The CARRICO Y-chromosome DNA Surname Project
including Spelling Variations and Similar Surnames, such as,
CARICO, CARRIÇO, CARRICOE, CURRICOE, CARUCHO, CARACO, CARAÇO, CARRICA,
CARRACO, CARACHO, KARAHO, CARASSO, KARASSO, KARASO, CARAÇOS, CARICCO, etc.
This project utilizes Y-chromosome DNA testing as a tool for genealogical research on surname CARRICO and similar surnames and spelling variations.  The project is based at FamilyTreeDNA, but people tested elsewhere are welcome to join by sharing results and lineages, either unofficially or by officially transferring

Human gender is genetically determined by a pair of chromosomes that are, by convention, designated XX for females and XY for males.  Only males have the Y-chromosome, and because the male Y-chromosome is handed down from father to son through the generations, Y-DNA testing can identify common ancestors on the patrilineal line.  Y-DNA testing is an extremely powerful tool for supporting pedigrees and for breaking past brick walls where paper genealogy has failed to go.

Some questions to be answered are:

1)  How many different families are represented by these surnames, and what are their geographic origins?
Known origins in the Old World include CARRIÇO / CARRICO and CARRIÇA / CARRICA in Portugal, CARRICA in Spain, CARICO in Italy, CARACO in Spain, Italy, and Turkey, and CARASSO in Spain and Greece.  Their present distribution is, of course, more widespread.
2)  How many immigrated to the United States, and when?  Are all the early CARRICOs in the U.S. descended from just the one progenitor, Peter CARRICO, the 1674 immigrant to Maryland?
The final answers will require DNA testing, but the summary of CARRICO / CARICO census records in the U.S. is relevant to these questions.
3)  Was Peter CARRICO, many of whose descendants are Roman Catholic, related to the converso, Pero Dias CARRICO, who was imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition in Portugal in 1629-33 for the crime of "Judaismo" and forced to convert to Catholicism to gain his release?
4)  Can I prove my own paper pedigree?
A negative result can instantly disprove an erroneous pedigree, while a positive result provides very strong support for a correct one.  The degree (the specificity) to which we will be able to support our paper pedigrees depends largely on the number of CARRICOs tested and on the number of markers each tests:  the more markers tested and the more individuals tested, the more specific the conclusions can be.
Genealogy has always been a cooperative endeavor, but never more so than in proving our ancestry genetically.  From my point of view, every male CARRICO owes it to their name to get tested, whether they're interested in their own genealogy, or not.  If you are researching CARRICO or any similar surname, please consider having a male family member submit a sample to the project.  The more participants we have, the more we can prove about our origins.

[ Answers to Frequently Asked Questions ]

[ Basics of DNA Testing for Genealogy ]   [ More on Genealogy and Genetics ]

View the Alternate Project Web Site at FamilyTreeDNA
This site includes a distribution map of member origins.

Family Tree DNA FAQs
Answers to an exhaustive list of questions relating to DNA testing.

To join the CARRICO Y-DNA Surname Project, please email the project Administrator.

If you have been autosomal-DNA tested (e.g., FamilyFinder) and have a CARRICO anywhere in your ancestry,
you are eligible to join Linda Boorom's CARRICO Family Project at FTDNA.
DNA Test Results and Member Lineages

Members of the CARRICO project currently fall into ten unrelated groups — unrelated, that is, in "genealogical time."  We're all related if you go back far enough.

Portugal
I1d
(n = 1)
Portugal
J2a4
(n =1)
Maryland
J2a4b
(n = 22 + 1)
Portugal
J2a4b1
(n = 1)
Turkey
L2a
(n = 2)
Greece
R-1b1*
(n = 1 + 1)
Portugal
R-P312
(n = 3 / 3)
NPE
R-L21
(n = 3)
Haplogroup I1d

Haplogroup I is found almost exclusively in Europe where it is represented in about 20% of the population, second only to R1b.  I1 is the most common subclade of Hg I, and, geographically, it is highly concentrated in northern Germany, Denmark, and southern Norway and Sweden.  I1d is most common in Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.   It is not unusual to find an I1 in Spain or Portugal as the Iberian peninsula was a refugium during the last glacial maximum.

Haplogroup I1d = I-L22 — CARRIÇO descendant in Portel, Alentejo, Portugal

We do not have a lineage for this individual, only the fact that he is a living CARRIÇO residing in Portel, Alentejo, Portugal.  He is of the Norse-ultraNorse variety of I1d, which is today most common in Norway.  He has no significant matches in the FTDNA, Ysearch, or SMGF databases.  A deep SNP test shows his most downstream positive SNP is L22. 

Haplogroup J2

The J2 subclade of Haplogroup J (see entries at Wikipedia and ISOGG) arose in the northern Fertile Cresent, roughly 18,500 ±3500 years ago.  It then spread westwards around the Mediterranean and broadly eastwards throughout central Asia and south into India.  It is most common in Anatolia (about 25% of Turks are J2).

Our J2 CARRICO's fall into three subclades:  J2a4, J2a4b, and J2a4b1.  These subclades have not shared a common ancestor for thousands of years.

Haplogroup J2-L26 — CARRIÇO of Queluz, Lisboa, Portugal

This individual is a resident of Queluz (near Lisbon), Portugal.  He has no significant matches in the FTDNA database.

Haplogroup J2-M67 — descendants of Peter CARRICO I, 1674 immigrant to Maryland

Most of these individuals are paper descendants of the American progenitor, Peter CARRICO, 1674 immigrant to Maryland, including one surnamed BLAINE who has a deliberate surname change in his patrilineal line.  The rest are presumed descendants of Peter (see below), including the PHELPS who appears to have an NPE in his patrilineal line.

The haplotypes of those tested to 67 markers match each other at high levels, with none having a genetic distance of more than 3 from the family's modal haplotype, solidly establishing that they have a near common ancestor.  Several have undergone deep SNP testing, with the result that they are Haplogroup J2a4b (= J-M67).

Their haplotypes are unique, which is not particularly unusual (about 40% of individuals tested have no match "out of the gate"); however, their haplotypes are so unique that their distance to their nearest common ancestor, even within their own J2a4b subclade, is calculated to be some 3210 to 4530 years.  They have a value at one marker that is so unusual, I'm told no one else so far tested has it (viz., DYS425=10t).  These unusual results have attracted the attention of Haplogroup J researchers, which is very much to our benefit as we can rely on their interest to help sort out our deep origins.

The mutation defining J2a4b (M67+) occurred an estimated 11.6 ± 2.6 thousand years ago.  Today, individuals of this subclade can be found throughout southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa, but the highest concentrations are in Italy and the countries surrounding the eastern Black Sea (viz., Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and southern Russia). 

Haplogroup J-M92 — descendant of Joaquim CARRICO, of Portugal, then Brazil

This member descends from Joaquim Anastor CARRICO, who was born in Portugal and emigrated to Brazil.  His haplotype is unique, so he has no matches with anyone at any level, though his haplotype is not as unusual as that of the CARRICOs above.  His deep SNP test shows him to be M92+,  and his haplotype includes the characteristic null value at DYS425, which indicate he is subclade J2a4b1 on the FTDNA haplotree.

The mutation defining J2a4b1 (M92+) arose an estimated 8.8 ± 2.3 thousand years ago.  Today, individuals of this subclade can found in southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, central and southern Asia, northeastern Africa, and India.  It is most concentrated in southern Italy, southern Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and India.

Haplogroup L

Haplogroup L appeared about 30,000 years ago and while most common in southern India (as L1) and Pakistan (as L3), it is spread thinly westwards across central Asia, southwestern Asia, and southern Europe (as L2).  Haplogroup L, along with Haplogroup J2, is thought to have been a founding population of the civilization of the Indus Valley.

Haplogroup L-M349 — CARACO descendants of Bursa, Turkey

These two individuals have no known paper connection, but both have an origin in Bursa Prov., Turkey.  Currently, one lives in France, the other in the United States, and one is a practicing Sephardic Jew.  Their haplotypes are rare, with no full matches with anyone else, including with each other.  They match at the level of 33/37, which means they have a 95% chance of being related within 18 generations, some time in the 1400s.  By upgrading to 67 markers, we could have a better approximation as to the nearness of their common ancestor.

Orthographically, surname CARACO appears Spanish, not Turkish, and the surname is most common in Spain.  It is known that, in the 1490s, Sephardic Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition by migrating to Turkey, so it appears this family was among them.

Subclade L2a is sometimes called the "Mediterranean" subclade of L because it occurs (at a low frequency) across southern Europe in the countries bordering the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Turkey to Portugal.  One of these individuals has been deep SNP tested (gratis by FTDNA) showing his most downstream positive SNP is M349.

Haplogroup R1b

R1b is the most common haplogroup in western Europe (see map), the most common subclade being R1b1a2 (= R-M269 — old R1b1b2).  R1b is the group believed to have populated Europe from an Asian refugium when the last glacial ice sheet retreated about 10-13,000 years ago.  Ancestral R1b1* is quite rare.

Haplogroup R-P25* — CARASSO of Salonica, Greece

Two CARASSOs have been tested at FTDNA, although only one has joined the project.  Both have a proximate origin in Salonica (=Thesaloniki), Greece, and they are a DNA match.  Like the Haplogroup L2a CARACOs (above), this Jewish family originated in Spain, but fled during the Spanish Inquisition, only they fled to Greece, rather than Turkey.  They are now also to be found in Europe, especially Switzerland; the United States; and Argentina.  They have a near match to several other largely Jewish families with a Spanish origin, and I have included them in their table even though they are of other surnames and not officially members of the project.

Haplogroup R-P312 Deme 1CARRIÇO of Monte do Trigo, Portel, Alentejo, Portugal

This individual lives near Lisbon, and his grandfather was from Monte do Trigo, Portel Municipality.  I had rather expected him to match the other individual from Portel (see above), but they are not remotely matching, nor does this individual have a significant match with anyone in the FTDNA database.

Haplogroup R-P312 Deme 2 — CARRIÇO of Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal

This individual lives in Albufeira, Portugal.  He has no match in the project or in the FTDNA database.  His "deep" SNP testing stopped short at P310, so I've ordered a P312 test, which is pending.

Haplogroup R-P312 Deme 3 — CARRICO of Ourém, Centro, Portugal

This individual has a rare haplotype, with no near, much less full, matches at 25 or more markers.  Deep SNP testing shows his most downstream positive SNP is P312.

Haplogroup R-L21 Deme 4 — Reason CARRICO of Sullivan Co., IN

The two brothers are descendants of Charles CARRICO of Sullivan Co., IN, presumed descendant of Peter CARRICO I, the immigrant, through Charles's son, Reason CARRICO (1794-1878).  While they match each other, they do not match the other descendants of Peter CARRICO I, including descendants of Reason's brothers, Basil and Josiah CARRICO.  It appears these brothers have an NPE, a "non-paternal event" (i.e., a hidden adoption or illicit paternity), in their patrilineal line, somewhere upstream of their father and downstream of Charles.  The NPE strongly points to Reason having been adopted because, if so, it would resolve the long-standing issue of his birthdate being too close to that of his next younger sibling. 

One of the two brothers has been tested to 67 markers, and he has a 62/67 match with a descendant of Farrell LITTLETON, immigrant from London, England, to Virginia, which is only barely close enough for him to be a direct descendant of Farrell, but does support that they may have a common ancestor, possibly back in England.  This LITTLETON has joined the project.  This brother has also been deep SNP tested, with the result that his most downstream positive SNP is L21.

It was expected that the paper descendants of Peter CARRICO, 1674 immigrant to Maryland, would match closely, and they do.  In addition, their haplotypes are extremely rare, so Peter's descendants should have no difficulty proving their connection to him.  Other lines, without paper connections to Peter, but presumed to be his descendants, have been connected via DNA test results, namely:

James T. CARRICO (1764-1814/5) of MD, then Washington Co., KY
Peter CARRICO (<1765-c1815) of MD and Monongalia Co., VA [now Preston Co., WV]
John Alexander CARRICO (1770s-1850s) of MD, then PA, then OH, then KY, then Martin Co., IN
Charles CARRICO (1770s-1830s) of MD, Washington Co., KY, and Sullivan Co., IN
Cornelius CARRICO (1771/2-1850s) of MD, then Nelson Co., KY, then Washington Co., KY
Nathaniel CARRICO (c1782-1854) of MD and Washington Co., KY
Cornelius CARRICO (1797/8->1850), of MD, then Washington Co., KY, then Graves Co., KY
Matthew Gillaspie CARRICO (c1809-c1864) of KY, and Panola Co., TX
Proteus CARRICO (1822-1901) of Larue Co., KY, then Sutter Co., CA, then Siskiyou Co., CA
John W. CARRICO (1826/7->1880) of Prince William Co., VA, then Fauquier Co., VA

The NPE in the line of Reason CARRICO was an unpleasant surprise.  With the testing of enough cousins, the location of this NPE can be determined. With the testing of enough LITTLETONs, we may be able to isolate their probable common ancestor.

Because many have suspected the origin of the 1764 immigrant to Maryland was Portugal, it has been a disappointment to the American CARRICOs that none of the CARRICOs with an origin in Portugal tested, so far, has matched them — nor have the Portuguese CARRIÇOs matched each other.  Most surnames have multiple origins, and CARRICO is proving to be no exception. 

It was no surprise that the two CARACOs from Bursa, Turkey, matched each other, while not matching the other CARRICOs, but one turns out to be intriguing in his own right because he's only the second known practicing Sephardic Jew who has tested as Haplogroup L (as of Aug 2008).

It was also no surprise that the two CARASSOs from Salonica, Greece, matched each other.  I would invite the one who has not joined the project to please do so.

Time to drum up some new members!  Remember, the best way to improve your chances for a match is to bring more members into the project.

Basics of DNA Testing for Genealogy
Y-DNA surname projects are based on STR (Short Tandem Repeat) testing of the male Y-chromosome.  Test results consist of a series of numbers that represent the counts of the number of times a small "junk" DNA segment is duplicated at a given marker (location).  Collectively, the pattern of numbers resulting from STR testing is called a person's haplotype.

At FamilyTreeDNA, two introductory levels of Y-chromosome STR testing are offered to new project members:  37-marker and 67-marker tests.  Every level of testing tells you something, but I have standardized my projects on 67 markers because that level allows for confident estimations of relatedness in virtually all cases.  Advanced testing to 111 or more markers is available to refine relationships (e.g., for distinguishing branches of the same family).

STR testing measures relationship in a time frame of hundreds of years, making the distance to the MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) sufficiently close to be genealogically useful.  And "useful" is an understatement.  STR testing is a powerful tool for determing whether people do or do not share a recent common ancestor, and it is the foundation for Y-DNA surname projects.


There is another form of Y-chromosome DNA testing called SNP testing — the acronym stands for "Single Nucleotide Polymorphism" and is pronounced as a single word, "snip."  Results of SNP testing are expressed as + or - (positive or negative) to indicate the presence or absence of a particular mutation.  Each suspected mutation requires a separate test.  Results of SNP testing determine a person's haplogroup, and deep testing (meaning exhaustively testing all known SNPs for the haplogroup) can identify subgroups, called "subclades."

The haplogroup (sometimes abbreviated, "Hg") is a measure of deep ancestry.  The MRCA may be thousands of years in the past, which places the individual's ancestry in a paleoanthropological time frame.  The chronological appearance of SNP mutations has been used to order the branching of the "Y-DNA Haplotree," and a SNP test will determine a male's position on the tree.

A decade ago, I would have said SNP testing was merely "interesting" in its ability to correlate haplogroups and their subclades with the paths of human migration over the millenia, and I did not press my project members to be SNP tested.  I considered it of minimal use to the genealogist, beyond the fact that being in different haplogroups totally rules out having a near common ancestor (in genealogical time) — and because haplogroups strongly separate families, they are a convenient way for me, as project administrator, to organize surname project member results.

As each individual has just one evolutionary path on their patrilineal line, so their SNP-based haplogroup should correlate with their STR-based haplotype, and it does.  If the haplotype is reasonably common (or similar to one that is), it can be used to deduce the basic Y-DNA haplogroup, without the added expense of SNP testing.  If the haplotype does not unequivocally indicate the haplogroup, FamilyTreeDNA will do a "backbone" (basic) SNP test without charge to securely determine the basic haplogroup.  Deep SNP testing would still be needed to determine the haplogroup subclade, and if your haplotype is rare, I recommend deep SNP testing simply as an aid to researchers because their research on your haplogroup ultimately tells you more about yourself.

At this writing (2012), the number of SNPs found has greatly increased, and the rate of their discovery is increasing due, in part, to FTDNA's "Walk through the Y" program.  We are reaching the point where they are of use to the genealogist, especially in the common haplogroups, as the Y-DNA haplotree turns into a finely divided bush.  For that reason, I now urge that Y-DNA project members,  especially those who are Haplogroup R1b1a2 or I1 — the two most common haplogroups in western Europe — be deep SNP tested and that they continue to test new SNPs as they are discovered.

As the number of people STR tested increases, SNP testing will become important in separating "borderline" STR matches that are merely coincidental, that is, not indicative of real relationship, from ones that do indicate real relationship.  The problem of ambiguous coincidental matches, particularly in Haplogroup R1b1a2, is going to increase as more people are tested.  Thankfully, deep SNP testing gives us a method for detecting them.

The bottom line is that, while SNP testing is not a requirement for participation is a Y-DNA STR surname project, I encourage it because, while I once thought deep SNP testing was merely "interesting," it has now become actually useful to the genealogist.

General Funds

In recognition of the fact that some individuals may find the cost of DNA testing prohibitive and that these individuals may be the only representatives of key lines in our genealogical research, Family Tree DNA has instituted "General Funds" to allow researchers to subsidize the testing of these key individuals.  The fund can also be used as a simple way to give someone a gift of DNA testing.  Please see this link at Family Tree DNA for more details.  And please consider a donation to the project as a way of bringing more lines into the project, especially to help some of our elder kin be tested who may not otherwise be able to afford it.  There is also a field on the donation form allowing you to make a donation in honor of a specific person.  The funds will be entirely collected and held by Family Tree DNA, but their dispursement is implemented by your project administrator.  You can inform your project adminstrator whose test you want subsidized with your donation or, if you wish, you can leave it up to the project administrator to decide where the funds can best be applied.  Please note that anonymous donations are not just anonymous to the public; they are also anonymous to the project admin.  If you want the admin to know you made the donation and/or have a special request for how it is to be spent, please notify the admin by email at the time you make the donation.

There has been an instance in one of my projects where a donor sent a prospective member a check, then the person never followed through by joining the project.  This situation can be avoided if the researcher has, instead, donated the money to the project's General Fund, because the money simply won't be spent if the person fails to join.

There has also been an instance in one of my projects where a donor agreed to fund a test based on the promise of a secure line to their progenitor, only for me to discover there was an adoption in the line.  In this case, the researcher had donated their money to the General Fund, and I caught the NPE in time to deny the subsidy to the test subject.  This situation is also a reminder to examine someone's line, yourself, before agreeing to subsidize their test — not that there was intentional deception here, just flawed paper genealogy.

Bottom line:  before sending a stranger a check, please consider making a donation to the project's General Fund, instead.  And, please, in no case send money to me; I do not want the responsibility of handling it.

Subsidized Testing!

If you want to increase the probability of making a match and speed up the progress of this project, please offer to subsidize a test, even if it's with just $10.  Donations can easily be made through the project's General Fund (see above), and any specific subsidy can be listed below.  If you have a line you want tested, please consider offering a subsidy to encourage a volunteer.
1.  The project is offering to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for
any male CARRICO (or variation) whose origin in Europe is known.

This offer is a standing one, good for as long as there are sufficient funds remaining in the project's General Fund, which is an excellent reason for all CARRICO researchers to donate to the General Fund because even small donations will help keep this offer open.  [This offer is good only for families that have not yet been tested, not for additional members of families already tested; please see List of Progenitors.]

2.  An anonymous donor is offering to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a patrilineal descendant of
Peter CARRICO III (1722-    )
3.  Another donor is offering a $50 subsidy for the testing of a descendant of either of the CARRICOs of Beverly, Essex Co., MA, namely,
Alexander CARRICO (c1747-    ) or John CARRICO (c1748-    ).
The offer is to subsidize only one descendant, so the early bird get the subsidy.
4.  Your project admin is offering to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a patrilineal descendant of
Josiah CARRICO (1769-1820s) of Green Co., IN
All test subjects must be males surnamed CARRICO descended on a patrilineal line from the ancestor indicated.  For all subsidies, acceptance of the subject is at the discretion of the donor (i.e., upon the researcher's satisfaction that there is a valid paper connection between the test subject and the ancestor).  The test subject must agree to sign the Release to allow sharing of his test results (as all other project members have done) and test to 67 markers.  Please note that sharing of results does not necessarily mean sharing of identity.  Only the project administrator and the donor necessarily need know the identity of the test subject.

CARRICO-DNA Mailing List at RootsWeb
Anyone interested is welcome to join the list, whether a member of the DNA project, or not.

Note that the above is a different mailing list from the
CARRICO Surname Mailing List at RootsWeb,
which you are also welcome to join, of course.

Message Boards at GenForum:  CARRICO | CARICO

Message Boards at RootsWeb/Ancestry:  CARRICO | CARICO

If you seek general information about genetic genealogy, I recommend subscribing to
RootsWeb's DNA-NEWBIE and/or ISOGG's DNA-NEWBIE

And for the gateway to genealogy web links, specifically DNA links, see Cyndi's List - DNA.

Other CARRICO/etc. Links (On Site)

CARRICO in the United States Censuses
See especially the Census Summary linked there,
which reveals some significant aspects of CARRICO origins and distribution.

Every-Name Index to CARRICO Family Group Sheets

Direct Access to the /Car/ Folder of CARRICO/etc. Family Group Sheets

A Timeline of CARRICO in Early Charles County, Maryland

A Timeline of CARRICO in Early Kentucky

A Business & Professional Web Directory of CARRICO/etc.
(If you would like to be included in the directory, please contact the Webmaster.)

The Descent of Robbie CARRICO, 2008 American Idol Semi-Finalist, from Peter CARRICO I

Other CARRICO/etc. Links (Off Site)

CARICO, CARRICO, and CARRICOE Families (Linda Boorom)

CARRICO Genealogy Site [link died] (Ken Carrico)

The CARRICO/CARICO Connection (Pamela A. Carico)

Descendants of Peter CARRICOE I (Al Beard)

Hume Family Web Site:  Peter CARRICO (James R. Hume)

The project administrator and webmaster is yours truly, Diana Gale Matthiesen.  I am a volunteer and receive no financial remuneration of any kind from FamilyTreeDNA. I'm a retired zoologist/paleontologist, and genealogy is my hobby.  My interest here stems from my being a descendant of Charles CARRICO of Sullivan Co., IN, whom DNA test results have proven is a descendant of Peter CARRICO I, the 1674 immigrant to Maryland, although a paper connection has not yet been made.  My CARRICO line daughtered-out when Charles's daughter, Catherine CARRICO, married Joseph TRIMBLE, in Indana.
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