RASEY: Lineages and Results of Y-chromosome DNA Testing

Diana, Goddess of the Hunt — for Ancestors!

Lineages and Results of Y-chromosome DNA Testing for Surname RASEY
and Similar Surnames, such as, RAZEE, RACEY, RAZEY, RASAY, RAASAY, RAASEY, RACIE, RACEE, RASY, RASSY, RACY, RAZY, RACE, RAZE, RAISEY, RAISY, RASIE, RAYSAY, RAYSE, etc.

So far, the RASEY Surname Project has results returned for three members representing two major progenitors in the United States: Joseph RASEY I of Massachusetts, then New Hampshire, and Joseph RAZEE I, of Massachusetts, then Rhode Island. Testing just these three individuals has resolved two long-standing issues for RASEY/RAZEE/etc. genealogists:

1. Although both progenitors turn out to be Haplogroup I2b1, their haplotypes indicate they are not closely related, debunking the assertion that Joseph RAZEE was the father of Joseph RASEY.

2. The Joseph RASEY descendant's results debunk the legend of a connection to Malcolm MacLEOD of the Isle of Raasay, Scotland, whose kin are Haplogroup R1b. Being in different haplogroups means they cannot possibly have shared a common ancestor for tens of thousands of years.

Haplogroup I is found almost exclusively in Europe where it is represented in about 20% of the population, making it the second most common haplogroup in western Europe, after R1b. Overall, Hg I has a broad European distribution, from the British Isles east to the Ural Mountains of Russia and south to Anatolia and the Mediterranean Sea. Hg I is divided into two main groups: I1 (old I1a), which is the most common form of Hg I in northwestern Europe, and I2 (old I1b), which is the most common form of Hg I in eastern Europe. Subclade I2 is much less common than I1.

It's difficult to generalize about I2 because it contains a number of geographically separate subgroups. The two basic divisions of I2 are I2a (old I1b1) and I2b (old I1b2). The main subgroup of I2a is concentrated in the Balkans and is called "Dinaric" (named for a mountain range there, the Dinaric Alps), while another group of I2a is found around the Baltic and North Sea coastal areas, another in the British Isles, and another in Sardinia and Iberia. One subgroup of I2b, called "Isles," is almost exclusive to the British Isles, with a high concentration in Scotland, while the main subgroup of I2b, dubbed "Continental," is most common in northwestern Europe, southern Scandinavia, and Britain. Our members turn out to be one of the varieties of I2b1 designated "Continental" by Nordtvedt.

Ken Nordtvedt is the guru researching Hg I subclades (see his Excel spreadsheet). For a table showing modal haplotypes for Hg I varieties in FamilyTreeDNA marker order, please also see my HTML transcription of Nordtvedt's spreadsheet.

The Y-DNA haplotree has undergone a major revision in 2008. For Haplogroup I, the major change is the removal of old I1 based on the P38 SNP, which means all downstream clades have been "bumped up" a notch. What that means for us is that everyone who was formerly I1b is now I2. This change has been adopted by FTDNA, ISOGG, Nordvedt, and by me here on these web pages (as of June 2008).

Nordtvedt's Chart (2008)		ISOGG Chart (2008)		FTDNA Chart (2008)
Subclade	Defining SNPs	Subclade	Defining SNPs	Subclade	Defining SNPs
I	P19 P38 M170 M258	I	P19 P38 M170 M258 P212 U179	I	P19 P38 M170 M258 P212 U179
I1	all of I and P30 P40 M253 M307	I1	all of I and P30 P40 M253 M307	I1	all of I and P30 P40 M253 M307
I2	all of I and S31	I2	all of I and M438/P215/S31	I2	all of I and P215
I2a	all of I2 and P37.2	I2a	all of I2 and P37.2	I2a	all of I2 and P37.2
I2a1	all of I2a and M26	I2a1	all of I2a and M423	I2a1	all of I2a and P41.2/M359
I2a1a	all of I2a1 and M161	I2a1a	all of I2a1 and P41.2/M359.2
I2a2	all of I2a and M423	I2a2	all of I2a and M26	I2a2	all of I2a and M26
I2a2a	all of I2a2 and M359/P41.2	I2a2a	all of I2a2 and M161	I2a2a	all of I2a2 and M161
I2b	all of I2 and S23 S30 S32 S33	I2b	all of I2 and M436/P14/S33 P216/S30 P217/S23 P218/S32	I2b	all of I2 and M223 P214 P216 P217 P218 P219 P220 P221 P222/U250 P223
I2b1	all of I2b and M223 S24	I2b1	all of I2b and M223 P219/S24 P220/S119 P221/S120 P222/U250/S118 P223/S117	I2b
I2b1a	all of I2b1 and M284	I2b1a	all of I2b1 and M284	I2b1	all of I2b and M284
I2b1b	all of I2b1 and M379	I2b1b	all of I2b1 and M379	I2b2	all of I2b and M379
I2b1c	all of I2b1 and P78	I2b1c	all of I2b1 and P78	I2b3	all of I2b and P78
I2b1d	all of I2b1 and P95	I2b1d	all of I2b1 and P95	I2b4	all of I2b and P95

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Red labels indicate markers that typically mutate more frequently than those labeled in black.
(Empty cells that are darkened indicate tests not ordered.)

Haplogroup I2b1

Surname

Kit #

Ysearch
UserID

SNP
Tests

Haplotype — as determined by STR testing

Known Lineage

Markers 1-12

Markers 13-25

Markers 26-37

Markers 38-67

3
9
3

3
9
0

19
/
3
9
4

3
9
1

a
|
3
8
5

b
|
3
8
5

4
2
6

3
8
8

4
3
9

i
|
3
8
9

3
9
2

ii
|
3
8
9

4
5
8

a
|
4
5
9

b
|
4
5
9

4
5
5

4
5
4

4
4
7

4
3
7

4
4
8

4
4
9

a
|
4
6
4

b
|
4
6
4

c
|
4
6
4

4
6
4
d

4
6
0

H4
|
G
A
T
A

IIa
|
Y
C
A

IIb
|
Y
C
A

4
5
6

6
0
7

5
7
6

5
7
0

a
|
C
D
Y

b
|
C
D
Y

4
4
2

4
3
8

5
3
1

5
7
8

a
|
S1
3
9
5

b
|
S1
3
9
5

5
9
0

5
3
7

6
4
1

4
7
2

S1
4
0
6

5
1
1

4
2
5

a
|
4
1
3

b
|
4
1
3

5
5
7

5
9
4

4
3
6

4
9
0

5
3
4

4
5
0

4
4
4

4
8
1

5
2
0

4
4
6

6
1
7

5
6
8

4
8
7

5
7
2

6
4
0

4
9
2

5
6
5

MacLEOD R1b modal values

Modals per DGM (9/2006).

I2b1-Continental-1 modal values

15/14

31/32

Modals per Nordvedt (1/2008).

I2b1-Continental-1a modal values

13/14

Modals per Nordvedt (1/2008).

I2b1-Continental-2a modal values

14/15

13/14

31/32

Modals per Nordvedt (1/2008).

RASEY

69631

45ZVC

Pvt⁷, Donald Elza⁶, Ira Cornelius⁵, John C.⁴, Joseph³, John², Joseph RASEY I¹

RAZEE

70816

99R47

Pvt⁶, George Dallas⁵, Benjamin⁴, Anthony³, Benjamin², Joseph RAZEE I¹

RASEY

110919

Pvt⁹, Pvt⁸, Isaac S.⁷, Norval Adelbert⁶, Edward Arnold⁵, Aaron⁴, Joseph³, Joseph², Joseph RAZEE¹

The three above test subjects have haplotypes resembling the Continental varieties of Haplogroup I2b1 defined by Nordtvedt, although none falls clearly into any one of its sub-varieties.

#69631 has only a 54/67 match with #70816 (genetic distance 18) and a 25/37 match with #110919 (genetic distance 11), which means despite the coincidence of all three being I2b1-Continental, they are not closely related, at least not in "genealogical time." Certainly, they are not closely related enough for Joseph RASEY I to have been the son of Joseph RAZEE I, so we can consider that assertion disproven. He has a few matches at 12 and 25 markers, all outside his surname, but his haplotype is unique at 37 or 67 markers, with no full or even near matches in either the FTDNA or Ysearch databases. Please see the textboxes to the right for a discussion of the MacLEOD comparison.

#70816 and #110919 have a paper descent from Joseph RAZEE I, and they match each other 35/37 (genetic distance 3), with all the differences being on fast-mutating markers. This result is consistent with them having a near common ancestor and supports their paper connection. They have a couple dozen full matches at 12 markers and a handful of full matches at 25 markers, all outside their surname, but their haplotype is unique at 37 or 67 markers, with no full or even near matches in either the FTDNA or Ysearch databases.

Knowing just the haplogroup, alone, is enough to debunk the legend of a connection between Joseph RASEY I and Malcolm MacLEOD of the Isle of Raasay, Scotland, whose kin are Haplogroup R1b — or to any other MacLEOD lineage so far tested for the MacLEOD project. People in different haplogroups cannot have had a common ancestor for thousands of years. And given that the MacLEODs are different haplogroups from our subject, we wouldn't expect their haplotypes to match or be even close to our subject. This expectation is overwhelmingly realized by comparing the Joseph RASEY descendant's haplotype to the modal R1b marker frequencies in the MacLEOD project (see above). They have a mere 0/12, 3/25, 7/37, or 22/67 correspondence — a resounding non-match!

If you examine the Y-DNA test results at the MacLEOD web site, you will note most of the subjects are R1b, with a sizable number also being R1a, which indicates that the surname has at least two different, unrelated progenitors. There are, no doubt, some additional separate lines within each haplogroup, which we would expect for any surname that is derived from a patronymic. In other words, not everyone surnamed MacLEOD will be a descendant of Leod, Chief I — though Malcolm MacLEOD of Raasay supposedly is.

You will also note that among MacLEOD test results (as of 25 May 2008) just nine individuals are not R1a or R1b, specifically: one is E3b and eight are I1. Not one test subject in the MacLEOD project is Haplogroup I2, so no recent connection to our RASEY line is even remotely possible with any MacLEOD so far tested. And, most importantly, the progenitor to whom our Joseph RASEY is supposedly connected (viz., Leod, Chief I) has been well-tested by many purported descendants, and we are simply not related to them. I'm sorry, but the legend of Joseph RASEY's origin as a MacLEOD of Raasay is just that, a fanciful legend — one that is untrue.

Return to Project Home Page

What constitutes a match?
Matches in other surnames are usually mere coincidence, so please ignore them — I'll let you know when you shouldn't!
For 12 markers: 9 or less is a non-relative; 10-12, please see this Chart compiled by FTDNA.
For 25 markers: 21 or less is a non-relative; 22-25, please see this Chart compiled by FTDNA.
For 37 markers: 31 or less is a non-relative; 32-37, please see this Chart compiled by FTDNA.
For 67 markers: 55 or less is a non-relative; 56-67, please see this Chart compiled by FTDNA.
For any test: 0 matching markers, please contact NASA.

Legend of Progenitors

John RASYE / RASEY / RAZEY (b. ca. 1530s), of Wiltshire, England

Joseph RAZEE I (1686-1755), Bristol Co., MA > Providence Co., RI

Joseph RASEY I (c1734-1810), Worcester Co., MA > Cheshire Co., NH

Joseph RASEY (b. ca. 1768), of Isle La Motte, VT, through his only known son,
James RASEY / RACEY / RACY (1792-1883) of Franklin Co., NY
This Joseph RASEY is probably a son of Joseph RASEY I (above), but we need proof.

Philip RACEY of Norfolk, England, whose grandson, Luke RACEY (1750-1813),
immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1773, then settled in Hampshire Co., VA [now WV]

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