GeneralResults

As of July 2022, forty-one people have been tested and are included here.  Several who clearly were not related to others in the group were removed from the group.  The results of the tests appear to fall into five groups: red group (Rene le jeune Landry descendants), pink group (Rene l’aineLandry descendants), yellow group (Guilluame Landry descendants), green group (A Jean Jacques Landry descendant), and nine ungrouped.  Four in the red group tested with the Big Y and were classified in the R-53580 Haplogroup, while the rest were in the R-M269 Haplogroup.  All in the pink group were in the R-M269 Haplogroup.  The two in the yellow group were classified as in the R-L21 Haplogroup.  The one in the green group was classified as in the R-U106 Haplogroup.  All of those who were ungrouped were classified as in the R-M269 Haplogroup. 

Eight in the red group had the same first thirty-seven markers; the rest had one, two, or three mutations.  In the pink group, the three differed by one marker on the thirty-seven markers.  The interesting result was that the red and pink groups were mostly the same except for two markers: DYS389i and DYS389ii.  These represent one mutation.  Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the two Renes were related.  The other two groups were unrelated to the two Renes or each other.   

Paternal Haplogroup Tree for Those Identified as Belonging in the Rene le jeune Landry Group

At the time of the writing of this section, four members of the red group15 (descendants of Rene le jeune Landry) have tested with the Big Y.  All four reported a terminal SNP as R-BY53580.  Family Tree DNA has recently (2022) released a version that provides a platform for determining a haplogroup tree for specific terminal SNPs.  Within each tree, a specific order of SNPs is provided.  You can access 1. a colorized descendant outline format; 2. one that provides more detailed information about each SNP in the tree on separate screens; or 3. a block format.  Each format has advantages and disadvantages.  Common disadvantages are that none provide location data or all the data in one easy to read table or chart.  Table 1 is an attempt to group all the data (including a lot from offsite) in one easy to read format.  The offsite information came primarily from SNP Tracker: http://scaledinnovation.com/gg/snpTracker.html .  It is a website that presents the SNP location data in a map format. The author, Rob Spencer, noted that there is considerable scatter in the raw data.  He averaged the location data for each SNP and then smoothed out the resulting data points to provide a smooth migration path.  The program allows entry of gender, terminal SNP, and various map options.  It should be noted that the TMRCA values at SNP Tracker differ from the FTDNA numbers. The latter were used in Table 1.

An important question is, how generalizable is the table?  That depends on several factors.  If the R-BY53580 mutation occurred with the birth of Rene le jeune Landry (possible) or one of his ancestors (unlikely because Rene was born about 1634), then the results should be valid for all of Rene’s male descendants.  If the four Big Y testers descended from four of eight different male children of Rene, then the possible becomes more probable.  Unfortunately, three of the ancestral pedigrees were not available.  Inside information strongly suggested that there were at least two separate lines involved.  Therefore, it is likely that the R-53580 mutation occurred with Rene or one of his ancestors.  If so, then the table should be generalizable to all members of the red group.

No one in the other Landry groups tested on the Big Y.  However, the pink group (Rene l’aine Landry) may be similar because the 37 marker yDNA test results for the red and pink groups only differs by two markers which represents one mutation.  Therefore, the table may be useful for the pink group as well because the two Renes appear to be closely related.  This table probably will not be valid for the yellow group (descendants of Guilluame Landry) or the green group (descendant of Jean Jacques Landry).  If Big Y results become available for the pink, yellow, or green group, appropriate tables can be constructed.

                                                                                                          Table 1. PATERNAL HAPLOGROUP TREE¹ FOR Terminal SNP R-BY53580

¹ A Haplogroup is a major genetic branch of people who share a common ancestor such as R-BY53580 in the present example.  FTDNA generally presents a Haplogroup Tree as an ordered listing of SNPs in the branch’s ancestral history.  In the current example, this concept is extended back to A-PR2921.  Some would equate this last SNP as representing the biblical Adam.  A R-BY53580 male’s yDNA will contain most of these SNPs.  There likely will be many other SNPs on a Big Y report that are not genealogically significant, i.e., they don’t know what they represent.

² A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP pronounced snip) is a mutation in DNA that is shared between at least two people.

³ Approximate geographical location on a SNP Tracker map that showed an average location where each SNP is thought to have occurred.  It is an average of scattered data.  It is subject to change as new information is discovered. This column was estimated from a yDNA Path to R-BY53580 map displayed at SNP Tracker: http://scaledinnovation.com/gg/snpTracker.html.  You can access the most recent map by entering the SNP (R-BY53580) in the box in the upper left corner of the opening map and select the male symbol.  Click on a dropdown menu in the upper right corner and click on “Show Borders” and “Smooth Path.”  Also click off on “Show Topography.”  This will clearly show the average location of each SNP in relation to current country borders.

⁴ Estimated time to the most recent common ancestor.

⁵ Before Common Event (BCE) is the same as BC in the Christian calendar. CE designates the same as AC on the Christian calendar.

⁶ A statistical term designating that the actual date has a 95% probability of falling within these limits.

⁷ Data obtained from FTDNA.

⁸ Data obtained from SNP Tracker.

⁹ Perhaps southern England via a land bridge across the English Channel due to a low ocean level during this period.

¹⁰ Google - Paleolithic: early part of the Stone Age when primitive stone implements were used. Men were hunters and women were gatherers.  It was a nomadic lifestyle that followed the food sources.

¹¹ Google – Neolithic: late part of the Stone Age when farming got started and animals were domesticated.  Tools were ground and polished and pottery was manufactured.

¹² Google – Mesolithic: period of transition between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages.  Various cultures transitioned at different times.

¹³ Google- Bronze Age: a period between the Neolithic Age and Iron Age where tools and weapons were made of bronze. The wheel was invented. Early forms of writing were developed.

¹⁴ Google -Iron Age: a period when iron was used in the manufacture of tools and weapons.  Settlements were started.

15 In order to see the colorized group yDNA results you need to be logged in to your account.

Interpretation of Landry yDNA Results

All of the Landry cohort falls into the haplogroup R1b1a2 now called R-M269.  This group had its origins in Africa, then migrated to Central Asia followed by migration to Europe. However, all of the descendants of Rene le jeune Landry and Rene l'aine Landry probably should be reclassified as haplogroup R-BY53580, based on four members who took the Big Y-500 Test and settled into France.  The Guillaume Landry descendants were a subgroup previously denoted by R1b1a2a1a2c and now named R-L21 (four mutations beyond M269) and concentrated in England and France.  The Jean Jacques descendant was in another subgroup originally called R1b1a2a1a1a and now named R-U106 (four mutations beyond M269) and found in Switzerland and Italy. The highest concentration of these haplogroups in the current population is in Western Europe including the British Isles.

The yDNA results have shown clear patterns of three Landry family groups.  The Acadian lineage includes descendants of Rene le jeune Landry and Rene l'aine Landry.  Descendants of Guilluame Landry form the second group.  The lone descendant of  Jean Jacques Landry line forms the third group; correspondence with this descendant suggested that his ancestor was Jean Jacques Landry.  There may be other Landry lines but their numbers probably are relatively small and no one associated with them is included in the database.  A few are ungrouped at this time and will remain that way until somebody tests with a similar yDNA profile.

The similarities among the yDNA profiles for the descendants of Rene le jeune Landry and Rene l'aine Landry show that they are related.  Within this Acadian group there are clear differences on the markers DYS389i (14 vs 15) & DYS389ii (30 vs 31) between descendants of Rene le jeune Landry and Rene l'aine Landry, respectively.  Since these differences show up in all of the respective descendants to date, this mutation probably occurred at one of the Rene's births or in one of their ancestors.  According to Terry Barton, these markers mutate together, so these differences represent one mutational event. (1)  Stephen White through analyses of Catholic Church Dispensations showed that their common ancestor was not their father or grandfather. (2)  That would mean that they were 2rd cousins or more removed.  That would put the birth of their common ancestor at or prior to about 1565 CE.  Since the two Renes immigrated from France, it is logical to surmise that this ancestor probably was born in France as well.

Rene le jeune Landry had eight sons.  We have yDNA samples from descendants of six sons: Antoine, Claude, Jean, German, Abraham, and Pierre.  We do not have descendants from the other two sons: Rene, and Charles.  Our greatest need at the moment is a descendant of the line: Rene je jeune > Rene > Antoine > Rene or Joseph.

Within the Rene le jeune Landry line there are several interesting relationships.  Two individuals (#18198 and #23538) are second cousins and differ on one marker, DYS CDY, so the mutation must have occurred within the last three generations.  Since #23538 has the same value for DYS CDY as other members of this group, this mutation must have occurred in the last three generations of the line represented by #18198.

Seven members of the Rene le jeune Landry Group (212444, 255067,23538, 405029, MK39044, 459303, and 596965) and one member of the Rene l'aine Landry Group (27044) showed no differences except DYS389i and DYS389ii. These yDNA profiles probably are the same as their respective progenitors, Rene le jeune Landry and Rene l'aine Landry.

1. Personal communication from Terry Barton (web master of worldfamilies.net).

2. White, Stephen A., English Supplement to the Dictionnaire Genealogique desFamilies Acadienes. Centr d'Etudes Acadienes, Universite de Moncton, Moncton,NB, Canada, pp. 194-5.