SEE US ON FACEBOOK -- www.facebook.com/groups/mccarterdnaprojectandgenealogyresearch/ IMPORTANT: JAMES MCCARTER b1782 Edgefield Co, SC (who married Rebecca Ogle), was a stepson of William McCarter b1756. James was the namesake, biological second son of James ABEL Sr. who died in 1797 in Edgefield Co, SC. The Widow Abel married widower neighbor William McCarter and brought Abel children to the marriage who adopted the social surname of their stepfather. **THE ANCESTRY TREE THAT SHOWS JAMES MCCARTER WAS A CARTER SON OF LT. THOMAS A. CARTER OR ONE OF HIS FAMILY IS WRONG! ** DO NOT BE MISLED BY PERSONS WHO DO NOT KNOW HOW TO READ & INTERPRET DNA RESULTS. The goal of the McCarter DNA Project is to identify the various McCarter families of Colonial America that will lead to accurate family research. **FINDINGS** **MOSES MCCARTER OF ABBEVILLE CO., SC, AND ABRAHAM MCCARTER OF YORK CO., SC WERE NOT BROTHERS.** Documentary evidence indicates they were from different counties in PA and did not likely migrate together to SC since they obtained NC land grants in SC several years apart. The original theory of a "brother" relationship put forth about three decades ago (and found in hundreds of online trees), long before genealogical DNA testing began, seems to have been based on a coincidence that both men had Biblical Old Testament names. **BEWARE FALSE GENEALOGIES BEING PROMOTED IN ANCESTRY TREES AND IN FACEBOOK GROUPS. THERE IS NO DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE NOR Y-DNA EVIDENCE THAT MOSES WAS A SON OF A CALHOUN MALE AND MCCARTER FEMALE. THE CALHOUNS AND MCCARTERS SHARED AN ANCIENT E-M35 CLADE BUT THE LINES DIVERGED SOME HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE MOSES'S BIRTH AND THEY DO NOT SHARE A MODERN HAPLOGROUP. PER BIG Y-700 DNA TESTING, THE CALHOUN AND MCCARTER LINES DO NOT CONNECT AT ANY TIME IN THE RECENT PAST. The difference of the years and ages of the haplogroup SNPS shows there is no recent historical connection to Moses. **Documentary research supports a DNA conclusion that the SPARTANBURG CO., SC, descendants of John McCarter and Alexander McCarter who acquired land in Mecklenburg Co., NC, in 1765-1768 are closely related to Moses McCarter. The historical Spartanburg McCarters are not descendants of Abraham McCarter of York Co, SC. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT MOSES'S UNKNOWN MOTHER WAS A MCCARTER OR THAT THE SPARTANBURG MCCARTERS SHARE A COMMON ANCESTRY WITH MOSES'S UNKNOWN MOTHER. **Y-DNA confirms that William McCarter b. 1778 (who married Sallie Brimer) and settled in Jefferson Co. was a son of William McCarter b1756 who was a son of Moses McCarter and Catren. Y-DNA testing of a lineal male descendant of Joseph McCarter b1780/86 and Abraham Abel McCarter b1794/95 is needed. Due to a high number of cousin marriages over several generations in Sevier and Jefferson counties, autosomal results are not reliable indicators of specific patrilineal ancestry. Pedigree collapse results when an ancestor or ancestral couple appears more than once in a person's family tree. A person can be related in multiple ways to others who share a common ancestry. **DISCUSSION** Much speculation had existed regarding the relationship of the early Pennsylvania and South Carolina McCarters to each other. Likewise, a relationship of Moses, John, Alexander, and Abraham who obtained North Carolina land grants in South Carolina between 1765 and 1772 had long been presumed. Though the project is small, it can be reliably determined by DNA and associated documentary evidence that MOSES MCCARTER OF ABBEVILLE CO, SC, AND ABRAHAM MCCARTER OF YORK CO., SC, WERE NOT BROTHERS. We can lay this early theory to final rest. Each of these men left male descendants whose Y-DNA has been passed from father to son to son to son. Y-DNA testing is encouraged! It is the most powerful tool we have for identifying ancestral male lines. An initial Y-37 or Y-67 test is adequate for identifying the haplogroup. FTDNA sales are frequent, and tests can be upgraded at a later time if wished. Y-DNA can help break down brick walls for yourself and others, confirm existing research, or correct it if necessary. An accurate family history should be the primary goal of all family history researchers. In some families, the surname McCarter has undergone shifts in spelling over time. Thus we find, for example, the much more common McCarty surname used by some hereditary McCarter descendants. Sometimes the shift from one spelling to the other is found as part of chronological paper trail research. This shift could have come about as a reflection of regional pronunciation. And we find other surnames--Gan (Gann) and Walker, and will probably find others--used by current descendants of biological McCarter men born in pre-Revolutionary War times. This could well represent a male child who took the surname of a stepfather, or one who was orphaned and raised by maternal family whose surname may or may not be familiar to the researcher. Given what is known about high mortality rates and the frequency of informal, family adoptions and customary name changes resulting from being orphaned, hasty conclusions about an NPE ("not the parent expected) and out-of-wedlock events should be cautioned. While such events did occur, surname changes generally resulted from more common life events. Evidence-based genealogical conclusions follow a Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS); speculation invites questions for further research but does not answer them. Some Y-DNA tests are in progress at this time and results will be posted as they come in. Women do not carry Y-DNA but can test direct-line male relatives (father, brother, uncle, cousin, etc.) to determine the McCarter ancestry. Autosomal DNA tests (FTDNA Family Finder tests or uploads from other testing companies) are welcomed and testers are encouraged to join the project. The more information the project has, the more we all benefit. Mitochondrial DNA testers are also sought. For more information about specific tests, contact the project administrator.