Current Results:

Historical Results 2004-2015:

The comments below are explanations of the "DNA Results" charts which can be viewed by clicking on "DNA Results" on the left of this page.  View discussion of the Y-DNA chart results below, followed by the mtDNA chart results at the bottom of this page. The reader of this section may profit from printing this page and considering the comments below while viewing the charts of the results for either the Y-DNA section or the mtDNA section.

COMMENTS on the Y-DNA RESULTS. (Updated 3/6/10 for Group F; updated 2/27/10 for the changing of the title of Group F to Group G and the formation of a new Group F; updated 1/22/10 for Group A.)   (Updated 2/27/10 for the changing of the title of Group F to Group G and the formation of a new Group F; updated 1/22/10 for Group A.)

Additional NOTES: Two movable bars ("scrolling bars") on the Y-DNA results webpage (right side and at the bottom) assist in moving the contents up and down, left and right.  For the Y-DNA results, the kit # is used to link the results with a specific individual known to the Group Administrator. The numbers in a specific row provide a specific "haplotype" for that individual. The "Haplo" column provides the "haplogroup" (cluster of similar haplotypes, usually related to an origin in a specific area of the world). 

Most Y chromosomal DNA tests on these Freed families have produced an "estimate" of R1b as the haplogroup, which indicates a Western European ancestry for these Freed families. Three EXCEPTIONS have been found: Two kits have been assigned an R1a haplogroup which indicates an Eastern European ancestry for this Freed family. The results for kit 44516 have been assigned to the T haplogroup (formerly K2). The T haplogroup is an ancient haplogroup found in low frequency in southern Europe as well as in other locations. The results for these two haplogroups, R1a (more frequent in Eastern Europe) and T (relatively infrequent in Western Europe) do NOT mean that these immigrant ancestors did not come to America from the German speaking areas of Europe. It means that their direct paternal line ancestors, thousands of years ago, were most likely not residents of Western Europe.

The Freed Surname DNA results have been organized into the following six GROUPS (Groups A through F) based on suggested ancestry:


GROUP A. (Updated 1/22/10.) Unquestionably, the five Freeds in Group A must claim a common ancestor, Philip Fried/Freed. The differences among the results are not unexpected, considering the long number of generations since their separation. Further, individuals in Group A do NOT match individuals in Group B, some of whom descend from (Hans) Paulus Friedt, negating the statement on some websites that the above Philip Freed (who married 1749, Montgomery County, PA) is a son of Hans Paulus Friedt. See further discussion under Group B, below.

KITS 24739, 168127, and 65219. The three individuals in GROUP A, who provided the DNA for these kit numbers, suggest that their earliest known ancestor was Philip Freed (married in 1749 in New Hanover Twp., Montgomery County, PA, to Anna Regina Benner) with the provider of kits 24739 and 168127 having a fairly good paper trail from Philip Freed’s sons, John and Henry. Comments on these two kits follow:

KIT 24739. The provider of Kit 24739 traces his ancestor from Philip Fried/Freed in the following way: John Fried/Freed (b. 1750; m. Margaretha Graf); John Freed (1773, PA to 1826, Orange. Co., Indiana, wife Regina Rife); Joseph Freed (1799, Virginia, 1861, Howard Co., IN; wife Mary Webb); Noah Freed (b. ca 1823, d. 1893, Kansas, wife Elizabeth Ramseyer); John Milton Freed (1847-1931, Indiana, wife Matilda Willis); Thomas Melvin Freed (1875-1945, Indiana, married Emma Mason), grandfather of the Kit provider.

KIT 168127. The provider of Kit 168127 joined the group in December 2009. He descends from Philip and Regina (Benner) Fried/Freed in the following way (all lived in Montgomery County, PA down to the present): Heinrich (Henry) Friderich Fried (b. 1753, wife Catherine Hendrichs); Samuel Fried (1793-1863, wife Maria Rebecca Zern); Charles Freed (1823-1907, wife Elizabeth Jones) and Jonathan Jones Freed (1853-1944), grandfather of the kit provider. The providers of kits 24739 and 168127 are fifth cousins, twice removed.

KIT 65219. The provider of kit 65219 has a very good paper trail from Samuel Freed, born 1793 and suggests that Samuel is probably the son of Henry Freed and the grandson of Philip Freed (married in 1749 in Montgomery County, PA.)

COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS FROM THE ABOVE-MENTIONED THREE KITS: At the 37 marker level, kits 24739 and 65219 match only at 32 out of 37 markers, although three of the four markers are fast mutating markers. Kits 65219 and 168127 have a match of 35 out of 37 markers (one step-mutations at markers GATA H4 and 442), possibly confirming the hypothesis that they are closer related to each other than either are to kit 24739, with the most recent common ancestor of Kits 65219 and 168127 possibly being Samuel Fried (1793-1863). It would be beneficial to this Freed DNA project if the DNA from both kits 65219 and 24739 would be analyzed up to 67 markers.

KITS 108358 and 49540. The remaining two individuals listed in Group A claim Joseph Freed (b. 1791, Berks County, PA) as their common ancestor and the DNA results confirm that they are very closely related since they match completely at 37 markers. At the 67 marker level, the provider of kit 24739 differs from the provider of kit 49540 (descendant of Philip Freed, m. 1749) at four markers; matching 63/67, two of which are fast-mutating markers. These four mutations (at 67 markers) do NOT preclude their having a common ancestor. The name of the most recent common ancestor between these two men (kits 49540 and 24739) has not been determined, but if they both share descent from Philip Freed (m. 1749), the number of "transmission events" (DNA transmitted from father to son), separating the men who provided the DNA for this study, may range from a minimum of 12 to a maximum of 16. At 12 transmission events, the number of expected mutations separating them is 3.9; at 16 transmission events, the number of expected mutations separating them is 5.25. With only 4 mutations separating them, it can be concluded that providers of kits 49540 and 24739 definitely share a common ancestor and it must be Philip Freed (m. 1749), if not in the next generation down from Philip. The hypothesis being tested in this Joseph Freed story is that Joseph Freed (listed as a mulatto in the 1850 census, and expected to be the son of a freed slave and a white father) is definitely a descendant of a Freed-named male and not the son of the employer of his mother. Joseph Freed was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania (near the border with Montgomery County), and the Philip Freed family is of the adjacent Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The results of the Joseph Freed DNA study definitely support the hypothesis that his father was a Freed, and that Joseph was NOT given the name of "Freed" because his mother was released from slavery. It would be beneficial to this Freed DNA project if the DNA from kit # 108358 would be analyzed up to 67 markers.

HAPLOGROUP determination for GROUP A: The DNA from Kit #24739 has been tested for specific haplogroup determination to the fullest extent possible as of 3/08. Y chromosome Haplogroup R1b1b2a1b identification is the result of this test, which means that all individuals within this Group A must share the same haplogroup, R1b1b2a1b. The majority of men of European extraction are in the overall R1b1b2 haplogroup. The R1b1b2 haplogroup is "believed by some to have existed before the last Ice Age and has been associated with the Aurignacian culture (32,000 - 21,000 BC)". (The quote is from the R1b1b2 section of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.) The specific subgroup, R1b1b2a1b is thought to have originated 4500 years ago with the most prevalent ancient ethnic group being the Italo-Celtic group. (Information obtained from the following website: http://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml )
This haplogroup has its highest frequency in Western Europe and may be one of the most frequent haplogroups in Germany.


Group B. (Revised 8/25/09 for the transfer of Kit 154888 to a new group, Group E.) As of June 2009, all the results in Group B have been posted for the currently requested testing procedures. There is little doubt that all nine of these men share a common ancestor. Three of these men tested had their DNA studied to 67 markers and these markers, numbered 38-67, match 100% among these three men. The other six men have results posted to 37 markers and the following discussion will include only these 37 markers except for brief comparisons among the three men who have been tested to 67 markers.

Kit 64784 has the modal value (the most common values) for these 37 markers for these nine men and the results for the other kits will be discussed in comparing their results with Kit 64784. These "differences" can be considered as the result of mutations in the period of time since the most recent common ancestor was living. [Note that when studies on additional descendants of this most recent common ancestor become available, the "modal value" may change, so that these "mutations" should be considered as tentative conclusions until further studies are made. It is unusual to be able to point to the results of one specific man as having the modal value; usually the modal value would NOT be found in one specific man.] The individual who is coordinating the extensive ancestral studies for kit 64784 reports that the earliest known Freed ancestor is Samuel Freed, born about 1796, possibly in southwestern Pennsylvania (perhaps Fayette County). From this Samuel Freed down to the grandfather of the man tested are James Adair Freed (1819-1891, wife Phoebe Deeds), Hiram Hamilton Freed (1851-1930, wife Effie Ague) and Albert Edgar Freed (1894-1925, wife Florence Novello Jones), grandfather of the person tested. From the results of these Group B DNA studies, there is no doubt that this Samuel Freed line is descended from the Paulus Friedt line. The coordinator of this specific test (kit 64784) suggests the following descendancy to Samuel Freed, b. ca 1796), based on several reference books: Paulus Friedt, born 1692 in Germany, Jacob Freed, Sr. (wife Elizabeth Haffelfinger, aka Heffletrager); Paul Friedt (wife Mary) of Bucks County, PA and Shenandoah Co. VA, and John Friedt (wife Elizabeth Funkhouser), who may have been the parents of this Samuel Freed, b. ca 1796, although there are some unanswered questions about this "final connection". The proposed grandfather of Samuel is considered very highly likely to be Paul Freed (wife Mary), unless this Paul Freed may have been the FATHER of Samuel (b. ca 1796) in a later and unrecorded marriage.

Kits 78967, 63780, and 74079. The results for these three kits show that each has a one-step mutation from the modal value, but each mutation is in a different marker. One marker is a slow mutator (GATA-H4, kit 78967) and the other two markers are fast mutators (456, kit 63780 and CDYb, kit 74079). In comparing kits 78967 and 63780, although they each differ from the modal value (at 37 markers) at a genetic distance of one, they differ FROM EACH OTHER with a genetic distance of two (at 37 markers). At 67 markers, FTDNA calculates that these two (78967 and 63780) have an 85% chance of their sharing a common ancestor at 8 generations. When comparing Kit 78967 with kit N71747 (discussion below) also at 67 markers, they differ from each other with a genetic distance of only one, which produces the calculation (by FTDNA) that at 67 markers, the chances of their sharing a common ancestor at 8 generations is 95%. More information on the ancestors of the men who provided these kits follow: For Kit 78967, the earliest known ancestor is Henry Freed, who died in 1817 in York County, PA, but he has a Bucks County, PA, connection (specifics are unknown) as well. For Kit 63780, the earliest ancestor of record is Johannes Freed who was born in 1682 in Aspisheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, and came to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania ca 1720. (See more information below on this ancestor in the section comparing kits 79119, 149993 and 64790.) For kit 74079, the earliest ancestor of record is Paul (Paulus) Friedt, born 1692 in Germany.

Kits 109724, N71747, and 74451. Kit 109724 has only one marker different from the modal value (marker CDYb a fast mutator). Kit N71747 has a two marker difference from the modal value, each with a one-step mutation (464c, a fast mutator, value of 16, and GATA H4, a slow mutator, but the same value as kit 78967). In fact, kits N71747 and 78967 have a 66/67 match (with the one mismatch being a fast mutator), indicating a very close biological relationship between these two men (as discussed above). Kit 74451 also has a difference in marker 464c, but in this case it is a two-step mutation from the modal value, but only one more repeat than Kit N71747. Information on the ancestry of the providers of these three kits is in the next three paragraphs:

Kit 109724. The provider of Kit 109724 traces his ancestry back to John Freed who married Elizabeth Funkhouser. This John Freed (wife Elizabeth Funkhouser) can be traced back to Paul (Paulus) Freed (see discussion for kit N71724 below). One of the sons of Paulus was Jacob Freed (b. ca. 1732, wife Elizabeth Heffletrager) and this Jacob (b. ca 1732) is the father of Paul (b. ca. 1755, wife Mary) and this Paul (b. ca 1756) is the father of the John Freed b. ca. 1775 who married Elizabeth Funkhouser. This John Freed (wife Elizabeth Funkhouser) and perhaps some of his brothers (apparently not yet clarified) may be the Freed ancestor of most, if not all of the Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Freeds. The Freed family of Beaver County is a very large family and now knows that they DO share a common ancestor with the others in Group B.

Kit N71724. The provider of this kit now takes his Freed ancestry back one more generation from the above mentioned Paul Freed to Peter Friedt, born 1655 in Switzerland, probably Anabaptist (e.g., Mennonite), who had a son Paul (Paulus) Friedt (wife Catherine), who was born in 1692 in Germany, and died after 3 Feb 1768 in Northampton Co., Pennsylvania. From this Paul Friedt down to the grandfather of the kit provider is the following line: Henry Friedt (wife Barbara), b. ca 1728 Germany; d. ca 1817 Hellam Twp., York Co., PA (who Kit 78967 lists as his earliest known ancestor) ; Peter Fried (wife Susanna Lehman), b. 25 Feb 1777 Bucks Co., PA; d. 7 Nov 1854 Hellam, York Co., PA; Henry Freed (wife Susan Holtzinger), b. 16 Jul 1804 Hellam, York Co., PA; d. 28 Jul 1883 Hellam, York Co., PA; Henry William Freed (wife Mary Ann Schaffer), b. 8 Sep 1828 Hellam Twp., York Co., PA; d. 4 Aug 1899 York, York Co., PA; Edwin Edward Freed (wife Fannie Matilda Elizabeth Baker), b. 11 Aug 1860 Hellam Twp., York Co., PA; d. 3 Aug 1928, Frederick Co., MD; George Franklin Freed (wife Ellen Elizabeth Myers, grandparents of the kit provider), b. 5 Jan 1884 Bartonsville, Frederick Co., MD; d. 1 Jan 1950, Frederick, MD.

Kit 74451: The surname for the provider of KIT # 74451 is "Friedt". His g. grandfather was Joseph Friedt, b ca 1838 in Westmoreland Co, PA; Joseph's parents, Henry and Susan (Yugar) Fried/Friedt were in Perry Township, Fayette County, PA in the 1850 census, and in Monroe County, Michigan by the 1860 census. No further ancestry is known on this line before this Henry Fried/Friedt, but, obviously, this Fried/Friedt line has a very close biological relationship to other lines in Group B.

Kits 79119, 149993 and 63780. Based on the DNA results provided here, the two men who provided the DNA for kits 79119 and 149993 definitely share with each other a "most recent common ancestor", within fewer generations than they do with the most recent common ancestor that they may share with the other seven participants in Group B. They have only a one-step mutation between the two of them, marker 464d (a fast-mutator), and kit 149993 actually has the modal value for marker 464d for Group B of 17. Consequently considering these two kits together as one family unit, this family differs from the modal value of the other seven men in this Group B by only four mutation steps (genetic distance of four). These two men have a well-documented descendancy from Rev. Abraham Freed (wife Mary Singer), a Methodist minister, and born in 1817 in Pottstown, Montgomery County, PA. [This family is discussed in Joyce Wilcox Graff and June Freed Wilcox's book, "A Freed Family History", Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1981.] These two participants are first cousins, descended from Abraham and Mary Freed's son William Walton Freed (1850-1928) and his wife Amelia Doebler, through William and Amelia's son, Walter Curtin Freed (1885-1972) (wife Dorothy Youngman), who are the grandparents of the two participants.

Recently found information shows that these two first cousins actually descend from Johannes Freed (wife Christiana), born in 1682 in Aspisheim in Germany and died in 1774, Skippack, Montgomery Co., PA. Their descent from this Johannes is through the following men: Henry Freed (1712-1786, wife Anna, Bucks Co., PA): Henry Freed (1754-1820, Rev. War, wife Veronica Schleiffer, Bucks Co., PA); Abraham S. Freed (1817-1865, wife Catherine Ecker); to the above named Rev. Abraham Freed (1817-1865, wife Mary Singer).

Kit 63780 REVISITED. The provider of Kit 63780 also descends from the above Johannes Freed (wife Christiana) as discussed in the 1923 publication, "Partial History of the Freed Family and Connecting Families", by Jacob A. Freed of Elroy, PA (W. F. Goettler & Son, Printers, Souderton, Pennsylvania.), through the following men: John Freed (1725-1777, wife Susan Detwiler); Jacob Freed (b. 1768, wife Anna Fry); John Fry Freed (1792-1881, wife Catherine Kolb); Abram Kolb Freed (wife Catherine Allebach); Allen A. Freed (wife Elizabeth Reiff Landis), and Allen L. Freed (wife Kate Freed), grandparents of the provider of Kit 63780. Consequently, if all these relationships are true, the provider of Kit 63780 is a SEVENTH COUSIN of the providers of kits 79119 and 149993. In comparing the marker results of kit 63780, with those of kit 149993, they differ by one-step mutations at four markers, three of which are fast mutating markers. The algorithms used by FTDNA to calculate the matches at 37 markers do NOT include a genetic distance of four as being a significant match. At the seventh cousin level, how many mutations would be expected? Using a standard formula of the number of markers expected being equal to the mutation rate times the number of markers times the number of transmission events (number of times the Y chromosome is passed from father to son) produces this calculation: (37 markers) (0.0042 mutation rate) (16 transmission events) equals 2.5 mutations expected. The number of mutations observed is 4! Can it still be suggested that these three men still share the common ancestor (back eight generations) of Johannes Freed (b. 1682 in Aspisheim, Germany)? The same mutation rate is used for 37 markers regardless of whether or not the markers are slow mutators or fast mutators. The observation that three of the four mutated markers are fast mutating markers may make a difference in these calculations. We also most recall the complete randomness of these mutations. In some family lines, there are no mutations over seven generations, and in other families over seven generations there might be five or six mutations which may "average out" to becoming the "expected mutation rate". The best way to confirm or negate the hypothesized common ancestry between these two families is for one of the first cousins to extend their study to 67 markers, preferably kit #149993.

TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS on the most recent common ancestor for individuals in Group B, as of 6/17/09. The late Charles A. Heiberger's stated in his book ("The Fried/Freed Family", 1984, privately printed] that Paulus or Hans Paulus (ancestor of kit #74079) was from Obersulzen, Rheinland-Pfalz, and that Johannes Freed (b. 1982) was from Aspisheim. Aspisheim and Obersulzen are about 23 km from each other, Aspisheim located about 22 km SW of Mainz (capital of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz) and Obersulzen is located about 14 km SW of Worms, both Mainz and Worms are located on the Rhine River. Therefore it is unlikely (but not impossible) that Johannes (b. 1682) and Paulus (b.1692) were brothers. Heiberger speculates that Paulus and Johannes were cousins, and that their fathers, Peter (father of Paulus) and Heinrich (father of Johannes), were brothers. This relationship is somewhat verified by these DNA studies, because there is little doubt that all nine males in Group B, share a common ancestor, and that this common ancestor lived in Germany (or the German-speaking area of Switzerland), probably in the 1600's.

Freed families in Group A and Group B are DEFINITELY NOT RELATED TO EACH OTHER WITHIN HISTORIC times, based on the large number of mutation steps between these two different lines The genetic distance between the modal values of Group A and Group B, at 37 markers, is the very large value of 18. It would be helpful to have DNA studies on MORE DOCUMENTED DESCENDANTS of the 1682 Johannes Freed, the 1692 Paulus Friedt, and the ca 1720 Philip Freed, to clarify any suggested relationships among these Freed families.


GROUP C. (Updated 1/17/09). The one individual in GROUP C is descended from another Johannes Friedt, born ca 1737, and died in 1791 in Bucks County, PA. He married (1) Henrica? and (2), Hannah?. The descent from the 1737 Johannes is through his son Henry (born ca 1767, married Magdalena Weisel), his grandson Henry W. (born 1801, died 1862, married Sophia Fluck.), and his great grandson Henry F. (born 1829, died 1898, married Sarah Ann Ziegenfuss). With his haplogroup being R1a1, there is no relationship within historic times between the individual in Group C to any individuals in either Groups A, B or D (all Haplogroup R1b1b2).

Haplogroup Determination for Group C: "R1a is a Y-chromosome haplogroup found at high frequency (more than 40%) from the Czech Republic across to the Altai Mountains in Siberia and south throughout Central Asia. R1a arose 15,000 years ago in the vicinity of Ukraine, expanding from either the Ukrainian LGM refuge following the end of the last ice age, or from the Pontic-Caspian steppe as a result of the Kurgan migrations. The expansion of R1a has been associated with the spread of the Indo-European languages." This quote is from the R1a section of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (3/08). For more information google on R1a.


GROUP D (updated 1/17/09). The one individual in Group D, Kit #117142, has also been determined to be in Haplogroup R1b1b2. However, his results do not match any of the other Freeds (of any spelling) in this DNA project, and in fact, he has no significant matches, at any marker level, with any other participant in the Family Tree DNA Company database. The participant's earliest known "Freed" ancestor is his g. grandfather, William Fried (wife Katherine), who came to came to the U.S. in the late 1800's, from Bavaria. They settled in upstate New York in Naples, New York, a German community. During WW II, the family changed the spelling of their Fried name to "Freid".


GROUP E. Philip Fried, born 1796, PA. (Created 8/26/09) Kit 154888. Results for the first 12 markers for Kit 154888 were posted 8/14/09 and results to 37 markers posted 9/25/09. The earliest known Freed-named ancestor of the kit provider is Philip Fried, born in 1796, Franklin Twp., Adams Co., Pennsylvania. [Note: the 1800 census of Franklin Twp., Adams Co, PA, shows a Jacob Freid family with only one child, a male under 10, but this same family has not been found in the 1810 census, unless they moved to neighboring York County.] Phillip and his wife, Elizabeth Carolina Hesson, had the following children: Carolina Freed, Emanuel Freed, Samuel Freed, William Freed, David Freed, George Freed and Aaron Freed, all born in Carroll Co., MD. From Philip and Elizabeth Fried down to the grandfather of the kit provider are the following two ancestors: Aaron Freed (b. 1842, d. 1916, PA; wife Sarah Louisa Knouse); and Edward Cleveland Freed (b. 1884, Adams County, PA; d. 1957, in PA, wife Annie Rebecca Stover). At 12 markers FTDNA had determined that the kit provider has the Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype and has over 1800 exact matches in the FTDNA database, but no exact matches with any Freeds in this surname project. At 12 markers, he matched seven men in Group B at 11 out of 12 markers. At 25 markers he has over 30 matches with a genetic distance of one or two, but none of these matches are with any Freed-named men. Almost all these men who matched at 25 markers have their results posted to 37 (or higher) markers. However, at 37 markers, FTDNA states that Kit 154888 has no match whatsoever in their entire public database. The results for kit 154888 are truly unique.


GROUP F (Added 2/27/10; updated 3/6/10) The results for the man who provided the DNA sample for Kit #66219 were completed to 67 markers in August 2006. He requested to join this Freed (etc.) project in January 2010. His earliest known straight-line male ancestor is John Fred, who was married in 1787 in Fayette County, Kentucky, although this participant has the surname of Frad. The provider of kit #66219 traces his ancestry from John Fred as follows: John Fred (b. before 1766 in Kentucky d. 1807 in Kentucky or Indiana; m. Sarah McDowell); John Fred (b. 1790; d.1861; m. Lydia Guthrie); James Frad (b. 1815 in Ohio d. 1856 in Indiana; w. Lydia Stewart); *James Edward Frad (b. ~1844 d. 1920; w. Eliza Porter); Joseph Dilbert Frad (b. 1877 d. 1948, m. Naomi Purinton); Clarence Milo Frad (b. 1904 Gilman Wisconsin, d. 1977 San Antonio, Texas, w. Martha Bowen, w. Millie Peters) who is the Grandfather of the kit provider. [*NOTE: On James Edward Frad: In the 1850, Hamblin Township, Brown County Indiana Census there are two James Frads of approximately the right age. The first one is 5yrs., his mother is Lucinda C., 29yrs., born in Kentucky. Father is Archibald, 30yrs., a farmer born in Indiana.] It does appear highly likely that this family has a connection with the Fread families that are discussed in Mrs. C. T. (Lois) Dodson’s 1969 publication (170 pages, privately printed), “The Fread and Rockefeller Families in The Good Old Days and The Present Days, 1590—1969”. She traces the Fread line back to William Fread, Sr., born in 1788 in Kentucky, and suggests the possibility that this William Fread may be a son of the John Fred in Montgomery County, Kentucky’s tax list for 1800, which is the John Fred mentioned above. Although this participant has several matches (none within this project) at 12 markers, he has no significant matches with any of several thousands of participants in the FTDNA database at 25 and higher numbers of markers. He also has a rare null value at marker 448, which means there is no result for that marker. If he eventually has a relatively close match with somebody on the other 66 markers, and also matches with this null value, it is relatively certain that they share a common ancestor. It would be very interesting to test a male with the surname of Fread, who descends from the William Fread mentioned above in Lois Dobson’s book.


GROUP G. (updated 1/15/09) Kit # 44516 contains DNA from a Freedgood descendant who had a hypothesis that his surname might have a connection to somebody with the surname of Freed (of various spellings). His Freedgood line came to the North America in the very early 1900's from Russia and Poland, with earliest known spelling as "Friedgut", which is German for the English "Freedgood". His earliest known ancestor is Isaac Friedgut, born 1870 in Kiev, Ukraine, and moved to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1903. The observation that his DNA results show very few markers in common with other groups in this DNA study and the difference in Haplogroups, Haplogroup T (previously identified as K2), as compared to R1, leads to the conclusion that there is no relationship between the Freed descendants in the DNA project and the Freedgood descendant within historic time in which surnames were developed. Haplogroup T is thought to have originated in Asia. For more information on haplogroup T, google on "Haplogroup T" and select Y-DNA, not mtDNA. A "famous person" who is in Haplogroup T is U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

Last Group ("UNASSIGNED"), if listed on the current table. Individuals within this group have been tested for the number of markers listed. They will be “assigned” to one of the above groups, or a new group, as soon as sufficient information is available to do so.


COMMENTS on mtDNA RESULTS (added 1/25/09)

The mtDNA results, as seen by clicking on the mtDNA Results section at the left side of this page, are limited to the study of DNA from mitochondria (plural form of "mitochondrion"), small particles (organelles) within cells. Either males or females can be tested, but Mitochondrial DNA is ALWAYS inherited ONLY from the mother. The "Haplo" column refers to the mtDNA haplogroups, which are entirely different from the Y-DNA haplogroups and provide information on the geographical origins of the straight maternal line of the provider of the DNA sample. For information on specific haplogroups, google on "mitochondrial haplogroup H", for example (replacing the "H" with the haplogroup of interest). The HVR1 and HVR2 columns refer to the "hypervariable regions" one and two, which are regions of the mtDNA which have no genes within their boundaries, and are somewhat more variable than the mtDNA regions that code for proteins. Individuals can be tested either for the HVR1 section or BOTH HVR1 and HVR2 sections (not just the HVR2 section by itself) at FTDNA. The statements beneath the HVR1 and HVR2 columns indicate the differences in the DNA sequences as compared to the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). For example, for kit #24739, this mtDNA donor, at location #304 of the HVR1 section of his mtDNA, has a C (cytosine) instead of whatever nucleotide is in the CRS (A, or G, or T).