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.

Haplogroup I1 is the most common form of Haplogroup I.  It is sometimes called the "Viking" haplogroup because of its concentration in northwestern Europe and Scandinavia (others consider only R1a to be the "true" Viking haplogroup, see below).  Fifteen of our project members are some form of I1, and they represent three separate lineages. 

I1-AngloSaxon-5

Of the fourteen members who are this variety, eight are paper descendants of Martin STRAUB (1616-1676) of Gemmingen and Grossgartach, Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg — one still living in Germany who is a descendant of Martin's grandson, Antonius STRAUB, and seven living in the U.S. who are descended from Antonius's brother, Johann Pieter STRAUB, 1733 immigrant to Philadelphia.  Another six Americans are presumed to be descendants of Johann Pieter based on their matching DNA test results.  Johann Pieter is the second earliest known STRAUB immigrant to the United States and has the most descendants of any single STRAUB immigrant to the United States (at least based on my research to date).  Results of these subjects match their modal haplotype at the level of 65/67 or better, despite being nine or ten generations from their common ancestor.  Other than their close matches with each other, their haplotypes are unique.  Three of Johann Pieter's descendants have undergone deep SNP testing, which has proven they are subclade I1* (root I1).  There are varieties of I1 defined by haplotypes and, based on them, they are an uncommon variety of AngloSaxon, namely, I1-AS5.

An unexpected connection revealed by this testing is a descendant of John STRAUB of Beaver Twp., Union [now Snyder] Co., PA, whose results show him to be a 66/67 match with this group.  We don't know how John connects to Johann Pieter, but there can be no doubt that he does.

Among this group, matching the descendants of Johann Pieter at the 66/67 to 67/67 level, are four  paper descendants of Jacob STROUP I (1724-1804) of Lincoln [now Gaston] Co., NC, previously thought by some to be grandsons of Mathias STROOP, the 1687 emigrant from Westphalia to MD.  This startling result resurrects and supports the assertion (held by early researchers) that this Jacob is the missing son, Johann Jacob, who accompanied Johann Pieter on the 1733 crossing.  In other words, Jacob STROUP I is not a grandson of Mathias STROOP.  Jacob I had an enormous number of descendants, so this result affects many living STROUPs and STROUPEs, mostly in the southern United States.

The most unexpected individuals in this group are two non-STROUPs who apparently have NPE's, "non-paternal events" (i.e., a hidden adoption, illicit paternity, or deliberate name change) in their patrilineal lines:

One of the NPEs has a paper descent from Silas BELEW of Jefferson Co., MO; he has a 67/67 match with the modal haplotype.  For decades, the BELEW family was in close contact with the STROUPs of Jefferson County, all of whom are believed to descend from either of two brothers who early moved into the county:  Peter STROUP and Andrew STROUP, sons of Adam STROUP, son of Jacob STROUP I. 

The other NPE is an individual with a paper descent from William Waitsel CRUMP of Caldwell and Gaston Cos., NC, son of Rebecca CRUMP and Waightstill PRESTWOOD.  The location of the NPE in his line has not been determined, and it will require the testing of some selected cousins to determine in which generation it occurred.  There is no doubt, however, that he really is a STROUP because he matches the modal haplotype for this family at 66/67.

I1-AngloSaxon-6
This member is a descendant of John STRAUB, miller of Schuylkill Co., PA.  He has  tested only 12 markers, but even so, his haplotype is unique and easily separable from other STRAUBs.  And despite being I1-AngloSaxon, as "variety 6," he is not closely related to "variety 5," at least not in a genealogical time frame. 

I1-Norse-D
Norse is the most common I1 subclade in Sweden and Finland and the next most common in Norway and Denmark (the D variety is more common in Denmark).  We have two matching individuals in this group, each of whom was an unexpected result.  Their haplotype is uncommon: at 37 markers, they match no one else, except each other.

One individual is a purported descendant of John STRAUB, Sr. of Beaver Twp., Union [now Snyder] Co., PA, but he does not match the other purported descendant of John, who turns out to be a match with descendants of Johann Pieter STRAUB, the 1733 immigrant (I1-AS5, above).  As the other descendant has an essentially unassailable paper connection to John Sr., it appears this individual, who descends from Jonathan Francis STRAUB, is the one with the bad connection, especially in light of his connection to the next member.

His matching member is a TROUPE who descends from John Peter TRAUB/TROUP, also of Union [now Snyder] Co., PA.  It has long been suspected that there may have been conversions between STRAUB/STROUP/STROUPE and TRAUB/TROUP/TROUPE, and their full 37/37 marker match proves that such a conversion has taken place.  In this case, as John Peter TRAUB has the earlier and more established origin, it appears the conversion has been from TRAUB to STRAUB. 

Of our six Haplogroup I2 members, five were tested at FTDNA, while one was tested at SMGF (the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation). 

I2a-Dinaric-S

These two individuals were an unexpected match because no paper connection is known.  One descends from (Adam) Michael STROUP of Maryland, whose sons settled in Highland Co., OH, and greatly proliferated there.  The other is a descendant of Jacob STROUP, who was born in PA and settled in Grant Co., IN.  Their haplotype is uncommon, with just a handful of matches at 12 markers and no full matches at 25 markers.  Their haplotype is a variety known as "Dinaric" because these populations are believed to have refuged in the region of the Dinaric Alps in southeastern Europe during the last glacial maximum. 

I2b*-A (formerly, I1b2)

The immigrant ancestor of these two Pennsylvania Deutsch STRAUBs is not known, nor do we have a paper connection between them.  One is a descendent of Theobald / Dewaldt STRAUB of Carbon Co., PA, whose early descendants are concentrated in that county and neighboring Northampton County.  The other is the Peter STRAUB / STROUP who lived in Perry Co., PA, and was formerly believed to descend from Johann Pieter STRAUB I.  Not only is their haplotype unique, even their haplogroup subclade is rare (based on the SMGF database, only about 0.5% of European Haplogroup I are I1b2). 

I2b1-Continental-3 (formerly, I1c, then I1b2a)

This subclade of Haplogroup I is found thinly thoughout Europe, but is concentrated in central and northern Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.  This individual descends from Henry STRAUB of Northumberland Co., PA, whose immigrant ancestor has yet to be identified. 

I2b1a-Isles/Sc (formerly, I1c, then I1b2a1)

This individual is the one tested at SMGF.  He has no full or even near matches with anyone in the project or in any of the major online databases.  His pedigree at SMGF shows him to be a descendant of George STROUP of NY, whom we know as a descendant of Johannes STRAUB, the 1710 immigrant to NY and the earliest known STRAUB immigrant to the United States.  Most descendants converted to spelling STROPE, but some to STROUP.  The SMGF database gives no possible way to contact test subjects; so, if you are the test subject and are reading this, please contact me (I am willing to subsidize by 50% the cost of a conversion kit to join this project here at FTDNA).

Thirteen project members are Haplogroup R1b, the most common haplogroup subclade in western Europe.  Most R1b's will need to test to at least 37 markers to gain separation from other R1b's, and even a close match at 12 or 25 markers should not be considered significant.  Your project admin recommends all R1b's be deep SNP tested, primarily to advance the knowledge of this huge group.  This means taking the deep SNP tests available at FTDNA and EA (EthnoAncestry) and taking additional tests as new SNPs are discovered.

Two of our thirteen R1b1c's were thought to have a common ancestor in progenitor John Peter STROUP of Wythe Co., VA, but they turn out to be an emphatic non-match, so are treated separately below.  And it turns out that neither may be a true descendant of John Peter.  We urgently need additional paper descendants of John Peter to be tested to unravel the mystery here.

R1b1 — SELLERS

Our one R1b1 is a descendant of Lawson Sidney STROUPE I, son of an unknown male and Elizabeth STROUP, a descendant of Jacob STROUP I of Gaston Co., NC.  He is a 12/12 match with a SELLERS family of Gaston Co., NC, descendants of George SELLERS, grandson of Philip Heinrich SÖLLERS, 1724 immigrant to Philadelphia.  About the time Lawson was conceived, we find Elizabeth a young unmarried woman living with her parents in the census of Gaston Co., NC, surrounded by several SELLERS households descended from George.

R1b1c

Three of our R1b members are deduced to be R1b1c.  One is a descendant of Philip STROUP of Clarion Co., PA.  He turned out rather unexpectedly not to match the descendants of Johann Pieter STRAUB, the 1733 immigrant to Philadelphia, who is the presumbed ancestor of Philip STROUP of Mifflin Co., PA.  Until a descendant of Philip of Mifflin County is tested, we don't know which connection is incorrect, the one between the two Philip's or the one between Philip and Johann Pieter.

The second R1b1c member is a descendant of Aloysius STRAUB immigrant to Missiouri from Alsace-Lorraine, known to be the origin of many STRAUBs in the United States.  Will all of these STRAUB immigrants from Alsace-Lorraine turn out to have the same progenitor?

The third R1b1c member is a STROUP descended from Elisha STROUP of Union Co., PA.  He has no matches in the project and only three 12/12 matches outside the project, in other surnames.

R1b1c — WAMH

Six of our R1b1c members have a WAMH (Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype) logo on their member page.  This logo indicates they have one of the four most common 12-marker haplotypes in western Europe.

Two of the six R1b1c-WAMH members are first cousins, whose earliest ancestor is Josef STRAUB of Bieringen, Württemberg.  They have a near match with a third R1b1c-WAMH member, who is a native and current resident of Bieringen.  Oddly, these three Bieringen STRAUBs are not a close match with the fourth R1b1c-WAMH individual, a descendant of Frantz Xavier STRAUB of Felldorf, a village in Württemberg just four miles from Bieringen.

The fifth R1b1c-WAMH member is a STROOP who, though WAMH at 12 markers, is distinct from the other R1b1c-WAMH member at 25 markers and at 37 markers.  His ancestor is Johannes STRUBE of Germany, who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the late 1700s, then settled in North Carolina.

The sixth of the R1b1c-WAMH subjects is a STROUP whose earliest known ancestor, Joseph STROUP, first appeared in Hamilton Co., OH, then settled in Shelby Co., IN, but whose origin is otherwise unknown.  An initial resemblance to one of the Bieringen STRAUBs at 25 markers (23/25) fell apart at 37 markers (28/37), amply demonstrating the need for R1b's to go to 37 or more markers.

R1b1c — NEWHOUSE

A paper descendant of John Peter STROUP of Wythe Co., VA — through his grandson, Jacob Jackson STROUP — is a high-level DNA match with the NEWHOUSE family.  There is circumstantial evidence to support that Jacob Jackson was adopted and that his biological father was John NEWHOUSE, grandson of Isaac NEWHOUSE, whom deeds show was a next-door-neighbor of John Peter STROUP in the 1790s. 

R1b1c7 — Northwest Irish

The other paper descendant of John Peter STROUP of Wythe Co., VA — through his son, Peter STROUP — has a haplotype resembling that of descendants of 5th-Century Irish warlord, Naill.  His deep SNP testing proves he is R1b1c7, the "Northwest Irish" subclade, which raises the question whether our subject has an NPE in his lineage or John Peter STROUP had one in his.  This individual is offering a free 12-marker test to a male STROUP who is a patrilineal descent of John Peter through one of these sons:  Peter, George, or John.  (Please contact project admin for details and condidtions.)

R1b1c9a - Null 439

One of our members is a descendant of Carl STRAUB, the 1881 emigrant from Wuerttemberg to Philadelphia.  He has a null value at DYS439, indicating the marker has been completely lost (or at least the indicators identifying the marker have been lost).  This deletion is a rare condition and is sufficiently distinct that there is a null439 DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA.  The mutation is found mostly in the British Isles, but is also found elsewhere in western Europe.  Our subject resembles "Cluster 1" of this group, which is concentrated in England, but also found in southern Germany.

Two members are descendants of Andreas STRAUB, of Östringen, Baden, four of whose sons immigrated to the United States, three settling in Michigan and the fourth in Indiana. The two individuals tested are Haplogroup R1a1, which originated on the Eurasian Steppes.  These were the "Indo-Europeans" (Aryans) who domesticated the horse and whose language group formed the basis for today's European languages.  Some consider them the only "true" Vikings.

One of our project members is a STRAUB who joined us as a transfer from the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project.  He is a descendant of Antonius STRAUB, of the German-speaking STRAUBs of Glogowatz, Austro-Hungary [now Romania].  FTDNA has deduced his haplogroup subclade is E1b1b1a.  Haplogroup E1b1b (old E3b) has a high frequency in some of the oldest populations in Europe (e.g., the Welsh).

These three matching Haplogroup J2 individuals are paper descendants of Jacob STROUP II (1771-1846), who was supposedly a grandson of Jacob STROUP I (1724-1804), but the DNA evidence totally refutes this connection (see I1-AS5 above).  These three match no other STRAUB / STROUP as yet tested, so as it stands, the parents of Jacob II are unknown.  It is also unlikely that he descends, as asserted, from Mathias STROOP, the 1687 immigrant from Westphalia to MD, in part because Jacob II signed his marriage bond in German script and spelled his surname "Straüb."

This individual is a descendant of Johann Valentin STRAUB, 1847 immigrant from Baden to Michigan.  His haplotype is unique, with no matches in the entire FTDNA, Y-search, or SGMF databases.  Still, he has the key markers for Haplogroup T, examples of which have been found in southern England, northern Spain, the Shetland Islands, and Germany.  (U.S. President Thomas Jefferson was T.)