed, Yeoman of Ditcheat, whose will was dated 1821, but this link has not yet been proven. The earliest record that definitely refers to William Creed is the record of his 1796 marriage to Elizabeth Fry in Stoke St. Gregory, Somerset. Although there is no proof that William lived in Stoke St. Gregory at that time, their eldest child, Thomas, was born that same year three miles away in Burrowbridge.

These two samples match each other closely, and indeed they have no closer matches in a database of over 250,000 samples. This proves that the sample providers share a common ancestor along their respective pure male lines (i.e. their Creed lines), who was presumably also surnamed Creed. It is highly likely that their most recent common Creed ancestor lived in Somerset. West Pennard and Burrowbridge, the earliest locations at which each of these two Creed families can be placed with certainty, are 15 miles apart by road. Barton St. David, where William Creed died, is just 5 miles from West Pennard.

On the 37 markers for which they have both been tested they differ on two, by just one degree on DYS449 (kit#121908 has a value of 28 for DYS449 and kit#289771 has a value of 29 for DYS449), and by two degrees on DYS388 (kit#121908 has a value of 14 on DYS388 and kit#289771 has a value of 16 for DYS388), giving a total genetic distance of 3 over 37 markers. Using FTDNATiP methodology we calculate a probability of 70.73% that the sample providers share a common paternal ancestor within 8 generations, a probability of 97.24% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 16 generations, and reaching a probability of 99.27% within 20 generations.

Both kits have been confirmed by FTDNA to be I-M253+, and I-M253 is the SNP that defines haplogroup I1. The SNP I-M253 is believed to have first occurred approximately 4000-5000 years ago (previous estimates that it is 15,000 years old are now widely regarded as inaccurate). There is strong evidence that I-M253 originated in Scandinavia. It seems certain, therefore, that these Group E Creeds can claim Scandinavian paternal ancestry. However, it is likely that their direct ancestors had already settled in Britain when they assumed the Creed surname – possibly as Saxons, Vikings, or Normans. Surnames came into use in Britain approximately 900 years ago, so, although these Creeds brought their Y-DNA from Scandinavia, their Creed surname is presumably British and not Scandinavian. Kit#121908 has undertaken further deep clade testing, confirming that he is also positive for the SNP I-Z63. I-Z63 is a later (i.e. more recent) SNP than I-M253, which first arose in a descendant of the first person in whom I-M253 occurred. Although FTDNA use the professional YCC haplotree, which has not been updated since 2010 and which therefore does not include the newly discovered I-Z63, the 2013 amateur ISOGG haplotree currently designates the longhand version of I-Z63 as I1a3 (but it is not known if this nomenclature will be upheld by the YCC). Current evidence suggests that the I-Z63 subclade has its highest incidence in Central and Eastern Europe, with lower incidence in Scandinavia.

Group F:  (kit#70988, kit#289640)

Kit#70988 (12 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the grandson of Simpson D. Creed, who was born in Owen County, Indiana, USA in 1849 and who died in Crawford County, Illinois in 1930. He married Rebecca Wood Hall in 1879. Simpson D. Creed was the son of William Dolly Creed, who was born in Kentucky, USA in 1811 and who died in Owen County, Indiana in 1862. William Dolly Creed’s wife (and Simpson’s mother) was Caroline Elizabeth Fisher, who he married in 1839. William Dolly Creed was the son of John Creed and Mary Spratt. John Creed was born c.1770, and he lived in Princess Anne County, Virginia, USA.

Kit#289640 (12 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the grandson of Charles William Creed by his third wife Jennie Pleasant, who he married in 1900. Charles William Creed was born in Owen County, Indiana in 1847, and he died in Crawford County, Illinois in 1927. He was the older brother of Simpson D. Creed and the son of William Dolly Creed and Caroline Elizabeth Fisher.

Therefore the two sample submitters are second cousins, and their most recent common Creed ancestor was William Dolly Creed, who was born in 1811.

They match on eleven of the twelve markers for which they have both been tested. They differ by one degree on marker DYS390 (kit#70988 has a value of 22 for DYS390 and kit#289640 has a value of 23 for DYS390). This mutation must have developed in one of the two lines of descent from William Dolly Creed, and at this stage we cannot determine in which branch it occurred. Using FTDNATiP methodology we calculate a probability of just 7.14% that the sample providers share a common paternal ancestor within 4 generations, a probability of 20.09% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 8 generations, a probability of 47.74% for 16 generations, and a probability of 68.87% for 24 generations. These probabilities clearly do not reflect the closeness of the known relationship between these two men, and these men each have multiple exact 12 marker matches with non-Creeds who generate higher probabilities of relatedness on FTDNATiP analysis. However, 12 markers is too few for robust interpretation since mutations are random and unpredictable events, and these probabilities are low as a result of just a single mutation. If they were to upgrade to a higher number of markers it is likely that the probabilities of relatedness would rise considerably, and the non-Creeds who matched at 12 markers would almost inevitably all fall away at higher numbers of markers. But the very fact that these men do match as closely as they do is sufficient to confirm their documented relationship, for it would be close to impossible for two men who should be second cousins with shared paternal-line ancestry to not be related but to still match this closely by chance alone.

Both kits have been estimated by FTDNA, on the basis of STR markers, to be R-M269+, and R-M269 is the SNP that defines haplogroup R1b1a2. Haplogroup R1b1a2 is Europe’s most common haplogroup, existing in high or very high frequencies in all Western European populations.  

Group G:  (kit#285690, kit#314530)

Kit#285690 (67 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great great grandson of Jeremiah Creed, who was born c.1800. The earliest known documentation of Jeremiah Creed is his 1825 marriage to Alice O’Brien recorded in the Roman Catholic parish records of Clogheen, Co.Tipperary, Ireland. Clogheen is likely to have been the bride’s native parish, and Jeremiah Creed had probably been living in the neighbouring parish of Ballylooby, Co. Tipperary, before the marriage because not only were all of their children baptised in Ballylooby parish, but during the same period children of four other Creeds (quite possibly all siblings of Jeremiah) were also baptised in Ballylooby parish. Furthermore, tithe applotment records from the late 1820s document a John Creed in the same parish. Jeremiah and his descendants later settled in Clogheen parish.

Kit#314530 (37 markers tested with FTDNA) was submitted by the great grandson of John Creed, who was born c.1836 in Co. Limerick, Ireland. He married Mary Moloney in 1861 in the Roman Catholic parish of Hospital & Herbertstown, Co. Limerick, Ireland, and they emigrated to Australia in 1864, settling in Bullengarook, Victoria. John’s 1896 death certificate named his parents as John Creed and Catherine Baggs. The informant was John’s son Denis, who, born at sea in 1864, never met his paternal grandparents, and therefore there is some scope for the surname Baggs to have been erroneously recorded in this instance. Baggs is a very uncommon surname in southern Ireland, and, on the basis of current evidence, it seems likely that the 1834 baptism in the Roman Catholic parish of Bulgaden, Co. Limerick, of a John Creed, son of John Creed and Catherine Bagnall, is the relevant baptismal record.

These two samples match each other closely. They differ on just 3 of the 37 markers for which they have both been tested, and by just one step on each of the 3 markers on which they do differ. Using FTDNATiP methodology we calculate a probability of 70.58% that these two sample providers share a common paternal ancestor within 12 generations, and a probability of 98.49% that they share a common paternal ancestor within 24 generations. In the FTDNA database of over 250,000 Y-DNA results these sample providers have no closer matches (than to each other). It is unknown at this stage where the most recent common ancestor of these families lived, but it is likely to have been in either Co. Limerick or Co. Tipperary. The Creed surname is more prevalent in Co. Limerick than in Co. Tipperary. The majority of the other people who they match (less closely) claim Irish origins, and therefore it would appear likely that their earliest Creed ancestors also lived in Ireland. If that is the case, then this Creed surname may have evolved as a variation of the Irish surname Creedon. Further testing of Creedons may resolve this uncertainty.

Both kits have been estimated by FTDNA, on the basis of STR markers, to be R-M269+, and R-M269 is the SNP that defines haplogroup R1b1a2. Haplogroup R1b1a2 is Europe’s most common haplogroup, existing in high or very high frequencies in all Western European populations. 

It is noteworthy that there is now evidence of three independent unrelated Creed families in Co. Limerick. Apart from the family under discussion here (who, as mentioned, are haplogroup R1b1a2), there are Co. Limerick Creeds who are haplogroup C (see Group D discussion above) and Co. Limerick Creeds who are haplogroup I2a (see kit#308744, Ungrouped Creeds).

Ungrouped Creeds:  (kit#45444, kit#106325, kit#159578, kit#308744, kit#328711, kit#330417, kit#N60661)

***DISCUSSION OF UNGROUPED CREEDS TO FOLLOW***

XX Non-Creeds:

Some males who do not carry the Creed surname have chosen to join this project. These individuals may well have Creed ancestry, and on that basis their interest (but without inclusion of their own Y-DNA results) in this project is very welcome. Since there is no strong documentary evidence that they carry Creed Y-DNA, it would be inappropriate to compare their Y-DNA results with those of males who are surnamed Creed, and therefore they will not be analysed within the Creed surname DNA project. People with Creed ancestry, but who are not themselves male Creeds, are encouraged to seek samples from male Creed relatives for inclusion in this project.

Creed surname DNA project http://www.familytreedna.com/public/creedfamilydnaproject/default.aspx?section=results
Administrators: Nyla Creed DePauk
njcreeddp@gmail.comand Gearoid Kingston gtkingston@gmail.com