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 June 2008, the project has 19 members, with results returned for 19:  two are Haplogroup G2a, four are Haplogroup I1, one is Haplogroup R1b1, five are Haplogroup R1b1b2, five are Haplogroup R1b1b2d, and two are Haplogroup R1b1b2g.  R1b1b2 is the most common haplogroup in western Europe (I1 is the next most common), so it is not surprising that R1b1b2 dominates the project.  Within these haplogroups, we have just seven sets of matching haplotypes, which means that, as of this stage in the project, surname CORBIN has at least nine independent and unrelated origins.
 

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 was actually the child of a STEPHENS relative — and for which reason this individual has moved to the STEPHENS project.

Haplogroup I1-AngloSaxon-2 — VA These three individuals unite lines that have not been solidly connected on paper, but whose match goes a long way towards consolidating Virginia CORBINs.  One is a descendant of John CORBIN of Richmond Co., VA; the second is a descendant of James CORBIN of Pittsylvania Co., VA, then Adair Co., KY; and the third is a descendant of Peter CORBIN of Stafford Co., VA.  They have numerous matches outside their surname at 12 markers, but these matches disappear at 25 or more markers.  Some have asserted that John is a stepson of Henry CORBIN of Hall End, Warwickshire, that is, a son of his wife's prior marriage to Capt. Rowland BURNHAM.  If so, it means all of these CORBINs are really BURNHAMs.  Only one BURNHAM has been tested for the BURNHAM project, and he does not come even close to matching these three, but if a BURNHAM is ever tested who matches them, we will have our answer.  Based on their haplotype, they resemble Nordtvedt's AngloSaxon-2 variety of I1.

Haplogroup I1-Norse — SC: Lexington This individual is a descendant of Peter CORBIN of Lexington Co., SC.  Based on his haplotype, he is the Norse variety of I1, which is most common in Sweden and Finland and is the second most common variety in Norway and Denmark.  His haplotype is unique at 25 or more markers.

Haplogroup R1b1 — VA > WV This member came to us from the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, so his results have already returned:  he 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, Robert Franklin CORBIN, at least lived in VA because his son was born in VA and died in WV.  If you have knowledge of this line, please contact the project admin.

Haplogroup R1b1b2 — 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 R1b1b2*.

Haplogroup R1b1b2 — MD: Baltimore These two individuals descend from William CORBIN, of Baltimore Co., MD, then Huntingdon Co., PA.  There's little reason to doubt that William and his siblings descend from Nicholas CORBIN, the 1671 immigrant to Maryland, although the paper connection has never been proven.  They have a perfect 67/67 match with one another and, while their 12-marker haplotype is fairly common, with over 150 matches in the FTDNA database (in other surnames), they have no full or even near matches at 25 or more markers.

Haplogroup R1b1b2 — 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 R1b1b2d (old R1b1c6) — VA > SC: Pickens We have results returned for five paper descendants of Peter CORBIN of Virginia, then Pickens Co., SC.  The three who have tested to 67 markers are clearly related, but the two who have tested only 12 markers really need to upgrade because they bear the single most common 12-marker haplotype in western Europe, so have over a 1000 matches at 12 markers.  Two of them also bear mutations that raise a question as to the accuracy of one of their paper ancestries, and perhaps the paper lineages of others.  The early generations of this family are in need of a thorough re-examination.  One of the three has been deep SNP tested, with the result that he is subclade R1b1b2d (old R1b1c6).

Haplogroup R1b1b2g (old R1b1c9) — 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 R1b1b2g (old R1b1c9).  Their haplotype is rare, and they have no matches, except with each other.

It was a welcome development to have the two Connecticut CORBINs, the two descendants of William CORBIN of Baltimore Co., MD, 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 results for the five descendants of Peter CORBIN confirm that the three tested to 67 markers are related, but the two tested only to 12 markers are problematic until they, too, upgrade to at least 37 (preferably 67) markers.

The matching of the three CORBINs of mainland Virginia is a welcome consolidation of Virginia CORBIN lines.  However, if it turns out that John CORBIN of Richmond Co., VA, really is a stepson of Henry CORBIN, their match has served to prove that a great many southern CORBINs are really BURNHAMs.

The match 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 the connection between these two elusive  CORBINs.

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

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!

Two descendants of Peter STROUP of Pickens Co., SC, are awaiting their upgrade from 12 to 67 markers.  The descendant of James CORBIN of Pittsylvania Co., VA, and Adair Co., KY, is awaiting his upgrade from 37 to 67 markers.

One of the Virginia CORBINs is awaiting the rest of his 67 markers.

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 Middlsex] 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 is willing to subsidize half the cost of a 67-marker test for a male CORBIN who is a patrilineal descendant of Benjamin CORBIN (c1732-1813) of Baltimore [now Carroll] Co., MD.

4.  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 the above Benjamin CORBIN or his brother, William CORBIN.

5.  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.

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 have 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.