The Jephcott/Jeffcoat Family DNA Study Project
We began this project in 2011, to see how many of the males only of the family are connected by their DNA. Was there an ancestor that carried the surname and who gave it to us by it being passed down through the generations.
DNA? How does it work?
Broadly, there are three types of DNA test that people can do today, but only one of them is of any use to us. The one that we are interested in is:
Y-DNA. Paternal DNA.
Y chromosome DNA passes from father to son (not from father to daughter). Men have two sex chromosomes, X and Y. X is passed to them by their mothers and Y comes from their fathers. Y-DNA can be tested through many generations, over thousands of years, always and continuously passed from father to son. So, a Jeffcoat/Jeffcoat, etc. male from the time when surnames were created (around the 13th century), will pass his Y-DNA to his son, which, provided that their wives have been sexually faithful to their husbands, the same Y-DNA will be present in today's Jephcott/Jeffcoat, etc. males. What are the chances of that happening? With this project of ours, we have proved that there is a very good chance of that happening.
This is the DNA test that we are looking for from you. For purely self-interested, genealogical and scientific reasons.
Take note though that, if there is an illegitimate birth in your direct line, the Y-DNA path will be destroyed and the Y-DNA that is present will be that of the father of the illegitimate male child. Thus, taking part in this project will be nullified by that 'non-paternity event'. At least two of our families that we have listed on our home page, have this 'broken DNA'.
For your interest, the other three types of DNA test, as mentioned, are as follows:
1.
mtDNA. Maternal DNA. Mitochondrial DNA.
Like Y-DNA, mtDNA can be tested through many generations, over thousands of years, always continuously passed from mother to her children, both boys and girls. Furthermore, men cannot pass their mother's mtDNA to their children, only their sisters can do that.
This is the DNA test that is of no use to us for this project, as the women in a family change their surname when they marry, and therefore their DNA cannot be used to follow a surname. However, the mitochondrial DNA is still of great interest in female genealogy, if rather difficult to follow (because of surname changes in marriage).
Do not confuse mitochondrial DNA with the X chromosome DNA that passes from mother to daughter - and mother to son. The father also carries the X chromosome, that was passed to him from his mother and his father, an X from each. Women have two X chromosomes, but no Y. Men have one X and one Y chromosome. He passes his Y to his sons and his X to his daughters. However, the mother also passes her X to her sons and her daughters. Thus, the X chromosome changes with each generation and is therefore of very little use to us in genealogy.
Also,
2.
atDNA. Autosomal DNA. Family DNA.
Family finder DNA tests trace a person's 23 pairs of autosomal chromosomes, which contain the segments of DNA the person shares with everyone to whom they are related (maternally and paternally, both directly and indirectly). This is the test that has become popular with people in recent times, as it is possible from it to give ethnicity indicators. The problem with this type of test is that it only gives good close family results over a short space of time, unlike Y-DNA and mtDNA, which test over many thousands of years. The further back you go with this test, the more grandparents you have, which dilutes the DNA. It is excellent for finding close family, lost relatives, proving parentage, etc. It is also very good for the police, when they are looking for criminals, and/or to eliminate suspects from their enquiries. This is the type of DNA that determines eye and hair colour, distinguishing family features and ethnicity, Viking, European, Middle Eastern, etc.
Again, this is a DNA test that is of no use to us for this project, as it identifies the DNA of all your ancestors, not just the Jephcott/Jeffcoat, etc. ones that this project seeks to find.
(There are rare genetic occasions that deviate what is stated here, which we will not go into here, so please treat the statements above as generally correct.)
Also,
3.
aDNA. Ancient DNA.
Ancient DNA is a highly specialised field of DNA research, where it is possible to identify the DNA of bodies/skeletons that could be thousands of years old. To find a DNA link with such a person is quite something. It is also not relevant to our research here.
The DNA of animals and all other living things is another field of research and has confirmed our close links with the chimpanzee.
WILL YOU HELP US WITH THIS PROJECT? IT WILL COST YOU MONEY.
NO PHYSICAL PAIN IS INVOLVED - ONLY A SALIVA SWAB IS NEEDED.
There are several companies that currently offer DNA testing. Be careful! The Y-DNA testing that we are using is not done by all the companies. For our purposes, we use the biggest and the best company, Family Tree DNA.
FTDNA offer all three types of test that we have listed above, at different depths of testing, and at different prices. Other companies concentrate on atDNA (autosomal - not to be confused with aDNA, which is ancient DNA from archaeological sources) tests only. The following link will explain the science of what is involved.
https://www.familytreedna.com/products/y-dna
Your Y-DNA test result will provide you with a series of 'STR markers' that will compare your DNA with other Jephcott/Jeffcoat, etc. testers. The following chart shows 13 sets of test results over 30 or so markers. They are all from people connected with our surnames, with their markers giving some very close matches. Indeed, looking at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th member's results, they are almost identical, suggesting a common ancestor is shared by them all. Of these four individual testers, their family trees are from both the UK and the USA. Clearly an ancestor of the UK side emigrated to the USA at some point, some 200 or more years ago.
The identity of the tester is a secret. Nobody can access your results. The tester is given a kit number, which does not identify them to others. The FBI in the USA have tried to gain access for crime solving purposes, and have failed.
For genealogy within the most recent fifteen generations (say 450 years), STR markers help define paternal lineages. Y-DNA STR markers change (mutate) often enough that most men who share the same STR results also share a recent paternal lineage. This page displays Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) STR results for the project.
On the project site, the columns display each project member's kit number (not shown here), paternal ancestry information according to project settings (not shown here), the paternal tree branch (haplogroup), and actual STR marker results.
Note the word 'haplogroup'. This is your 'tribe'. Where your ancestors came from. Eventually, leading back to 'Adam' in Africa, from a time when man first evolved and started to migrate. ('Eve' is the female, mtDNA, equivalent.) Suffice to say, the Jephcott/Jeffcoat, etc. haplogroup is I1. Viking. Northern Europe. Hunter gatherers. However, we are only concerned with the last few hundred years, from a time when surnames in England were created and became paternally inherited.
Below is the human haplogroup map. Note the I1 haplogroup top left and its age of 25,000 years. We are Vikings!
We ask you to take FTDNA's 37 marker test, referred-to a Y37 on their website. 120 US dollars, or less if there is a special offer. Then, when you have your results, join our project at https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/jephcottjeffcoatfamily/about
If you are so inclined, pay the extra to do mtDNA and atDNA as well. Your saliva sample will be kept safe for many years, so, if you want to do these other tests at a later date, you will not need to provide a further sample. You could also pay to do a more detailed analysis of your Y-DNA or mtDNA, with more markers. Your results will tell you so much about you and where you came from - and will definitely bring you some surprises. Remember, it is all secret, unless you wish to share the detailed results.
The Jephcott surname and its several spelling variants can be traced back to the 15th century in Warwickshire, England. It is clearly a geographically concentrated and derived surname. This project hopes to show a consistent Y-DNA connection for the surname. Indeed there is already a match proven between various branches of our family, be they Jephcott, Jeffcoat, or whatever variation of spelling. So, if you share one of these surnames, why not join us?
The Jephcott surname is just one spelling of around fourteen in use today. These include Jeffcoat, Jeffcoate, Jefcoate, Jeffcutt, Jefcut, Jephcote, Jephcoat, Jeffcott, Jeffcoate, etc. There is an unproven link to the Jeffcock surname also. In England, a clear derivation has been shown for the midlands county of Warwickshire. Through DNA testing, we have also discovered a common ancestor with the mainly Jeffcoat families living in the USA. So we invite anybody with a link to these surnames to participate in this project of ours.
To contact us, please send an email to jessjephcott@aol.com
- or search for us 'The Jephcott Society' on Facebook.
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last updated
18th September 2020
