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 intact from father to son through the generations (except for rare mutations), just as surnames are handed down from father to son, Y-DNA testing can identify common ancestors on the direct male 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.

If you are researching surname CORBIN or any of its variations, please consider having a male family member submit a sample to the project.  This invitation extends to the numerous African - American CORBIN families whose patrilineal ancestor was either genetically a European CORBIN or was surnamed CORBIN by reason of having adopted the surname of their owner in the antebellum South (and if you don't know which is the case, then a DNA test is one way to find out).

As of October 2009, the project has 25 members, with results returned for 25:  two are Haplogroup G2a, seven are Haplogroup I1, five are Haplogroup R-1b1b-2, two are Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1a (R-U106), three are haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b (R-P312), and six are Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b-3 (R-SRY2627).  R-1b1b-2 is the most common haplogroup in western Europe, so it is not surprising that it dominates the project; I1 is the next most common.  Results, so far, show that surname CORBIN has at least eight independent and unrelated origins, plus two other independent CORBIN lines each containing an NPE. 
 

Haplogroup G2a — New England: MA > CT One of our Haplogroup G members, the descendant of Clement CORBIN of Brookline, MA, then Woodstock, CT, has tested only 25 markers, while the other, the descendant of Philip CORBIN of Danbury, CT, has tested a full 67 markers.  At 25 markers, they are a perfect 25/25 match indicating that Philip CORBIN is, as suspected, closely related to and presumably descended from Clement.  Your project admin urges the descendant of Clement to upgrade to 67 markers for a better comparison.  Their 25-marker haplotype is unique, with no matches in any online database, except with each other.  Haplogroup G is itself rare (only about 2.5% of tested Europeans).  The descendant of Philip has been deep SNP tested with the result that he is G2a. On the disproven side, Elmer Ellsworth CORBIN, a descendant of Clement CORBIN, was believed to be the father of a child born to his unwed first cousin, Rebecca STEPHENS, but DNA test results show her son must have been the child of a STEPHENS relative.  As this individual is not surnamed CORBIN, this situation is considered a mistake in paper genealogy, not an NPE, so he has left the CORBIN project and moved to the STEPHENS project.

Haplogroup I1-AngloSaxon-2 — VA: Northern Neck These five individuals unite lines that have not been solidly connected on paper, but whose match goes a long way towards consolidating the CORBINs of the Northern Neck of Virginia.  Two are paper descendants of John CORBIN of Richmond Co., VA (both through alleged son, Rawley); one is a descendant of James CORBIN of Pittsylvania Co., VA, then Adair Co., KY; one is a descendant of Peter CORBIN of Stafford Co., VA; and one is a descendant of Elliott CORBIN of VA and Lawrence Co., OH.  They have numerous matches outside their surname at 12 markers, but these matches disappear at 25 or more markers.  One has been deep SNP tested confirming they are Haplogroup I1* (I-M253).  Based on their haplotype, they are a close match to Nordtvedt's AngloSaxon-2 variety of I1.

Haplogroup I1-Norse — SC: Lexington These two individuals are descendants of Peter CORBIN of Orangeburg Dist. [now Lexington Co.], SC.  Based on their haplotypes, they are the Norse variety of I1, which is most common in Sweden and Finland and is the second most common variety in Norway and Denmark.  Their haplotype is unique at 25 or more markers.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2 — VA > WV This member does not match anyone else in the project.  He has just begun working on his paper genealogy, so we may not have a lineage for him for awhile.  His paternal grandfather was Robert Franklin CORBIN, and his known kin lived in VA and WV.  If you have knowledge of this line, please contact the project admin.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2 — VA: Northampton These two individuals descend from George CORBIN of Northampton Co., VA, many of whose descendants lived in adjacent Accomack Co., VA.  They have a rare haplotype, with no matches in or out of the project, except with each other.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2* = R-M269 — MA > SC: Newberry This individual is a descendant of Ira CORBIN of MA and Newberry Co., SC.  Because of his origin in MA, it was anticipated that he would be a DNA match for the descendants of Clement CORBIN (see Haplogroup G2a, above).  He turns out, however, to be a high level match (65/67) to an individual surnamed SHERMAN and a lower level match to six other SHERMANs.  These SHERMANs all appear to descend from Henry SHERMAN (c1517-1590) of Dedham, Essex, England, several of whose descendants were early immigrants to New England.  It appears this descendant of Ira CORBIN has an NPE in his lineage and that he's really a SHERMAN.  The NPE could have occurred anywhere in his patrilineal line, but likely occurred in New England because a member of this SHERMAN family is known to have married a daughter of Philip CORBIN of Danbury, CT, who is a DNA match to a descendant of Clement CORBIN.  It may seem that this line should be removed from the project, but not so.  Ira and his descendants are surnamed CORBIN, so Ira can be considered as having founded a new CORBIN lineage, one with a recent origin.  Deep SNP testing at FTDNA, including the Garvey Panel, shows him to be R-1b1b-2*.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1a* = R-U106 — SC > FL These two individuals have their earliest known ancestor born in SC, but no paper connection between them is known; however, they are a 65/67 match so they clearly have a near common ancestor.  One is either the son or nephew of Moses CORBIN, who was born in SC and is, by far, the earliest CORBIN to settle in Florida.  The other descends from Edward CORBIN, son of Mrs. Penelope CORBIN of Hampton Co., SC, whose husband has never been identified.  Deep SNP testing shows the latter is R-1b1b-2a1a.  Their haplotype is rare, and they have no matches, except with each other.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b* = R-P312 — MD: Baltimore These three individuals descend from two brothers, William CORBIN and Benjamin CORBIN, of Baltimore Co., MD.  There's little reason to doubt that they descend from Nicholas CORBIN, the 1671 immigrant to Maryland, although the paper connection has never been proven.  They match each other at 65/67 or better.  While their 12-marker haplotype is fairly common, they have no full or even near matches at 25 or more markers.  One has been deep SNP test with the result that his most downstream positive SNP is P213, making them Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b*.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b-3* = R-SRY2627 — VA > SC: Pickens We have results returned for six paper descendants of Peter CORBIN of Virginia, then Pendleton [now Pickens] Co., SC.  Five are matching at a level of 65/67 or better so are clearly related; the sixth has turned out to have an NPE in his lineage (see below).  One of the five has been deep SNP tested, with the result that he is Haplogroup R-1b1b-2a1b-3*.  There is an additional member of this group who is an adopted DAMERON.  His origin is not known beyond his father, James CORBIN (b. ca. 1920) of Detroit, MI, but he is a 66/67 match with the modal haplotype for this family, so he is clearly closely related to them.

Haplogroup R-1b1b-2 — 464_ccgg NPE This individual has a paper descent from the above Peter CORBIN of Pickens Co., SC, but his test results indicate he has an NPE in his lineage.  He does not yet have a near enough match with anyone to securely indicate his "true" surname.  Advanced testing shows he is ccgg at DYS464; most R1b men are cccg.  These values plus his haplotype place him in the BEATTIE - BYRNE cluster of R1b, and he does have a 60/67 match with each of these surnames.

It was a welcome development to have the two Connecticut CORBINs, the three CORBINs of Baltimore Co., MD, the two descendants of Peter CORBIN of Lexington Co., SC, and the two descendants of George CORBIN of Northampton Co., VA, match each other so conclusively (i.e., at such high levels), because their level of matching adds strong support for the accuracy of their pedigrees.

The matching of the CORBINs of the Northern Neck of Virginia is a welcome consolidation of Virginia CORBIN lines, and it seems probable that John CORBIN of Richmond County may be the ancestor of all of them.

The CORBIN whose kin lived in VA and WV is working to bridge the gap to the 1930 census, so we can take his ancestry further back.  Because recent records are sealed and take time to acquire, progress is slow.  Any northeastern Virginia CORBIN is of great interest to the project as he may descend from the CORBINs of Hall End, Warwickshire.

The connection of the descendants of Edward CORBIN of SC and Moses CORBIN of SC and FL was suspected, but the actual match is welcome proof of a relationship between these two elusive  CORBIN families. 

The appearance of an NPE in the lineage of the descendant of Ira CORBIN was an unpleasant surprise, but NPEs do happen in about 5 to 10% of people tested.  At least he has a good match with a genealogically well known (and illustrious) SHERMAN family. 

Only five of the six paper descendants of Peter CORBIN of Pickins Co., SC, are matching at a high level; so, unfortunately, the sixth appears to have an NPE in his patrilineal line.  This individual has no full matches at even 25 markers, so he has a wait ahead of him before he can even begin to resolve his NPE.  On the up side, a seventh individual, an adopted DAMERON who was told his biological father was a CORBIN, has had that belief confirmed by matching these CORBINs. 

While it may have been a disappointment to the descendants of Rebecca STEPHENS that her son is a STEPHENS, not a CORBIN, having now genetically identified their STEPHENS family is a major advance in the genealogy of their STEPHENS ancestry.  This result is the first case I have encounted where Y-DNA testing a son has actually revealed something about the ancestry of the mother! 

No new members are awaiting first results.

No one is awaiting additional results.

If you want to increase the probability of making a match and speed up the progress of this project, offer to fully or partially subsidize a test, even a 12-marker one.  Donations can easily be made through the project's General Fund, and I recommend that avenue rather than exchanging funds personally (see below).

The following subsidies are currently being offered.  Each offer is for one test only, so the early bird gets the test! 

1.  Wilber Ray CORBIN has offered to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Henry CORBIN (1629-1675), of Hall End, Warwickshire, England, and Lancaster [now Middlesex] Co., VA.  James B. CORBIN has offered to subsize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a second patrilineal descendant of Henry CORBIN.  [A second test subject is needed to confirm that the first subject does not have an NPE in his lineage.] 

2.  Your project admin is willing to bear the full cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Elijah Kelly "Eli" CORBIN (1814-1894) of Huntingdon Co., PA, Knox Co., OH, and Marion Co., OH. 

3.  Your project admin and another donor are willing to share the full cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Nicholas CORBIN, 1671 immigrant to Maryland, one who is not descended from either William CORBIN or his brother, Benjamin CORBIN, each of whom has already had a patrilineal descendant tested.

4.  Daphne GAWNE has offered to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Daniel CORBIN (1766-1850) of CT, then Orange Co., VT, then Windsor Co., VT.

5.  Douglas M. CORBIN has offered to subsidize the full cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Mathuel CORBIN (c1720s- ) of Brunswick Co.., VA, and Halifax Co., NC.

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.  Subject must also agree to having their results uploaded to Ysearch.  Please note that sharing of results does not necessarily mean sharing of identity, even at Ysearch.  Only the project administrator and the donor necessarily need know the identity of the test subject.

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.

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

If you are seeking basic, general information, I would recommend joining
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.