To date four groups of Gysi/Giese/Geesey/Keesey descendants have been identified via STR testing. 

1. Swiss Gysi R-FTA2683 Group: Trace their ancestry back to the village of Hölstein, Waldenburg District, Canton Basel, Switzerland. 
   
   
   • The group includes 4 descendants of immigrant Johann Conradt Giese, Sr. (1718-1802) the 2xgreat-grandson of Peter Gysi (b~1565).
     
     
   • Three members are descendants of Ulrich Gysin who was born in 1670.  Two of his great-grandsons emigrated to America.  One member descends Johann (Hans) Ulrich Gysie (1754-1834), who came to America in 1804 and settled in OH in 1805. Hans' brother, Henry (Heinrich) Geesey (1760-1847), came to America in 1773 and settled in Frederick County, MD where he raised his family.  The family story relates that a cousin from Lancaster County came to visit and had a fling with a neighbor's daughter resulting in a pregnancy.  The cousin returned to Lancaster County and was never heard from again.  The story is supported in that the direct descendant of Henry and the man descended from the neighbor's daughter are closely related to each other. TiP analysis of relationships with the descendants of Johann Conradt Giese indicate that the lineage of Ulrich Gysi separated from about 1500 CE. It's just a matter of time before we can positively make the connection through standard genealogical methods. 
     
     
   • Three members of this group are descended from a Casey lineage who trace their ancestry to North Carolina in the early 1800s.  Oral history in this family indicates that they came from Maryland in the 1700s.  The genetic distance between the men and the others in this group is remarkably close. An interesting connection to note is the proximity of the descendants of Johann Jacob Gysi to the Casey family. His daughter, Anna Barbara Giesey, married Matthaus Wesner and moved to Rowan County, North Carolina where they raised their family. She had a couple half brothers who we have been unable to track. We could be looking at another example of an illegitimate birth, or it could simply be a change to the spelling of the family name. TiP analysis of relationships with the descendants of Johann Conradt Giese indicate that this Casey lineage separated about 1750 CE. More research will have to be conducted to answer this question.
     
     
   • One member is descended from a Stevenson lineage out of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Recent analysis from the Big Y has revealed that he is not closely related. His lineage separated from the others in this group prior to the year 1100 CE.  
     
   
   
2. Swiss Gysi R-P312 Group: Three members, the descendants Jacob Arnold Gysin (1876-1953), Andreas Giesy (1791-1860) and Johann Caspar Giesse (b ~1711), are very closely related to each other. They likely have a common ancestor who was born Between 1500 and 1700. 
   
   
   • Jacob Arnold's and Andreas' lineages extends back Fridolin Gysin (1497-1569) who lived in Oltingen, Baselland, Switzerland.  Jacob Arnold was born in Switzerland and came to America where he settled in California. Andreas immigrated to America about 1817 and initially settled in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  He migrated with his family to Missouri and ultimately to Washington. 
     
     
   • Johann Caspar Giesse's descendants migrated to Saarland, Germany and Austria-Hungary
     
     
3. Pennsylvania Geesey/Keesey R-M269 Group: A group consisting of 3 men who descend from Geesey/Keesey individuals who lived in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s.  Two men trace their ancestry to Schuylkill County and the other traces his ancestry to Lancaster County.  STR testing revealed that they are closely related to each other (with a genetic distance of 7 out of 37 markers), but not related to the Swiss or German groups. They share a common ancestor who was born about 750 CE.
   
   
4. Pennsylvania Keesey J-M172 Group: A group consisting of 2 men who descend from Keesey individuals who lived in Lancaster or York County Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. They are only distantly related to each other with a common ancestor born about 250 CE. They are not related to the other groups within the past few tens of thousands of years.

Haplogroups:

Haplogroups are defined by random mutations called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) shared by the members of the haplogroup. Based on cluster analysis of the STR results, FamilyTree DNA estimates that Gysi Project members in Groups 1, 2, and 3 are all members of Haplogroup R. The first member of this haplogroup lived on the Steppes of Asia in the area of modern-day Kazakhstan about 28,000 years ago. The sequence of subsequent SNPs among his descendants follows:

1. About 22,000 years ago a man with the SNP for Haplogroup R-M173 was born in Central Asia. 
2. About 6500 years ago a descendant of his with the SNP for Haplogroup R-M269 was also born in Central Asia. Some of his descendants, including our direct ancestors, migrated to Europe over the next thousand years. Members of Gysi Project Group 3 are descendants of this man. Without further genetic testing, determination of their specific haplogroup is impossible. This man's lineage split about 5000 years ago.

• A descendant with the SNP for Haplogroup R-U106 was born about 5000 years ago in Eastern Europe. Members of Gysi Project Group 1 are descendants of this man. Further genetic testing has refined the haplogroup determination of these members (see below)
• Another descendant with the SNP for Haplogroup R-P312 was born about 4900 years ago, also in Eastern Europe. Members of Gysi Project Group 2 are descendants of this man. Without further genetic testing, determination of their specific haplogroup is impossible.