Update on my Leonard YDNA

For those who follow my research on the Leonard family, you might know that we had my father's DNA tested a few years ago with AncestryDNA, which only compares autosomal DNA - bits of pieces from all his branches. It only goes back a few generations, and with his 94,115 matches on Ancestry, it didn't make finding out who his 5th great-grandparents were any easier.

Finally, we decided to have his YDNA tested. He's a direct male descendant of Charles Russell Leonard, a well established fact proven by Ancestry's (autosomal) DNA test and his many matches with other descendants of Charles R. Leonard, his sister and their mother Sophronia Burrill. Matches in his tree have Leonards from all branches in their trees so we haven't been able to pinpoint his distant Leonard relatives using those results.

The Y chromosome is only passed from father to son. Sons inherit a nearly exact copy of their father's YDNA, with slight mutations (or steps, if I'm understanding correctly). It's all very complicated in my mind, but we sent in my father's saliva sample and I waited patiently (checking the app 2-3 times a day), anticipating the results answering all my questions and solving the mysteries we've all been trying to solve for decades. I was hoping it would have been quicker as the wait was agonizing for a genealogy addict like myself. It took exactly six weeks for the results to appear and I'll share the information it has revealed. If you want to help piece the family together, or help in the research, enter the information you find on each person's Wikitree profile. Be sure to always include your sources as Wikitree is a single family tree with no duplicates. Reading the help files about their formatting first is highly recommended.

First of all, my father's haplogroup was found to be I-M223. Following is a summary: (Alternate link)

Descendants of Solomon Leonard are in haplogroup I-M223, as stated several years ago by Brad Leonard on his old website at https://www.bradsport.com/GeneticsLeonardYDNA.html.

"Five of Solomon Leonard of Duxbury’s direct male descendants have been tested. They are in haplogroup I2b, subclade I-M223. This would indicate that they are not related to James and Henry Leonard." (Brad Leonard)

Brad explains that descendants of James and Henry Leonard (the ironmasters of Taunton) are in haplogroup J2. At least one descendant of John Leonard of Springfield also tested in haplogroup J2. Descendants of Robert Leonard of Scotland and in R1b1 and it's subclades, so we know that I-M223 confirms that my father's line (descendants of Charles Russell Leonard) are descendants of Solomon Leonard now.

FamilyTreeDNA.com is currently the only company that tests YDNA. They have several different YDNA tests which provide various levels of detail. We purchased the Y37 test, which was about $120. It checks 37 markers. We can upgrade the test to check 111 markers or 700 markers, and hope to do so in the near future. (The price to upgrade to the most detailed test, the Big Y-700, is currently $299 and I was hoping it wasn't necessary.)

Our goal is to identify the parents of Russell Leonard. Before reviewing the matches, let's keep in mind what relationships some of these matches should have with my father and how much DNA they may share.

My father's relationships and DNA matches

First Cousins

• First cousins descend from your parents' siblings, or, people you share grandparents with.

• Descendants of Albert J. Leonard & Rose Hollenbeck are my father's First Cousins and my First Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• First cousins share about 12.5% of their DNA, or between 7% and 14%.

• The average is 874 cM (or bet. 553-1225 cM).

• First Cousins 1x removed share about half that - 6.25%, or between 3% and 9%.

Second Cousins

• Second cousins descend from your grandparents' siblings, or, people you share great-grandparents with.

• Descendants of Lewis Leonard & Cora Sherman are my father's Second Cousins and my Second Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• Second cousins share about 3.13% of their DNA, or between 3% and 5%. Second Cousins 1x removed share about 1.5% DNA, or up to 2.54%. The average is 233 cM (or bet. 46-515 cM).

Third Cousins

• Third cousins descend from your great-grandparents' siblings, or, people you share 2nd great-grandparents with.

• Descendants of Charles R. Leonard & Mary Polly Brown are my father's Third Cousins and my Third Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• Third Cousins generally share about 0.78% of their DNA, or up to 2%.

• The average is 73 cM but can be up to 234 cM.

• Third Cousins 1x removed share an average of 48 cM but can share as much as 192 cM.

For example, Tammy & Tracey are two 2nd great-grandchildren of Charles and Mary Leonard. They are my father's third cousins and my third cousins 1x removed.

• Tracey and my father share 64.7 cM of DNA across 4 segments, with the longest being 46.6 cM. Tracey and me, however, only share 47 cM and it's on Chromosome 1.

• Tammy and my father share 84 cM of DNA across 12 segments, with the longest being 50 cM. Ancestry DNA predicted their relationship to be "2nd Cousins to 4th Cousins". Tammy and me, however, share 75 cM of DNA with the longest being 47.6 cM on Chromosome 1.

Fourth Cousins

• Fourth cousins descend from your 2nd great-grandparents' siblings, or, people you share 3rd great-grandparents with.

• Descendants of Russell Leonard & Sophronia Burrill are my father's Fourth Cousins and my Fourth Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• Fourth Cousins share about 0.20% of their DNA or up to 0.5%.

• Average 35 cM or up to 139 cM.

• Fourth Cousins 1x removed share an average of 28 cM but can share between 0 and 126 cM.

  
  

The only other known descendant of Russell Leonard & Sophronia Burrill is Charles' sister, Jenette, who married Nelson Reynolds. Ten of their descendants on Ancestry match my father's DNA:

Line	Relationship to Jenette	Relationship to my father	Shared DNA	Segments
Virginia Pendell	3rd great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 1x removed	27 cM	2
Virginia Pendell	4th great-grandson	4th Cousin 2x removed	20 cM	2
Virginia Pendell	4th great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 2x removed	9 cM	1
Virginia Pendell	4th great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 2x removed	10 cM	1
Virginia Pendell	4th great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 2x removed	16 cM	2
Winfield Reynolds	2nd great-grandson	4th Cousin (?)	15 cM	1
Winfield Reynolds	3rd great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 1x removed	14 cM	1
Winfield Reynolds	3rd great-grandson	4th Cousin 1x removed	7 cM	1
Ada Allwood	3rd great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 1x removed	35 cM	2
Ada Allwood	4th great-granddaughter	4th Cousin 2x removed	8 cM	1

Fifth Cousins

• Fifth cousins descend from your 3rd great-grandparent's siblings, or, people you share 4th great-grandparents with.

• Descendants of Russell's parents & Sophronia's parents are my father's Fifth Cousins and my Fifth Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• Fifth Cousins share about 0.05% of their DNA and are very difficult to detect. Also, this many generations back, matches may be related in more way than one, especially if yours is a colonial family like mine.

Sixth Cousins & Beyond

• Sixth cousins descend from your 4th great-grandparent's sibling, or, people you share 5th great-grandparents with.

• Descendants of Russell's grandparents are my father's Sixth Cousins and my Sixth Cousins 1x removed, 2x removed, etc.

• Sixth Cousins only share about 0.01% of their DNA. It's barely traceable, but it's probably there somewhere! It also might not be!

My father's Leonard Cousins / DNA Matches

(I will be updating this list as necessary):

Descendants of Solomon via his son Samuel Leonard (1644-1710)

My father's DNA matches three of Samuel's descendants:

• Solomon > Samuel > Samuel > Nathan > Elisha Elisha's 5th great-grandson shares 28.6 cM across 8 segments of my father's DNA. The largest segment is 4.6 cM.

• Solomon > Samuel > Samuel > Nathan > Simeon Simeon's 4th great-grandson shares 53.5 cM across 11 segments of DNA. The largest is 17.5 cM. It is believed that this person is related in more than one way.

• Solomon > Samuel > Samuel > Nathan > Nathan Nathan's 4th great-grandson matches my father's YDNA. He is a direct male descendant of Solomon Leonard and his haplogroup with the Y700 test is I-FT382407. Genetic distance: Exact match. Estimated most recent common ancestor 1750 CE.

Descendants of Solomon via his son John Leonard (1645-1699)

My father's DNA matches two descendants of John Leonard:

• Solomon > John > Moses > Ezra > Nathan Nathan's 5th great grandson matches my father's YDNA. He is a direct male descendant of Solomon Leonard and his haplogroup with the Y111 test is I-S18331. Genetic distance: 1 Step. Estimated most recent common ancestor 1650 CE.

• Solomon > John > Moses > Moses > Samuel Samuel's 5th great-granddaughter shares 34.7 cM of DNA across 10 segments. The largest segment is 3.8 cM.

Descendants of Solomon via his son Isaac Leonard (1644-1717)

My father's DNA matches one descendant of Isaac Leonard:

• Solomon > Isaac > Benjamin > Dorothea > Mary Aber

  Mary Aber's 3rd great grandson (?) shares 39.3 cM of DNA across 10 segments. The largest segment is 5.8 cM.

Descendants of Solomon via his son Jacob Leonard (1647-1717)

My father's DNA matches seven descendants of Jacob Leonard:

• Solomon > Jacob > Sarah > Solomon Orcutt > Eunice Orcutt

  Eunice's 2nd great-grandson shares 12 cM of DNA across 3 segments. The largest segment is 4.6 cM.

• Solomon > Jacob > Sarah > Solomon Orcutt > Eunice Orcutt

  Eunice's 4nd great-grandson shares 27.2 cM of DNA across 8 segments. The largest segment is 4.6 cM. He may be related in other ways.

• Solomon > Jacob > Joseph > Joseph > Benjamin Benjamin's 4th great-granddaughter shares 26.4 cM of DNA across 7 segments. The largest segment is 4.9 cM. She may be related in more than one way.

• Solomon > Jacob > Joseph > Joseph > Benjamin Benjamin's 5th great-grandson, son of the previous, shares 38.3 cM across 10 segments. The largest is 5 cM. He may be related in more than one way.

• Solomon > Jacob > Joseph > Joseph > Benjamin Another 4th or 5th great-granddaughter of Benjamin (private tree) shares 32.8 cM across 9 segments. The largest is 4.5 cM.

• Solomon > Jacob > Joseph > Joseph > Joseph A 6th great-grandchild of Joseph shares 14.5 cM across 2 segments with the largest being 9.3 cM.

• Solomon > Jacob > Joseph > Joseph > Joseph A 5th great-grandchild of Joseph shares 25 cM across 1 segment with my father. Estimated relationship: 4th cousin or half 3rd cousin 1x removed.

  
  

Leonard matches missing their link to Solomon

1. A 5th great grandson of Abraham Leonard (1770-1833) shares the same haplogroup or subclade. His Y700 haplogroup is I-FTE48892. FTDNA predicts their most recent common ancestor was about the year 1500, but it is more than likely Solomon. Abraham died in Hector, Tompkins, New York, in 1833, and is buried in Mecklenburg, Schuyler, New York. Some of Solomon's son Jacob's descendants lived in Hector circa 1821. See William K. Leonard.

2. The 4th great grandson of Justus Leonard matches my father's YDNA. He tested with the Y700 test, which determines his haplogroup to be I-FT382407. Genetic distance: Exact match. Estimated most recent ancestor 1650 CE. His son was also tested, but with the Y37 (37 marker test) and his haplogroup is given as I-P222. Genetic distance: Exact match. Estimated most recent ancestor 1750 CE. This line may descend from Solomon's son, Samuel.

3. A descendant of Ezra Leonard (1782-1863) via his son Hollis S. Leonard, shares YDNA with my father. He was tested with the Y67 (67 marker test) and his haplogroup is I-M223. Genetic distance: 2 steps. Estimated most recent ancestor 1650 CE. Ezra and Hollis were both born in Vermont. Hollis died in Broome County, New York in 1889. The family lived in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and in Hastings, Michigan.

Source:

DNA Painter [Link]