Sanford Surname Project

Y-DNA (Male-Line) Study of Sanford, Sandford, Samford and Similar Surnames
  • 143 members

About us

A Sanford Big-Y Success Story


Fellow genealogist Michael Harrison of Toronto has been tracing his paternal grandmother's Sandford line for years. In 2009, Michael was able to trace his line from Canada, across western New York, back to Milford, CT. He successfully connected his line to #2115 - Juilius Maximinus Sanford (1781-1833) and his son, #4916 - Chesterfield Sanford (1803-1836) in Carlton Elisha Sanford's massive "Thomas Sanford, the Emigrant to New England", at p 440).


To confirm his paper-trail with Y-DNA, Michael turned to his father's first cousin, Edward Michael Sandford, and FTDNA. A Y111 test this past July returned a total of 6 matches (all members of the Sanford YDNA Surname Project), with Genetic Distances between 6 and 9. All 6 members are descendants of Group B - Descendants of Ezechiell Sanford, bp 1586. The test yielded a predicted haplogroup of R-M269 (the most prevalent haplogroup among our Sanford Project members). It dates back thousands of years, and merely indicates Western European ancestry. It was clear that the STR-based Y111 test has its limitations. The Y111 test is effective in placing members into their proper groupings, and has served the Sanford Project well for the past 15 years. To find how group members relate to each other, however, requires that we upgrade to identify the specific SNP's on each of our lines. Michael therefore upgraded Ed Sandford's test to the BigY-700.


Michael had 5 BigY matches and a new confirmed haplogroup of R-BY137021. This haplogroup dates to 500 CE, way downstream of R-M269, but nowhere near a genealogically-useful period. It then became obvious that BigY DNA is a "team sport". Group member (and Project co-administrator) Ted Sanford shares a Most-Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) with Ed Sandford: Ezechiell Sanford, bp 1586. Ted upgraded his Y-111 test to the BigY and his results confirmed that Ted and Ed share a common genetic ancestor. A new public haplogroup was created - R-FTC84354. FTDNA currently estimates a birthdate for the MRCA of ca 1518 (well-within the 99% confidence interval) and within a genealogical timeframe. As more members test, FTDNA will be able to calibrate their time estimates even finer. Group B can now be defined by its own unique SNP and haplogroup, which has been added to the Y Haplotree - the "Tree of Mankind". 

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