| This project utilizes Y-chromosome DNA testing as a tool for genealogical
research on surname CARRICO and similar surnames and spelling variations.
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 proving 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, and CARACO in Spain, Italy,
and Turkey.]
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
CARRICOE, 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 prove our paper pedigrees
depends largely on the number of CARRICOs who join the project and become
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 ]
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View
the Alternate Project Web Site at FamilyTreeDNA
This site includes a distribution map of member origins.
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Project
Join Request Form
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DNA
Test Results and Member Lineages
Project History and Status
The CARRICO project was opened in August 2004, and one member joined in
October 2005. Diana Gale Matthiesen adopted the project in October
of 2006. As of June 2008, the project has nine members, with results
returned for eight.
Discussion of Results
Members of the CARRICO project currently fall into three unrelated groups
— unrelated, that is, in "genealogical time" (we're all related if you
go back far enough):
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Haplogroup J2
Haplogroup J2 first appeared about 30,000 years ago in the northern
Fertile Cresent, spreading from there westwards around the Mediterranean
and eastwards through central Asia and southwards to India.
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Four of these five individuals are either proven or tentative paper
descendants of the American progenitor, Peter CARRICO, 1674 immigrant to
Maryland. Two members have undergone deep SNP testing, with the result
that they are haplogroup
J2a1b (a.k.a.,
J2a2).
The haplotypes of these four cousins match each other at very high levels,
solidly establishing that they have a near common ancestor. A fifth
individual, who descends from John Alexander CARRICO of Montgomery Co.,
MD, is a 66/67 match with the modal haplotype, so John's long suspected
connection to Peter is now proven.
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 J2a1b subclade, is calculated to be some
3210 to 4530 years. They have a value at one marker that is so unusual,
no one else ever tested has it (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 sort out our distant
origins.
The mutation defining J2a1b occurred an estimated 11.6 ± 2.6
thousand years ago. Today, subclade J2a1b 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).
*The asterisk indicates they have been deep SNP tested
and found negative for all mutations downstream of the one defining
the subclade. |
| Haplogroup
J2a1b1 (J2a2a) — descendants of Joaquim CARRICO, immigrant to Brazil
This member descends from Joaquim Anastor CARRICO, who was born in Portugal
and emigrated to Brazil. His haplotype is also unique, so he has
no matches with anyone at any level, though his haplotype is not as bizarre
as that of the CARRICOs above. As part of its haplogroup assurance
policy, this individual received a gratis backbone SNP test (result M172+),
proving he is Haplogroup J2. His haplotype, which includes the characteristic
null value at DYS425, indicates he is subclade J2a1b1.
The mutation defining J2a1b1 arose an estimated 8.8 ± 2.3 thousand
years ago. Today, individuals who are subclade J2a1b1 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. |
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Haplogroup L
Haplogroup L also 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).
This haplogroup, along with J2, is thought to have been a founding population
of the civilization of the Indus Valley. |
| Haplogroup
L2a — CARACO, of Bursa, Turkey
These two individuals have no known paper connection, but both have
an origin in Bursa Prov., Turkey (one testee lives in France and the other
in the United States). Their haplotypes are rare with no full matches
with anyone else, including each other (they match at the level of 33/37).
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. |
While it was expected that the paper descendants of Peter CARRICO, 1674
immigrant to Maryland, would match closely, it is a relief to find that
they actually do and at such high levels. Peter's many descendants
should have no difficulty proving their connection to him. John Alexander
CARRICO and Cornelius CARRICO, long assumed to be descendants of Peter,
but with no proven paper connections, have now at least proven their connections
genetically.
Because many have suspected Peter's origin was in Portugal, it was a
disappointment that the CARRICO with an origin in Portugal did not match
them, although the reality is that it would have been extraordinarily good
luck for Peter's descendants to have had a match this early in the project.
Most surnames have multiple origins, and CARRICO is proving to be no exception.
It was less of a surprise that the two CARACOs from Turkey matched each
other, while not matching the CARRICOs, but one of them turns out to be
intriguing in his own right because he's only the second known Sephardic
Jew who has tested as Haplogroup L.
First Results Pending
We have results pending for one new member: another descendant
of Peter CARRICO, 1674 immigrant to Maryland.
More Results Pending
No members are awaiting upgrades.
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
| This DNA project is based on STR (short tandem repeat) testing of the male
Y-chromosome. Test results consist of numbers which represent the
counts of the number of times a DNA segment is duplicated at a given marker
(locus or location). Closely related individuals will have the same counts at the same markers, that is, the degree of similarity of the test results is a measure of how closely two people are related. The more markers you test, the more precise the determination of relationship. At FamilyTreeDNA, four levels of Y-chromosome STR testing
are offered to group members: 12-, 25-, 37-, and 67-marker tests.
Every level of testing tells you something, but most project members will
want to test at least 37 markers. Collectively, the pattern of numbers
resulting from STR testing is called a person's haplotype (or "motif").
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.
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 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. Haplogroup
determination is of practical use for the project because it broadly defines
and separates the most distinct family groups; that is, families with no
prospect whatsoever of a connection in "genealogical time," making it a
useful way to divide up the project. For the individual, knowing
one's SNP subclade greatly enhances one's appreciation of history because
the literature on the genetic history of humanity, correlated with historic
and pre-historic events, is growing rapidly. Speaking personally, compiling my genealogy greatly enhanced my appreciation of U.S. and European history, while discovering my parents' haplogroups has enhanced my appreciation of the global history of humanity. I wish I had known these things about myself when I was growing up, but at least the future children in the family will know.
If the STR-based haplotype is reasonably common (or similar to
one that is), it can be used to deduce the probable SNP haplogroup,
making the expense of actual SNP testing optional. On the other hand,
a haplogroup deduction based on a rare or unique haplotype can be wrong
(due to small sample size), so a SNP test is recommended in such cases
— assuming the subject is interested in an accurate haplogroup designation.
Haplogroup determination is (to me) a fun thing to know about oneself,
but it is not a requisite for full participation in this project,
which is based on the results of STR testing, not SNP testing.
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| 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.
Once money is donated to the General Fund, it cannot be refunded to the donor, but at least it's use can be determined by the donor in the future, as opposed to being a total loss.
Bottom line: before sending a stranger a check, please consider making a donation to the project's General Fund, instead.
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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. Your project admin and an anonymous donor are offering to
subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test (value $271) for a
| male CARRICO (or variation) of known European,
Middle Eastern, or north African origin. |
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 lines that have not yet been tested, not for
additional members of families already tested.] |
| 2. Your project admin is offering to subsidize half the cost
of a 67-marker test (½ of $271 = $135.50) for a patrilineal descendant
of
Basil
CARRICO (c1747-1833) of Charles Co., MD, and Shelby [now Spencer] Co.,
KY.
The offer is to subsidize only
one descendant,
so the early bird get the subsidy. |
| 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. |
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)
and the test subject must agree to sign the Release to allow sharing of
his test results (as all other project members do). Please note that
sharing of results does not necessarily mean sharing of identity.
Only the project administrator, FamilyTreeDNA, 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. |
| 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
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.) |
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Other CARRICO/etc. Links
(Off Site)
CARICO,
CARRICO, and CARRICOE Families (Linda Boorom)
CARRICO Genealogy
Site (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)
Message Boards at GenForum.com: CARRICO
| CARICO
Message Boards at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com: CARRICO
| CARICO |
| 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, nor am I even one of their
"web affiliates" (i.e., I don't profit from "click throughs").
I'm a retired zoologist/paleontologist, and genealogy is my hobby.
I am a descendant of Peter CARRICO, the 1674 immigrant to Maryland; my
line daughtered out when Catherine
CARRICO married Joseph TRIMBLE. |
