DNA Results for Abraham Miller 1758-1821 and his Descendents

The Y-DNA of Abraham Miller (1758-1821)

Mismatches/Abrm	Kit Num	Name	Haplo	393	390	19	391	385a	385b	426	388	439	389-1	392	389-2	389-2-1*	458	459a	459b	455	454	447	437	448	449	464a	464b	464c	464d	464e	460	GATA H4	YCA II a	YCA II b	456	607	576	570	CDY a	CDY b	442	438
3/37	6700	Cody Miller (Jackson-WmSr-Abrm)	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15	19	9	10	11	11	26	15	19	28	15	15	15	17		11	11	19	23	15	14	17	17	36	39	12	12
1/37	6686	Gary Miller (Abrm)	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15	20	9	10	11	11	26	15	19	28	15	15	15	15		11	11	19	23	15	14	17	17	36	38	12	12
1/37	34403	Lavelle Miller (John - Abrm)	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15	20	9	10	11	11	26	15	19	28	15	15	15	15		12	11	19	23	15	14	17	17	36	39	12	12
0/12	75359	Hal Miller (Isaac - Abrm)	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15
0/12	N34217	Lewis Miller (Jesse-WmJr-Sr-Abrm)	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15
0		Abraham Miller {b. 1758}	R1b1c	13	23	15	11	11	13	12	12	12	13	14	28	15	20	9	10	11	11	26	15	19	28	15	15	15	15		11	11	19	23	15	14	17	17	36	39	12	12

27	66042	Elmer Miller (Gayen 1674)		13	24	14	11	11	15	12	12	12	14	13	30	16	18	9	10	11	11	25	15	19	30	16	17	17	18		11	11	19	23	16	15	16	17	37	37	12	12
6/12	75348	Ralph Miller (John 1665)		13	24	15	11	11	14	12	12	12	14	13	30	16	18	9	10	11	11	25	16	19	30	14	15	18	18
4/12	1-1807	Scott Miller (John 1665)		13	24	15	11	11	14	12	12	12	13	13	29	16
7/12		Guion Miller (Warwick grandson of Gayen)		13	24	14	11	11	15	12	12	12	14	13	31	16
6/12	100460	Roland Miller (Paul 1792 - Moore tp)		13	24	14	11	11	14	12	12	12	13	12	29	16
		% of general pop. matching Abrm		75	27	60	43		6.83	59	72	48	61	7.6	14.8		1.2			85	94	13.6	51		15			19.4	8.21		56	37			38						60	49

DeepSNP testing by FamilyTreeDNA show that Abraham Miller is of the R1b1b2a1a subclade (previously known as R1b1c9 and R1b1b2g (S21+) (U1106)) 23andme.com lists his haplogroup as R1b1b2a1a1. He tests negative for downstream markers S26, S28 and S29. Abraham Miller is S21+ . R1b1b2a1a1 is most commonly found on the fringes of the North Sea, in Europe.

The markers also show a distant but significant matching with participants who have different surnames but trace back to Scotland and Northern Ireland. That he is German is still very possible, however. Regardless, based on the SNP results, the Miller paternal line likely has roots (long before the surname was used) about 3,000 years ago in modern day northern Germany. However, prior to coming to Pennsylvania in the early 1700's, this line may well have lived several hundred years in England, Scotland or Ireland.

To see Abraham Miller's full 67 markers see UserID: SBN8K at www.ysearch.org

FamilyFinder by FamilyTreeDNA.com

FamilyTreeDNA has released a new test called FamilyFinder which looks for matches across all 22 chromosomes (all but the 23rd XY chromosome). This valuable new DNA tool allows a comparison among cousins regardless of the gender of the ancestors linking them to their common ancestor. With Y-DNA we only find matches from our direct paternal line -- father to son all the way back. However, with FamilyFinder we are able to match cousins who share Abraham Miller as a common ancestor even if the ancestral trail is mother to son or father to daughter. Since Abraham Miller has thousands of descendants (a small fraction of whom are direct paternal descendants), we now have a powerful new tool to find matches.

The following descendants of Abraham Miller have taken the FamilyFinder test:

Royce Miller Hunt (Abraham > Isaac > Jasper Newton > Jasper > Ethel) {5 generations from Abraham and his 1st wife Phebe Webb}
Lewis Earl Miller (Abraham > William Sr > William Jr > Jesse Semor > Martin > Ralph) {6 generations from Abraham and his 1st wife Phebe Webb}
Ross Miller (Abraham > William Sr > William Jr > Clark Barton > Sidney Irvin > Ross Sr) {6 generations from Abraham and his 1st wife Phebe Webb}
Phil Pratt (Abraham > William Sr > William Jr > Clark Barton > Sidney Irvin > Ethel) {6 generations from Abraham and his 1st wife Phebe Webb}
Mary Hess (Abraham > Maria > Mary Lowe > Laura Barton > Henry Aikman) {5 generations from Abraham and his 2nd wife Nancy}
Marion Bolay (Abraham > Nancy > Eugene Boyd > Elizabeth Priestly) {4 generations from Abraham and his 2nd wife Nancy}
and others are pending.

Marion's test is especially exciting because of the 20,000+ living descendants of Abraham Miller she is the only known to be a 4th generation descendant. She likely receives 1/16th of her DNA from Abraham Miller, compared to 1/64th for 6th generation descendants who tested) In addition, her X DNA is likely about 12% the same as Abraham Miller's mother's X chromosome. X DNA matching is up and coming and having this on file now could help in the future when X chromosome matching becomes more common.

Any other FamilyFinder participants who match all or most of the above people would themselves be related to Abraham Miller. If they are not his direct descendants then they may be descended from one of his siblings -- the best of all findings. The reason this works is because the only single known ancestor that all 5 people above have in common is Abraham Miller (Abraham married twice and since the above represent descendants from each wife -- he is the only common ancestor of all the above 5 descendants). The downside of FamilyFinder is that DNA is distributed from mother and father randomly each generation. While siblings and first and second cousins are sure to share a significant amount of DNA in common, more distant cousins are increasingly likely to have less and possibly no DNA match from this test. The upper limit to this test is basically said to be 5th cousins. The above are all 4th cousins once removed or 1/2 4th cousins. Therefore, they are near the limit of the tests ability to make a match. In fact Mary Hess only matches Ross Miller (they are 1/2 4th cousins once removed). Royce Hunt only matches Lewis Earl (they are 4th cousins once removed). Lewis, Ross and Phil all match each other but they are 1st and 3rd cousins. Royce Hunt and Mary Hess are each 3rd great grandchildren of Abraham Miller. Lewis, Ross and Phil are 4th great grandchildren of Abraham Miller.

So far we have the following:

DNA FAQ

1. How do you know the Y-DNA of someone who died almost 200 years ago?

The Y chromosome is passed down unchanged from father to son every generation.   The only exception being occasional mutations.
All the other human chromosomes are a mix of the chromosomes of both parents.    Therefore as the 5th great grandson of Abraham
Miller I carry his exact same Y DNA, except for whatever mutations may have occurred over the last 6 generations.   We currently have
DNA results from myself, Cody Miller, and Lavelle Miller.    By comparing those results we can determine with reasonable confidence
the Y DNA markers of Abraham Miller and thus learn which in our own lines are mutations.   Where 2 of 3 people match, we conclude
that the mutation was on the odd man out -- it would be unlikely for 2 people to have the same exact mutation.    The values above in blue
are the mismatches.    Comparing those the original markers for Y DNA of Abraham Miller are listed above.   update: Hal Miller is a descendent of Isaac Miller, another son of Abraham Miller, and his January 2007 results are an exact match with the other descendents of Abraham Miller.

2. What is meant by "% of general population matching"?

Some markers mutate at faster rates than others and some are common than others. The values in that row represent the percent of people
in the general population with that value for that marker. The values in pink are under those markers in which 11% or less of the general
population match. They are of special significance because they are the unique identifiers of Abraham Miller's unique DYS values.

3. What is the value of the Y DNA results?

The Miller surname is a common one, there were 26 thousand Miller's in the 1990 U.S. census.   (They can probably be traced back to about
500 unique Miller families in 1700.) When searching paper records like the U.S. census for family history connections a Miller researcher is
quickly overwhelmed by the number of Miller's out there -- the problem is compounded when, as in my case, one is searching for a William
Miller (both the first and last name being very common).    Y-DNA is like having a second last name.    Some Y DNA value sets are very
common (just like a common surname would be) and others are relatively rare.   In this case descendents of Abraham Miller have lucked
out in that his Y DNA values are very unique.    So far all those matching near to Abraham Miller's (out of the over 90,000 individuals tested)
have been his descendents.    The hope is that some day we will find a match from someone who descends from Abraham Miller's father or
grandfather or great grandfather, thus allowing us to try and make a paper connection to an earlier ancestor than Abraham.

4. How does Elmer K. Miller fit in the equation?

Elmer Miller is the author of the book, Gayen Miller an Irish Quaker and his Descendents.   According to a newspaper query in 1948 (and
later printed from that source in the book, Richard Haines and his Descendents, 1961), our Miller is supposed to be descended from Gayen
Miller through Gayen's son Robert Miller and grandson Jacob Miller.    Elmer Miller is descended from Gayen Miller through Gayen's son
Robert Miller and grandson Solomon Miller.    If the above 2 sentences are accurate Elmer's Y-DNA should be a close match to Abraham's.
Unfortunately, the results do not match.

January 2007 update: A descendent (Ralph Miller) of Gayen Miller's supposed brother, John Miller (born about 1666, husband of Mary Ignew), also tested. Ralph and Elmer do not appear to be a match (2% probability).   Therefore, if the paper trails of Elmer to Gayen and Ralph to John are correct, then John Miller (husband of Mary Ignew) and Gayen Miller were not brothers.

November 2007 update: another descendent, Scott Miller, from this line, that of John Miller and Ann Clibborn, is also not a match with Abraham Miller. The DNA from Scott and from Ralph both match and are descended from James Miller (b. 1745).    That confirms that James Miller (b. 1745) is their common ancestor.    Three possible explanations are:

1. The trail from James Miller (b. 1745) to John Miller (b. 1633) is not correct.
2. Gayen Miller and John Miller (b. 1655) are not brothers (this is the most likely explanation)
3. The DNA test is wrong.   (the mismatch allows about 1% chance that they are related)

Ralph and Scott Miller both descend from: James Miller (b. 5/28/1745 d. 1809; of New Garden Tp, Chester, PA) marr.Jane Elliott (b. 1748; d. 1813 New Garden Tp, PA)

1. John Miller (b. 1633) marr. Ann Clibborn (b. 1630) (Supposed father of Gayen Miller)
2. John Miller (b. 1665; d. 1714) marr. Mary Ignew
3. James Miller (b. 1693 d. 1774 New Garden Tp, Chester, PA)
4. James b. 1745

December 2008 update: Francis Guion Miller, a direct descendant of Gayen Miller through his son Robert and grandson Warwick, has tested and is an exact match with Elmer Kenneth Miller, therefore there is no chance that Abraham Miller was descended from Gayen Miller, as the DAR applications of his great grandchildren claim..

5. What is the goal now?

The goal now is to find participants who are descended from William Miller (of the 1800 Bloom Twp., Northumberland County census) and Frederick Miller (of the 1810 Bloom Twp., Northumberland County census). Miller's from Berks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Philadelphia and Delaware State would all be of interest. Also, Miller's from Western Europe would be of great interest. Finally, the more Miller's in general who test the greater of the odds of finding a match. Miller's from New York, Virginia and Ohio are also of interest.

6. How do I sign up?

If you are descended from Miller lines from Chester County, Lancaster County, or Berks County Pennsylvania in the 1700's or from Rockingham or Augusta County, Virginia or WestChester County, New York, please e-mail me directly at gary@millerfamilyhistory.com If you come from another Miller line please sign up to the Miller surname project at www.familytreedna.com