Welcome to the Carr Surname DNA Genealogy Project. Carr is a common modern spelling worldwide for many phonetically similar surnames used by previous generations. Common ancestral bonds have become lost as cousins lose contact with one another. Surname spelling changes and migrations over the generations have also left today’s Carr families with no clear way to tell if they share a common ancestry within the last 1000 years. The Carr Surname Genetic Genealogy Project has been set up aid Carr family historians by using Y-DNA to establish the probability of recent common paternal line descent between the various Carr families around the world today, including families with phonetically similar surnames. A family's patriarch's Y-DNA haplotype is established by testing and then used in conjunction with their paternal line paper history, back to the earliest known Carr (or phonetically similar variant) ancestor to identify common ancestry within the last 1000 years. Family historians and other interested individuals with paternal line ancestry from a Carr forefather or paternal line descent from a phonetically similar surname are invited to participate in establishing a Carr DNA database. Once established, the database will establish familial links between Carr families since the early migration of Homo Sapiens.
Carr Surname Genealogy will grow as we establish our familial DNA links and ancestral origins. Ultimately, as the project grows, we will expand our paper trails together. The surname Carr is used below to represent all of the surname spelling listed below.
Membership and Joining: All Kerr, Carr and Kerr derivative surname families are welcome to join this project. Many phonetic variations of 'Carr' have been used through the generations within various population groups. DNA results will identify separate family lines and common ancestry among all Carr surname derivative families. Surnames for which Carr is a modern day derivative or are phonetically similar include Kerr, Car, Carre, Caer, Cer, Corr, Carrach, Kaar, Kar, Kahr, Kare, Karr, Karre, Kaurr, Kay, Kear, Keir, Keire, Kehr, Kehrein, Kehri, Ker, Kere, Keyr, Kurr, Le Carre, Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, O' Carraigh, O'Ceardain and others.
Membership requires submission of genealogically relevant DNA results. Contact the Carr Group Administrator to learn how to submit your DNA test results if you already have them. DNA testing is available at a discounted price through the Carr Surname Projects at Family Tree DNA or DNA Heritage. A comparison of several DNA test company offerings can be found at the International Society of Genetic Genealogy website. Carr DNA Database: Over 40 Carr Family DNA haplotypes established with descent from Carr's of Ferniehirst Castle, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Belize, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. DNA Test Companies: Two DNA test companies have Surname DNA projects whose members are automatically linked to this project. Family Tree DNA , one of the first genealogy DNA test companies, has a leading edge array of products to fully evaluate your genetic ancestry. DNA Heritage offers Y-DNA and Y-SNP tests and has offices in the US and England. Both companies offer discounted test prices to those joining through a surname project. DNA test results from the Family Tree DNA and DNA Heritage Carr Surname Projects are automatically shared with the Carr Surname Genetic Genealogy Project. No financial benefit is received from any DNA test company by anyone connected to the Carr Surname Genetic Genealogy Project. The Carr DNA Surname Project, shorter name, shares information with the Scottish Border Reiver DNA Project. Individual participant's results can also be found on the public YDNA databases, Y Search and Y Base, which are public databases available free of charge to everyone. Ysearch and Ybase are maintained by Family Tree DNA and DNA Heritage respectively.
New members join each month. Find out if your close cousins are listed in the database by having your DNA haplotype established, you won't know who might be your unknown cousin until you do. Enjoy the adventure of discovery, order a DNA test kit and join the Carr DNA Surname Project today.
Genetic Genealogy: Traditional genealogy follows family histories using personal and public records. Genetic Genealogy uses our 'blue print', our Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid, DNA, to identify our cousins. Two specific types of DNA are used for genealogy, Y Chromosome DNA, which present in the cell nucleus of all men, and mitochondria DNA, mt-DNA, which exists in the lining our cells, is passed virtually unchanged from a mother to her children with no influence from the father's DNA. Paternal line genetic genealogy uses YDNA, which is passed solely from a father to his sons. Common ancestry is determined by comparing the number of repeats, called the allele number, of a specific chain of molecules, called a marker, at a specific location on the YDNA chromosome. Allele numbers at several markers establish a persons haplotype, a genetic pedigree. On average, the haplotype changes only at one marker by one or two alleles over five generations. Therefore the probable number of generations between two men and a common ancestor can be estimated based on the number of variations in their haplotypes. Several people having common alleles at several marker locations establishes a Haplogroup for descendants of a common ancestor. Haplogroups can indicate early ancestral connections since allele differences at several markers require several generations to occur. Individual family haplotype and ancestral Haplogroup of project participants will be determined to identify those who have a high probability of common recent ancestors and more ancient ancestry from those who do not. People with a high probability of a common recent ancestor can then direct their efforts to establish who that common ancestor is based on the paper record. This will allow us to break down our genealogy brick walls and expand our family histories.A YDNA test that includes 37 or more markers is recommended to establish relatedness within a three or four generations. A more limited test, 12 or 25 markers can be used to establish the probability of early ancestral relatedness and expanded later if desired.
Maternal Line ancestral genetic connections can also be established using mitochondria DNA, mtDNA . MtDNA genetic genealogy looks for variations in the mitochondria DNA from a common reference. Since mtDNA changes at a rate of one mutation every few thousand years, it does not have the fidelity to distinguish individual descent lines like YDNA. The mtDNA haplotype between maternal line descendants of a common female ancestor will be virtually identical however and thus can establish if two people could not be related. MtDNA does not work in a surname project since the female partner changes her surname when she marries in many cultures. MtDNA is generally of better use for DNA genealogy projects looking at people living within a common region.
The vast majority of our DNA serves no medical purpose and is called junk DNA. Only junk DNA is used for genealogy so that no medical or personal information is passed when comparing our results. Genetic Scientists have identified specific locations within the junk regions of the DNA strand that are very stable between generations. These 'stable' DNA molecules are used to establish a family's DNA haplotype and the haplogroup of an early ancestor. More information concerning DNA Genealogy can be found on the Internet, two links are shown below. Several books as well as magazine and newspaper articles have been published this subject as well.
Webb family DNA Genealogy Success Story
Kerchner family DNA Genealogy Success Story