R1b-FGC36974 Stephens/Stevens Group

[rmstevens2]

Here's the R1b-FGC36974 descendant tree for my Stephens/Stevens Y-DNA line. It'll take you maybe five minutes to look it over and understand it, but what it depicts represents a lot of years of work: genealogical research, recruiting possible Y-DNA line relatives, etc. It also represents a lot of money spent on Y-DNA and autosomal DNA testing.

[rmstevens2]

Here is an R1b-FGC36982 descendant tree from my fifth great grandfather. I'm in the FGC36981 line over on the left. My grandfather is in the lower left corner.

[rmstevens2]

The descendant tree in the last post represents a huge breakthrough for me. Here's how that transpired.

Back in July of 2018 I got a small (9 cMs) match at Ancestry DNA with a man with my surname who has a solid paper trail to two people whom I suspected are my fifth great grandparents. I was thrilled. I sent him several messages in July and August asking him to have his Y-DNA tested with Family Tree DNA, but I never got an answer. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. Then, in November of that same year, I was looking at that match again at Ancestry and decided to give messaging him one more try. This time, however, I prayed first and asked God for help. Miraculously, within a couple of days, the man answered and agreed to order a Y-111 test and pay for it himself, even though I had offered to pay for a Y-37 test!

THANK YOU, GOD!

On 04 Jan 2019, his Y-111 results came in, and he matches me 110/111! Not only that, but he also ordered a Family Finder test and matched me on 31 cMs with a longest block of 16 cMs! He shares matches with me to my dad, my youngest son, and a number of my other paternal line matches. I could sense his own amazement at the results, which he proved by upgrading to the Big Y-700. Needless to say, this man is also a Big Y-700 match for me. In terms of Y-DNA STRs, he did not move even one single step further away and is now a 757/758 (99.868%) STR match for me. Pretty amazing!

Thanks to God and to Family Tree DNA, I now have confirmation of the identity of my fifth great grandparents, both of whom were born about 1750, one, Augustine Stevens, in Maryland, and the other, Sophia Young, in England.

[rmstevens2]

My second cousin Paul did the Big Y-500. He has not responded to my requests that he upgrade to the Big Y-700. Anyway, our results led to the discovery of the SNP FGC36981.

Our grandfathers were brothers. Here are photos of them when they were pretty young. My grandfather is on the right.

[rmstevens2]

Some of the tombstones in my Y-DNA line, starting with my third great grandfather, Auguston:



My second great grandfather, James Holmes Stevens:



My great grandfather, James Holmes Stevens, Jr., and my grandfather, Clifton LeViers Stevens, who are buried side-by-side:



Here's a shot of the whole monument where my great grandfather and grandfather are buried:



The tombstone of my dear old dad, Richard Milton Stevens, Sr.:

[rmstevens2]

Here's something interesting, to me at least. In 1919, my grandfather served as a messman aboard the merchant ship Saramacca.



The photo I posted before of my grandfather came from his merchant seaman application.



I never met my grandfather, more's the pity. I hope to meet him someday, hopefully in heaven.

[rmstevens2]

Short Summary of Some of the Evidence from DNA Testing That Shows How I Know Augustine Stevens and Sophia Young Are My Fifth Great Grandparents
 
Here's a short, redacted summary (the names of the matches have been removed) of some of the evidence from DNA testing that shows how I know that Augustine Stevens (b. about 1750) and his wife Sophia Young (b. about 1750) are my fifth great grandparents.
 
Big Y-700 match (Family Tree DNA, Houston, Texas): SNP FGC36982; 757/758 STR match (99.868%) to a man with my surname (Stevens) who has an excellent, well-documented paper trail to Augustine Stevens and his wife Sophia Young (both born about 1750) through their son, Amos H. Stevens (b. 1778). Based on this Y-DNA match, Family Tree DNA estimates that there is a 99% chance that this documented descendant of Augustine Stevens and I share a common Y-DNA ancestor within the last eight generations. (Augustine is 6 generations back from him and 7 generations back from me.)
 
Y-DNA matches (Family Tree DNA, Houston, Texas) to two Y-chromosome descendants of Benjamin Stevens Sr. (1737-1811) of Fayette Co., PA, identified by professional genealogist Joan Peake as probably a brother of Augustine Stevens. One of those matches has been Big Y-500 tested: terminal SNP FGC36974, which is just upstream of FGC36982. He is a 106/111 STR match for me (626/634 STRs based on his Big Y-500 and my Big Y-700: 98.7%). The second of those descendants of Benjamin Stevens Sr. is a 104/111 Y-DNA STR match for me (he has not had any Big Y testing).
 
Note: Augustine Stevens is mentioned in the will of Samuel Stevens, documented brother of Benjamin Stevens Sr. Augustine was also a witness to the will and signed it.
 
Y-DNA match (Family Tree DNA, Houston, Texas) to a documented Y-DNA descendant of Obadiah Stevens (b. 9 Oct 1787), who was born and lived in Fayette Co., PA, at the time when Augustine Stevens and Sophia Young lived there and who, as this descendant’s Y-DNA matches prove, was closely related to Augustine. Big Y-700 tested. Terminal SNP PF5064, one step downstream of FGC36974. 107/111 Y-DNA STR match (666/670 STR match based on his Big Y-500 and my Big Y-700: 99.4%).
 
Autosomal DNA:
I have seven autosomal DNA matches to descendants of Amos H. Stevens (b. 1778), best documented son of Augustine Stevens and his wife Sophia Young: one via Amos H.’s son Amos Stevens (b. 1815); two via Amos H.’s daughter Nancy Stevens (b. 1801); three via Amos H.’s son Daniel Stevens (b. 1822); and one via Amos H.’s daughter Hannah Stevens (b. 1813).
 
Note: The autosomal DNA match mentioned above who is a descendant of Amos Stevens (b. 1815) is the same man who is a Big Y-700 Y-DNA match for me.
 
One autosomal DNA match of 17.4 cMs across 1 segment (AncestryDNA) to a descendant of Benjamin Stevens Sr. (1737-1811). She is the 4th great granddaughter of Benjamin Stevens Jr. (son of Benjamin Stevens Sr., ancestor of the two Y-DNA matches mentioned above) and his wife Sophia Peairs via their daughter Elizabeth Stevens (b. about 1812), who married William Boyd.

[rmstevens2]

I guess I have a very narrow focus. My interest is in my own heritage, especially my Y-DNA line. Honestly, I don't care all that much about science for it's own sake. For me, genomics is a tool that serves my desire to know more about my own heritage. The genomes of the Denisovans, the Australian aborigines, the Hottentots, etc., don't really interest me.

I follow ancient DNA for the same reason: interest in my own heritage. That's why you may notice that I stick with topics in my own Y-DNA line. I'm interested in Beaker, Corded Ware, and whatever Yamnaya-like people created Corded Ware, because those are my own Y-DNA ancestors.

[rmstevens2]

Back in 2016, professional genealogist Joan Peake, who lived in Morgantown, West Virginia, did a lot of really excellent research for us. She said she believed our family was the numerous Stevens family of Talbot County, Maryland. Unfortunately, Joan passed away in early 2021, before she could really delve into those Talbot County connections. 

A few years ago, I was in touch with a Stevens old timer from Talbot County. I tried to talk him into Y-DNA testing with Family Tree DNA. He sounded interested, but never followed through. 

Here's a photo of the old Stevens family estate in Talbot County, "Compton":

[rmstevens2]

By way of correction to the tree in the first post in this thread above, I have learned that the SNP PF6538 is not reliable and should not be included. So, please, just mentally erase that one. Too late for me to edit the post.

Everything else is right.

[rmstevens2]

I posted this tree in this thread already, but I want to use it again to explain what I know about how far my current Y-DNA terminal SNP goes back, which is at least as far as my Y-DNA second great grandfather.



We know that my fifth great grandfather, Augustine Stevens, with whom the tree above begins, was derived for R-FGC36982, because thus far all of his Y-DNA descendants are derived (positive) for it, including all of us who share him as Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA). We also know that he was ancestral (negative) for my current terminal SNP, R-FGC36981, because we have two close matches who share Augustine with the rest of us as MRCA, yet they are ancestral for FGC36981. If Augustine were derived for FGC36981, all of us who share him as MRCA would be derived for FGC36981, but we're not.

On the other hand, we know that Augustine's great grandson (my second great grandfather), James Holmes Stevens Sr., was derived for R-FGC36981, because all of his Y-DNA descendants are derived for it, including all of us who share him as MRCA. 

What of James's father (my third great grandfather), Auguston? We know he was derived for FGC36982, because all of Augustine's Y-DNA descendants are derived for it, but we don't know whether or not he was derived for FGC36981, immediately downstream of FGC36982. We don't know his FGC36981 status because thus far we don't have any matches who share him with us as MRCA. All of us who share FGC36981 as terminal SNP are descendants of my second great grandfather, some as MRCA, and a couple of us share his son, my great grandfather, James Jr., as MRCA. We also don't have any matches who share my 4th great grandfather with us as MRCA, so we don't know his FGC36981 status either.

So, we know FGC36981 goes back at least as far as my second great grandfather, who was born on New Year's Eve in 1835, but beyond that we cannot say until we get back to my fifth great grandfather, Augustine, who was born about 1750, who was negative for FGC36981.